My Mother's Day Trip part one

For Mother's Day, my husband gave me a lovely gift--a two night stay at a hotel of my choice--with orders to stay away from Friday until Sunday afternoon. Of course, I also have orders not to think about the kids, ball practice, home, etc. Good luck with that, Sweetheart! Thursday night, I ended up cleaning up glass from the light fixture in our basement. One of my six year olds decided to kick a soccer ball at it and it shattered--mercury bulb and all. Fortunately, no one was injured. There was still a ton of glass downstairs when I left though. I vacuumed it, but couldn't get much up. So, the playroom and everything in it is off limits for the next couple of weeks until we get the glass up, the fixture repaired, and a replacement for the globe--unbreakable this time, if possible. Boy, do I need this trip!! I left my house Friday morning at around 9:00. I spent the day prowling around shops.  After checking into my hotel room, I discovered only one elevator working and a conference going on in the hotel.. Then, as I'm getting settled into the room, the fire alarm goes off. Really? Oh, and did I mention that the ice machine is broken on my floor and I have to hike around to the other side of the hotel to the stairs, then up to another floor to get ice? This is going to provide so much subject matter for the writing!!  I will sleep late tomorrow, go to some historical sites I've been wanting to see, and write. I did come up with a beautiful essay? narrative? poem?--not sure what you'd call it--while driving around. And I pulled over and jotted it down. I'm hoping by the time I'm done, I'll have several short pieces done for publication. To be continued....And I really hope he remembered to pick the kids up from school.... ;-)

Never Say Never

"I'll never say that to my kids!" How many of you remember telling your parent or guardian that? Boy, I do! My mom's response was always, "Never say never."

Recent conversations with my boys are riddled with those things I swore I'd never say!

"Mo-om, he started it!"
"All three of you come here, I'm punishing everyone. That way I know I got the right one!"

"But so-and-so did it, why can't I?"
"I guess if so-and-so jumped off a bridge, you'd do it too?!"

"Mom, can I have a (fill in the blank with the latest and greatest toy/electronics/etc)?"
"When I was a little girl, I had to work around the house for 25 cents a day to earn the money for what I wanted!"

"But Little Johnny gets to ride his bike to school!"
"Well, I'm not Little Johnny's mom, am I?"

"Stop running with that before you poke an eye out!!"

"Why do I have to?!"
"Why? Because I SAID so!"

"I can't do it!"
"Can't never could do anything."

"How do you spell antidisestablishmentarianism?"
"Look it up or sound it out!"

"I'm going to run away from home!"
"Need help packing?"

These are only a handful of the things I swore I'd never say. Please don't tell my mom I'm saying them! LOL Really, Mom has heard me say some of them and had a good laugh.

Until next time, remember NEVER SAY NEVER!!! And stop running with that stick before you poke your eye out! Because I SAID SO!!

Keep smiling! God bless!

Two Bottles of Water

Veteran's Day, after leaving a program at the elementary school, I had to run and pick up a few things. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a man sitting on the ground with a "Need Work" sign. I said a quick prayer for him and kept going. As I shopped, my mind drifted back to him. I've seen him before downtown. He's always got a ready smile and a kind word.
When I went out to my van, I looked across the lot and saw him still sitting there with his dog. I looked in the back of the van and saw two bottles of water. The day had started heating up a little, despite the wind. I grabbed them and wondered if I should try to put together a few more dollars and pick up something he could eat. But unfortunately, at the end of the pay period I had enough budgeted for what I'd picked up and nothing more. So, I pulled the van closer to his resting place, got out and walked over to him. He looked at me and I asked if he wanted the water.
"It would certainly help" he said.
As I reached towards him, his dog started jumping around. I was worried he was going to knock the poor man over. The man smiled and calmed the dog.
"He's just excited to see you. He knows you have something in your hand and wants to know what it is."
He took the water and thanked me.
"God bless you" I said.
"He has" was his reply as he held the water up, smiling at me.
I went back to my van and turned to look at the man and his dog. He was sitting on the ground, pouring water in a bowl for the dog. Then he took a drink and carefully put the water bottle back in his backpack.
I never realized how beautiful a dirty, ragged homeless man could look until I saw the smile on his face. How blessed I was by his happiness and gratitude. How humbled by his life.

Pony-sized Pests

I opened our front door this afternoon to see if the mail carrier had left a package for me. I came face-to-face with the biggest critter I've seen in our yard since we moved in--not counting the deer. This grayish-brown critter sat and stared at me for what seemed like an eternity. Then he (or she) scurried UNDER the concrete slab that is at our front entry. OH MY MERCIFUL HEAVENS! I slammed the front door and told the boys not to open it. A few minutes later, I opened the door a crack. The critter was in the hole with his head poking out. I tried to coax it out while standing behind the closed and LOCKED storm door (just in case he's some kind of highly evolved critter). He taunted me with his beady little eyes. Nose twitching in a critterly fashion. He was laughing at me, I know it!

Armed with my cell phone and the phone book, I started making calls to rid myself of this evil monster. I called our pest control service first.

"Do you have any live traps to catch a huge badger/beaver/raccoon-without-the-mask/over-sized critter?" I asked.

"No, ma'am, we don't handle anything like that. Mice, moles, rats, we can do. Let me give you a number to call."

I call the number she gives me and discover that to catch this creature, which the man assures me is a harmless groundhog, will cost me $100 with no guarantee he'll be successful. Okay. I told the man I'll think about it and call back.

I then spent the next half hour calling my husband to tell him not to come in the front door when he gets home from work (Why? Because I don't want the over-sized groundhog to eat him.), and the neighbors in search of a live trap.

