What a fly may hear.

A fly on the wall at my house would have heard a conversation like this a few days ago.

Sensible Me: What do you have to do before you go on your trip?

H: I have to take the car for an oil change (we had an appointment for 3PM the next day), buy chlorine tablets for the pool (I had told him to get them on the way home today but he chose not to and I chose not to remind him of the fact), vacuum the pool, pack my clothes, pack and ship the printer and scanner, go to the bank, plus work. I guess I will pack in the morning after I drop you off at work, then I can pack the office equipment and get some work done, then go to the pool...".

Sensible Me: I stopped him there. Too many flaws with the plan already to let him continue down this slippery slope. "Why don't you vacuum the pool now before going in while the sun is going down? It won't be so hot and draining and then you can cross it off your list."

H: "No." Shaking his head offering no reason

Me: "Why not, is that too sensible? To work in the yard while its cooler?"

H: laughing, "Yea, that's sensible, we can't have that. Prohibited with a capital P!"

Sensible Me: laughing but not giving up, "Why don't you pack tonight?"

H: "Can't yet. I may need to buy some things for the trip."

Sensible Me: "Well, then you should at least get all the stuff together after dinner so that if you do need something, you'll know and then you can get it on your way home after you drop me off at work."

H: "Hmm, you think so? Think things are open that early? You think that would work?"

Sensible Me: "I know. It sounds to sensible to be true doesn't it." as I continue to list the stores that are open and en route in the morning. Will they never learn that sometimes, I really know what I'm doing?

H: "Sensible! Can't have that! Absolutely not with a capital A!" He laughs. Thinks he's cute. LOL!

Sharing

We get together
To celebrate, to laugh,
To eat, to mourn,
To share life's moments.

We get together
To help, to listen,
To give, to receive,
To share life's moments.

Each and any moment can be shared.
So, let's get together, live in the moment,
To share all our life.

Boys and showers

I have so much fun hearing stories of other kids who are younger than mine and the frustration of the parents as they tell you their daily drama in that 'you don't understand' tone because this has only happened to them and no one else before. Then of course the laughter that comes after when you share your exact same story or finish theirs for them because been there, done that!

A perfect example, was hearing about these parents who struggle daily to get their boys to shower. They have to tell them way too many times and sometimes the child comes out with dry hair or even a streak of dirt still across their neck. We all go through this.

I remember my boys bickering at bath time. Always arguing you go first, no you go first. Then magically it flipped to I'm going first, no me first. I honestly don't remember when it it flipped but it did.

Even when I was a kid I remember my brother being reminded to use soap when he showered. One time when my father went to check on him because he was taking too long. The water was running in the shower but my brother was sitting on the floor of the bathroom with his pajamas on playing with his little plastic green army men. My father about hit the roof! He looked ready for bed but all he had done was change his clothes. He hadn't bathed. LOL!

Every age has its stage. Some are better and some are worse. I just know that they are stages and this too shall pass at least until the next stage. ;)

I think the stage mine are in now are the "eat me out of house and home stage". They eat 24/7!

Defining Gift Giving

Giving gifts. We all know there are so many kinds of gifts to give. You could give a money or go buy an item with your money to give to someone. Then there are the things you do that are gifts. Giving of your time and talent. You can give kind words, a smile, a helping hand of some sort etc etc.

So, here's what I have been pondering lately. If you do it habitually, is it still a gift you are giving? If you make coffee every morning, is that a gift you give albeit daily to those who drink it? Or does a gift have to be something more than what you would normally do? Maybe your normal is a gift for someone else? What you think is simply trite, daily, habitual behavior is in fact a gift for those around you. You simply need to be more aware and mindful of these actions and how they are offerings that you give.

I don't know the answers to these (and so many other) questions but it's what I have been thinking about lately. All because of the book I am reading, 29 Gifts from the website I mentioned the other day.

Cool Quote - a la Congress

"What is a committee? A group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary."

Mark Twain

This quote selection is an homage to the (ahem) deal congress stuck this week to avert financial crisis where they have agreed that a "special committee" because they think whittling down the number of people arguing and playing tug of war to 12 will guarantee a smooth process. Yeah, right!

