One of my cats, Storm, went missing over Thanksgiving weekend, and Liz was distraught. I won’t get into how odd it was for her to be so upset about a cat she rarely fed and did not clean up after. When we found him four days later, he was in the animal shelter- you have to go and basically bail them out…. I had to go in the back where all the animals are held to ID him, and saw another beautiful long-haired grey cat, in a nearby cage. She was beautiful…friendly… my cat purred at her…
And they give you a discount when you bail out more than one… and even put in one of those cat trackers… GPS locator things that will tell them who owns the cat in case it wanders off again.
Clearly they saw me coming…
So now we have 3 in the house- I am becoming the crazy old cat lady… Liz just shook her head when I came in with the two carriers.
“Oh, Mom, you didn’t…”
Will I never learn?
Cub Scouts has been an interesting experience- my son, John is a tiger this year- I have to say there is a big commitment involved. It gets exhausting.
My cousin John presented his snakes and alligator at a house meeting it was a HUGE success- the boys were captivated. It was also amusing to see some of the parents who are snake-shy hugging the walls as their sons got up close and personal with the wide variety of snakes presented. The 26 foot long snake took seven boys to hold, and they were loving every minute of it!
I was bad this year and did not send a single Christmas card, did not put up a Christmas tree, and barely (under protest) decorated the house. Since my children were going to NYC for Christmas, I just was not feeling all the effort involved. They left on the 22 of December and I just got them back January 4th, just in time for school to start up.
I drove them to the airport on the day they left. As those of you who have been here already know, the Cincinnati airport is located in Kentucky Indiana before you reach the bridge over the Ohio River that takes you into Kentucky Indiana from Ohio
I forget sometimes about that wonder in children. What a gift they are to us.
I missed them, but made productive use of my time.
I spent two weeks clearing out all the old junk in and around the house, while the kids were gone, and doing laundry, folding and packing up the unwanted and poorly fitting, and filling 5 bags full that went to Goodwill. I even got the treadmill- which has done me little good out in the garage the last two years- up and running in my basement with the help of Rick and my uncle Gail.
I cleaned and scrubbed and organized. I got a new front door and screen door installed by Tony, Peggy’s wonderful husband, and Rick installed a new bathroom fixture upstairs, which was desperately needed. The old fixture had two chains coming out that hung down and then ran back up to the ceiling, where it went over two hooks fixed into the ceiling on either side of the main fixture before coming down again ending a globe cover common in the 70s over the bulbs, blocking most of the light. I am surprised I lasted with it two years. I changed out some light switch covers and am planning to see what other projects will be taken on in the coming year. My fixer upper is coming alone-piece by piece.
Santa was really good to me- I got a Wii Fit- a surprise and a joy- exercise never used to be this fun. He also brought me a beautiful seed pearl necklace and bracelet. My aunt and uncle picked out an Irish Santa and some lovely towels for me and I got some more basement geckos from the Chausmers (they eat the spiders). Wonderful handmade gifts from the kids added to the splendor. How can one girl be so lucky?
Having the kids home has brought the house back to life, and we are enjoying some friendly Wii competition… Liz is a boxing maniac, John would give Tiger Woods a run for his money, and, surprising no one more than myself, I am a tightrope walker at heart. (I am also doing very well skiing, as long as no actual snow/cold is involved.)
John and the Cub Scout den went on the fire station tour Tuesday evening, and the firefighters asked what the difference between a doctor and a nurse was, when they were trying to explain the difference between a paramedic and an EMT. One of the boys called on said, “One is a man and one is a woman.” It was fun to watch the adults reacting to that one! His poor dad wanted to disappear into the floor.
So that is night I get a "Pinewood Derby" car kit labeled "all you need to make" said derby car. A misprint, I assure you.
The box contains 4 plastic wheels, 4 nails and a block of wood with two lines cut in the bottom. Nothing else.
And I am supposed to make this block of wood look/work like a car. So over weekend we started working on a pinewood derby car. I recruited an engineer I know to assist, as I have not the first idea how one is made to race and they take the whole thing very seriously. Boys- a whole new universe. I miss Barbies.
The engineer (Rick) finds it amusing that I haven’t the first clue- and he and John sit with said block of wood and have a design planning session, where John decides on a body shape. Rick then took the block of wood to work where he and all the other little boys in big men bodies hang out all day, and cut/shaped said block of wood into something that has the potential to actually look like a car after the appropriate sanding and painting. The wheels will be the final step, so the paint does not slow the car...they need to be placed just so…
Seriously! People have time for this? My real car is not that well cared for!
He has also advised me to be prepared to lose the race, as the future winner is being caressed smooth as we speak by a boy/ man living vicariously through his son...and has likely spent months preparing for the inevitable win...
The race day is the 31st, John’s seventh birthday.
Oh, and next year we need to make a whole new car....I am just thankful my boy will not be racing a block of wood with wheels nailed in. I don’t think I was meant to be a cub scout mom.
Sadly, it doesn’t get me out of having a party for him. This year he wants Monster Golf- a glow in the dark miniature golf experience… I suspect my Dad is laughing at me, golf fiend that he is…
And to ice my cake, my son wants a Red Ryder BB gun for his birthday. There was a pile of them for sale at the Bass Pro Shop in the mall. Yeah, we live in Ohio
I hope you are all well.
With Love,
Geri
No comments:
Post a Comment