Prom is in the air- duck and hide!

With the rains gone, everything in bloom and the sunshine making everything feel like spring, Spring Fever has affected every teenager I know. No one wants to sit in a classroom no matter how exciting the teachers try and make it. For girls, thoughts go like this: “the square root of 5 is..….five hours until I can go tan….tan-the color of the shorts I saw at the Buckle, buckle-I saw a cute belt at Forever 21….$21 is all I have for the movies Friday night” and it goes on and on.  Before you know it class is over and NOTHING has been absorbed regarding the lesson. The teacher mistook those wide eyes staring off into space as doors to a brain that was thinking of the lesson at hand. Pshhh, yeah right.  That same teacher acts shocked when test time comes and there is no grade over 85 and the few who made that grade guessed on 50% of the answers.  Spring Fever is viral.  It has taken over the body and minds of our youth. There is no cure. We must all just sit back and let it runs its course.

And if the fever was not enough to make an adult crazy, Prom is thrown smack dab in the middle of the chaos. The focus is much more intense on Prom then it was on Spring Break so this gives you some sort of idea of what we parents are going through. From one day to the next Prom plans change. There are so many emotions regarding who is asking whom, who is wearing what, who will be the most fun group, who will look the prettiest, which guy will be the most handsome? Guys start acting like jerks because they do not understand the female perspective on Prom. Girls then get even more emotional and can not understand how they can be so nonchalant about this important event. Listen up guys, IT IS NOT about you at all! Not the least little bit. DO NOT take it personally! It is about the dress and shoes and hair and make-up and nails and tans. Oh they will tell you it is because they want to make you proud and happy to have chosen them as your date. Lies! All lies! It is a great thought and the girls have the best intentions but at the end of the day it is all about them. They can’t help it. Magazines and stores flaunt all the sparkle and glitz starting in January. The sales clerks all but call the girl “homely” if she is not asked to prom and does not wear a $300 and up dress. Other girls start being even more catty than before and start talking crap about each other's outfits and Prom plans are thrown into every conversation. Good friends are now not speaking to each other because a guy asked a girl that some other guy wanted to ask and a girl said yes to a guy that some other girl wanted to go with. Ahhh....can you feel the love?

Ask your moms guys, we did not spend this much money or fuss on our own weddings! It has all gotten out of hand. But as parents and dates of the girls we must endure and get through the next few weeks.

Gentlemen, take my advice and save yourself much aggravation between now and the big day…….voice your opinion ONCE. Tell them what you would like to wear ONCE. Suggest a restaurant ONCE. Then get out of the way. Hopefully on the eve of the event, these beautiful ladies will once again have some sort of sane thought in their heads and you will have a good time and they will make it up to you. However, if you feel they are getting too out of control during the process, agree with everything they say and then wear a chartreuse tux with a top hat and cane, put streamers on your truck, pick her up and take her to Arby’s for dinner and then call it a night!  

Happy Prom ladies and to all the guys I say “Bless your heart. You hang in there Sport, it’s almost over!”

After the storm......

Texas is known for its horrific spring storms that bring amazing lightening shows, damaging hail the size of golf balls and deadly tornadoes.....and then just as quickly as they come, they are gone.

Unlike 95% of the population who can sleep like a baby in a thunderstorm, I cannot even sleep if there is heavy rain. It is not because of fear or worry, it is just the sounds of the storm that keep me awake. While roaming through the house most of the night I looked in on my daughter fast asleep in her bed and I could hear my husband snoring all the way into the kitchen. I was curious if the dog had made her way to the shop and was resting in her bed and I wondered where the cat was hiding since he hates storms. As I stood at the back door and watched the beautiful lightening show I gave thought to how something this beautiful could be the companion to such destruction.

 I called my mother to check on her and she only spoke of how bad the storm was and how there is water in the yard and things were blown around and how she was up all night worrying. As I am listening I look outside. The sun is now shining and it is another beautiful day in Texas. I keep listening and then try to interject with a "But look how pretty it is now" and my comment goes unnoticed. There is just sadness and negative comments about how bad the storm was. Nothing I could say would make her see that all is now right again. When I call again later I know we will discuss the storm again and I am certain she will have found more damage the storm has done.