Write something

In junior high one of my favorite teachers was my English teacher. Every so often she would tell us to take a a sheet of paper and a pen. I know. I know. You're thinking "Ugh, a pop quiz." There were plenty of those but every so often it was an assignment that she told us had no right or wrong. HUH? We didn't get it at first either. She would write a word or phrase on the board and tell us to write anything down. Whatever popped into our heads. Other words, phrases, sentences, a paragraph. Random sentences. Anything. There was no write or wrong. There was no erasing, hence the pen. Even if you misspelled something, just keep going. It was timed. We only had 2 minutes.

The very first word was WATER. I will never forget it. It was one of the longest 2 minutes of my life. The stress. What if I got it wrong? If I didn't write enough? If I rambled to much? How do I start? This blank piece of paper stared back at me. It was horrifying. If I made a mistake I couldn't erase it and start over. There wasn't even time. Oh no! How much time is left. "1 minute", she called out. Panic washed over me. I looked up and stared at her. What in the world did she want me to write? She was looking around the room and said, "Write something, anything. 20 seconds". I wrote my name at the top of the page and then I wrote a list: rain, shower, downpour, wet, drenched. "Time's up. Pens down. Pass up your papers."
I remembered being relieved it was over and panicked at the same time convinced I had failed.

As we left the room for the next class she handed us each our papers back with a smiley face in red ink. Our homework was to bring it back the next day because she was collecting them again. We were stunned. The assignment was the topic of conversation all day. Between classes and at lunch that's all we talked about was how weird, what was the point, how much more we could have written, we all thought of encyclopedic volumes we could write now.

We did these assignments for 2 years. More time was added to the assignment, 5 minutes to write whatever. Eventually, she would write comments on the papers but they were never critical. Our last assignments before graduating 8th grade was the word WATER again. This time I wrote over 2 pages. It wasn't a fully developed essay but good paragraphs some of which actually went together.

She returned them to us stapled to the first water assignment with the same comment on everyone's paper. "Look how far you've come" and the smiley face in red ink across the top of the paper.

I still think of those assignments when I try to think things through. Sometimes I still think in a list like the first assignment and sometimes its full sentences that come together. I find it curious.

Thanks Mrs. W for teaching me to think, think whatever but think.

Mindful of Giving

I know yesterday I said this would be more than a place to journal about me but bear with me. Baby steps people.

I also know that in the past I have blogged endlessly about doing things for others and how that makes me feel good. Trite. I know. But seriously, learning, teaching, giving, creating, doing for another I have honestly come to the true realization that those are the things that make me happy, content, and feel satisfied.

So, many times I feel like I didn't do enough. I should be doing more. I recently shared this feeling with a friend and she pointed me to a book she heard about. I ordered the book last night and surfed around the website, 29-Day Giving Challenge.

From what I gather one of its main ideas is to Be Mindful. At least that's what spoke to me as I was looking through it. In that vain I am going to try to reflect daily on how I have given that day so that I can be more mindful of my happy moments and be grateful for them.

Moments yesterday:
I bought coffee for the office because I knew we were low and all need our fix. I held the door open for a man carrying a stack of boxes and offered to help so he could make it down the stairs since the elevator wasn't working. He offered me the bag that was hanging from 2 fingers saying it would help him balance. He was very grateful.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought the ingredients to make Rice Crispy Treats for my son and then I made them.
I made a card for a friend who's struggling with health issues and pulled together the supplies to make a few others. I'm mailing the card today.
Hubby had a headache so I offered to massage his head to ease the pressure. Shared a good laugh because nice effort, poor execution didn't help at all as I truly have little strength in my hands.

A year later...

It's been over a year since I have posted but I have been thinking about it again lately. Coincidentally I have been running across articles and writing about 'listening to your inner voice' and 'going with the flow' and living the life you were meant to live' and all kinds of esoteric things like that.

The thing is every single time I read those kinds of things my mind wanders to my crafting, cooking, reading and writing. All creative things that I enjoy doing not that I particularly excel at any of it but it invariably brings me joy. Even when I the result ends up in the garbage that momentary frustration is still makes me feel good about me because I tried. I think I need to be creative. Seriously. I have precisely 1 bajillion projects in my head, I have started either literally or on paper approximately a ton of them and accomplished a handful of them. I think I need a little focus.

