Jul 07
It was the least I could do. Really.
Poor kid, wrapped her up in bibs all her life. If you were one of the 4? 44? who read the blog post right before this one, See Bib. See Bib Drop then you already know why I handed my daughter my brand new blouse. The one I had purchased specifically for France. I never did get it back.
There she was, my beautiful baby, 23 years old, digging fingers first into deep puddles of chocolate. And there I was, with a bib in my purse ready to run behind her neck and swoosh it over her chin. It truly is amazing how restrained you can keep yourself if you sit on your hands with someone else holding your feet.
Whew. It was close. Do you want to try it? Marissa left me a crumb. B, B, B… I guess. I stuck my fingers into heaven on earth. Richness so good I kept on digging. I knew I had to share this miracle recipe with others that might be suffering from bib-itis, too. You can watch the video of this fun wonder on the video page — July 14th. (Or as my kids would say, “Really? You can watch the video on the video page?”)
Gotta bib?
Apr 27
“There are some people that if they don’t know, you can’t tell them.”
Louis Armstrong
“Let there be Kix!” Kyle squealed during his first sleep over with his cousin Mikey. They celebrated this momentous occasion the way 2 year olds do when no one is looking. They flung cereal high into the air. That is until grandma walked up the hallway. “Boys! You need to clean this mess right away!”
Mess? Huh? This was not a mess! This was a party! The boys shrugged their teensy shoulders like dear ol’ grandma had lost her mind. Grandma summoned me to their room. Her face nearly froze when I ran the opposite direction for the camera. This precious moment would last forever — “keep throwing!” I laughed.
Grandma, whom I love dearly, told me I was making a mistake… but I dunno. These two cousins still enjoy the power of fun. Besides, snapping this picture was much more fun than vacuuming.
Mar 31
“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person.
He believed in me.”
Jim Valvano
Number 37 is standing in the on-deck circle. Watching the new pitcher; swinging at each practice pitch. His father leans into the fence. “Don’t go out there and look stupid!”
Number 37 stops swinging. His dad snaps a picture.
In a flash, I hear something from ten years ago… Me grumbling during one of Marissa’s 5th grade volleyball games. I turned to Ken griping that Marissa’s team was playing like a bunch of girls. Of course, they were a bunch of girls.
I wanted to tap number 37’s dad on the shoulder… I wanted to share how I nearly lost my daughter by becoming bleached out by things like bleachers. But I didn’t have the courage my 14 year old had. After the shut-out game which his team won 31 to 0, Ken asked Kyle what the coach was saying to him on the pitchers mound.
“He asked me why I didn’t pick off the runner. Why I didn’t even try.”
Ken let Kyle know that he too was wondering the same thing. Kyle smiled one of those half-grins while tossing his baseball gear into the back of our car. He rested his elbow on the cooler; took a swig of water then wiped his chin. “I told the coach I didn’t pick him off because it was morally wrong. I couldn’t do it.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 02
“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart.”
Judy Garland
Many of my blog articles poke fun at my motherly mishaps. But this one is a real heart string tugger. This reflection, from about four years ago, remains one of the greatest parental lessons I have ever learned. Probably because it taught me two things. One of those being that children are amazing teachers.
“DON’T LEAVE ME…..” That’s what my son was whispering. I can still hear his younger voice saying those three words as I was trying to stand. He was 10-years old at the time. His little head was lying softly on my neck; his fingers twisting my hair, “pulging” he calls it.
“I am not leaving you, Kyle.”
“Yes you are.” He pressed his nose against mine.
“No I am not….” I am just going to the kitchen.” Kyle pulled my head back to his nose, then whispered into my eye.
“That’s leaving me…. same thing.” Read the rest of this entry »
