Nov 24, 2011
Today is Thanksgiving.
And while this is a little thing, it’s a big deal:
But two days ago I got two new tires on my car.
It happened, because we were planning on an hour-long drive to go visit my daughter’s friend in the hospital. And since I hadn’t had the air pressure checked for a while, I took the car to America’s Tire Co. They do air checks and rotations for free. And since I had $3.42 in my checkbook, “free” was really working for me.
Until they looked at my tires. Left front: treads worn down. Right front: road hazard. Air bulge (I’d hit a pothole last week, but didn’t realize I’d damaged the tire.). He explained this is a major road hazard; unsafe to drive no matter what. I explained I absolutely cannot afford new tires right now. So he suggested replacing it with my spare just to be safe. Again, the phrase “road hazard” kept coming up.
We sat and waited. The plan was for them to replace the road hazard tire with the spare, and rotate the two rear tires. That, at least, would be safer than driving the way the tires are now.
The second service guy called me to the counter. He again stressed the hazard of the old tire, and the limited capability of a spare. And now, they’ve found two nails in a rear tire.
This is not going the way I had planned.
I had to tell my daughter it didn’t look like we’d make it to see her friend. I was almost heartbroke.
A year ago, even a few months ago; I would have panicked. I would have cried in public and called my mom and had a mini-breakdown on the phone. I prob’ly would have used words I usually try really hard not to use.
But instead, I took a deep breath. I looked at my daughter and said, “Say a prayer.”
I went to the counter a third time. And decided to take them up on their offer to apply for credit. “I won’t get approved,” I whispered, all the while praying and trusting that God can do anything.
My last resort would be to “borrow” money from family. Money that they don’t really have to give me, money that I wouldn’t be able to give back.
In less than a minute, I was approved. Not a huge amount, but enough to get two new tires.
20 minutes later I drove away, feeling more secure than I’ve felt for quite a while. My car was safe. I hadn’t known it was unsafe. But more than that, now I knew we were safe.
Shortly after we went home and were just preparing to leave for the hospital, we got the message that my daughter’s friend was being released; healthy enough to come home for Thanksgiving!
I’m still in awe of the way these situations turned out. I knew my tires weren’t the best, but I didn’t know they were this bad. My daughter’s friend was hospitalized for several days. If it hadn’t been for our plans to visit, I would have waited on getting the tires checked. After all, I only drive locally.
Now I have new tires. Now my daughter’s friend is home. My daughter consistently sees miracles in her life. And our life is still Amazing. Because God is always Graceful. And Good.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Nov 21, 2011
I wasn’t sure what to write about today. It’s Thanksgiving week, and I’m thankful for so many things indeed!
I was looking through some old posts and photos for inspiration. There have been so many wonderful experiences in the past year, I thought I’d share some with you.
This first photo is my fireplace, with the first fire of the year. I love my fireplace. I love being a homeowner, and being able to host friends and give my daughter a comfortable place to grow and be. I love that during a summer storm, we sat and made s’mores right here in our house. I love the warmth the fireplace offers, and the decor. When we lived in an apartment for over 10 years, we didn’t have a fireplace, and we had one door and only three windows. I love being a homeowner. And I love my fireplace.
This next photo is from the first snowfall last winter. We don’t typically get a lot of snow, and it was so beautiful to wake up to this. It lasted all day, and into the next before the sun came out and melted it all away. I love that it covered the entire yard, and wasn’t just patchy. There’s a calm and silence that comes with quiet snow. I don’t know what it is, but the world seems to slow or even stop to enjoy the beauty.
We weren’t sure we could renew our Disneyland Passes last spring, but on what we thought would be our last day at the Parks, we were able to. I didn’t tell Hannah about it. For the last two years, our friends the Wright Family has taken us to the Parks in March. On that day, Baylee was going to purchase her own annual pass and we had a plan all set up. She talked Hannah into walking up to the ticket kiosk with her, and as they waited in line, she would tell Hannah, “You should ask your mom if you can renew your pass. Just ask her! Just do it!” We knew Hannah wouldn’t ask for such a thing without nudging, so Baylee kept at it.
Meanwhile, us moms (me and Stacie) were off to the side chatting. Stacie asked me a question that I can no longer remember. I held up my hand and told her, “Wait. Something really great’s about to happen.”
Then Hannah said, with no hope and a shrug, “Mom. Baylee says to ask if we can renew our passes today.” I simply said, “Sure.” We all laughed except Hannah, who took about 20 minutes to really process it. Even after we got the renewals and walked into the Park, she kept saying, “Wait. I don’t understand. What just happened?” It turned into one of our best trips to the Parks in a long time.
In April, we took our first ever Three-Generation Vacation. I treated my mom and daughter to a weekend at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. It’s a beautiful historical Inn, and has been the temporary home for several authors.