To that end I think blogging is a good place to start. It will help get the juices flowing again. So, I am jumping back on the band wagon and hopefully this time it will be more than just a journal of me. Maybe some short stories will pop out or an essay. Maybe you will just get a rant who knows. But I am going to dive in head first....tomorrow. Today, I sat on the edge and got my feet wet.

Talking to people

I have a girlfriend who doesn't want people to talk to her. She knows enough people, has enough friends and wants strangers to leave her alone and not engage her in conversation. Ok, that sounds harsh and cold and she really isn't that at all. But this was the gist of a discussion we were having the other day.

She gave a few examples of places she's been sitting and waiting and expecting alone/quiet time and complete strangers just start talking to her sometimes giving her way too much information. We were laughing at some of the "confessions" strangers made to her as she was just appalled.

Some in the group acknowledged that there were days they didn't want to talk to people, that we just wanted to be left alone. I didn't. I could only go as far as saying that there are days (I even think that's stretching it. I should probably say situations not days.) that I maybe won't initiate the conversation but most of the times I'll talk to the wall if no one is around. I said pretty much if you make eye contact with me you are fair game for commentary from me.

Point if fact, this morning was a perfect example.

20 dropped me off at the office (because he keeps the car) and before getting on the elevator I went to the courier drop box to leave a package. A man was heading towards the door I was exiting, I said good morning and he answered "humph". So I held the door for him and said, "Come on, its Friday, its a sunny beautiful day and someone is holding a door open for you. What's not good about it?" He just chuckled, mumbled a thanks and went inside. I dropped off my package and went back inside.

There was a woman waiting for the elevator. I don't know her but I know she works in the building because I have seen her from afar. She looked at me and smiled and I opened with a good morning and started asking her if she has heard anything about new stores coming to fill the empty commercial space that is on the main floor of the building. We chatted about it on the ride up on the elevator. Neither of us really knew anything and that's pretty much what we talked about.

When I got to the office I had to go back down to the coffee shop to buy coffee because we were all out. On my way there I talked to a woman in the mall area complimenting her blouse which was a gorgeous color of purple (my favorite), chatted with the woman in front of me in line who was trying to pick a pastry for breakfast; I talked her into a breakfast sandwich instead. The man behind me in line asked which coffee I was buying and so we talked about the different ones; we both like the bolder coffees. Another man 2 or 3 people in front of me made a comment about how the employees remember how to make all these different drink combinations. This comment tied into the fact that there was a trainee at the coffee bar and so I joined in saying that it got to tough and that drew us into a conversation with the girl training the trainee about the system of 'calling the drinks' in a specific way that tells them what to do. I continued chatting with this man while waiting for my coffee to be ground; he was on his way to the hospital to see a new grandson born last night. Its his 4th grandchild but the others are all girls. He's a widow and lives in his daughter's converted garage so that he can help out with the kids. He drives very little staying in the neighborhood but he loves to cook and so he does that for the family almost every day which he feels is how he helps her the most.

I was back in the office by 9:15 and I started thinking about talking to people. I think I can safely say that I will talk to just about anyone. Granted none of these people are going to be my new best friends, I good there but I can honestly say enjoy engaging with people.

Tomayto....tomaahto

I am still amazed every time I watch my kids go in opposite directions. You would think I would be used to it by now as they are turning 21 and 18 this year but I'm not. Last night waiting for the announcement from LeBron of where he's going this was the scenario.

20 (Mr. party all the time, be 'where it's at', don't I look great, status conscious, old soul, personally always broke yet theoretically fiscally conservative and socially liberal and amazingly traditional) was sitting at home glued to the TV and his state of the art Blackberry checking tweets and updates yet praying that he chooses to stay in Cleveland because this is Wade County and Wade's House.

17 (Mr. love to be the center of attention, cheapskate, no labels please, plain is great, young at heart & to the core, faithful, go with the flow, class clown, personally fiscally conservative and yet theoretically fiscally and socially liberal) was at a political rally for Rick Scott, a Republican gubernatorial candidate hoping and praying that the dream team be completed in Miami with the coming of The King. His last year's model (but bought this year on the cheap) Blackberry was in his pocket as he was huddled to a friend's iPhone to watch The Decision.

