Here's the Scoop!

When I went with PDub to the Pumpkin Patch, I had a blast.  On the way back to school (via the bus), I remarked to P that Grammy sure was 'pooped'.  His eyes got big as saucers and a little sly grin came on his face.  "Grammy pooped?!"  Immediately, I saw we had a communication issue.  "No, P, not 'pooped in the pants poop', TIRED poop."  He just looked puzzled and we dropped that subject like a sack of...oh, nevermind!

Well, later that day, PDub and I were back at Grammy's house hanging out in the yard and P decided he wanted to 'wake'. (translation: rake)  So we went in the garage and he grabbed up Grammy's pooper scooper rake and bucket.  Not wanting to deny my first grandson the pleasure of picking up poop in Grammy's yard, I played along.  Whenever PDub saw a pile, he would happily shout, "POOP AHOY!"  What a great attitude about such a nasty job. 

I told Mama at Law that I thought we should all take a lesson from PDub's attitude.  Whenever we are faced with a poopy job or challenge, let's just say, "Poop Ahoy!" and approach it with an attitude of discovery and accomplishment. 

Because in life, poop happens.

Poop ahoy, matey!

You Gotta Have Friends

This weekend is the annual reunion of Grammy's college friends and I am looking forward to seeing some of the best girl friends anyone could hope for.  It got me to thinking about friendship this past day or so.  Some people gather friends like my furniture gathers dust...quickly and without effort.  I, on the other hand, tend to keep most people at arm's length.  Not that I am not friendly.  My dad, the small town politician, took me on the campaign trails with him, so I am at ease with perfect strangers.  I guess I just don't care to share my every thought and feeling with more than a handful of people, if that many.  Makes me an awful facebooker.

A lay person talked to our children at church about friendship last Sunday.  He made some great points.  Friends are people you know and spend time with.  Friendship is an important relationship.  So that best explains why I consider myself very blessed to have a few important friendships.

This first (I know it's corny) and best friend I have is Papallama.  I love spending time with him, and I can trust him with every thought and emotion I may have, whether I am right to think or feel that way or not.  He's my go-to guy for advise and support, and we have alot of fun most of the time.  When we're not having fun, I couldn't think of a better person to be miserable with.  Ha!

Two other dear friends are Mama Cat and Mama at Law.  They also are two people I love hanging out with and who listen and want to know about my comings and goings.  But they are also daughters, and there are things that mothers and daughters aren't meant to share. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention work friends.  Not colleagues, but friends.  Ms. M is one such friend.  In another time, another life, we might not have matched up, but the years we spent together at a little brick schoolhouse were some that I will always treasure.  She has that one virtue that any friend of mine is going to need...she is a good listener.  I hope I was for her, too.  And I knew as she did, that the thoughts we shared were for our ears only.  Good friends will honor that, no matter what. 

Then there are school friends, like my sisters that I am meeting up with this weekend.  We shared a special time in our lives and had a camaraderie that is only experienced by living with a person for years and seeing them at their best and their worst.  They are the ones who can send you into a side splitting laugh at the drop of a hat. That's why I am going to spend a whole weekend away from my best friend to see my girl friends. Plus, I will probably need to defend myself when the storytelling commences...

Dogpatch, here I come~

Pumpkineenies

I love fall!  Finally, the humidity starts to subside and the world around me puts on a completely new costume to entertain me. One of my favorite fall activities when I was a little girl was going to the county fair.  Daddy-O would hand me a dollar's worth of dimes and I was set for the day! (Sometimes he might give me a few extra dimes if it was an exceptional fair.)  So, it should come as no surprise that when Mama Cat was born in October, Grammy did not let that keep the family from attending the State Fair with 2 week old in tow.  It must have made a lasting impression because Mama Cat is as crazy about fall and fairs as I am.  While two states separate us, we engaged in parallel fall excursions with our favorite pumpkineenies. 

Mama Cat took Baby Bird to the county fair!

How tall must you be for that ride?

Blue Ribbon Mommy

Baby Bird gives his day at the fair two dimples!

Grammy and PDub headed for the pumpkin patch!

Been a long time since Grammy took a hayride!

I have to admit that petting zoos aren't my favorite, but these three seem to enjoy it.

This is just the start to this wonderful season!  Still to come are so many possibilities...apple picking, mountain scenic tours, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and oh yeah, football...right, Papallama?

Go, Cocks, Go!

~Happy fall, y'all~

It's Showtime!

People (in general) think toddlers and preschoolers are cute, and because they think these little people are so cute, they like to use them for show.  Now these same people are usually only seeing the little people for a few minutes at a time, sort of like an audition, I suppose. So they see cute and assume that the little person is cute 24/7.

PDub is cute.  Cute as a button.  He has grown into this little expressive fellow with a winning smile and friendly demeanor.  So he has been recruited for some performances where cute is required. 