It was terribly cold and windy and even raining after the sun went done, but we were determined to eat at the Bella Trattoria. The problem was, it only offered outdoor seating and the wind kept blowing out the heating lanterns.
Nonetheless, we stuck it out. And I ate veal for the very first time in my life. I discovered… I like veal. I had always inherently been opposed to eating baby cow, but this was delicious. It was their veal lasagna. And of course, whenever I go somewhere new, if there’s an Italian dish on the menu, I can’t not try it. So I did. And I loved it. I loved it like I breathe, like the sky is blue, like I was born for that particular moment…
Until the tiramisu arrived. And then I was beyond satisfied. Especially because Con Te Partiro was playing over the sidewalk speakers. This was not the end to dinner. This was an experience. This was more than a memory. I may never eat there again. But I will never forget those flavors and aroma and atmosphere. It was heaven.
This is a view of Sunday morning outside our mini-suite. I woke up early and was transformed by the tranquil beauty and heritage of the building around us. It was so quiet, so peaceful and renewing. I want to live there forever.
Summer came and I got my first-ever BBQ. The exact same one my brother bought for himself a few weeks earlier and a few hundred miles away. We had fun laughing about that. This is my first-ever grilling experience: I roasted vegetables and grilled chicken.
The flames made me really nervous, but it turns out I can totally handle a grill. And that made me feel pretty confident.
The Three Generations again took a trip; this time to visit my big brother and his family in Las Vegas. I love driving, and my brother is so good at giving directions, so I had no problem finding their new home. We drove around the Hoover Dam, walked through a few casinos. But the most memorable moment (and what Hannah had been waiting for all weekend) was the Cokes Around the World tasting at World of Coca-Cola. They give you two trays with eight drinks each: the different flavors of Coke from everywhere. They were unique, they were flavorful, and some literally made us gag. It was a blast to share and taste and figure out who would like which one. We each had our own favorites. Surprisingly, mine was not from Italy. I don’t remember which one I liked best, but I do remember this fun experience.
My daughter took this last photo when I decorated for Christmas last year. I love nutcrackers. I mean, I love nutcrackers. Each year, I get at least one new one to add to my collection. Hannah doesn’t care for them. She really doesn’t care for them.
But she still managed to take this great picture and photoshop it for me. She’s really talented when it comes to art and photography. Someday she’ll be famous for it. Until then, here’s a sample of her work.
Well, those are my most favorite photo-memories for 2011.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a Good Turkey.
And Frankly, My Dear… That’s all she wrote!
Nov 18, 2011
1. Movies will never be as good as books.
2. Friends are as important as family.
3. There’s more to life than a paycheck, or lack thereof.
4. However, a paycheck can make life a little easier.
5. God is in control. Always.
6. God may not provide in the way I want, but always in the way I need.
7. Some of my most important friends are the ones I haven’t physically met yet.
8. It’s always colder in winter. This should not be news.
9. Laptop chargers are awesome.
10. Social media should not be a place to publicly vent a private matter.
11. Books are best in hardcopy.
12. Deep red is one of the best colors ever.
13. Classical music will never go out of style.
14. Christmas Spirit should be year-round. Christmas decorating, apparently, should not.
15. Thanksgiving is an attitude, not a day.
16. I may not be perfect; but I’m the perfect Me at this moment in time.
17. Chocolate covered orange jellies are bliss.
18. Crescent rolls are very versatile.
19. Midnight movie premieres are incredibly fun.
20. The morning after… notsomuch.
21. Blogging is a job.
22. Sometimes this job doesn’t pay enough.
23. Sometimes this job pays bonuses.
24. My child will always be my child, no matter how old she gets.
25. My mommy will always be my mommy, no matter how old I get.
Nov 17, 2011
As I write this, I’m preparing for a Girls Night Out with the Dot and our Second Family.
We’re going to do what has now become a tradition: we all get together for the midnight premiere of whatever spectacular movie is being released. Tonight, it’s Breaking Dawn, Part 1.
And I’m so stinkin’ excited.
Now, I haven’t read the books. I don’t really know how it will end. I know enough. It can’t be avoided when the instant media posts all the spoilers and traps and rundowns… and I live with a teenager who chats it up with her friends. But still… I don’t really know how it will end.
That’s only part of the fun.
Another part is, well, being with the VIP and Second Family. The VIP is my best friend, Julie. “Best friend” sounds so Junior High, though. Our friendship is so much more than that. As close as we are, we keep ourselves so busy we don’t get to see each other but once or twice a month, and even then distractions like family and chores and schtuff like that tends to interrupt. We can talk for two hours on the cell phones, and the only reason we hang up is because the batteries are going dead.
Then we call each other back within five minutes just to say, “Oh, I forgot to tell you…”
I love her kids like they were my own. And they love my daughter like she’s theirs. We’re so close, that when my daughter and I have a serious discussion and I reach for the phone, she says, “Mom, please don’t call Julie now.” But I do. I get her feedback. I treasure her advice.
