Reflection

It's been a year since I had to brace my emotions and brace my son physically.  It's hard to believe we can put a big red X over the past year.  Only five more to go.  I have to say it's certainly gone smoother than expected, and that is due mostly to my son's positive attitude.  I'm so thankful for his discipline and courage. 

Reflection of the past year reminded me of the time I ran into my husband's grandmother in the church hallway one Sunday afternoon.  She asked what we were doing in town and I told her my sorrowful scoliosis news while fighting back tears.  When my story was complete she continued on her way and said, "If you're going to have kids, you're going to have trials."  I was left with an open mouth, fully expecting sympathy - not sound advice.

The past year has taught me that a grandmother who's had her share of trials in a lifetime (like losing her husband in a plane crash shortly after she had their ninth child) knows what she's talking about.  Life is full of trials and the key to getting through them is positivity and hope.

I hope for a time when we can give the brace the boot.  Until then, we'll continue to slap the brace on and slap a smile on our face while we're at it.   

It's Done

 
I did it. It's done.  Finally.  Remember this post from January? Well I just now got around to opening the box and getting out those plastic gloves.  Only I didn't use them.  I wrapped a towel around my shoulders, gave the plastic gloves to my 10-year old daughter and told her to "go nuts."

Know what?  She did a great job!  My husband came home from work and didn't even notice I had washed that gray right out of my hair - which is a good thing because it means we matched my natural color really well AND that my gray wasn't so obvious that coloring it made me look different.  Exactly what I was hoping for. 

I also got a coupon from Great Clips in the mail for a $6.99 haircut so I cruised on over and got some layers to improve the curliness of my curls.

Amazing what you can do with a five dollar box of color and a seven dollar haircut.  Negotiation IS the name of my game (even if it does take me six months to get it done). 

Soda and Chocolate

 
Anyone who knows me knows I have a hankerin for the sweeter things in life.  As proof, I must tell you that once a Relief Society sister called to ask me if I would lead a group of women in early morning exercise.  I respectfully declined the invitation but offered to lead a group of women in the early evening who wanted to eat treats.

My treat of choice for the past 25 years has been soda, Coca Cola to be exact, and chocolate.  Recently, June 10th to be exact, I gave up caffeine and haven't looked back.  It was a healthier choice I felt I had to make.  Chocolate, however, is still on the menu (in moderation of course) and perhaps can even do me some good?

Just to mix things up, I threw caution to the wind while driving through Sonic and mixed my two favorite things:  soda and chocolate.  That's right - Sprite with chocolate flavoring.  And you know what?  Mmmmm, mmmmm, good.  It was very Sprite-tasting with an after taste of chocolate.  Right up my sweet tooth alley.

Venus

Our move brought us to a home that is nestled against a hill.  The bonus of this is that there are no homes behind us - only hill and sky.  The sky makes for enlightening entertainment on summer nights, especially since my son recently acquired the Star Gazer App on his phone, making it possible for us to identify stars and constellations.

The star that is most easily identified each night is Venus.  It's always there - always bright - no matter the weather, no matter the night.  (Hey - that rhymed!).  So as we sat gazing last night I offered a bit of motherly advice to my children.  I advised them to be like Venus, which is to say: reliable, radiating light.  And seeing as advice is defined as "a recommendation offered as a guide to action," it's my hope that seeing Venus in the sky will always be a call to action - a call to love.  Venus is, after all, named after the Goddess of Love.

Finally

Summer FINALLY arrived at my house last Wednesday.  It came with a 7 AM morning temperature of 74 degrees - but because summer had arrived I didn't meet it until I woke up at 9 AM at which time the temperature had risen to 79.

Summer's arrival was official because the day was wide open.  No plans, appointments or ballgames.  A leisurely morning turned into an hour of toastiness pool side.  Lunch in town, an Orchard Salad, followed by downtown window shopping.

My favorite part of the day was dinner.  Pandora boasted Michael Buble and the likes (Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Norah Jones) while we cooked and danced around the table.  Chicken Supreme was our main dish with crusty french bread and fresh peaches.

After dinner we made a quick run to the nearest gas station for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and licorice to snack on while watching America's Got Talent.   And when the sun had FINALLY gone down, we sat on the back porch and star gazed into the beauty of a sky untouched by city lights. 

Welcome summer.  Feel free to stay a while.   

Free Candy

So there we were, the Detroit airport, making our way from one gate to the next for our connecting flight home.  I was in "hurry up" mode and had gotten quite a ways ahead of my husband and son.  Because of the distance I'd gained I could not hear my husband calling my name.  After several attempts of trying to alert me that I was losing them, he hollered "FREE CANDY" and stopped me dead in my tracks. 

My first thought was, "I hope it's chocolate" as I turned to see who was giving out free candy.  Then came the realization that there was no free candy as I saw my husband and son laughing at knowing me all too well.  I moved to the "stand" side of the moving walkway and waited for them to catch up.  We made our way to the gate and because we made it in plenty of time I rewarded myself with a Mrs. Fields cookie, or three, I forget.