Holding Hands

My brother and his beautiful family have been in town for a week.  I just got back from the airport...sniff, sniff...their trip had come to its end.  Between us we have four amazing (if I do say so myself) children, ages four, six, fourteen, and seventeen.  Despite their range in age, they played so beautifully with one another.  Cards, ball, trains, pretend store, pretend a ton of other things, riding scooters and trikes, swinging on swings, doing gymnastics in the grass, and just plain hanging out.

On a few occasions I happened to be at the right place at the right time to receive the gift of witnessing these cousins doing the simplest sign of affection, the most basic sweet and trusting touch...they were holding hands.

The first one I happened to see was my little guy holding hands with my niece.  We were in a parking lot and the two of them reached for each others' hand.  She for safety, he to protect.

The second one happened on the side of a pond.  I came upon my little guy and my nephew already holding hands, so I don't know its origins, but I'm sure it was grounded in the purest of love. 

The third happened outside of a restaurant we had just been in.  We were all standing out front talking.  My nephew approached my big guy, took his hand, and snuggled in to rub his sweet little cheek on the soft back of my son's hand.  My big guy looked a little puzzled at first, but took that sweet little hand in his own and happily received and returned the love. 


Yes, I know, so precious...it's hard to even bear, right?


Well, I'm about to give you some sweet comic relief.  My big guy and my brother bear a tremendous resemblance.  Their faces are similar.  Their body type is pretty much the same.  And, on this particular night, they were both wearing blue jeans and nearly identical loafers.

So...back to my sweet and wonderful third example.  While we were all melting from the sweetness of my nephew's affection toward my big guy, we were also all thinking, "Wait for it...wait for it...."  And then it happened.  My nephew looked at the crowd of us standing around him, saw his dad, looked up at the person who was holding his hand, realized that it was not his dad, dropped my big guy's hand and ran to my brother.  It was truly the funniest, sweetest, most adorable thing ever.

My take-away from this third example?  My big guy absolutely loves his little cousin, and he absolutely has a great sense of humor.  And, my brother is, without a doubt, an amazing and loving father who is absolutely, positively, always available for hand-holding and cheek rubbing.

I have no doubt that my own children will someday be just as available for such things with their own children.

Love....

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Traffic Jam

I’ve managed to build my life around rarely being in traffic…a bit of a feat in this crazy booming town of ours.  But…with my brother and his lovely family visiting I’ve made many cross-town trips for four days in a row now.  It has brought back sweet memories of one of my first students ever.  He tended to arrive late to school on a regular basis and I always enjoyed talking to him about it. 

Me:  “Uh-oh, why were you late today?”

Him:  “There were idiots on the road.”

Ya, I’ve had a moment or two of feeling just that.  Worth every irritation to hang with family, though…without a doubt.

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Toy Story

Took my little guy to one of the town's funkiest toy stores today.  We scoured every inch of the place.  I picked tiny unicorns up and delicately turned them around in my hand.  He picked balls up and saw how high they'd bounce.  I picked fairy puppets up, slid them on my fingers, and pretended that they were talking to each other.  He slid very long tentacles on his fingers and used them to seriously muss my hair.

In the car on the way back...


Me:  "You had a hard time controlling yourself in there, huh?"

Little guy:  "We were in a TOY STORE!"


I suppose he's got a point...I guess...anyway, does my hair look OK?

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Emotional Spending

You know you've hit that emotional time of the month when you find yourself at Costco looking at the back of the conditioner bottle and the words "NO ANIMAL TESTING" make you cry just a little bit.  I was just so darn happy to see it on there...if you know me, you get it.

Clearly my emotions were running high, and I did my best to calm myself as I went about the rest of my shopping.  As I approached the checkout lanes there was just one that had only two people waiting and I snagged my spot behind a woman.  She put her items on the conveyor, got one of those grocery divider things and put it out behind her stuff.  How nice!  I love when people do that!

Then her phone rang.  She chatted a bit and then it was her turn at the register.  She pulled out her membership card and handed it to this lovely, sweet-faced gentleman who began to ring up her items.


Checker:  "Hello."

Lady:  She ignored him.

Checker:  "Did you find everything you needed?"

Lady:  She ignored him.

Checker:  "Your total is...."

Lady:  She held out her credit card in his general direction...and said nothing.

Checker:  "Thank you."  He handed her receipt.

Lady:  She walked away never giving the checker a glance, all the while talking on her phone.


Well, with my empathy in top gear, I was determined to be his best, most attentive customer...ever!


Me:  "Hello!"
              "I did, I found everything I was looking for!"
                    "Thank you!  Have a great day!"

...and then I got proof that smiles are contagious.

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Apparently it's only Temporary

It was back to the dentist day for me this morning.  Temporary crown pulled off...check.  Cold water swishing that I really didn't like...check.  Permanent crown installed...check.  Asked the dentist if I could keep the temporary crown for my kid who collects such things...check.  Dentist says "yes" with the disclaimer that it's likely stinky from bacteria...check.

So, I leave there happy with my likely stinky temporary crown, just knowing that my kid will be thrilled.  Yup, my awesome mama status is in tact!


Me:  "I got something for you today."

Little guy:  "What?"

Me:  "My temporary crown."

Little guy:  "That's disgusting, mom."


This from the kid who has a collection of all things injury related:  family toenails that have fallen off, every cast any of us has had, a pile of x-rays from all his broken bones, hair from major haircuts, etc.

I guess my little guy is growing up!

...now, what to do with that potentially stinky temporary crown....

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Stormy Weather

I love a storm!  The more severe...to a point...the better.  I'm sitting here at our kitchen table, looking out the window, one eye on the approaching storm, one eye on the radar on my computer.  The vibe is electric and I'm excited!

I've adored storms as long as I can remember.  Proof?  My favorite song when I was fifteen and sixteen and needed an emo groove was "Riders on the Storm" by the Doors.  When I was seventeen it was "Black Sabbath" by, well, Black Sabbath.  I'd spend hours sitting in my car in front of my house listening to the songs over and over wishing for a downpour.

When the power went/goes out it's only a bonus.  Bring on the candles and I'm blissed out.

And now, my friends, it's hailing and pouring really hard...I must go and pay homage to the fabulous tempest gods!


P.S. Hail and really heavy rain on our metal roof is purely awesome...and loud beyond belief.

P.P.S. My brother is here from California and the thing he misses most about living here are the thunderstorms.  This one's for you, bro!!

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Good, Goopy, and Green

I've been obsessing on avocados and guacamole for months now.  Pretty sure I haven't gone but a day or three without in all that time.  I love them and my only wish is that the seed was smaller and allowed more room for the good stuff.  Sigh....

Anyway, as I was eating my daily avocado this evening I remembered that my kids had their own way of saying it.  So I went where I always go for such things...one of my greatest treasures on this earth...my journal of cute stuff my kids have said/done in their childhoods.

Here's what I found:

avocado = "avabacado"

guacamole = "melted avocado"

And that makes me love avocado and guacamole even more!

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