Category: Life in general

Categories
Life in general

Rock the Boat

I was the girl who got rocks thrown at her when she showed up at high school parties… because she just moved there and didn’t fit in.  The girl who dressed in her own way, had her own style, and always spoke her mind, regardless of what others might think. 

That girl got beat down, my friends.  With piles and piles of rocks.

As I got older, I learned not to make waves as a form of self-preservation.  I don’t handle confrontation well, and in fact it usually makes me physically ill.  I’ve learned to pick my battles, and in the mean time – I don’t rock the boat unless I have to.

However, as I wade through the current flood of political chatter, I find myself amazed at the number of people who will not accept another person’s point of view as just that: another person’s point of view.  The rocks are flying, and the young girl in me wants to step up for the “black sheep” who are receiving the brunt of the blows.

Attacking people for being different is just wrong.  And telling them that they are wrong because they are different is sending a host of other messages, realized or not.

If someone has come to an educated decision about their political beliefs, and is not afraid to stand up for them, why must people try to break that person into submission?  Would it be better for them to blindly follow the shepherd, not knowing if they are being led off the edge of a cliff?

Is it better to choose a candidate who resembles your own beliefs, or one that mirrors the beliefs of people who want to bully others into conforming?  And as people throw those proverbial rocks, do they truly believe that they are representing the best side of their candidate?

I have gained much respect for both liberals and conservatives who are able to debate issues with the respectful understanding that other people are entitled to have a different opinion.  That policies can be discussed without trying to force someone into changing their mind.  

As for the rock slingers, you’ve caused me to stand up and willingly rock the boat.

Categories
Kids Life in general Motherhood and Pregnancy

The Lighter Side of Things

I’ve been a little down lately, and sluggish in general.  Well, it’s hard to say “lately” when it’s actually my general state of being, with a few energetic days thrown in here and there.  But I’m working on it.

Anyway, I noticed I lost an email subscriber the other day and it made me wonder, Has my general attitude changed the feel of my blog?  I think maybe.  Erm, probably.  I’m proud of the introspective posts I’ve written, but it’s time to lighten things up a bit.

So, here are a few of the things that have made me belly laugh lately.  A bit of a warning: most of them have to do with poop or boobs.  Apparently, I find them really funny.  Who knew?

*  We were leaving my mom’s house and she was buckling Alison into her car seat.  Alison suddenly said, in a very sing-songy voice, “I just pooted in your fa-ace!” (obnoxious, I know).  And my mom sung back, “My face wasn’t near your bu-utt!”.  Something about a 58 year old woman singing that had me in stitches.

*  Blythe is very interested in going on the potty like the rest of us.  She’s actually gone pee a few times, but it’s very hit or miss.  The other night I noticed she was making her “poop face” and got her on the potty lickety-split. 

She wasn’t interested, and wandered off.  I got distracted by running the bath and before I knew it, she came back with a big dingle berry hanging off of her rear end.  Which was made even funnier by her doing a little booty-shake dance next to the tub.

As I was wiping her up, I heard Alison yell from the kitchen, “Ew, Mom!  Someone pooped on the floor!” which I subsequently had to clean up, laughing all the while.

*  I was having tummy troubles earlier this week, which were accompanied by some frequent bathroom visits.  On the way home from picking Alison up from school, I suddenly had to GO.  I got Alison out of the car and she stepped out of my way, saying, “You go ahead of me mom, I don’t want you to have an accident in your pants”.  So thoughtful, that girl.

*  Alison and Blythe discovered a Motown Love Songs CD and have fallen in love with it.  Their favorite is “Stop in The Name of Love”, which they now dance to, nightly, after the bath – in the nude, most of the time.  They spin and spin around until they collapse on the floor, in fits of giggles.  And then they do it all over again.

*  One morning Blythe woke up, crying, just as I was getting out of the shower.  I rushed in there to get her, and as soon as she saw me she stopped crying and said, “BOOBIE!”.  She hadn’t seen a breast since she stopped nursing in July, so I was kind of curious what she was going to do when I picked her up.  She gently grabbed one nipple between her thumb and forefinger, made a face like she was straining and said, “OW-CH!”.  Then she did it with the other one.  Can you tell we have a history of her pinching and biting me while nursing?

*  On the topic of boobs, she and my mom were playing the other day and my mom leaned over her to get a toy.  And Blythe bit her – right on the boob.  What can I say?  She’s teething, and apparently a (clothed) boob near her face looked like a teething ring.

*  And one more boob reference, alright?  This post by Redneck Mommy – hilarious.  But learn from my mistake – don’t scroll down while your 4-year-old is looking over your shoulder.  There WILL be questions, and it’s hard to answer them appropriately while you’re laughing.

———–

What made you laugh this week?

Categories
Kids Letters Life in general

Dear Diary

Late Summer, 1986

Dear Diary,

Guess what??  This weekend we went camping with some of the people from Daddy’s work.  It was at this cool lake where you can’t walk to your camp site, you have to ride in a boat.  We found a good spot where us older kids (’cause now I’m a FOURTH GRADER!) got to have our tent on a whole separate beach from the grown ups and little kids.

When we first got there, we had to jump over a little tiny stream to get to our beach.  But Daddy said they were releasing the dams and so the water kept coming up higher.  Me and some of the other kids built these little walls out of sand to try and keep the water from coming up to the grown up campsite.  But then the water came up anyways and we had to move all the stuff up higher from the water, and then it was this big long walk from the stuff to the water.  But Mommy said it was better than having to move the stuff a bunch of times.

