Too early! Another good-bye!

As said in this post I am walking in the Relay for Life on June 2. I am looking forward to the camaraderie of the group I am walking with. I am proud of myself for doing this because of the cause. I am saddened, however, that I have another reason to walk. This past week we lost a friend to cancer. 49 years old. Father of 2. Husband. Great guy. Gone too early, he should have had more time. I know that's a cliché but it's so true. It's always so true. 53 is too early to die. These kind of good-byes are hard. I like good-bye when you know it is only for a short time, when you know that tomorrow you will see this person again. That next week you will see this person again.
We take for granted that there will always be a tomorrow to say "good-bye". But sometimes tomorrow is not the kind of day we hoped for. So, we should dwell on 'today' and make it the most it can be, take full advantage of it being here. Don't worry so much about tomorrow...and say "See ya!" instead of "good-bye!"

Happy Mother's Day

Not sure who to credit for this, it was sent to me via email...it perfectly sums up how it feels to be a Mother:

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby
just because I didn't want to put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having
my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel
so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Waiting and rushing!

I thought while I waited, yet again, for my kids to get ready for school I would blog...because, after all, sometimes it feels like I have time to write a novel while I wait.
I don't wait very well. I'm a pacer - back and forth, back and forth..."come on, let's get going!" It's like time wasted. But the kids don't see it that way, especially when they're getting ready for school. Now if we were going shopping to buy them something they would be out the door in a flash.

This morning I have breakfast to get to. It's Monday morning and the girls are waiting so I am in a hurry and therefore I am not into waiting. I enjoy our regularly scheduled Monday morning breakfast. It all started innocently one day with a bunch of stressed, tired, over-worked Mom's who just needed some down-time before their week started. We all have kids. Kids whose ages run from 3 to 32...one of the Mom's is a Mom of one of the Moms - I know it gets complicated but we like it that way. I wrote about our age range in this past post.

We all know that waiting eventually leads to rushing.

Wait! That seems to be a familiar word around our house. Like I said, I am not a waiter. BK or before kids, I was always on time and maybe even early for events. Now, after kids, I hardly remember the last time I was on time. Or maybe it just seems like I am always late and some of that may be attributed to the fact that I am always rushing here and there. Rushing to get everyone off to school. Rushing to get them to their games - soccer and ball season are in full swing. Rushing to get dinner. And after all the rushing is over for the kids I then have to rush to get my stuff done because I have had so much rushing to do for the kids....and on and on and on...like one of those traffic circles that just keeps going round and round and if you're not paying attention you forget where to get off or even how to get off.

MOM, LET'S GO, WE'RE WAITING...oh yeah I forgot, I'm rushing to get somewhere.

Finally the weather is co-operating. I have managed to get outside this morning and start working on my poor, neglected flower beds. I really want to do some extra work this year on one that has been here from when my Grandmother owned the house. We bought my grandparent's house from my parents after they had both passed away, my father's parents. And there is still this one little corner of the yard that keeps my Granny with me. I have even managed, over the past 23 years, to keep some of her peonies alive. Actually, the peonies are older than that, I have just been nurturing them for the past 23 years, they are probably almost as old as I am. Over all these years I have also tended to some of Grannies hens and chickens.

Gardening is a favorite hobby of mine...it's a great relaxation tool. I have even been known to get down in my friend's dirt as well. When you see a weed, pull it! It's amazing how much time you can fritter away while working in the garden. When the flowers are blossoming it's a well earned reward. I get my green thumb from my mother. She has always enjoyed her flowers, not that she has ever spent much time tending them...some people just have the knack for having great looking gardens without having to spend too much time working in them. I guess as long as the prep work is dong properly the rest can be leisure time in the garden.

I look at the lawn and realize that time has taken a toll on the lush green grass that once was there, time and the kids with numerous wheeled toys and vehicles, such as bikes, scooters, 4-wheelers and even the snowmobiles. For the past few years I keep saying, this will be the year I reseed...so, maybe this will be the year I finally do just that.

Enough procrastinating, time to get back to work.

New laptop

I am writting this post on my brand new, very own, Acer laptop...ordered it Friday, picked it up yesterday. Now I don't have to stand in line behind 4 other people waiting my turn on the computer. The kids now say they have their own computer, hey everyone is happy.

Jann Arden tickets and a new laptop...try topping that all in one week.

Jann x2

I saw Jann Arden in concert for the 2nd time in as many weeks. How lucky!!!
As I was heading to work on Friday the announcer on the local radio station MyFM said there were two free tickets left for the coming Saturday night concert and that the 1oth caller to identify the song would win..."I Would Die For You", from the "Time For Mercy" CD (the yeah,yeah,yeah song that my son used to sing along to...mentioned in the previous post), was the song and I WON - twice, I have won Jann Arden tickets....could life be any better!
This time I cajoled Kris into going with me. We had a great time. Jann was fantastic, as usual.
I have wanted to see Jann in concert everytime she has come this way but have never gotten to see her.
Even with bacterial conjunctivitis I still enjoyed the show...which is getting much better now with the help of eye drops although I sometimes miss my eye. Kris and I made a great pair driving home, one with a bad driving leg and the other with bad eyes...between us we had 3 good legs and 3 good eyes, more than one driving really needs.