The last neighbor I called told me her son and husband had seen the critter and he was indeed a groundhog. Uh huh. And they saw him going under my house. Sigh. And no, they didn't have a live trap.

As a last and most brilliant resort, I phoned the conservation center in our area. No, they don't take care of things like that, "but call your area's conservationist". Okay, I thought I just did. I phoned the conservationist for our area and left a voicemail.

Tomorrow I'll make a call to a friend and hopefully her husband, whom I recently discovered has an interest in live capture and release of animals will be able to offer some advice, traps, help.

In the meantime, the huge badger/beaver/raccoon-without-the-mask/over-sized critter is taunting me through the storm door, laughing and telling his critter friends all about his reign of terror.




To be continued.......

Time Marches On

This month I'll be celebrating my 48th birthday. Wow. It's a little overwhelming when I think about it. Here I am, almost 48 years old, with three children under 8. I don't feel 48, but the reality is I am. I think about the realities of aging with small children. Will I be that mom that keeps going no matter how old I am? Or will I be the mom that's too tired to take the boys to games or watch games?

My hope, my plan is to be the mom who's there for everything. That's why it's important to me that I accomplish the goals I've set. I want my boys to see that nothing can hold you back if you want to be successful. I have made mistakes in my life. So many mistakes. But my babies are so right, so good. They are three of the best things that have ever happened.

They'll all be in school this year. I'm glad to see them start school. It's the way things are supposed to be. But truly, I'll miss having them around. It'll give me the time I need to accomplish my goals. But letting my youngest two go, seeing them walk into that big building, that's going to be hard.

I watch them as they grow from the chubby little babies they were to the little boys who're all arms and legs. When they were small, I could hold them in my lap--yes, all three at the same time. Now, they don't want to be held often. But how I cherish the times they do. Soon, all to soon, they won't want me as much. But this to shall pass. Their friends will become more important than their parents. As they age, our intelligence will decrease (in their eyes). But one day it'll come full circle and they'll be in our position. In the meantime, I'll keep praying I make the right decisions.

So, as I get ready to celebrate my 48th birthday, I give thanks for my husband and children, for all the many blessings we have. And I pray I find a way to make a difference. Life is change. Life is only going to get more interesting.

God bless.

Summer

The summer is almost at an end, at least for the children. School starts in 9 days, 19 hours and 14 minutes--not that I'm counting. The twins are excited to be starting kindergarten. The oldest is excited to be a second grader. I'm just excited to have my days back. I've enjoyed having them home, but it's time for them to go back to their routine. And for me to get back to mine. And even better, no daycare expenses!

We had a great summer full of activities. The boys all played ball and took swim lessons. The twins were in summer school for a month. And we went on a family vacation with my in-laws. We spent a week in Branson, MO. We got back last week, thoroughly exhausted. We all had a blast!

So, my plans for the school year are to work on my blog, set up my website and start selling jewelry, get involved with the United Methodist Women's group again, and to study in earnest for my family therapy license. I had planned to go back to work full-time as soon as the boys started school, but have decided to wait until we see how two of my three do in school this year. I may end up substitute teaching for a while so I can have the same schedule as the boys.

For now it's school supplies and clothes, registration and open house, and the organized chaos of the new school year. Hoping for fewer teacher conferences and fewer notes from school (of the negative variety). Until next time, stay safe and God bless!

The Guilt Button

How many of you parents have a very active guilt button? I do. I always worry about the choices I make for my boys. If I choose to ignore a behavior and it gets worse, is he going to end up in jail? If I ignore a tummy ache and it's really appendicitis, will it rupture and cause massive infection or death? If I take the training wheels off too soon and he falls, will he break every bone in his body? You know, the "normal" parent concerns.

A few days ago, my 5 year old told me his mouth hurt, I assumed (never assume!) that it was a molar coming in because I vaguely remembered the dentist commenting at last checkup about his molar coming in early. I put topical pain medicine on it. This went on for several days. Then he woke me up every hour night before last. I got irritated, thinking he was being a drama king. (Guilt button activated in 10,9,8, ...) I phoned the dentist the next morning, swearing to my child if he was faking he would be minus several dozen toys. (Guilt button countdown continues 7, 6, 5...) I took him into the dentist, driving about an hour to get there, with three fighting boys, almost hitting a deer. I reminded him he better not be faking. (Guilt button countdown 4, 3....) We arrive at the dentist office, the boys go back to play video games (we have a really cool dentist). Then the assistant comes out to get me. I walk back and hear the dentist mutter under his breath "we have a real problem here". Oh, shit. He looks at me and smiles, says "No wonder his tooth hurt, he has a broken molar." (guilt button countdown 2, 1.....WARNING WARNING! MASSIVE GUILT ATTACK!) No infection shows up on the xray. This is good. Filling or pulpotomy (baby root canal) and crown. (Pony? Dog? Anything you want, sweetie.) It ends up being a pulpotomy and crown and massive infection in the tooth. Prescribed two rounds of antibiotics.

My baby cried all the way home, all through the drugstore, and the old guilt button was pinging like crazy. If he'd asked for the dog, rabbit, cat, bird, fish tank, gerbil, guinea pig, etc. that he's asked for time again, he'd have gotten it. Good thing he didn't know that!

I know many parents who've done similar things, but it never makes it feel any better when I'm the one who did it. So, do I vow to never doubt my child when he tells me he's in pain, do I bubble wrap him and refuse to let him play with other children? No, I'll do what every other parent does. I'll keep doing what I can to protect him and try not to screw up. (Guilt button reset.)