Moments before the announcement:
17 finds out the news because at his rally the Heat owner's attorney is there and he got a text from the owner saying 'he's coming' and it was announced at the rally to up roaring cheers BEFORE the announcement by LeBron on TV. 20 is getting confirmation of speculation that he must be coming because this announcement is 'on Cuban time'. LOL!

The Announcement:
20, head in his hands, is furiously tapping away and communicating with friends to confirm a party that was just waiting for the announcement to be over to get started as he mumbles to himself that he can't believe this at the same time giving props to Riley for getting it done. He's moving on not happy but consoles himself with the fact that more Heat games will now be on TV so he can see them more in NY while at school. 17 is making plans to attend the whatever is happening tomorrow at The Arena or wherever because he's going to be a part of this even if he can't get to a game because the tickets were sold out earlier in the morning not that he would have bought any because they were too expensive.

Later that evening:
20 is partying with friends at someone's house waiting for it to be late enough to go to the club in SOBE. 17 is LIVE on Channel 10 with his buddies jumping up and down screaming and yelling about LeBron in the parking lot of a local restaurant on a street corner in SW Miami where they pulled over because they saw a TV truck. He's spending the night at a friend's house so they can save time in the morning by not having to come pick him up to go downtown and 'be at the arena'.

The next morning:
17 is going to the arena not that they know if anything is happening or when but they are going to hang out there and see. They have their phones and will keep updated and go wherever the whatever is happening. He's hoping that they will give out free stuff and they can some. 20 is sleeping but will get up and go to the gym and then maybe the beach. He wants a Wade County t-shirt but wants me to buy it because he's broke.

These boys just crack me up. If we wouldn't have been at the births and had photographic proof that they are both ours and therefore brothers, you wouldn't know it. :)

Looking forward

I am ready for October! No, that's not a misprint and yes, I know it's only the end of June and I have no plans for the 4th of July but I am ready for October!

20 is starting his 3 year of college and as you may know we go to the homecoming game each year in October. He plans on playing quite a bit this year. You would think the team was only a handful of players and him and his buddies are the future stars.

So, I booked the hotel over a month ago with points that had been accumulated. I actually booked 2 rooms because my dad and my in-laws are coming with us. Since they were coming I then told my brother and he booked a room too so this may be quite some family reunion. So, the room is free all paid for with reward points.

Yesterday, we booked the airfare. Yes, I know its early but it was the last day of a sale and so I purchased 7 round trip tickets and we are all set to get there and sleep there. All we need now is a rental car and then we'll be set to get around while we're there. The car will be reserved as soon as we've accumulated enough reward points for that too. You see hubby is working on location and he estimates the points he's accumulating should cover the rental for October. How cool is that?!

Of course, I am also watching the points accumulated on the credit cards because those can be traded in for restaurant gift cards. How awesome would it be if we actually get enough points to cover a meal for all of us.

So, I may not have plans for the 4th of July but I'm ready for October! Oh yeah, I'm ready for Labor Day too because my brother is coming down with his family and we'll head to Orlando to see Mickey with niece. It will be her first trip there and we are all excited about it.
Talk about Doing what I like and liking what I do!

Look Up (a.k.a. Don't Look Down)

My house has been a busy busy hub of activity lately. Hubby is once again on a business trip and so I am with the boys trying to get everything done. All of the must do's and wanna do's plus the relax and enjoy stuff too.

So far I think I am doing pretty good. All the things that needed to get paid have been paid, I've attended all the family functions including an impromptu visit from my dad taking us to dinner for my bday and the washing is done and all the groceries and I even went to an exercise class (more on that later) and the pool is clean. The only thing that hasn't been done are the floors which brings me to the title of this post.

I'm thinking that its ok for a bit because we should be looking up and not down, right? Work with me people, looking down is always considered a bit depressing. You're down and out and told to chin up etc. If looking down doesn't bring you down then it most certainly will if you look down while visiting my home because the floors have not been cleaned everything else has and so something had to give. I actually had a bit of time and did the bathroom floors but didn't have time for the whole house because ya know it's a bigger area and takes a block of time that I just haven't had. Everything I have done has been in spurts with a little here and a little there until it all gets done.