Julie introduced me to the delight of jalapenos in my popcorn (boy, that’ll clear out any sinus issues you may have!), and the neccesity of Isabella (my KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer). Yes, I name my appliances… what? Is that weird?
Her oldest is my Second Daughter. Our girls are twins, separated at birth and by five years. Elisa is the role model I would have chosen for Hannah, but I didn’t have to. They met at school and became friends long before I ever met Julie.
Turns out our worlds collided several times before we finally figured out we were supposed to be friends. I was the consultant at a scrapbook party they attended years ago. Julie was the choir director at my church for a few months when I was toying with the idea of re-joining. Our kids know the same people.
The week after I met Julie at bunco (we had no idea we’d met before), she saw me again at the high school football game and came over to chat. I was so embarrassed; when she left I had to ask my daughter, “Who was that?”
Julie always has a story to tell, always has a prayer to offer. She is, in her own words, “fiercely protective of family and friends”. And always, always, always corrects me when I place myself in the “friends” category. No, she corrects. Family. Always, always, always Family.
Julie keeps me grounded. I’ve learned to slow down, and when in doubt, call her first. Especially when it comes to our kids. Because I, too, am fiercely protective. But that’s not always what my daughter needs. Julie’s taught me to step back and breathe. And talk more, act less.
And that’s why I love her them. They keep us grounded. They keep us involved. They keep us in the family. No matter what.
That, and we do so much together. We don’t spend every day together. But the moments we do have, we make count. Like go to midnight movie premieres. And laugh at the same things. And watch sports. (Okay, I’m not quite as much into hockey as they are, but I’m learning. Go Maple Leafs!). Julie even rooted for the Yankees this year. That’s a big deal for her!
I look forward to these Girls Nights Out.
We don’t have to get all dolled up. But we will. Because it’s fun.
We don’t have to pretend to be anything we’re not. They love us anyway.
And the best part of tonight will be, we each have our favorite Guy Character. So there won’t be any competition (I’m all about Carlisle, just in case you were wondering).
Just a lot of great togetherness. Girl chatter like we haven’t talked in ages. And jalapenos in the popcorn.
What are friends for?
Nov 12, 2011 |
Every year on this date, I always say the same thing. “X-amount of years ago, I was thiiiis big….” and my hands extend my imaginary belly. Then I go on to tell the story that embarrasses my Dot. I think it’s every mom’s duty to share the story of childbirth with their children. Loudly. In front of their friends.
But this year, I won’t. This year, I will say only that I was once “thiiiis big”. And maybe throughout the day remind her of the pain she kept me in for six and half hours. I won’t say a word about how the day before, during a stress test, my mom who was visiting me at the hospital saw the monitor tape and we joked about the seismic activity, and then I started laughing, hard, which caused the alarms to go off… we figure it was around a 7.4.
There will be no mention about when I went home and had a cup of tea, I didn’t need a tray. I just set it on my belly. And she decided to wake up and make my tea jump like the puddle from Jurassic Park. Or how she kicked her little heel up and I would have to slam the palm of my hand into it about three times before she moved and I could breathe easy again.
Not one word to her about how, in the middle of the night, I was praising God because I slept through my first contraction and woke up only to realize something really bad just happened. And how, when I called the hospital, the conversation went something like this:
Me: I just had a contraction.
Them: How long did it last?
Me: I don’t know.
Them: You don’t know?
Me: I slept through it.
Them: You slept through it?
Me: Yes.
Them: Did you have another one?
Me: Yes.
Them: How far apart?
Me: About six minutes.
Them: Then you’re okay. You don’t have to leave for about another hour and a half.
Me: Okay, but my water just broke.
Them: You better leave now.
This is my Daughter’s birthday. And today she is 17. I can’t believe I’ve known her almost two decades.
She’s everything to me. For the past 17+ years, my life has been full of teaching and learning and loving and shouting and fixing and hugging and cooking and crying and laughing and watching and playing and holding and letting go and…. being a mom.
I’m not always the best Mom. But I’m the best Mom for her. God gave her to me. When I didn’t deserve His blessings, when I was at a crossroads and could have walked away from Him. But I didn’t. It was, in fact, being responsible for someone else, that brought me to my senses. It was being responsible for her.
No more was this world just about poor little me. Now I had to worry about Baby.
I have always been a single mom. Her dad and I just didn’t work out. It is what it is. And there’s been plenty of heartache all around that subject. But she and I… we’re doing just fine.
It’s pretty awesome to see her learn, and grow, and mature. It’s pretty sad to think my years as her Mommy are coming to a close.
This beautiful child that I have treasured, that I would die for, that I want to share with (and protect from) the world.
She is my everything.
Happy Birthday, Hannah. I luff ewe muchly.
Stunning
