Morning Coffee

Big, puffy, white clouds float above.
Little Thomas feet pitter patter below.
A lukewarm cup of raspberry delight coffee rests by my side.
Seems like a perfect place for a little writing.

I think I will always remember this summer as the summer I fell in love with the great outdoors. I hope that this summer is the beginning of a transformation. I hope that years from now I will look back at pictures pre-2010 and be able to say, “I don’t even look like the same person.” Physically, I never want to return to where I am right now. I’ve been running and cycling this summer and I feel young and alive. I feel like a kid again. I don’t want to lose that feeling. I want to enjoy life. Enjoy being outside. Enjoy being active. Enjoy my family. Enjoy my work. Just enjoy. Mentally, I want to continue to grow and change. When I think about the person I was 10 years ago, I am amazed at how much different I am. I’ve changed for the better and I hope to continue to become a better human being.

Cooling Off

According to Nikki Phipps
“many people find yucca plants to be welcome additions to the landscape. Others, however, consider them to be problems. In fact, due to their rapid growth and vast root system, yucca plants can quickly become a nuisance.” I fall into the latter category of people. I find these plants to be a huge nuisance and have decided to get them out of my yard. I’ve been outside with the pick-ax hacking away most of the afternoon. When I got so hot I couldn’t stand it, I came in to cool off and found myself cruising the internet. I really enjoyed reading professornana’s blog and felt inspired to write a blog entry myself. I’m cool now though, so I better get back out there and attack a few more yucca plants. Maybe I can come back later and blog about the books I’ve been reading… or the bike I’m going to get for my birthday … or how excited I am about our upcoming trip to the mountains…. or how great my yard is going to look when I get rid of all these yucky yucca plants.

Memories

Mom e-mailed this picture to me today. It is a picture of my brother and me standing in front of the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Florida. I must have been two or three when our parents took us on this trip. I remember looking at this picture of the two of us many times, but I don’t remember going to the space center. It makes me wonder what memories my children will carry with them into adulthood. I can only hope that we are creating memories for them that are as good as the memories my parents created for me.

The View that Welcomes Me Home

Numbers 6:24-26

Thomas Says

I’m finding it very difficult to write about my life these days, so I am starting with a tiny slice for the Slice of Life Challenge.

My baby is 19 months old now, and I realize everyday that he is growing up fast. I really enjoy hearing him add new words to his vocabulary. Even though we think we will always remember his sweet voice, I know that he will soon outgrow the mispronunciations that we love so much. I want to hold on to all of the cute words that he says. Here are a few:

Nana = banana, his favorite fruit.
Coke= drink. He has never tasted Coke, but says this when he is thirsty.
Guys= when he wants our attention.
Ah-be= Tobi
Ill = Will
Go= I’m ready to go somewhere.
Bye – Bye= I’m ready to leave here (usually comes with handfuls of blown kisses).
ooshh= shoes
oksh= socks
oosh= juice He usually says coke when he is thirsty, but when I ask if he wants juice he will say, “oosh.”

Interstate Icicles

When you grow up in Florida, chances are you don’t see many icicles. I remember the first time I saw icicles growing out of a rock on the side of the interstate. My brother and I were fascinated. We were so excited about those white icicles that Dad slowed down and came to a stop on the side of the interstate so that we could get out of the car and feel them.

As I drove in to Nashville for a meeting this morning I saw a car pulled over to the side of the interstate. There on the side of the interstate was a man holding up a little boy. A little hand reaching up to feel a cold icicle. A little boy whose father loved him enough to slow down in the midst of the morning rush. A gentle reminder to slow down and make memories.

Herkimer, The Fish We Left Behind

The summer after kindergarten and before first grade my family moved from Naples, Florida to Dickson, Tennessee. It wasn’t long after the move that I remember hearing stories about Herkimer, the fish we left behind. I don’t really remember much about Herkimer. I’m not even sure that I ever actually saw him myself, but I do remember his funny name and the laughter that always filled the room when Mom and Dad talked about him.

A few years ago I asked Mom to tell me more about Herkimer, our “pet” fish that had “lived” in the deep freeze. I wanted to know what happened to him when we moved to Dickson. In my mind, I had always figured Herkimer to be a large fish waiting to be taken to the taxidermist for mounting– waiting to fulfill every fishes dream of becoming wall art. I always knew that Herkimer would have been breathtaking on any living room wall. 1 1/2 feet of snook perfection arched in a graceful curve. Little did I know Herkimer was never destined to hang above anyone’s couch or mantle. His residency in our deep freeze was the result of something else entirely. Herkimer was just a fish who never made it to the frying pan. Dad didn’t have time to clean him when he got home from his fishing trip so he put him in the freezer so that he could get him out later. Later turned into years and Herkimer just became part of the family. Mom got used to moving him out of the way when she needed something out of the deep freeze, and Dad gave him a name. When we moved to Tennessee, there was actually a conversation about what to do with Herkimer and my parents may have even considered bringing him to Tennessee. He was left in Florida, but he is still part of my life. To me Herkimer is a symbol of the love my mom must have had for my dad. I think about how easy it would have been for her to get mad at him for leaving that nasty fish in her deep freeze. I wonder how many times she thought about cursing him for leaving it in her deep freeze. Instead, she chose to laugh. Because she chose to laugh, my brother and I have this funny story to tell about Herkimer, the fish we left behind.

More Random Thoughts

This journal entry comes from 7/14/05.  

“Can we go to the Dollar Store first?”  Tobi and I are sitting at Burger King – at the black rubber coated mesh table.  She is slurping the last bits of frozen Coke from the bottom of her Fantastic Four cup.  Will has found a playmate and they are having fun climbing up and sliding down the many ladders and slides of the  plastic King’s Castle.  I remember when this play area was made of metal and towered over the building.  The ladder inside the vertical tunnel made a great hiding place when I was younger, and an even better place to sneak a kiss when I was a teenager.  Today I sit and listen to my kids as they play bury-the-new-happy-meal-toy-and-go-seek.  I brought my new book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon and read the first 13 chapters.  Well, sort of.  When I got to the page with the large number 13 at the top I thought, “I can’t believe I’ve read 13 chapters already.”  That is when I noticed that the chapters were numbered by prime numbers (i.e. 2,3,7,11,13).  So, I’m actually only on the 6th chapter. I guess that is what happens when the main character is autistic.  

I’d love to stay and read, but we have much to do before we rest.

Newborn Thomas

 

I finally took the time to figure out how to get pictures from my video camera to my computer, and I discovered this cool little tool that allows me to stop the video and make a still picture whenever I want to. This photo comes from a video that Tobi took while we were still in the delivery room.

Another Thomas Picture

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by lit teacher.

We got up this morning and took big sister, Tobi, to band camp. Stopped at the post office on the way home to pick up stamps and put some long overdue thank you cards in the mail. Here Thomas is enjoying relaxing in his boppy pillow for a few minutes before going back to sleep.

While he sleeps today, I am going to sew some new curtains for his room. I found a great deal on some cute valances yesterday. They are blue and green and orange gingham and stripes. Just what we needed to bring some blue into Thomas’s all green room. I like the white chenille valances that I already had though, so I think I’m going to combine the two.

Can you tell I’m feeling very domestic lately. So unlike me. It is amazing what a baby can do to a person.