I don't know how the floors are even going to get done because my calendar doesn't have any white space until Friday night and who the heck I ask you wants to spend their Friday night cleaning floors? Certainly, not I but I may have to because if I don't I may not only be able to look down but I may not be able to look at myself in the mirror. *sigh*

Time or Energy?

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. I have been busy and yet I have been finding time on my hands and still haven't been able to get things done. The list of things to do doesn't seem to shorten at all and I know I have been doing things.

I was having this conversation with my in-laws the other day about time. FIL was joking about when he worked full time and he had so much to do he could hardly get anything done and now he's semi-retired and still doesn't have time to do things. I argued that I think it has more to do with energy than time. There are days/weeks when I feel energized and I get more things done than I do in other months just because I seem to poop out and can't get to everything because I simply don't have the energy and need to rest and therefore find I don't have the time. He thought that had something to do with it but still thinks that time is the problem.

He also says that the more you have to do the more you get done. I do agree with that because I think you tend to organize yourself better and plan better to get it all done whereas when you only have a little to do then you feel you have all the time in the world to do it and postpone it and poof you run out of time to get it done or have to scramble at the last minute and complain you didn't have enough time to do it.

Whatever the real culprit is time or energy that's why I haven't posted lately. I will try to add more things to my list so I can organize myself better and blog more. Hmmm... that really doesn't even sound right, does it? *sigh*

I know one thing I have to do in the next couple of days is get into 20's room and clean it before he gets here and brings all his stuff home which could be any day now so that its all ready for him for the summer.

I obviously also need to figure out what's going on this Sunday for Father's Day and get ready for that. Those are the 2 big things on the horizon. There's lots of little stuff and I hope to get to some of that too. Crossing my fingers.

Book recommendation

I haven't been commenting much on books that I have been reading. I don't know why because I have been reading. Well, maybe not in the past month or so because I was focused on graduation and the scrapbooks I was making for my son but now I can get back to the regular pace of life.

Where do you get your book recommendations from? I get them from all over. I read the NY Times Sunday book review online and go through most of the previews they offer. I an a member of GoodReads which is a site to track what you read and share this info with friends. Not that I have been updating this but my friends have and so I see what they are reading. NPR reviews many books and I also get newsletters from Book List, Books and Books (a local indie store), and a few others. So, I get a lot of info about books aside from just talking to people about books.

This past weekend I got a book recommendation that I just couldn't turn down. While at my sister-in-laws I started perusing the Scholastic catalog that schools send home in grade school. My nephew, N8, saw me going over it and came to join me and I started pointing out to him that some of these books were some that I had read as a kid, I praised books like Charlotte's Web, series like Amelia Bedelia, Cam Jansen, and Nancy Drew. In that conversation we discussed some of Matt Christopher's works which he was familiar with and I introduced him to The Hardy Boys. Then he told me about The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He has read them and enjoyed them and highly recommends them. They are all EXCELLENT. We discussed what I had read about them and he explained why he liked them and then ran away. He returned with 3 books from the series to show me the illustrations and how it actually looks like a diary because the pages are lined. He then asked me if I wanted to borrow one. I looked at that face and although my brain was saying 'seriously?' I of course, said sure which is the first one, I should read that one. The pride on his face as he handed me the book was endearing. As he watched me I read the back cover. When I finished and started to put the book away in my purse he asked Doesn't it seem interesting? I assured him it did and told him it would be the next book I read.

And so, this weekend while we drive to St. Augustine I will be reading The Diary of a Wimpy Kid which although it says diary on the front cover is a journal. Do not be mistaken.

I can't wait to read it and talk to him about it. Too much fun.

All the same...

