"Love is unselfishly choosing for another's highest good." – C.S. Lewis
Today I’m thankful for laughter. When I was growing up, there was a lot of laughter in my home. Teasing and joking and making light of bad moods is a learned behavior. I’m so thankful that I was taught that and I hope I am passing the skill on to my kids as well. Life doesn’t have to be so serious!
I have to take the time to write down the things I hear in this season. With an 8 year old boy as the oldest and a just-turned-one year old as the youngest, our home bubbles over with hilarity on any given day.
Recent highlights:
Theodore (5) to Parker (3) : “OK, I’m going to be the whole boss and you’ll be the half boss.”
Parker: “NO! I’m the whole boss!
Theodore: “You can’t be the whole boss cause I’m 5 and you’re 3.”
Parker: “OK, I’m the half-boss.”
Katie (6): “Momma, I’ve done my handwriting and last math sheet and you readed to me and I readed to you. Am I done with school now?”
Parker (3) to Katie (6): (looking at her play dough girl) “Sissy what is that?”
Katie: “It’s a person.”
Parker: “What IS it?”
Katie: “It’s a person.”
Parker: “KATIE! WHAT IS IT?”
Katie: “PARKER IT’S A PERSON!”
Me: “Parker a person is a boy, girl, man or woman. You are a person.”
Parker: “NO! I’m NOT a person!”
Me to Foster (8): “You only have to wait one more day.”
Foster: “That’s a long time. It’s 12 o’clock now and that will be 12 o’clock tomorrow so that’s like 24 hours. I just don’t think I can wait that long.”
What funny things are being said in your world today?
You know when you are out and about and you come across those people sitting in front of a business with their lawn chair and a big sign that says something like “UNFAIR EMPLOYER, DON’T WORK HERE! THESE GUYS ARE CROOKS!”
The guy (I’ve never seen a woman) looks as if he really hasn’t left that spot in days and could use a shower and shave and possibly some Prozac.
Well, I’ve always just shook my head and thought. Poor guy, no one inside that building cares what he’s upset about and they for sure aren’t going to making any changes to their SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) manual for him. After all, he’s just one man. He’s not really that significant, right?
I don’t want to feel that cynical about businesses or organizations (even “not-for-profit” ones). After what I learned yesterday though, I really do feel that way.
My dad is sick. He has been to an Oncologist (cancer doctor) and she has recommended that he get a biopsy done on one of his lymph nodes to see exactly what they are dealing with. If she doesn’t know what she’s dealing with or why he has swollen lymph nodes all throughout his body then she doesn’t know how to treat him, right?
Yeah, well. Apparently, his insurance company will not pay for him to have the biopsy. And by not pay I don’t mean they will only cover a certain percentage and leave him to pay a giant percentage. I mean they said “sorry you’ve already had 2 outpatient procedures this year so you don’t get no more”. They use poor English because they are retarded. He has had cataract surgery this year on both eyes. That was his 2 outpatient procedures. So now, because he chose to have those procedures they say they will not pay for him to have a biopsy.
They have also refused to let his boss buy more coverage and upgrade their plan (which would allow him to have the biopsy) because they say he has a “pre-existing” condition. What’s the pre-existing condition? Who knows. He hasn’t been able to have a biopsy to find out what condition he’s in. The blood work and the swollen lymph nodes and the fluid around his heart, etc. was cause enough for the Oncologist to say “it’s most likely a form of lymphoma”. But she doesn’t know. Because there has been no biopsy.
In light of all of this, I look at the crazy, bearded man in the lawn chair differently. In fact, next time I will be asking him “where’d ya get that banner?” And what will mine say as I set my lawn chair up in front of their high rise?
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF TENNESSEE “COVER TENN” INSURANCE LIKES TO KILL THEIR CLIENTS
I’ll have to work on the beard though. That could be a little more difficult.
We were out late last night. Putting the kiddos in their beds close to 10pm. (Yes, that’s late around here.)
So now I have had almost an hour of peace to read other blogs and to think. Which might not be a good thing, because I have a lot to think about right now.
We’ve moved. While I have talked about that a few times, I haven’t been able to fully express how moving is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. I thrive on organization. I am not so anal that I don’t let my kids pull their toys out all over the house throughout the day but when it’s time to clean up I want everything back in it’s place. It just helps my brain. Instead of organization, I have piles of cardboard boxes and Tupperware containers everywhere and deer heads stacked on tables in the garage where my van should be parked. I have cluttered closets and a huge lovely pantry that is in complete disarray.
My dad is sick. While this is mainly his story and not mine it does/will affect me so I will write about it. My dad is young. He won’t be 58 until December. He has swollen lymph nodes throughout his body. They are saying it’s probably cancer. And that just really sucks.
My husband is leaving. I’m not supposed to talk about it. We are a military family, but he’s not had a long (more than 2 months) deployment since I was pregnant with kid number 3 over 5 years ago. But now he does have a long deployment coming up and it’s not to Hawaii.
My self. How old do you have to be before you can say you are having a mid-life crisis? Why do they call it that anyway? No one knows how long their life will be. If I only live to be 72 then this is my year. I guess I could call it post-partum junk but again my “baby” will be a year old on Sept. 28th so that feels a little like a cop out, too. What it really is I guess is I have all these bad habits that I need to replace with new, better habits. Then maybe I could lose a little weight, have a little less acne (which is worse now than when I was 16), get more sleep and feel less depressed.
