We is Friends

Me and you is friends!

You smile, I smile...

You laugh, I laugh...

You hurt, I hurt...

You cry, I cry...

You jump off a bridge...

I gonna miss you.

Have a great weekend, ya'll!

P.S. The above poem was given to me by a co-worker at my last school. I kept it attached to a filing cabinet while working there. When I left it came with me and now occupies a spot inside my current desk. I see it every time I open the drawer and it always brings a smile to my face. Thanks, Shelia D.


P.S.S. You know what would make the weekend even better? Winning $100 to spend on a gift card from Gift Card Rescue. For more details check out the always fabulous Miss Mustard Seed.

Her Name is Chena and She...

...is probably not dancing across the sand today, but she is celebrating her birthday. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend! I won't reveal her new number here - that just wouldn't be very tactful, but I will say she is older, MUCH older, than me.

Chena and I grew up close to each other throughout most of our school years. In fact, so close did we live to each other that she was an auditory witness to a few of the many times I wound up in trouble.

In high school she was one of my constant friends (even during the times we might not be speaking to each other). Together, we sailed through 80's pop music, twist beads, sticker and button collections, scary movies (a certain vibrating pillow that once scared me to the point of peeing my pants while watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes to mind just now), guy talk (he was not a block head! He just had a strong jaw line), trips to the mall, and even the Challenger explosion - it just so happened we were out of school for snow that day and watched it on television at her house. Later, she served as one of the bridesmaids at my wedding, gladly wearing a peach colored gown with puffy sleeves.

Today, we still live in the same town and get together every once in a while to eat out, catching up on what's new and reminiscing about the good ol' days. Where does the time go?

Happy Birthday, my friend!

For My Friend

Seth with little brother Caleb

Today, a friend was not at work. Instead, she and her husband had taken the day off to move their oldest into his college dorm. I know this is a bittersweet day for her, as it is for all parents moving their children into dorms and apartments for the first time. It wasn't too long ago that this little blonde-headed boy was sitting near us in church looking through the sticker books and such his mom always made sure to pack. In another day or two, he will be looking through engineering texts. It reminded me of the poem I read years ago and posted just a few months back. Forgive me, but in honor of my friend and her new college freshman I am posting it again today.

He used to call her mommy at the tender age of four.

Then it changed to momma as he grew a little more.

Later, it was mom - with a tone of disrespect.

And now away at college he only calls collect.

So long, mommy! I'm off to TTU.

Seth, call your mom often!!!

Birds of a Feather

One of John-Heath's best little buddies is a fellow named Cooper. He and John-Heath have been together at the same babysitter's/day care since they were one. Theirs is what we have defined as a "love-hate relationship".

This is how that looks in flow-chart style.

...and so on and so on.

Yesterday when John arrived at the pre-school to pick up our son, Cooper came running. This was the little conversation they had.

"John! Hey, John."

"Hey, Cooper."

"Hey, John. Hey, John-Heath got his name today."

"He did? What did he do?"

"Yeah, he got his name put on the board. (pause) It's up there beside mine."

There's Some Tag-teaming Going on Here

My friend Chena and I playing a game the other night at her birthday party. Don't we look young for 40? That's me on the left. Okay, okay. This picture is an old one. I just knew the macrame in the background would give it away.

Well, I actually had another post ready to go for tonight, a sweet little poem/post about children and their mothers. However, progress reports came home today from school and now I am not in much of a mood to write a sweet little post about kids. To be fair, the computer I am using at the moment is not accepting the memory card from my camera so I can't upload the photo to go with that sweet little poem/post about children. So it will have to wait until tomorrow.

In the meantime, I can report that I just came home from a very nice dinner date with a friend. This friend is one I have had since elementary school. After we graduated she served as a bridesmaid in my wedding. She lived just down the road from me and we spent many a night at each other's house for sleepovers - telling each other about our latest crushes, gossiping about other friends and watching scary movies. She had a VCR and cable (we didn't have either) so I always wanted to go to her house. It seems our monthly dinner date is now a tradition since this was the second month in a row we have done this. I hope we do keep it up. It's been so fun getting together and reminiscing about old times.

