I have nothing today. My brain is FRIED! May be later I’ll finish the everlasting post that I started a few weeks ago. Who knows. I’m going to get out a little today. I am retraining myself since hubby is home now. I use to feel like I had to be in the house when he was here. Truth is…I don’t need to try to rush a week into 48 hours anymore. *sigh….I’ll get use to this…I WILL!

The day before yesterday we received quite a little surprise in our mail! A box! A box that was from Mamacita and it was addressed to me! I opened it up in anticipation thinking, “OH FUN YAY! I have a gift!” And indeed I did have a wonderful gift. I got the gift of over 40 books for the children. I got the gift of hours of children begging me to read yet another chapter! I got snuggle time enhanced by the gift of words!
Thank you Mamacita! I just love you hon.

Oh I almost forgot….I got a book for me too!

After 8 years of being on the road with work non stop, Hula Hubby has come home and is home for a while. He quit his job a few weeks ago and is starting a new one in a few days. He will still travel with this job but not like he has been. For example, he’s been gone for pretty much the month of August and September in Belgium. He came home for a few days around Labor Day but spent it helping his parents move. Basically we did not see him. The time it took to pack things and get them moved took his days and into the nights.
So it is like starting over. It’s like the first year all over again. Defining roles, getting organized, him having less freedom, me having a little more and a little less is all crashing together starting today. No more lazy days of eggs and toast once a week for supper!
So the era of adjustment starts today. I’m nervous and excited!

I woke up this morning to the giggles of a 3 year old. I went up and listened at the door. Hula Boy was jabbering to himself. Then I heard a little toot. Hula Boy giggled and giggled. Then he started talking to himself. This was strange behavior. I walked in and asked him who he was talking to. He said, “Wisten Mommy!” He proceeded to toot on his own command. He giggled and giggled and said, ” I talk to my bobbom and it talks back!”
I think either A) he needs a playmate so he thinks his bottom is not his best friend or B) my son has an extreme need to have someone listen to him even if it’s his bottom. C) find a whoopee cushion as a Christmas present. Have mercy.

When I was 17 I was working at a store in a mall. I loved my job. I enjoyed taking care of the customers. I was their top sales person.
There was a huge problem in our store. There was a thief. Our loss prevention set up a sting and the traps were set. They were estimating 500 dollars a day was exiting the store. They just did not know how. They sent in the forces.
The force came in the form of cameras, and a little man whose name I will keep to myself. I will refer to him as Little Man with Big Ego!
LMWBE came in one day to interview the staff. This was the way to make sure that we could confess should we need to and not have charges filed. Or so they said. We all went in for our interviews. When I entered the room he looked me up and down. Then he asked, ” Do you know who is stealing on this staff?” How was I suppose to know. I was a part timer. I was still in high school. What did I know about it? I explained that no I did not know anyone that would do that. The interview went on and on. After he was done grilling me to perfection he let me go. Next came my friend A. 30 minutes later A came out handcuffed. I was confused and did not understand. LMWBE said to me in a bragging sort of way, “See, A stole. She stole money off the desk in the back. She took it and bought sodas.” Then he looked me in the eyes and said, “SOOOOO How do you feel about that Miss Religious and brought up good?” I wanted to sock him in the face. I told him exactly what I thought. I told him that the money on the back desk was there so that we could get drinks. We all pitched into it and used it every day. That was not from the till, that was from our pockets. …AND FURTHERMORE….HOW DARE HE BRAG ABOUT BEING A JERK OR EVEN SAY ANYTHING AT ALL!!!!!!!!! He looked embarrassed. He sulked away. Two weeks later he was back. Again we went through the interviews. He asked AGAIN if I had ever stolen anything from the company. I explained…NO! He then pulled a name out of the hat. “Have you ever heard of this woman?” He showed me a receipt with a woman’s name on it. It was an item that I had tallied into the machine. I didn’t remember her. He then explained that they had noticed with the cameras that I had given her two items and only punched in one number. I kept saying that I didn’t know what he was talking about. I begged to have my father come down (he worked upstairs at the time) and help me. I was 17. LMWBE refused. He tried for 2 hours to get me to crack. Finally he tried to make me sign a confession saying that I was guilty. I reused. Not only did I refuse but I wrote on the confession that he had already made out for me that I had no idea what he was talking about. I was dismissed from my job. I ran upstairs to my dad. My father looked me in the eyes and asked me simply, “Did you steal anything. It’s ok to tell me if you did. Just please tell me so I can help you.” I simply said no. He asked to leave work. We went home. He immediately got on the phone with a friend of a friend and arranged for a lawyer to meet with us. The lawyer met with us and knew instantly that I was innocent. A court date was arranged. We had everyone in place. All I wanted was my job back. I loved my job.
The day came for the hearing and before it was seen in court the charges were dropped. It seems as LMWBE made a mistake. The outfit he was trying to pin on me was a two piece outfit. OOPS. Little problem there.
I called and asked for my job back. I never asked for lost days, I never asked for anything more than simply my job. They obliged. I wanted to go back and show them that I was not who they thought I was. My name was still good. They could kiss my arse if they thought for one moment that I was guilty. Within 3 months I was in management.
My father told me later that he knew I was innocent. They had no money to hire the lawyer but they did it anyway. They contacted my company and explained that I was…#1 a minor that had requested her father present #2 they didn’t have the money to pay for a lawyer but would seek the company to pay for lawyers fees only should I be innocent, #3 Not going to ask for back pay because what was most important to them was that I learn forgiveness and they knew that this would be tough for me. They knew when making that call I was innocent. They believed me at the most crucial time that I needed them. Granted I was a normal teen and did lie to them about things but they knew me well enough to know that this was not the moment.
Reflecting on this years later I realized that I could have been a millionaire! Not really but I know that my college could have been paid for from a suit they could have filed. They did not believe in suing. They believed in the pacifist way. Defend yourself with truth and words. Find another solution. They helped me find the other solution. I can not say that the experience did not damage my self confidence. Truly it shattered me. I had to restart. It made me stronger though. I am stubborn that way.