I don’t know. I really just don’t know. It feels like my mantra right now. I find myself saying that about a thousand times a day.
What makes potty training so delightful? Such a wonderful, sweet bonding time with your toddler/preschooler? It’s the dialogue.
Open, honest dialogue that takes place constantly through their waking hours, and even into their sleeping hours.
I wrote a post back in March where I mentioned starting to potty-train Parker. Ha. Well, that lasted about 2 and half days and now here it is July. He’s officially 3 so I’m feelin’ the pressure. Not just from other people who’s kids were potty-trained in 4 days by 2 years of age. No, from everyone around him who I know has to be subjected to big kid sized poop in a diaper. Lovely.
So anyway, the dialogue…
Parker: “Good morning Mommy!”
Me: “Good morning Parker, do you have to pee-pee? Did you pee in your pull-up? Let’s go try and use the potty.”
Parker: “NOOOOOOO!!!!!! (screaming and howling and buckling his knees as I try to lead him there)
After getting to the bathroom:
Parker: “I want to pee-pee like this. I want to stand up. I’m big.”
Me: “Ok, just be…” (too late) “…careful…”
Parker: “Uh-oh”
Me: “It’s ok, we’ll clean it up.”
Approximately 10 minutes after breakfast:
Me: “Parker, if you have to go poop you tell Mommy. Don’t go poop in your underwear. Poop goes in the potty.”
Parker: “OK! My poop is not coming out.”
Me: “Parker where does your poop go?”
Parker: “In the potty!”
Me: “That’s right so you tell Mommy. You don’t want to get poop on your Thomas underwear.”
As I finish the dishes and clean up Jonah I hear from the other room:
Katie: “Mommeeeeee!!!!!! Parker STINKS!!!!”
Me: “Parker come here! Did you poop in your underwear?”
Parker: “I have to go potty.”
Me: “Did you poop in your underwear?”
Parker: “Yes I did.”
Great. And so it goes, day after day. See how close we are becoming?
What I want to be doing right now…stepping outside (after checking on my sound asleep babies) to a small, private patio with a good book, listening to the waves and watching the sunset over the ocean.
What I need to be doing right now…lesson plans, schedule plans, cleaning at the new house, packing at the old house.
What I will do right now…relax, blog, sleep.
There’s always tomorrow to spend on all those “have to” things, right?
I am sure that there is some scientific data out there somewhere to prove that procrastinators actually live longer and are healthier and happier than those people who get everything done in a timely manner. The research is probably not complete though. They’re still waiting to get the answers back from the last few people taking part in the study.
Three cheers for procrastinators! Well, how about two today and the last one tomorrow?
You are sitting there. Slim, fresh, modern. You’re available and easily accessible. You’re just what most people want.
You allow people to have extra space, time and money. You are always ready to offer the next, latest article, book, game, video and music.
Don’t get me wrong, Kindle, I tried to love you. I have had you for over a year now. And I’ve tried.
But, I just can’t. After months of (mostly) using you for my personal reading, I picked up a real book.
The feelings that came rushing back as I sat with my new-to-me fiction novel were overwhelming.
I know you hate to hear it but I love the weight of a real book in my hands. The black words covering each page like a tantalizing maze that brings me further into the story. I love that I can underline or circle or I can bend the page corner down. If I splash a little coffee on the page it’s not a big deal. When I reread it, that stain says “hey, remember the first time we hung out here?”
I love that a real book can be stacked with other real books. That you can grab one and put it in your bag so when you have 5 minutes you can take it out and have your own immediate escape.
Over the past week, since I picked up my real book, I’ve started to feel more like me again. I had no idea that I had missed the experience so much. I thought reading the things that were downloaded free to you, Kindle, would somehow replace over 25 years of relationship that I built with my real books.
I am sure there is a place for you in my life. There’s always the dictionary and thesaurus you provide. I just needed to let you know. In my love affair with reading, my needs are truly only met by a real book.
My big birthday gift from my hubby was tickets to go see my favorite comedian Tim Hawkins. He came to Grace Baptist in Knoxville last night. We had a blast! Tim and his wife are Christian homeschoolers so a lot of his material has to do with being a husband, father, etc. I think I have seen just about all of his Youtube videos and there have been many days when my attitude can be turned around just by a good laugh. I bought this T-shirt last night. And here’s the joke behind it…
Homeschoolers have their own opinions about whether or not their children will take standardized tests. We haven’t had to come to a final conclusion on this issue yet because of the ages of our children and the laws here in Tennessee.
Today this conversation with my 8 year old, 2nd grade boy took place.
Foster: “Mommy, does D R then a dot stand for doctor?”
Me: “Yes. But it’s not a dot, it’s a period.”
Foster: “I like to call it a dot.”
Me: “But it’s called a period and a comma is not a curve.”
Foster: “It is a curve. You draw a curve. I like to call it a curve.”
Me: “Get back to work.”
We do 2 different types of grammar curriculum and write letters often.
As you can see, Foster would possibly get the identification of a period and comma wrong on one of those fill-in-the-bubble tests.
Unless it looked like this:
Q: What do you call the punctuation mark used at the end of a statement?
A) a question mark
B) a period
C) a comma
D) whatever you want to call it
All the Little Grubbs 