Saddle 'er Up

It was a fabulous day of rocketry today!  My dad earned his Level 3 Certification.  It was the most perfect launch day ever.  Hardly any wind.  Hardly any clouds.  A good five degrees cooler than it has been lately.

And since we were shooting rockets I figured, "Why not dress like a cowgirl?"  OK, so I didn't really think that.  It went a little differently than that.  It went like this.


Me:  "May I borrow one of your cowboy hats tomorrow?  My floppy hat just doesn't go with my cowboy boots."

My dad's beautiful wife:  "Of course!"


And so I wore it.  And I helped ready the HUGE ten-ish foot long rocket.  I helped my kid carry it to the check in area.  I chatted briefly with some teenage boys in front of us in line.


Teenage boy:  "Do you ride horses?"

Me:  "No."  OK, I totally lied to him.  I should've said, "No, they don't seem to like me.  I've was thrown by one as a kiddo and another tried to get rid of me by rubbing me against tree branches when I was a grown up."

Teenage boy:  "Well you look like you ride horses."


And now I'm thinking we need to make a much bigger rocket...with holsters and a saddle.  Thinking that would totally rock!  At least it'd make a great photo...because you're not getting this cowgirl on a horse ever again.

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My Inner Dare Devil got Scared!

I'm typically not much of a risk taker.  Seriously, I'm a safety first kind of girl.  But for some reason my inner dare devil took over a couple nights ago.  You see, there was a storm approaching.  Hugely visible to the east...and heading my way.  And did I decide to take my dog for a long walk?  You bet I did!

It was all groovy at first...passing the ditch with all the awesome mice and rats scurrying around...rounding the corner...and FLASH!  The sky to the east lit up like crazy.  Did I turn on my heels and head straight home?  Nope, I kept on going.  Up the hill, past all the apartments, down the hill...and then I started freaking out.  The sky got really dark, the flashes of lightning stopped being cloud-to-cloud and became cloud-to-ground, the wind picked up, and I felt like I had a target on my head.

I was at my half-way point anyway, so it was the perfect time to change my trajectory homeward.  Only I wasn't sure what exactly I should do...to avoid getting struck by lightning, that is.

Should I stay under the cover of trees?

Should I stay away from power lines?

Should I be out in the open?

Should I walk on the street?

Should I walk in the grass?

The only thing I did know for sure was that I definitely was not going to walk on those big metal plates street workers put to cover up big holes they'd made in the asphalt.  That and I figured it really was statistically possible that I'd get struck by lightning.  People do, apparently.

Oh, and I figured out that I couldn't possible make my body just walk...yup, this girl who never runs unless being chased turned into a runner that night.

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Love Notes

Most days I have the pleasure of reading love notes to students that their parents have sweetly placed in their lunchboxes.

"Have a great day!"

"I love you so much!"

"You are wonderful!"

And the kids LOVE it!

I can't help thinking of when my kids were younger and they utterly and completely rejected my lunchbox love notes, and, quite frankly, insisted that I stop.

Of course it was when they were in middle school.  Ya, so I was late to the lunch love note writing party...perhaps now that they're in high school and college I need to give it another go.

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Heat Test

I'm not one to complain about the heat...pretty much ever.  I'm the type who walks out of a grocery store or a movie theater, my body hitting the 105º heat, and I sigh with relief.  Hugely so.

But when I got home from work today and discovered that I had neglected to bring my house key and no one was home except the dogs, I thought, "No problem, I'm sure my kid put the spare key back in the super secret key hiding place we set up after realizing that he'd never ever remember to take his key with him."

So I searched and searched and searched and the only thing I discovered was that he had not, in fact, returned the key to its spot.  And then I began to officially complain about the heat.  And darn if there wasn't anybody there to listen.  Sigh....

Oh, and did I mention that today was the day I decided to stop using that aluminum filled antiperspirant and instead use natural deodorant?

You bet I did...and, by golly, it worked!  I chalk this experience up to a fabulous test.

Thanks, kid!

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Style Points

So the big guy had an assignment in one of his college classes.  Something to do with where you stand politically and why.  Part of the assignment was to take an online questionnaire test thingie.  So Dave and I took it.  And the results were freakishly twinnish.

"We're twinkies!" I declared.

OK, so Dave and I are apparently perfectly aligned politically (certainly makes the election season a peaceful place at our house)...but, as I discovered tonight, with Costco shopping styles, twinkies we are not.

Dave?  He's a go-up-and-down-every-(FREAKIN'!)-aisle kind of guy.  Even that whole section on the left with all the electronics, appliances, beds and stuff.

Me?  I'm a follow-the-shopping-list-and-only-go-down-particular-aisles-intentionally kind of girl.

Tonight, as we were on a Costco date, I went with his style because I'm all go with the flow and all and he was trying to be romantic as he showed me the power generators and all.  And you know what?  Thanks to my sweet husband's style we have toothpaste, something that had not made my list.

Style points for style, Dave!

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Best shopping trip evah! And no "stuff" to show for it.

Did you know Costco was closed on Labor Day?  Ya?  Well, this girl didn't.  The little guy and I made the trek over there first thing this morning and were rewarded with a big empty parking lot.  Which was actually perfect!  Had I really been jonesing for a shopping trip today?  Nope.  Had I talked my kid into being my shopping partner with the promise of letting him try driving a car...for the first time EVER...if he came with me?  Oh, yes I had!

So that big empty parking lot was our oyster.  He fastened his seat belt.  He put it in drive.  He drove around the parking lot.  He used his turn signal.  He parked.  He backed out of a parking spot.  He was so, so, so, so, so happy!  And I earned some serious street cred as a cool mom.

Until I started singing "I'm Driving in my Car" on the way home and he turned on the radio to block out the sound of my voice and the moment was lost...or perhaps he was just acting out the next line of the song.

Either way, we're both still glowing on the inside.

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Mothering

I get on myself a lot for my mothering skills...go to bed thinking of all the ways I've surely done damage to my kids and how much therapy they'll need as adults and all that.  But every once in a while I get a little reminder that maybe, just maybe, I'm doing an OK job of this...that my kids will survive the dumb luck of being born to me and all my failings.


Me:  "I love you, babe!"

Little guy:  "I know.  I love me, too!"


And perhaps if I hold on to this I'll go to bed tonight and rest well in the knowledge that maybe, just maybe, my kids will turn out OK.

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