Happy Sweet 16

Today is my son's 16th birthday. I love my son dearly - he has brought so much joy and happiness to my life. So - in honor of his birthday, here are 10 things you should know about my son:

1. I got to pick his birthday. The OB-gyn was going to induce labor, and originally picked April 13th, 1993. I put my foot down and said I didn't want my son to ever have a birthday on Friday, the 13th - so we bumped labor day back to the 12th. Good thing I didn't wait that one more day - DS (Dear Son) came into the world at 8 lbs 13 oz. Can you imagine what he would have weighed one day later??!! (Just kidding)

2. DS had a near-tragic accident when he was only 7 months old that involved a walker and stairs. He spent almost a week in intensive care at Children's Mercy Hospital with me camped out at his side. I don't know that I have ever been more scared in my life - or felt so helpless as a parent. I threw the walker away after that and became a strong advocate against baby walkers.

3. DS had the blondest hair and the most beautiful curls when he was a baby. He will kill me for saying this, but he really was one of the most prettiest babies I had ever seen. I finally relented and cut the curls off when people began calling him a girl - and the curls never did grow back. Darn.

4. When he was very little, DS loved to eat the croutons off my salads in restaurants. However - he couldn't quite say "croutons" - consequently, he called them "coupons" and they've been "coupons" ever since. I will sometimes catch myself at a restaurant asking the waitress to "hold the coupons - oops, I mean croutons!" You can imagine the looks I get.

5. Speaking of waitresses in restaurants, it became very apparent that DS was a flirt at an early age. He couldn't have been more than 3 years old, when one day, while seeing the blonde waitress at our table, said, "She's pretty".... He's liked blondes ever since.

6. It also became very apparent at an early age that DS had a huge talent with a baseball. He has been pitching since he was four...and he has made his school team every year that he has tried out. He has a decent fastball, and an amazing change-up.

7. DS is a huge fan of the Oklahoma Sooners. Don't ask me why. We've never lived in Oklahoma, we've never been to an OU game - he just decided at an early age to root for the Sooners, and there you go. It's a mystery to his family, who are all Mizzou fans. You will never see him without his OU hat or coat or backpack or sweatshirt....he's very loyal.

8. DS can tell you any sports statistic there ever was...he lives and breathes ESPN, and would make an amazing sports journalist one day, I think. If you ever want to know sports history or trivia, he's the guy to ask...he'll know the answer.

9. My son's smile can melt the snow off the ice caps.

10. My son is now 6'3" and is still growing. I don't know how tall he'll eventually reach - but no matter how tall, he'll always be my 'baby boy' and I'll love him forever and forever. He's very huggable and lovable, and so I am sending out birthday wishes to him right now.

Happy Sweet 16, Kiddo! I love you!

Peace.

A House on the Lake

Wow...the last two days have been very busy.

Hubby had the day off yesterday (Good Friday) and so he decided we needed to look at new houses. We have decided we want a lake house. A house right on the lake. Not 2nd tier. Not 3rd tier. But a house where you walk outside, and there's the lake.

So - we saw several houses locally yesterday. Didn't see anything that grabbed us. Not enough house for a heck of a lot of money. The usual.

Today, we woke up and decided to hit the road and drove 3 hours down to the Lake of the Ozarks. We've been in email contact with a realtor there - Matt met us and took us to about 5 houses on the lake. And two of them grabbed us. There are pros and cons with each house...but we had 3 hours to discuss on the way home, and hubby is downstairs right now, in the office, contacting Matt with an offer on one of them. We'll see.

My folks had a lake house when I was growing up. We weren't on the lake, though. We were 3rd tier up. It was still fun, though, going to the lake on the weekends. The thing I remember, most, though, is the maintenance that we had to do every time we arrived - mow the grass, rake the leaves, make the beds, clean out the refrigerator, restock the refrigerator....

I told Hubby that I would have a 2nd home if it didn't involve a lot of maintenance. Ha. Actually, one of the houses we saw is completely landscaped with small pebbles - no grass to mow - so that would be great.

Changing the subject....



Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We'll get up - as usual - and head to church. Then, we'll come home, where the kids will hunt for the eggs that the Easter Bunny has hid. Sometimes the Easter Bunny hides the eggs so well that we can't find them all - it will be weeks or months later and an egg will turn up. Thank goodness the Bunny brings us plastic eggs now - can you imagine if you lost a hard-boiled egg? Although - I guess you'd find that one sooner - due to the smell. Ugh.

Anyway, the baskets will be filled to the brim, waiting for the kids on the kitchen table. Candy, toys, a new Easter outfit...the bunny will be generous.

Then, the whole family will be over at 4:00 pm for Easter dinner. We're celebrating birthdays, as well, though. My son will turn 16 years old tomorrow. Yikes...where did the time go? He is chomping at the bit to go on Monday to get his driver's license. I'm not. I can wait.

We'll have ham, potatoes, deviled eggs, jello salad, and birthday cake! Yummo. Then, we'll sit around the living room and let the dinner settle, and chit-chat. And it will be time to clean up. And send everyone home. My favorite part of the Easter dinner. (just kidding. No - wait - it really IS my favorite part). Because then I get to enjoy the quiet and solitude of the day and reflect what Easter is truly all about. And rejoice in Christ and the fact that He died for us. How amazing is that?!

Enjoy your Easter Sunday - no matter how you spend it. And maybe I'll see you at the lake.

Peace.

Birds Twittering & Squirrels Flittering

Another beautiful day today.

Yes, it's cloudy. And it's raining (just a little). But - it's that wonderful, amazing "spring" rain that I love. Spring is so close - so tantalizing close - I can feel it, I can taste it, I can almost touch it.