The first was an unveiling of a portrait of his great grandfather in a pretty auspicious ceremony.  Now I am certain that the attendees were hanging on every word of the three speeches that preceded the actual unveiling.  PDub was not as impressed.  Of course, we knew a three year old's attention span might not last for, oh, more than five minutes, so we had a plan B.  Mama at Law would take him into a back hall and entertain him with an iPad or iPhone until curtain call.  Problem was, Mama at Law, picked up a stomach bug on the way to the courthouse and was throwing up whilst trying to entertain P.  Poor Mama at Law.  She told PDub that 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' made her feel better, so while she heaved, P sang. 

 When they were summoned for the unveiling, you would have never suspected the mayhem that had been going on backstage.  His performance was flawless.  He waited for his cue, gently pulled off the velvet veil, and pronounced, "ta da!" for the waiting eyes.  He waved sweetly to his great grandfather who beamed with pride and then Mama at Law escaped out the back door to continue her battle of the bug.

Next performance? The wedding of his uncle.  PDub will be appearing in tuxedo and carrying a ring.

Need cute?  Call his agent.

He Went That Away

PDub and family stopped by for visit today and we were enjoying some front porch/sandbox time when Mama at Law stepped out to chat.  She sat down on the front steps, and PDub muttered something about going to find Suzie, the Lab, as he wandered around the corner of the house.  Well, literally, 20 seconds later, when he had not reappeared, I decided to check on him. 

Gone.

Vanished.

I stuck my head in the back door and asked Papallama and Daddy at Law if he had come inside, and they said he was running across the yard the last time they saw him.  (Really, guys, that didn't strike you as odd? Papallama said I had never lost a child before, so he wasn't worried.)

Be still my heart!  No sign of P anywhere in the yard.  Now, he loves to hide, but I could tell he wasn't on the property.  You just know these things.  So I started yelling for him.  I thought I heard a reply, but it was WAY too far off to make me feel any better.  I took off across the yard, through the woods, and onto the street behind our house.  (See why Grammy has to run?)

Sure enough, four houses away on the street behind us, there was my sweet P.  With Suzie.   Did he get a scolding? Oh, yeah,  Did he understand?  Mmm, a little.  But Suzie had disappeared and he was on a mission to find her. 

That's one more difference in girls (mine, anyway) and boys.  My girls would have never left the yard, much less run through any size, shape, or form, of woods to chase a dog.  But then, you know what boys are made of, right?

Snips, and snails, and puppy dog tails~

Tough Grammy

There is a children's book that I love (surprise, surprise) by Mem Fox.  It's Tough Boris, and it's a patterned story of a pirate, Boris von der Borch.  It goes something like this.  Boris is tough...all pirates are tough.  Boris is scruffy...all pirates are scruffy.  You get the idea.  Now here's the spoiler alert.  I'm going to tell you how the book ends...after all the adjectives telling how tough, scruffy, mean, greedy, fearless,and massive Boris is, his parrot dies.  And Boris cries.  All pirates cry.  And so do I.
I thought about it yesterday when unexpectedly I was hit by the grief  of losing my mother last spring.  I was doing a simple task.  I had to deposit a check from her estate into the bank.  Suddenly, a flood of memories came over me and the tears began to flow.  Gut wrenching, cry out loud sobbing that left me sitting in the car and just letting myself 'get it all out'.  The tears stayed with me most of the day and I just let them be.  I know that it's normal.  I know it's something I have to go through...well, I don't think I'll ever be over it, really.  I do know how to accept it though.  So I share that experience, just so Mama at Law and Mama Cat understand that I'm not as tough as I act.  Just like Boris. 

I think you could take the Tough Boris book pattern and create one like this.  Grammy is fun.  All Grammies are fun.  Grammy is silly.  All Grammies are silly.  Grammy is sweet.  All Grammies are sweet.  Grammy is happy.  All Grammies are happy.  But when Grammy's mommy died.  Grammy cried and cried. And so do I. 

It's okay to cry~

See Rock City

When I was a little girl headed to church camp in the mountains, I vividly remember seeing the barn roofs in the valleys painted black with big white letters...SEE ROCK CITY...or SEE SEVEN STATES.  I always wanted to visit this magical place, but its location remained a mystery to me until this past Saturday. 

Rock City, it turns out, is part of the charm of Chattanooga, TN, and close enough to Baby Bird's nest to check out!  Here are a few helpful tips in case you decide to go see it for yourself.

No strollers are allowed.  You'll understand why as you read on. 



Come on, Mama Cat.  You carried him for nine months.  How hard can it be?



Hydrate yourself.  Walking is involved. And a cap and suncreen are advised.

They don't call it Rock City for nothing.

Be prepared to squeeze through some tight places,



or cross over high and narrow walkways...



or swinging bridges.

Your reward will be to see fantastic fauna and mountain scenery,  or view seven states if the skies are clear.


Papallama takes a count.

 

But most of all, you will love spending time in the fresh, autumn air with the ones you love.

~SEE ROCK CITY