Dear Daddy,
Happy 76th birthday. I know this is a bit early. I also know that you are getting ready to leave so I wanted you to see this before you go. I also know I saw you yesterday but I really wanted to write you a quick note and let you know a few things.
The last few weeks for me have been reflective. After M (my dear friend for 21 years) lost her dad last week that prompted this thought. I did not want to wait until you are dead to tell you over your coffin how important you were and still are in my life.
One of the things that I admire the most about you is your humaness. What I mean by that is that
Daddy, you’re a simple man with a simple life. You told me from experience what life was like and the struggles you had. You explained the hardship of a few of the wrong choices you made. You were real with faults. You did not have an easy life. You were filled with insecurities and doubt. Your family life growing up was not what you wanted for us. You knew that you could do something about it. You made the choice to break the chain. In return you gave me a full life, a happy childhood, a security within myself, and a feeling that my little querks were what made me special.
You are not a man of many physical or verbal affirmations of love, but your actions speak volumes. You have rescued me at 2 in the morning when my car would not start. There was never the question of why I had not phoned home in 5 months….nothing. You knew I needed my space and my wings. You let me have that breathing room. You let me live my life and experience my pains. You were always there when I needed you.
Today I wish you many healthy happy years Poppies. I adore you and love you

Your T Baby

One of my biggest fears is that I will raise ungrateful children. To me there is nothing worse than a spoiled, ungrateful, selfish child. I ask myself time and time again if indulging them in some lovelies in life will make them calloused to the little wonderful things in life. Wonderful things like running barefoot in the grass, squishing toes in sand, saying thank you and not expecting things, being grateful for the simple things, and truly the list could go on and on.
As a little girl we had nothing in the material way. We had everything though. We had each other and thankfully still do.
I think about how children in today’s world have the opportunity to be ungrateful and take things for granted. I try to think about the bigger picture as well. When Hula Girl gets older will she look down her nose at her perspective partners and toss aside the glass slipper because it was not what she envisioned for herself? Will she look at the offering of love and think it not enough? Will Hula Boy never be satisfied with life. Will he never know the satisfaction of a hard day of work?
What I really want for my children is for them to grow up knowing the simple things of life as well. A love for God. The simple feeling of being loved clear down to their bones. The security of being themselves when the world has a tendency to distort that. A passion for standing up for what’s right and true. A heart for their fellow person. A gratefulness that day by day is restored by simply having another day to live. The wisdom to make the right choices yet when the wrong choices are made the humility to ask for forgiveness. Contentment in what is here and present. The beauty of a sunrise, the peace in a sunset.
It’s not a long list. It’s a heart felt list. These are the things I truly desire for my children. Will the glass slipper still fit? I pray it will.