Everything is the same. I have been telling my kids this for years. If you learn how to stand in line and wait your turn for the slide in the playground then later you can stand in line at the grocery store. If you helped a teammate get up on a field of play then later you give a friend a ride to the airport. If you got stuck on a problem and asked the teacher a question then later you will ask for help. If you can translate a picture in your head to something on a piece of paper then later you can prepare presentations whether in a boardroom or the dinning room. If you had an idea and were encouraged to voice it then later you will be willing to offer new concepts in the workplace. If you sat quietly through a Sunday mass then later you can sit through a meeting or a presentation. It's all the same and for that reason it all matters.

I am convinced of this and I seriously doubt you could change my mind about it because each day that passes I see it more and more.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my nephew's (he's 13, we'll call him N13) piano recital. Because of timing restraints I was only able to go to one and not the other because they are now go to different teachers. There were going to be 11 performances. It was a small venue and all the students are truly talented.

My BIL was going to video the entire performance to later give copies to the other parents. He set up his tripod and camera coincidentally right next to where we were sitting as it was the best vantage point. My younger nephew (N8) was in the aisle seat and was warned to not kick, touch, bump etc the tripod. He also warned all of us sitting nearest that ANYthing we say will come out in the video to be gifted to all the parents.

The first student , she was maybe 8, went up and played from memory their solo. The woman sitting behind me whispered something to her neighbor, she opened the zipper on her purse removed and opened a pack of tissues. The rest of the students went up for their performances and she continued to whisper comments, removed water bottle from her purse which her neighbor had to open and made more noise than I could stand. In a short break where they had to change the piano bench for someone, I turned and reminded the woman that everything was being recorded right next to her. She just smiled at me. She was perfectly quiet when her grandson performed but not the others.

Later BIL joked with me and thanked me for making the comment because he felt awkward doing so since this person was related to him and N8 commented to me that he behaved better than she did. He hoped she'd be more respectful at his recital and wondered if she does all that at Mass. From the mouths of babes....

It's all the same people and it matters.

To....From....

Through the years when I have given pictures of my kids to people I write something on the back; a dedication of sorts. If I am really pressed for time I at a minimum write the date of the event of the picture and the pictured person's name on the back. Does everyone do this? I don't know. Why do I do this? I have a few reasons.
First, because that's what my momma taught me. She always had me sign the back of the picture I was giving to grandparents or aunts etc. I never asked why. Being the obedient (stop laughing!) child that I was I simply did as I was told.
Second, I have seen this on odd pictures I have come across over the years when sorting through things after my mother and grandmother passed away. The picture may say 'To my favorite Aunt from cookie' with the date or at least a year on it and then we are able to figure out who the baby is.
Third, because the pictures that have been passed down to me by previous generations that don't have anything on the back to indicate the who, why, where, or what of the picture has sometimes been unidentifiable by us who are still here trying to figure out what this is a picture of.

So, in conclusion, at a minimum I write the name and date on the back.

Now that you know all that, I can tell you this story.
As my boys are now both high school graduates and I theoretically adult men beginning their individual paths in this world, I thought it was the appropriate time for them to dedicate the pictures themselves. They are big boys and as evidenced by the diplomas they were given know who to choose words and string them together coherently and write them all by themselves. Well, let me tell you something. You would have thought that I asked for a 57 page MLA-style thesis. I pulled out the pictures with a week advance notice and told him who they were for. Nothing outrageous here just grandparents, godparents and aunt and uncle. After reminding him and being asked what to write for the umpteenth time. I said just at least put 'For my grandparents, love 17' with the date. Don't make this harder than it is, it's very simple.

I still have 2 pictures that were not handed out at our graduation lunch celebration this past weekend because he couldn't bring himself to even write his name on them. But I did notice that he gave some wallet size photos to a couple of people. So, I asked last night who he gave pictures to on Saturday. He told me 3 friends of mine. Granted, if they are friends of mine they are friends of his but what I mean is he gave pictures to 3 of my girlfriends. So, I continued to probe and was told that he thought it was nice to give them something because they were a big part of his life and a big reason he's the man he is. Yes, I got teary-eyed. But I'm still his mom so I asked if he just randomly handed them the photo and he told me that he wrote something on the back of each one. He tells me it was 'just a little thing so they would know how important they are'. And here I was all upset because the boy can't write to my godparents with love, 17. It seems the boy can write when he wants. I have no idea what he wrote on the photo for my 3 girlfriends but I know that they are probably just as touched as I am knowing that he felt they were a significant part of his life that he wanted to acknowledge them in that way.
I guess I will put the date and his name on the other 2 and hand them out at the next family gathering because really those are from me not him.