One of the grown ups put a log over the stream so we could balance on it to get to the big kids’ beach.  It was so funny when Jennifer fell off the log!  But I’ve had gymnastics so I know how to walk on it without falling.  But then it wasn’t so funny when we were in the tent changing clothes, ’cause it was getting dark, and just when I was coming out I heard somebody scream.

I looked at the stream but I couldn’t see the log anymore, the water must have covered it.  And right there next to where it was supposed to be, Sabrina was going under the water.  She’s a little kid (I think she’s maybe two years old because I remember when she used to be nursing) and so she’s not supposed to come over to the big kid beach.  But she did anyway, maybe when nobody was looking, and she fell in the water and I saw her go under, and she didn’t come back up.

Later everybody said that there was lots of screaming, but I didn’t hear anything because the inside of my head went really quiet.  All of a sudden my legs were just moving so fast and I jumped in the water to the bottom and picked her right up.  I held on to her so tight and kicked my legs super hard, so we would be on top of the water instead of underneath it.  She put her arms around my neck and we just held on to each other and I kicked and kicked until a grown up got there to take Sabrina to the shore. 

And then I swam to the shore, too, but I was wearing my Jordache jeans (the ones my mom bought me, NEW! from KMart!) and man they were so heavy when they were wet and I was all of a sudden really, really tired.  The grown ups were all there and they were all telling me I was so brave and Sabrina’s daddy gave me a big hug and told me I was a hero.  But I told him I didn’t try to be a hero, my legs just went and went.  And Sabrina’s mommy told me she never saw anybody move so fast, ever, and that she was lucky that I didn’t get frozen like the grown ups, whatever that means, because I SURE WAS COLD.

Me and Sabrina sat by the fire, wrapped up in blankets while the grown ups moved the big kids’ tent over to the big beach.  I was watching Sabrina and she was so still and I never saw her be so quiet before, except when she was sleeping.

Her daddy kept thanking me and I even saw him cry, and I didn’t know that daddies cried.

~ Andrea

Categories
Entertainment Life in general Motherhood and Pregnancy

The Price of Silence

The sun glints off the tip of my scalpel as I prepare to make an incision.  I hesitate – is this really necessary?  A quick nod, and seconds later the sharp blade pierces the skin above my heart. 

I remove the slippery, pulsating organ and place it gently on a platter made of fine, polished silver.

“We need to talk,” I whisper, poking an aorta with my gloved finger.

My heart says nothing, just continues its rhythmic beating as if it were still encased in my chest.

I take a deep breath and begin the meticulous dissection of my warm heart.  They must be in there, somewhere.  The place that pounds when I see billows of smoke in the distance, even if it’s only visible when my eyes are closed.  The spot that squeezes when I see a pregnant woman, and I don’t even understand why.   The general area that leaps into my throat when I think my dark thoughts in the middle of a sunny day.  They must be silenced, for they won’t listen to reason.

My search is in vain.  All that sits upon the tray is bloody, cut up meat where a perfectly performing heart once was.  Disappointed, I place the mess back into the gaping hole in my rib cage, and close it with my needle and thread.

“I was afraid this might happen, ” I say quietly, and make my way to the bathroom.  I wash the scalpel, wipe it dry. 

My eyes travel upward with the arc of my hand.  A single drop of blood splashes on the counter top as I make the first of many cuts that will lead me to my brain.  It must be silenced, for it won’t listen to reason.

Categories
Life in general Ranch Life

The Aftermath

I was able to take a few snapshots of the fire’s aftermath this morning.  Unfortunately, I had to take them as I drove because Blythe woke up at the ungodly hour of 5 AM and was falling asleep in the back seat.



This is where the fire started.  Just beyond the trees is the mulch place, where it really got going.



The trees here used to be so thick, you couldn’t see into the place.  All those mounds are mulch and bark, still smoldering.


You can see where the fire went along the road as well as along the fence line, burning away.  The middle section is our rental property, where Jeremy disced.  The fire couldn’t catch hold there.



The house on the left is our rental.  The fire went completely around it – I can’t believe how lucky we were!


In contrast, this is a “before” picture of the rear of the property, from back in March.  We had a picnic while getting the rental ready for the current tenants and took lots of photos.  Several of these houses are gone now.



The fire went on a ways (where I can’t get to in a car) and came out here, which is behind our house.  This is where I ran into the wall of fire and smoke while we were evacuating.


This is the right side view of the railroad tracks, shown above.  The homes you see here are in a small subdivision that was just built a year or so ago.  The fire came right up to their yards, but firefighters were able to divert it.  It’s crazy to think that if the housing market hadn’t slowed down, you’d be looking at burned up houses right now.



Here’s the other side of the road, where it just kept on going.



And going. 

Fortunately, between a farmer having his many acres irrigated for cattle as well as prepped for fire season, and helicopters defensively pouring water in the fire’s path, they were able to contain it and put it out only a few hours after it started.  Four houses, an out building, a truss plant and the mulch place burned, along with hundreds of acres of grassland.

Looking at those photos, it is apparent even to those who aren’t familiar with ranching, that having acres upon acres of tall, dry grass is not a good idea.  Even a disced fire break 15 feet wide is no match for a fire with 25 mile per hour winds pushing it along.