My grandfather and grandmother lived with HH and I in their last years years. I can honestly say that it was the hardest job that I absolutely loved. Granted this was before I had children and knew how hard and wonderful motherhood could be.
Yesterday I was going through the closet that I have been avoiding for over 7 years. This closet was filled with a few of their things. As I unpacked all of the worldly possessions my grandmother considered treasures I realized that she had simple taste. Her simple treasures consisted of ash trays made by artists that I knew and loved. Granted my grandparents never smoked but my father and siblings must have thought that they needed ash trays. Then there was broken china that had been carefully glued together. There were interesting vases with fishwives, baby clothes and moccasins. Nothing really of monetary value BUT of sentimental value. When I thought the box was empty I looked under all of the open newspaper and saw a small box. It was about the size of a book. I opened it only to discover a beaded purse. It was beautiful. It was missing a few glass beads but it was still lovely. Inside of this lovely purse was a small compact, a tube of really red lipstick, a few family pictures, old sugarless gum, a few pieces of candy, a devotional, small New Testament and a comb. Now to the eye of anyone else that did not know her, these contents would seem like nothing more than the daily means of life. To me this spoke volumes about who she was.
Grandma always carried lipstick. For some reason she carried really red lipstick. I always tried to get her to wear other colors. She did to humor me, but she loved her bright red lipstick. Granted she did not put it on dark, but she said it reminded her of when she was young. She carried a compact so that she was never shiny when she was out in public. She liked to make sure that she was presentable when going to church or to visit a friend. Grandma always carried sugarless gum because of her dentures. Although I know she carried extra gum and candy in her purse for any child that needed a little “MeMa” sugar. The family picture was the only picture taken with all of her boys. She raised four boys. Then she had pictures of all of their families. She was so proud of them. The devotional and New Testament she always had ready for her visits to the nursing home. Even though her eyesight was failing she never missed an opportunity for a good visit and an encouraging word.
I wonder if she knew that her life could be summed up in the bottom of a purse. Her most valuable possessions had no monetary value. They were in her family, the children in her farming community, the neighbors, and nursing home visits. Obviously a purse can not talk, but it did speak of a time when life was simpler, lovely and now reminiscent.

It was so strange when I opened Genuine’s blog this morning he posted on what I was going to write about this morning. I started on this yesterday, but did not have the finishing touches. Being that the content for me is pretty emotionally charged I wanted to finish first.
When the Katrina disaster happened the first question I asked Hula Hubby was what would happen to all of the children? What about the ones that never find their parents? What about the ones that are here locally and are still searching for their parents. What a horrible position to be in. As a child how absolutely terrifying.
Hula Hubby has considered us done with having children. When this particular discussion came up regarding the displaced children, his response shocked me. He said, “Honey, do your research and we will talk about it.” Ok when I asked about having another baby he went and got the big V! This was open for discussion.
We have closed the book on us physically having another child but not closed the discussion on adoption. We have both known that. Honestly, I’ve had a difficult time knowing where to start with the research on the children. So I started locally and worked my way south. The small amount of information is probably for the children’s safety I assume.
My heart goes out to these children. I pray that all of them find their parents. I can not imagine what some of these parents are going through while looking for their children. My heart just breaks thinking of all the tragedy that has happened. I would just want to take them all home. Ok so I only have one extra bedroom. That being said…I still would bring them to my home in a heart beat.

This weekend was a bit on the nutty side. My in laws are moving and we had the privilege of having HH’s sister visit with us for a few days.
I must say one thing though….I thought I was going to have to arm wrestle her for time on the computer!! She enjoyed all of the games we have access to on the web and on our computer. Finally I said to her, ” Um…do you think that I could do an update?” Her response was always sweet and wonderful. “NOPE!” She was horsing around. So…I told her that I would arm wrestle her for some time. Arm wrestling is our right now due to medical things. Then we did a challenge on a game and she WON! She totally beat me. Because she won she got to keep playing. HUMPH! (nothing like two over 35 year old women fighting over a machine!!)
She left today and I admit that I got a lot done while she was here. Now I am getting NOTHING done but trying to catch up with everyone!