~ Father's Day

“It is a wise father that knows his child.”

. . . William Shakespeare

In our family, the kids come to KJ and I for different reasons.

KJ is the ‘go to’ guy. When the kids need to know anything at all (and I mean anything), they go to their dad. He is a fountain of wisdom who seems to know the answer to anything they ask. It’s always been this way. We’d be driving down the interstate and Lynsay would see something and she’d say, “Dad, what’s that for” and he’d have the answer. Or Ryan would see something and say, “Dad, how does that work?” and KJ would have the answer. I don’t know how he does it.

It’s been a joke in our family for as long as I can remember . . . if you need to know an answer to something, go to dad. Kj knows it, I know it and the kids know it. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m no longer offended when the kids say, “Oh, well, we’ll just ask dad, he’ll know” because I know that not only will he have the answer the kids are looking for but it will be the right answer. I have no idea how he does it!

I’m the mom, so they come to me for ‘mom’ type things and that’s perfectly okay with me. I nurture, I love, I advise, I give a boost to their sagging attitudes, turn their frowns into smiles, dry their tears, clean their scraped up knees and try to heal their bruised or broken hearts.

I’m not, however, the ‘go to’ guy. That job falls to KJ...always has and always will. And I’m okay with that.

So, to the man who definitely knows his children, loves them, fulfills their every wish & their every need and who has the answer to all their questions big and small....Happy Father’s Day. From the moment the doctor took Ryan out of my stomach and placed him in your arms, I knew what kind of father you’d be; the look of awe and wonder on your face was definitely a “kodak moment.” You wear the role of fatherhood like a second skin. Everytime I see you with our kids, my heart swells with an indescribable love and joy. You, my love, took to fatherhood like it was what you were born to do. I know it, they know it and now you know it. Happy Father’s Day . . . you’re the best.

~ Summer

Summer . . . never-ending days of flip-flops and swimsuits - the smells of summer always in the air....fresh cut grass, bbq grills and suntan oil and the shrieks & laughter of the children floating through the air.

When I was growing up, summer was absolutely my most favorite time of the year. The last day of school could never come fast enough. In grade school, I spent my summers chasing after my brothers & cousins and shopping with my mom and one of her friends who had a daughter my age. This friend of my moms made a lot of my clothes and on these shopping excursions, my friend and I were often dressed exactly alike. Hey, in those days, it was kinda cool. I think. In junior high, I spent my summer days at the pool, crushing on the redheaded lifeguard from afar. He was probably all of 18 but when you’re 13, well.....the redheaded lifeguard seemed like the perfect summer crush. In highschool, I spent my summers at Peony Park, slathering baby oil & iodine on my skin and still crushing on the lifeguards.

After I got married, had kids and started working for the school system, the last day of school and summer took on a whole new meaning. I mean, seriously....when you spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months out of the year with hormonal teenagers....you’ve got summer AND adult beverages on the brain from August til May.

In the early years, summer meant trips to the zoo with the kids, fishing trips to Canada for Ryan and trips to Oklahoma for Lynsay and I. It meant spending every day for hours on end at Papio Bay with the kids and friends. For all I cared, summer could have gone on and on and on. The carefree days were what recharged my batteries and got me ready for fall and a new school year.

These days, I still love summer. I still spend my summer days out by the pool but instead of crushing on the redheaded lifeguard, I find myself . . . shhhh, crushing on Roarke because I’m usually reading an Eve Dallas book. Oftentimes, I close my eyes while floating in the pool and in my minds eye, I’m at the beach instead of my own backyard but hey, who wouldn’t want to be at the beach, right?

Sundays are pool days here.....KJ and I will spend the bulk of the day floating around in the sun, enjoying the peace and quiet while sipping strawberry margartias. Shrugs, sipping sounds much better than guzzling.

And when the days of triple digit weather gets to be too much, we’ll find ourselves on the beach and trust me, there is nothing quite like having your lawn chair in the sand with the vast ocean right before you.

Summer days . . . . gotta love ‘em.

~ Memorial Day

On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation.