Tonight, we headed up the road a piece to eat at a nice little family diner in Scottsville. Apparently it took us forever to decide what to order because when we ordered hamburgers the waitress commented something like,"All that for a hamburger. Well, bless your heart." I was in a pretty foul mood due to the earlier-mentioned progress report but really didn't feel the need to be blessed. On second thought, we can probably never be blessed enough.

One of the funniest things about the whole evening was what my friend referred to as the "tag-teaming" that was going on with our waitresses. Yes. We had two. It seems one was in training. And, instead of them coming up together like a lot of trainees/mentors will do, these gals would come separately, one right after the other, asking pretty much the same things. And it seemed that the trainee was always the first to come. At one point I began to feel an urge to yell out, "Yes, for the love of Pete, we're fine! We don't need any more sweet tea!! No, we're not finished with our food!!! No, thank you!!!! We don't need a to-go box!!!!! Ooooh, that does sound good. Oreo mudslide cheesecake? Sure. I'll take a slice of that. Just put it in a to-go box".

Always the Best Intentions

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day this past Wednesday (How cool is a guy who banishes snakes from his country!) I thought it would be nice to whip up some cupcakes for an after-supper treat. Of course, as I am not very efficient in the kitchen department, whipping up anything usually means whipping up a mess.

Anyway, I bought a bottle of green food coloring to add to some yummy cream cheese icing and raced home to get started. I lined my cupcake pan with those little wrappers and was ready to get started when I remembered that I was late - really late - for a dinner date with a friend.

Luckily, I was able to track down my friend (bless her heart she had waited and waited before heading home) and we enjoyed a fun evening reminicing, venting, dishing and gossiping at the La Quesadilla Mexican restaurant in town.

This gal was one of my best friends throughout school (even though we could both get quite peeved at each other from time to time), a bridesmaid in my wedding and one of the few close friends with whom I have kept in semi-contact. My daughter thinks it is somewhat disturbing when I tell of how she and I, sitting on opposite ends of the couch, would scratch each other's feet while watching horror movies.

I didn't make it home until 9:45.

And there, sitting on the counter, was the muffin pan just waiting to be filled with cupcake batter.

It sits there still.

A little St. Patty's Day Trivia... Did you know that dying the Chicago River green each March 17 came about somewhat accidentily? In the 1960's the manager for the Chicago Plumbers' Local Union was looking for an additional way to celebrate the day. At this point entering into his office was a plumber who had been trying to locate and disconnect a waste line that was emptying into the river. The plumber would pour green dye into various opening of the waste system and then check the river to see at which point the green appeared. Upon entering Steve Bailey's office his once white coveralls were mostly a perfect shade of green. Thus was the start of a new tradition.

Mini Moments #1

Mini moments. I think that is what I will call the posts in which I have few things of which to write. Then why write? I guess it is because I have an infinitesimal short-term memory and if I don't jot these little mini moments down they will one day be no more. I'm not after a Pulitzer, just leavin' thoughts for my kiddos.

Found out today via a friend and her husband that my son has taken to name-calling senior citizens. For the first half-hour or so after arriving at the New Hope Child Learning Center students play in the gym. The gym includes a second story walking track available for community use.

My son has found it financially advantageous to yell up to the kindly walkers and ask for money to be thrown down. As I understand it there may be a gang of these pre-schoolers doing such now.

A day or so ago when my friend's husband (aka "Halloween Man" because John-Heath remembers how we trick-or-treat at his house) was walking with his uncle Junior (who happens to be a member of my church association) and another man, the moochers from below were at it again. The plea went something like this...

Gang: "Hey! Throw us some pennies."

Mr. Junior: "I don't think I have any today."

My son: "Throw me down some pennies, Pencil Neck!"

I'm blaming hours of Spongebob indoctrination.

Ren attended volleyball practice for the first time today since having nasal surgery two months ago. The team is practicing with the 8th graders who are trying out for next year. In this setting Ren and her friends are not the bottom feeders they were when they first started practicing with the upperclassmen last year. Therefore, they had to play it cool when they personally did something much better than they had done during the season. They dared not let on that these awesome hits, digs, sets, and spikes were newly (as in TODAY) acquired.