I love this time of year.

I love the spring showers...I love the grass turning green...I love the days lasting longer and longer...I love baseball season starting...I love the buds popping out on the trees...I love seeing more and more birds flittering about in my backyard...I love seeing more and more squirrels twittering about in the trees...

I love the kids starting to venture back outside again, after being cooped up inside all winter long. I love to see more and more joggers, walkers, and pooches hitting the sidewalk, bursting with energy and anxious to get back into shape. I love to see couples lounging on the grass at the parks, absorbing the sunshine, absorbing each other.

I hope you enjoy the spring weather, too. Go outside and breathe in - everything is fresh, new, hopeful....feel the spring, taste it, touch it. Enjoy the moment.

Peace.

Humans vs Zombies

Wow...two posts in one day...but such is the life of a proud mother. I had posted earlier tonight about my younger son and his amazing pitching prowess in his baseball game this afternoon. I was a very proud mother.

Well, I now have to brag on my older son....but first, a little background. Older son is attending Truman State University, where twice a year, he engages in the notorious "Humans vs Zombie" game played campus-wide. This semester, the game began last week, and my son was very proud of managing to stay Human for all this time. Today was to be the last and final mission - and my son's goal was to survive the mission today and be one of the last few surviving humans.

Being an anxious mother, I have waited all day to see how his mission turned out....and then tonight, he posted his story on his Facebook page. I am copying it below, word for word:

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Our last & final mission is today in Ophelia Parrish – we shall conquer or die. Given that at the moment we’re outnumbered nearly 4 to 1, that prospect seems pretty grim, but in the next two hours, half of the zombie horde shall starve, making the odds about 2-1. Since we can mount ranged attacks, I call that even odds.

No zombie horde sightings yet today, which is odd, considering I have been outside often. The day is bright and sunny, and many zombies will starve without brains – but they are not hunting. Perhaps the handful of surviving humans have been so quick and so clever that the zombies have given up hunting in between classes? I can only speculate.

I reached Ophelia, and regrouped with the last remnants of the human resistance. There were perhaps two dozen of us remaining. 24 humans against perhaps 80 zombies. Our task was to activate the failsafe on the ultimate weapon we had spent the last few days preparing, activate the weapon itself, then race to the bunker that had been prepared Sunday before it detonated in 15 minutes, eliminating the zombie scourge.

We raced across campus to West Campus, moving so quickly the horde never spotted us. Hurrying through, I pressed the button to activate the failsafe, and then it was south, across campus again, to Barnett.

We hurried, and a force of ten zombies appeared coming down Patterson Street. They attempted to cut us off, but without reinforcements (the horde was rushing to West Campus at this time) they retreated, and we safely made it into Barnett.

Ten minutes later, we finished activating the weapon. In fifteen minutes, it would detonate, wiping out the zombie scourge and saving the human race. Our own survival depended on reaching a bunker prepared – Violette Hall. But there was a problem: Somehow, the timer only read ten minutes!

We stepped outside, and the horde confronted us.

Arrayed all amongst the parking lot, the entire surviving zombie force stood between us and safety. Nine minutes.

I nervously waited for them to engage, but they refused, encouraging us to come to them. Eight minutes.

Glancing up and down our line, I realized we would have to charge them. Again, I waited for someone to make a move. Seven minutes.

Then I realized it. Humans are a cowardly lot. They were edging back, trying to stay hidden behind each other. No one wanted to be the first to charge the horde. No one wanted to embrace almost certain death so that the group could survive. Human priority is first and foremost to survive.

I sighed. I’m not a fighter. I have never pretended to be one – I can handle one or two zombies, perhaps even three at a time, but I am not like those who casually stun six on their way to class. No, I have always been a strategist, one who can lead.

And right now, these humans needed a leader. No one would advance, they would sit there and wait for the detonation, rather than be the first, doomed human at the zombie horde.

I remembered the first day, the ambush that almost killed me.

I remembered the battle at the bridges, when human leadership had proven decisive.

I remembered Centennial Hall, when the inability of humans to be led had caused the deaths of many good men.

I knew what I had to do.

And so I stepped down in front.

I cocked my weapon.

I began to walk forward, and I began to sing.

“This was a triumph…”

~
I was munched there, leading the way out of Barnett, but the humans in front of the building received the jolt they needed and they began to move, fighting their way across the street, and then breaking up into small groups and racing for safety. Nine were killed on the way there, but would not become zombies – the corpses would be destroyed before they could reanimate. They died as humans. Three were unable to reach the bunker in time and were consumed in the blast. But twelve humans survived, triumphant.
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So...my son gallantly and bravely laid down his own life to save the human race. As I sit here in my grief tonight, I cannot help but be so proud of him. He died, fighting the zombies, in order that the few remaining humans would survive. It doesn't get much better than this.

(And to think this is what we're paying for when we send our kids to college.)

Peace.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Just came from my son's baseball team.

He is on the JV team for Lee's Summit West - the Titans. He's a pitcher. And he pitched today. And he did awesome. We played Raytown - and the final score was 19-0. We won. The game was called after 5 innings, due to the spread. Taylor did great - he gave up only 3 hits, and I lost count of the strike-outs. I am a proud mom.

I love baseball. And I love watching my son play. I've been watching him play now since he was 4 years old - and he'll be 16 on Sunday. Our summers have always included being at a field somewhere - someplace - watching Dear Son play. That's how I know that summer is coming - being at the ballfield again.

The Royals had their first game today. They didn't win...but the season is long, and I still have hope. Baseball always brings hope.

It was a good day today in my world.

Peace.