Our lives are much like a storm...Lightening, Hail and Destruction. We are blessed with an abundance of beauty and light, we are often damaged by situations that come our way and sadly we know all too well the heartbreak of death and destruction.

The way we viewed this storm is the way we live our lives. My mother will dwell on the bad, even though it is now over and she will let it ruin her day. I will remember the beautiful show and be thankful that everyone I know made it through safely. Others are not so lucky. I am grateful. 

Some storms last longer than others. Some storms leave behind damage that requires massive cleanup. Some storms will change our lives forever. We have a choice; we can let it consume us and ruin whatever good we have in our lives or we can seek peace in knowing God has made sure that there has never, ever been darkness that was not followed by light and there has never, ever been a storm that was not followed by sunshine.

Happy Birthday Son!

Today is my son’s birthday. I can remember every detail of the day he was born. My heart is overflowing with love for this soul that God has blessed us with.

Lou was working out of town the first few years of our marriage. I was always concerned that I would have the baby while he was away. I do believe I was one of those young mothers that had “contractions” starting in my fifth month. Yes, I was one of those…..hanging my head….and I swore I was having this baby every weekend until he actually arrived. I was due on February 18 and my mother came up to stay with me during the week while Lou was gone just so she could be there if needed. We would sit and wait and sit and wait as the days turned into weeks. I remember her saying “If I have to watch the show “Quincy” one more time I am going to scream” since this meant another week had gone by.  Back then the doctors only did one ultrasound during your pregnancy and they made an educated guess of when you were due and then adjusted it as you went along. Although they guessed I was having a girl they were not sure. By the first part of the second week of March when they realized that Nathan was breach and did not have room to flip on his own they finally scheduled a C-section for the morning of Monday, March 14. 1983.

Louie made arrangements to take off that week and we spent the weekend getting ready. I was HUGE! I gained 70 pounds and I was exhausted. I ate my usual Saturday night pizza from the West Pizza House and we went to bed late. At 2:15 we were laying in bed and all of a sudden my stomach stretched out the size of beach ball and I felt this tumbling kick. I jumped up and was standing on the bed as I watched the stretch marks pull apart and then in a matter of seconds my water broke.  Nathan had decided he was ready to come into this world and actually stood on end inside my stomach and flipped himself around so as not to be breach anymore. The pressure of this tumbling act caused my water to break with such force that the curtains and bedding and carpet were caught in the cross fire. We had a toy poodle that was always by my side (loved that dog!) …….poor Brandy…she was soaking wet! She just stood there frozen on the bed not knowing what to do. When I jumped off the bed and went to the bathroom to take a bath (yes…I took a bath since we had no shower in our old 2-story home) and get ready for the addition to our family, Louie called my parents and his parents and sister.

My parents lived well over an hour away but they beat me to the hospital. My father was pacing up and down the halls. My mother still had wet hair from her shower. By this time I was having small contractions and I was confident that I could handle this. I thought these pains that I was having on the way to the hospital were what I was to expect during the course of delivery. I am sure all the mothers reading this are laughing and knowing what comes next! When I got there they said I need an enema. A what? I am having a baby from my front, why am I having to empty my back? I did as I was told. The pain got worse. Now I was second guessing my decision to have a natural child birth “for the sake of the baby”.

It is now about 6 am and I am in full blown labor. I remember telling Lou that he better find someone who can give me something for this pain or I was actually going to kill him. That “something” never came. My mother came in and she tried to make it all better like she always had but there was no reasoning with me.  I wanted to see my Daddy but I told them to make sure he came between contractions since I did not want him to see me in pain. The contractions were closer together now and they had to hurry. He came in and I remember the tears in his eyes and then it hit me…..the mother of all contractions! He was horrified! Here was his baby girl having his grandchild and there was nothing he could do to ease my pain. I told him to go and he kissed me on the forehead and went and got Louie. By 7am I was in so much pain and was hyperventilating from the breathing technique they taught us in Lamaze,  I think I blacked out for a few minutes. When I regained a sense of where I was I realized I was in the delivery room. It was time for Nathan to be welcomed into the fold. At 7:20 am I heard the first cry of the most beautiful soul I have ever known; my son. The disappointment of not having a baby girl was soon lost to the never felt before feelings in my heart. Only a mother knows what I am talking about. The moment I held him there was nothing else on earth more important to me. God had just entrusted me with his angel and it was my job to be the best mom I could be.  I hope I did Him proud.