Cool Quote

"Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference."

- Arie Pencovici

I don't know who this Pencovici is. I tried searching him online and didn't find much other than this and a couple of other quotes but I truly like the sentiment in this particular quote. Of course, tomorrow 17 graduates from high school and I am in the mood for this type of thing.

One of my gifts to him is a book of quotes. I didn't buy it. I made it. Well, I made it in the sense that I bought a blank book and have spent the past year jotting down quotes that I liked. The thing is even he contributed a few quotes that he came across and liked. He knew I was collecting quotes I always have. It's something I have liked since I was a kid. When I graduated from high school my mother gave me a book similar to the one I did for 17. The fun part is that he gave me some quotes for the book and he doesn't know that its for him. He thinks its just something I was doing for me.

So, tomorrow will be a mixed emotion day. One of those that days that will be all good but emotionally draining even though its a happy occasion. I'm sure there will be more written about this later.

Gifts & Moms

This past weekend was Mother's Day. I read the best article about what a mom really wants here in our local paper.
I think that article hit the nail on the head, at least for me. I don't need you to rack your head trying to find a gift that will fit your budget. I just need to know you are living a good life. This year I got a some really good stuff.

17 bought me a Harry Connick Jr CD. It meant that he was listening and paying attention when I was giving my undivided attention to AI this past week when he was the shows mentor for the singers. I love his voice. It was very thoughtful. In addition to that he gave me the go ahead to register him (and pay for-duh!) his college orientation. Why is that a gift because it's a decision. He has been waffling for the past 2 months and he finally decided. I was thrilled with both of his gifts.

20 is away at school and so he couldn't spend the day with us and the extended family. First, he sent me a text. "Hey, mom ru up? Happy Mother's Day!" It was 11am- the middle of the morning, of course I was up. I was getting ready to head out the door for the day's activities but he's in college and still sleeps in - a nice luxury most of us don't have anymore. Once I assured him I was up he called and we chatted for about 1/2 an hour. In that conversation he gave me what I think was the real gift (other than an uninterrupted and unrushed conversation). First he made sure that I was sitting down and then he told me that it was official he had declared his major as Political Science. I was so happy and excited that he had finally picked something. Then in true mother form I started inquiring about a second major or a minor perhaps. I could hear him roll his eyes through the phone lines as he said ma, please. But we'll see. I'll keep watering that seed and see if anything pops out. Later in the day he sent me a picture via text of a bunch of mixed flowers that said what I wanted to send you but I'm a broke college student. I told him they were lovely and would last longer this way.

Later as I reflected on the day I felt all warm and fuzzy inside because what they gave me was signs that they are doing what they need to do, taking control of the next steps in their lives and making progress. It felt good and made me smile. Of course, the smile was bittersweet as the first person I wanted to share this all with was my mom and I couldn't the way I wanted to. I did walk over to a picture of us that I have and say out loud to it (her) they're doing good, huh? And I know she was smiling down on us as I was smiling at her.

A/C CPR

Does anyone know how to perform CPR on a air conditioning unit? All I know how to do is turn it off and on and that's not working. ;)

The only room that still has a ceiling fan is 20s. Guess where I'm sleeping? I borrowed a couple of desk top fans from a friend and now the 3 of us each have one to take around the house and use as we like.

I'm waiting for the repairman to come this afternoon. I hope it's something simple. Actually, more than that I hope its something cheap because I need my air conditioning. This is NOT a luxury.

Smile

I was at the flower shop the other day ordering some flowers for a prom date of 17s and I picked up a bunch of purple tulips for moi for no reason other than they were pretty. They are beautiful. Its a small bunch, only 6 flowers. They are in a small vase at the entrance of the house. When they open up they have yellow inside which just looks fabulous.
Every single time I see them I smile. They are just so pretty to look at. I absolutely love the color of the deep purple and I love the clean lines of the tulip stem and flower. Such an easy and simple way to make me smile over and over and over again.
Thanks me!