The Temptations of Life!

My sweet little man (aka son #3) came to me last night crying. He had a wash cloth on his lip. "What happened". "I scatched myself" #3 said. I quickly checked his nails. Then I really looked at the upper lip area with a trickle of blood running across. As #3 and myself gazed into each others eyes, he quickly said "don't say it because its not that!!!". I just burst out laughing. It had finally happened, he had figured out how to read my mind!! Usually they are perplexed as to "how" I know when they have been into something or broke something or whatever having 3 boys in the home can do. But this time, he knew what I was thinking....maybe it means he realizes how smart mommies can really be! Poor little man had decided to SHAVE. His irresponsible and careless mommy had left a razor in the bathroom (silly me for thinking I should shave for the first time all winter since I was going to the indoor pool). Silly me for thinking that no matter where I left something, if it was out of the ordinary, they would get into it. Its like a homing signal....if its "somewhere"...they will find it! Thankfully, it was a minor cut and it's already healing. I think his pride was hurt most of all. Son #1 actually did the same thing a year or so ago, but he actually cut his lip and it was swollen for a couple days. Funny thing, according to many of my friends on facebook, it seems this is a rite of passage. The infamous razor...it must have mystical powers if it can make hair disappear on your body. How could you not be tempted?? I too fell for this trick as I took my mothers razor and scraped it down my arm from the shoulder to the elbow. I still remember the horror of the stinging pain and then the blood. Those were the days! I have a feeling though, that son #2 will have learned his lesson by his 2 brothers but you never know. The temptation could eventually get too great.

Heroes fight the beast

Two words. Cancer sucks. Doesn't matter what kind you have or how bad, it totally disrupts your life, shifts your mental being...it just sucks. I struggle with those that I know who are far too young to have encountered such an ugy beast like cancer. But those that battle the beast are true heroes.

Today I'm thinking of one special mom, fellow blogger who is fighting her own battle. My prayers stay focus on this special and amazing mom who is struggling with the beast but for all the women and mothers out there who try to keep life going not only for themselves, but for their homes, husbands and as much a normal life for their children as possible. This struggle is near to my heart as I think of my beloved childhood friend Bob, who was such an amazing man, who lost his battle with a rare kidney tumor at age 40 and of my friend Lori, we shared the journey of pregnancy and twins with me, left this world at age 42 from a rare soft tissue sarcoma and Colin, the funniest Brit you would ever want to know, who shared many fabulous travel adventures with me. The loss of these heroes truely rocked my world. But I push forward and keep close to my faith as I know that I will never walk alone. I do believe prayer is most powerful and important. Prayer is strong, wise, guiding, faithful, and focused. So keep those fighting the beast close in prayer and thought.

But if you really need to find strength, look to those who are still fighting the beast with all that they have. They are the examples we need to follow. They are amazing individuals who reach way down and charge forward every day. Keeping it all going not just for the themselves but for the sake of others they love. They are the heroes. I am thankful for all the heroes in this world who teach us how to find strength, encouragement, bravery, and compassion. Thank you.

The Golden Rule

I’m no weeny, but enough is enough. We live in an aging neighborhood. When it was built in 1951, the streets were lined with lovely little trees, much like any new development you drive through. But beware. What does those lovely little tree lined streets mean? They mean in 50 years (you may not care if you buy when brand new)…yes in 50 plus years, those trees won’t be those tiny, lovely, little decorative trees that line your street…NO! They will be branch falling, branch cracking, overgrown, creaky, falling on power lines so you don’t have POWER trees! When we moved into our 1951 built home just a mere 8 years ago, we rarely had a problem. But in the last few years, if the wind blows, it’s too sunny out, the rain came down too hard or sudden, someone sneezed too loud – OUT GOES THE POWER! Granted, 2010, we were hit with 3 blizzards back to back…it’s understandable. We did only go 2 days without power but believe me, 2 days is enough. The boys think it’s an adventure, yes I will agree. They love dragging their bunk bed mattresses out to the living room, where the only possible heat is the fireplace. Not only are their mattresses out there but every stuffed animal, every blanket, pillow and piece of crap you can imagine all piled up in the living room! Glad I cleaned house…..WHY? The latest forecast was 3-5 inches of snow. Okay, sounds reasonable. Of course the last 3 times weather predictions they have made, we got nothing. This time however, they completely missed the boat! So at the last hour, they changed the forecast to 6-8 inches. Considering the previous storms had been way under par and not worth the time to grocery shop….who’s worried?! But before the snow could even finish its journey, we were once again without power. The branches began to freeze, the creaking and bending began (as I walked to my car, one branch almost removed an eye – I was totally unaware that the branches had bent all the way down). Then the snapping, falling and destruction started. I really think there MUST be a funny song in all this – don’t you think? I have a friend who writes hilarious Haikus to post on facebook during outages. Her love hate HATE relationship with PEPCO runs deep. Ever since our blizzards of 2010, the newscasters have had fun giving play-on-words names to these events. Now of course, they think it’s funny because we KNOW they have heat and could afford a hotel room if needed. But us poor folk, who would not only have to dish out a lot of cash to survive days on end of this bitter house but also, what would be involved to pack up 3 boys and all their crap that they MUST HAVE in order to make a journey to a place of civilization! So we try to hang in there and tell ourselves that it’s just a few more hours, maybe just until morning and then the power will be back. No internet, no TV, no phones (thank goodness for cell phones), no heat, very little hot water, very little comfort. Though I will say, there is a lot to be thankful for this go round of power outages….we are not trapped by mile high walls of snow – we can get out! All roads out are also clear! We don’t have to use an outhouse (as my sister so kindly pointed out) even though our bathroom temps seem below zero and I fear every time I put my tush on the seat it will stick! Did I mention again that we can just drive away? So tomorrow dear friends, I will be making a break for civilization. I’m not weak. I’m no weeny. I’m definitely not Wonder mom! Amenities like TV, internet, warm beds, lights…all those were invented for a reason – to be USED! I am not a camping queen and I am proud. I know some of you find great pride in camping for a week with your kids or living off the land (or no heat). Believe me, I AM proud of you. But I’m proud of myself too – for being able to admit defeat, admit that I need the amenities set before me, admit that a warm bed is exactly what I need to have a decent night’s sleep, admit that camping is for boy/girl scouts and they were invented to help children with moms like me who say NEVER. I forever stand by my golden rule…”Camping is staying somewhere without room service”. Hello PEPCO? Are you out there?