As the High Schoolers See It

I overheard the following conversation while walking on a boardwalk yesterday. It was 90 degrees and I was at the beach. How glorious!

And yes, this is my little guy at the beach, throwing rocks into the water!

Female 1: Did you know Kelly Clarkson says 'Cool beans'?
Female 2: Really? Weird!
1: Yeah, in an interview with the judges she said it! Maybe that's why you say it. Y'know, cuz she was on American Idol when we were little.
2: [sarcastically] Yeah, we were little.
1: No, really! She was on in 2002. We were in second grade!
2: Oh my gosh, I feel so old!
[Ahem. Allow me to mention here that I got married in 2002. Who feels old??]

And then in church today, one of the teen guys from our youth group saw me come in:
Him: "Wow, You look...smaller."
Me: "Smaller?"
Him: "Yeah, a lot smaller."
Me: "You mean like I shrunk or something??"
Him: "Yeah. I mean...um....I don't know. I haven't seen you in a long time I guess...."
At which point, he basically ran away. Um, okay. Thanks?

In My World

Imagine a dusty road in the middle of nowhere. Saloons and hotels line the street. Tumbleweed blows by. To the sound of some good ole whistling, come footsteps, complete with spur sounds. Classic western movie scene. I call it "Grandmother Showdown."


On one side, Maternal Grandmother stands, hand poised over holster. In her favor - travel from out-of-state, staying overnight, helping for one week already.

On the other side, Paternal Grandmother waits, a cocky grin playing around her mouth. In her favor - quick travel, knowledge of the area, owns the house.

In this epic battle, which played itself out this week, both Grandmothers vie for a place of honor. Shots ring out! And when the dust clears, two small children are watching from the corner. Assured they are loved once again.

There's No Place Like Home...?

After a week of being catered to and waited on, it was time to head home. I missed my routine, my own bed, and my husband. I did a practice drive and decided I would be fine to travel. We settled in for the night when we got home and all seemed calm and peaceful. The world was right once again.

The morning dawned bright and warm. My kiddos were happy to be in familiar territory and it was nice to have hubby in bed next to me when I awoke. I cheerfully headed to the kitchen to make breakfast when it began.

An ant. Marching on my little guy's table. And then another. On his seat. Four more on the leg of the table. About a dozen on the floor.

I went into crazy-mode. I was on my hands and knees with Lysol wipes scouring the floor and killing every ant that dared show his face. I had the heebie-jeebies of course. And immediately began a list of everything in the house that needed to be disinfected.

My poor family. We were home. And it looks like life is back to normal.

MA, ER, CAT, OR

The above is code. For, I missed my daughter's first Easter.

Three weeks ago, I began having pains in my side. I had tried tahini for the first time that day and assumed it was a reaction that would pass. The following day was hubby's award ceremony, so I fought through the pain and guessed it would go away. It did, four days later.

Last Saturday, I began having very similar pains in my side and felt a bit concerned. But I assumed it would be fine to wait until after the holiday to do anything about it. We left for my parents in Massachusetts later than I had hoped, but the kids did well in the car. We decorated eggs and had dinner together, but only Mommy and Daddy wanted to go to bed. That night I felt increasingly worse and did some research online.

First, what's in tahini? Turns out it's made from a sesame seed paste. Well, that got me thinking about diverticulitis. My grandmother had it, and I knew that getting something small - like a sesame seed - stuck in a pocket in your colon, could bring about symptoms. Upon reading that diverticulitis most commonly presents with pain on the left side, and rarely on the right, my thoughts turned to appendicitis.

In the night I awoke twice with nausea and dizziness. I figured it would be best to 'beat the crowd' to the Emergency Room on (33-degree) Easter morning, and we arrived at 8:15. This way I figured they could check me out and send me home in time for Easter dinner. Silly me. We were told right away to expect a CAT scan and a two-hour stay at the least.

All I could think about was my kids. How would they react? What would our Little Miss eat?? Would she take the formula? How soon will they let me go home???

The CAT scan showed inflammation in my appendix, so I was scheduled for surgery right away. I was also scheduled for an overnight stay. So, I missed my baby's first Easter. I know she'll never remember. But I will. I know she doesn't care. But I do. I know all that matters is that I get healthy again. But it matters to me!

The surgery went well. They were able to do it laparoscopically (with a camera), so the incisions are small. I could even wear a bikini if I were so inclined. Like I'd ever be so inclined.... I'm recovering at my parents' house and driving everyone crazy. No, really, I am. It's hard to let everyone do things for you - and harder still when they won't listen to you! But truthfully, they've been great. I just wish I could pick up my daughter when she cries, or wrestle with my little guy on the floor. For now, I just take my ridiculously strong pain meds and yell demands across the room. See? There's a silver lining everywhere.

An Ideal Easter

Our daughter's first Easter was fabulous. It was everything I could have asked for!

We were packed on Friday night and headed up to visit my family on Saturday morning. The kids did great in the car and we didn't hit any traffic (going the other way however...). We spent a fun, but relaxing day together on Saturday and were able to put the little ones down to bed with hardly any issue.

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful. It was 60-degrees and we got the kids all dolled up for the day. They sat (mostly) well through the church service and we had a great family dinner together after. Although I had to skip the lasagna, I was pretty content with my options. After nap time, we had a family Easter egg hunt and our little guy was on cloud nine. His sister just giggled at his every move. They received little gifts from our doting family and settled happily into the car for the ride home. It was blissful.

And a total lie. The real story is coming soon....

Blessed

As I drive around and notice home after home for sale...

Apartments for rent...

Cars lined up, available...

As I receive yet another message that someone has been laid off...

Or had hours cut...

I pause,

And thank God,

Knowing that indeed,

I am blessed.

Like a Fairy-Tale

Once upon a time there were a pair of blue jeans. Size 4, petite. Hanging on a rack, waiting. One magical day, a beautiful young woman came in and tried on the jeans. Wonder of wonders, they fit! The jeans were so happy to finally be leaving the store.

But two short weeks later, the young woman learned she was pregnant! The jeans were soon banished to a bin and placed under the bed. Nine months crawled slowly by and the jeans were excited to hear a baby's cry one day. Maybe they would soon return to daylight! But alas, as clothes with belly panels were added to the bin, nothing was taken out. In fact, there was soon a label on the bin - "Don't Fit!" The jeans waited, longingly.

Years went by, then another baby's cry. This time, the jeans knew better than to hope. They assumed they would be given to charity like so many of their other companions had been.

And then one day, after a long stretch of darkness, the cover of the bin was opened. A hand reached in and searched among the long-forgotten clothing. It was trembling. Stopping when it uncovered the jeans, the hand grasped them and lifted them out. The jeans practically cried out with pleasure at seeing the beautiful (not-as-)young woman!


And there, in the spring sunshine (well, okay it was raining), the jeans found their way to their rightful place. With a sigh they relaxed, knowing they were safe at home, once again.

Delicious!

I ate ice cream. And I'm going to have cookies in milk. Can you believe it??

Yesterday I discovered something amazing - the wonders of coconut milk! A trip to Whole Foods yielded some fabulous results. Turns out the So Delicious brand is just that - yummy!

I know it's a small thing, but today, it's everything.