~ Thomas Williams Parsons

~ Mopey Murphy

Look at this face . . . how adorable is he? Admittedly, he’s a bit spoiled. Not like a child and in the sense that he gets absolutely everything, but in the sense that he’s so loved. He’s used to being home with just me, as KJ travels a lot. He’s used to KJ coming and going and that’s okay with him. It’s okay with him because his little world revolves around one person and one person only. Me. He’s not used to me leaving and being gone for days on end. And, as I’ve been gone since the 16th, KJ has changed his name. He’s now known as “Mopey Murphy.” Poor thing misses his momma!!

Just a few more days, Murphy . . . .

~ Grins & Giggles

I wonder.....if I click my heels together 3 times, will my fairy godmother show up??

I’m off to find my red slippers . . . .

~ Happy Anniversary

May 15, 1982 . . . . the wedding that almost wasn’t. Well, let me rephrase that. I should say, ‘the wedding that was almost held at the hospital chapel.’

That’s right....hospital chapel - I had been admitted to the hospital 4 days before KJ and I got married. I had come home from work on Monday whining to my mom that my stomach hurt. And, it really wasn’t my stomach, it was this constant pain right under my breast bone. Later that night, my dad called our doctor and the doctor said, “Now Glenn, she’s getting married this weekend, it’s just nerves. Or, maybe she had something for lunch today that didn’t agree with her. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” So off to bed I went and spent the next few hours talking to KJ on the phone. I mean hell, we were getting married in less than a week - we had lots to talk about!!

About midnight, I couldn’t take the pain any longer. I went upstairs to my parent’s bedroom and they were both still awake, reading. I was in tears as I told them how much pain I was in. My dad was in the process of getting up when my mom said, “No, I’ll take her.” Now, this was coming from a woman who seriously hated driving at night. She’d have rather had a root canal than have to drive at night. That night, she was the best mom in the world.

Once we got to the ER, it was quite obvious to the doctors that I was in immense pain. They got me hooked up to an IV and immediately gave me Demerol. Which I immediately proceeded to throw up. Finally, at 2am, they decided to admit me. My bloodwork came back fine but they had no idea why I was in such pain.

My mom, along with my future mother in-law, sat with me at the hospital all day. About 4pm, my dad called to see what the doctor had said. Well, the doctor hadn’t been in to see me, but when we were in the ER, they had told my mom my doctor knew I was there and would be there later on that morning. My dad immediately called my doctor who had no idea I was in the hospital. He came up after his office was closed for the day, ordered some bloodwork and did an exam on me. He immediately had me sent to the OR to be prepperd for surgery...my appendix was ready to burst.

While I was in surgery, KJ and my dad were checking out the hospital chapel, thinking we’d have to get married there! No way, I said. I begged my doctor to let me go home. So, on Friday, the day before I got married, he sent me home and KJ and I got married at 2pm the following afternoon . . . 3 days after I had major surgery. It was the shortest Catholic wedding in the history of Catholic weddings.

Those few days before our wedding should have been KJ’s first clue about what a whirlwind of chaos our life together would be. Instead of running away screaming in the opposite direction, he met me at the alter, ready to say “I do.”

28 years and two kids later, we’re still going strong. It’s been a lot of work but it’s also been a lot of fun. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried and yet it’s been worth every milestone and every speed bump we’ve had along the way. Marriage is never easy, it’s not always pretty and it’s not always pure bliss. But if you really love each other, if that person is the one you’re meant to be with, then you do what you have to do to make it work, to make the marriage as fresh as it was on that beautiful spring day when you said, “I do.”

Happy Anniversary, KJ . . .I love you.

~ Simply Said . . . Happy Mother's Day

To those who make it a seemingly effortless job . . .

To those who mother not only their own kids, but the friends of those kids . . .

A mom is a doctor, lawyer, cook, teacher, taxi driver, secretary, pet walker, laundress, seamstress, personal shopper, maid, nurse, accountant . . . all rolled into one.

To all of you . . . Happy Mother’s Day.