Happy Birthday Nathan (a gift from God) John (given by God- also masculine for Johanna which was my Grandmother’s name)- you are my most precious gift and I love you more than you will ever know….until you have a precious child of your own.

And by the way…….natural child birth is highly over-rated. I did not even get a gold star for my scrap book!

I've got the music in me!

As a young teen some of my favorite times were sitting on the front steps of the building with friends waiting for Casey Kasem's America’s Top 40 to come on the boom box placed carefully beside us. Most times it was the highlight of our week. We would tease each other about what song would be number one and we knew the words to all of the top 20 songs if not the entire countdown.  When we were in High School they would have dances at the school and we would all dance to our favorite tunes and hum them all the way home.  Music was our life. There were songs for every emotion one could possibly feel; breakups, make-ups, loss of a loved one, loss of a pet, extreme joy and those times you just wanted to “get down and boogie” with Boogie Fever.

My favorite genre of Music is Motown 70’s. It was the era of all the soul songs that artists today just cannot hold a candle to and all the dance songs that kids today think are “retro cool”.  These songs have a way of creeping inside my head and staying for hours. No one can tell. I just sit and work and keep them all to myself.

This morning I logged into AOL online music and selected Urban 70’s. All of a sudden a phrase I must have heard somewhere along the way popped into my head “Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside of us.”

Why is it that I do not sing along, get up and dance, hum or even just “shoulder shimmy” to the brilliant works of my favorite artists?  Is it because I am now a grown up? Do I have to display some level of decorum? Is there some unspoken rule that says I cannot burst out in song and jump up and dance around my office for a few minutes?

 Pondering……………..NOPE! I have only myself to blame if I go to my grave with my music still inside of me.  There is music inside of all of us and even if it is only for a few minutes, LET IT OUT!! Sing and dance and enjoy the moment!

I am turning up my music and I am going to sing out loud! I am getting up out of this office chair and I  am going to shake my groove thing……..excuse me while I go close my office door.

30 years later......

Yesterday was my and Lou's 30th wedding anniversary. This momentous occasion sparked a desire to look back at our union and reflect on the journey that brought us to this place.

We were very young when we got married....well I was! :) There was so much we thought we knew and so many battles we fought that really do not matter at all anymore. In all honesty, they didn’t matter 30 minutes after they happened. Proving to each other who was right, who was wrong, who gets to pick, who gets to compromise and who is the first to raise the white flag now seems like such a waste of precious time. We raised two children, live in our second home, are now on our fourth dog and second cat. We lost grandparents, parents and precious friends along the way. No matter where we were in our relationship with each other, time did not stand still and life for all kept going. There have been so many sad tears, unbearable heartaches, major frustrations and miles of hurdles to overcome. I choose not to think about those....instead I am smiling as I think about the tears of joy, the many things that made my heart overflow with love and happiness, the things that fell into place when we least expected them to and the ability we had to overcome all of life's obstacles.

Louie greeted me at 7 am with "Happy Anniversary my Love" in his quirky sarcastic tone and was actually excited to turn on the radio to listen to birthdays and anniversaries. The song "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" came on and he laughed since this is his favorite song. I rolled my eyes. Then, unbelievably the next song was "Amarillo by Morning" which was our favorite song when we were dating. We both could not believe it. It was like the DJ knew that these two songs are perfect for this day. Then we waited with excitement for the announcement "Louie and Sissy married 30 years!" Every year our relatives call in our anniversary and birthdays. No one has ever missed a date. Every person in the family gets announced on their special day. We waited. It never came. Wouldn’t you know it? The one day we are PROUD to have a milestone announced to the world, no one in the family remembered to call it in!

We looked at each other and busted out laughing! I then hugged him and said "Happy Anniversary Louie! Damn we are old!" and I pecked him on the cheek as we both went out the door in two different directions just like every other day.

On this day, I thank God for 30 amazing years with my best friend who accepts me for who I am; for better or worse...and believe me when I say, "I have been "worse" far more than I have been "better"!"

Poor Lou! Bless his heart.