Father Time

Father Time's role has come to an end yet one more year. The old man is tired and worn, he has served his purpose and it is his duty to retire his position to a fresh, new character. I wish I had that ability, don't you? To have the chance, annually, to reverse the harsh effects of life, to undo aging, illness, unfairness, mistakes..... I guess that's not what makes up life, however. With age comes wisdom, of things both joyful and saddening. We learn what makes up happy, who we want to surround ourselves with, how to spend our fleeting time. We learn, too, about tragedies, hard knocks, tribulations and how to maneuver our way through each event.

For each of us, I wish a successful navigation through 2010. May we be granted health, kindness, consideration, support, serenity, laughter and delightful memories that last through the remainder of our years.

Easy Fleece-y

I've done it again! Sewing 102 is now under my belt. Little did you know, right? I had the luxury of being the only one in the class, with the same teacher as last time, so we zoomed right through a whole bunch of fleece embellishments. I would have liked to do more, but she was so careful about teaching me how to use a rotary cutter and a cutting board, that said little task took longer than I cared for. Taking heed to keep my fingers in tact, understood. But slicing along a ruler.....definitely NOT rocket science. I cut, gathered, sewed, weaved and fringed that forgiving fabric with ease. May any and all projects I ever tackle be as simple (ha!). So then, I'm prepared for some genius sewing to begin in this house. I think.

.....and I'll need to use these when??

One, Tooth, Three

Remember my daughter's "magical teeth"? Well, today was a magical dentist appointment and magical co-pay to have the baby teeth extracted, or, as Dr. Dentist calls it, "wiggled out". Sounds innocent enough, right? I'm glad I was the only one who knew what it was really going to involve. A. didn't have a clue in the world. But hooray for the advancements in dental care!

I had 4 permanent teeth (no, they weren't even my wisdom teeth) pulled in order to fit them all in my head before I had braces put on 1981. (Yes, I have a lot of big chompers in a big mouth. People have always commented on my teeth.....even my dentist. So far, though, I haven't made any toothpaste commercials. Although that's not a bad New Year's Resolution......). I remember my kind, old dentist coming at me with a needle the size of football goal post, and that was that.

A., on the other hand, got sunglasses, her choice of movie to stare at with a screen directly above her, bubblegum flavored laughing gas, and not even a peek at the football goal post....I mean "sleepy water" Dr. Novocain shot into her gums ~ 4 times, I might add. Either way, she was braver than I. I kept a fake smile plastered to my face & comforted her when she needed it, which, to my complete surprise, she didn't really. I was the one trying to maintain an upright position while that double tooth was yanked, pulled and twisted out. What a crazy root from hell. Ugh. It had to feel better with that out!

It ended up being quite a painless experience. I'm so thankful for a wonderful dentist who made the whole ordeal just a one, "tooth", three removal. The worst part for A. was the gauze she needed to bite down on (which only lasted until we got to the van), and the taste of the blood. Once I clued her in that she could swallow instead of wondering what to do with all the gunk coming out of her mouth, she was fine. As a matter of fact, she bounced back with such unaffectedness, that her only question or comment about the whole experience was on the car ride home. "Can I still talk?" Yes, Miss Chatterbox, yak away.

Still in tact.

The bruise that continued up to the side of her mouth and looked pretty bad for a few days afterward.

December 22nd

Four years ago today, at 6:22pm, my dad died of pancreatic cancer. I have learned a lot about loss and mourning in those 4 years.

Grief is a paralyzing, stripping, hollowing, and very personal emotion. It may not hit you when you think it will, and it may strike at other times when you never saw it coming. I think the extent of grief is related to your closeness with the person you have lost.

Don't expect anyone else to understand exactly what you're going through.

Take great comfort in the people who are actually there for you, and try not to be angry with the people you thought would be but aren't.

The pain and sadness never go away, you just adjust.

Memories really do last a lifetime.

I Know Something You Don't Know

You know who you are, and you know what it means.

No, I did not spend too much.

It's So Cold

(All together now.....) How cold is it? It's so cold that it's come to this....

Little Bunny Boo-Boo (see the owie on his noggin?) says, "Brrrr!"

Sports Time

I don't know where the time goes. I never feel like I get anything done. Of course, the perfectionist in me wants it all done, finished and handled, like, yesterday! There are so many things I want to do (i.e. decorate, bake, create, go, do, see), but the time just seems to slip away. I'm not a procrastinator, and I consider myself organized (not the utmost organized, but organized nonetheless), yet at the end of each day I wonder how time has once again eluded me.

My husband was watching a basketball game early this evening as I was preparing dinner. I asked how much time was left. "One minute," he replied. I'm not a sports fan for a variety of reasons, but to me, broadcast basketball games are not too overly offensive. At least it's a faster paced game (than ....snooze.... football), and my workaholic demeanor feels somewhat at ease since the players spend most of the time moving around in a quick manner with some sense of productivity. But I tell you, "one minute" is never, ever "ONE minute" in sports. About 2 years later, the game was actually over.

Then it occurred to me that I need to discover a way for the time clock in LIFE to stop and start like that. Man, would I be rich. Can you even imagine?? This is a lovely moment to bask in, let's stop the clock right now. This situation stinks, let's keep those seconds ticking. Wait. Hold up. I need some more time to finish this. Clock stopped. What a solution to it all.

But meanwhile, gotta' run......tick, tock.

Tempus Fugit