Sunday, October 27, 2013
Mistakes made, that's life.: Meet the first born, Larry the Leader.
Mistakes made, that's life.: Meet the first born, Larry the Leader.: For as far back as I can remember Larry has been a serious man of business. He is a "jack of all trades." I'm not sure ...
Meet the first born, Larry the Leader.
For as far back as I can remember Larry has been a serious man of business. He is a "jack of all trades." I'm not sure there is anything he cannot do or has not tried at least once in his life.
From butcher to photographer, landscaper to building contractor, he is a self made man. He quit school in eighth grade to make his way in the world. I was so proud of him when he went back to school in his forties and got his diploma with honors.
Being around such an over achiever has not always been easy. When I was about six years old I remember a competition between him and my brother Ken as to who was the best babysitter. When he asked me my opinion I panicked. It was one of those "deer in the headlights" moments. Do I run or faint right here on the spot? Of course I didn't think either one of them was worth their salt in babysitting but out of self preservation he got my vote.
When we vacation with him and his sweet, southern bell wife, its usually goes like this- "lets cram five days worth of fun into three days of vacation. Who cares about sleeping or rest, you can do that when you get home." I have never ran through a theme park before until I went with him. Throw in the hot, humid Florida weather and you pretty much have a day at "Hades Land."
My kids just absolutely love him. He's one of those uncles that you don't see very often but when you do its a whirlwind of fun and presents.
He has slowed down a little now that he is older. He is an adoring grandpa and has conquered the art of fishing. I recently had the joy of finally beating him at something by catching more fish than him and it felt awesome! I'm sure that will be the last time I best him at anything, but at least I have that memory to savor.
He's always been at the top of my favorites list and knows how to make me laugh. I included a few pictures just for fun.
From butcher to photographer, landscaper to building contractor, he is a self made man. He quit school in eighth grade to make his way in the world. I was so proud of him when he went back to school in his forties and got his diploma with honors.
Being around such an over achiever has not always been easy. When I was about six years old I remember a competition between him and my brother Ken as to who was the best babysitter. When he asked me my opinion I panicked. It was one of those "deer in the headlights" moments. Do I run or faint right here on the spot? Of course I didn't think either one of them was worth their salt in babysitting but out of self preservation he got my vote.
When we vacation with him and his sweet, southern bell wife, its usually goes like this- "lets cram five days worth of fun into three days of vacation. Who cares about sleeping or rest, you can do that when you get home." I have never ran through a theme park before until I went with him. Throw in the hot, humid Florida weather and you pretty much have a day at "Hades Land."
My kids just absolutely love him. He's one of those uncles that you don't see very often but when you do its a whirlwind of fun and presents.
He has slowed down a little now that he is older. He is an adoring grandpa and has conquered the art of fishing. I recently had the joy of finally beating him at something by catching more fish than him and it felt awesome! I'm sure that will be the last time I best him at anything, but at least I have that memory to savor.
He's always been at the top of my favorites list and knows how to make me laugh. I included a few pictures just for fun.
This is me, besting the best!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Oh brothers!
I decided to blog about my brothers, did I mention I have five of them? Before you start feeling sorry for me let me introduce you to the fabulous five.
From oldest to youngest we start with Larry, Ken, Chuck, Dave and last but nowhere near least is Rick, I fit in between Dave and Rick. Growing up with four older brothers wasn't easy, it certainly had its drawbacks and its perks.
Perk #1. I never had to wear hand-me-downs from my brothers.
Drawback #1. Since there were no hand-me-downs I often had to wear too small clothes ( I would not be caught dead in a pair of pants!) Wearing shoes that were too small actually resulted in corrective foot surgery as an adult.
Perk #2. I always had someone to play with.
Drawback #2. I had to play things like Godzilla, crawling on my stomach like an army man and run from the creature from the black lagoon. I also learned quickly to keep all babies and Barbies out of sight or they came up strangulated and missing limbs. Not to mention they ate everything from my easy bake oven mixes to my flavored chap stick!
Perk #3. They taught me self defense.
Drawback #3. I learned self defense by being an involuntary sparring partner when they decided to take up karate, how to dodge an arrow when they took up archery and how to out run even the fastest of them.
Perk #4. There was never a shortage of boys around the house. ( hey, I'm a red blooded American girl that liked the scenery)
Drawback #4. There was never a shortage of boys around the house and they were just plain mean!
Perk #5. I learned to share and be generous.
Drawback #5. They ate EVERYTHING! I had to hide anything I wanted to keep for myself. If I was discovered eating something like a candy bar and they asked for a bite, I learned early on to position my fingers for bite size portions or the whole thing was gone in one bite. (This was tricky because it was possible to lose the skin off your knuckles if you weren't careful.)
Perk #6. I had a little brother I could blame things on.
Drawback #6. He was the "baby" and he was just so darned cute that he really never got in trouble for anything. We, on the other hand, were older and should have known better. (dang, cute, chubby, blond baby!)
There are many more and we will discuss them as I give you the run down on each fabulous brother in later blogs. I thought it would be fun to include one of the few pictures of us all together, its one of my favorites.
From oldest to youngest we start with Larry, Ken, Chuck, Dave and last but nowhere near least is Rick, I fit in between Dave and Rick. Growing up with four older brothers wasn't easy, it certainly had its drawbacks and its perks.
Perk #1. I never had to wear hand-me-downs from my brothers.
Drawback #1. Since there were no hand-me-downs I often had to wear too small clothes ( I would not be caught dead in a pair of pants!) Wearing shoes that were too small actually resulted in corrective foot surgery as an adult.
Perk #2. I always had someone to play with.
Drawback #2. I had to play things like Godzilla, crawling on my stomach like an army man and run from the creature from the black lagoon. I also learned quickly to keep all babies and Barbies out of sight or they came up strangulated and missing limbs. Not to mention they ate everything from my easy bake oven mixes to my flavored chap stick!
Perk #3. They taught me self defense.
Drawback #3. I learned self defense by being an involuntary sparring partner when they decided to take up karate, how to dodge an arrow when they took up archery and how to out run even the fastest of them.
Perk #4. There was never a shortage of boys around the house. ( hey, I'm a red blooded American girl that liked the scenery)
Drawback #4. There was never a shortage of boys around the house and they were just plain mean!
Perk #5. I learned to share and be generous.
Drawback #5. They ate EVERYTHING! I had to hide anything I wanted to keep for myself. If I was discovered eating something like a candy bar and they asked for a bite, I learned early on to position my fingers for bite size portions or the whole thing was gone in one bite. (This was tricky because it was possible to lose the skin off your knuckles if you weren't careful.)
Perk #6. I had a little brother I could blame things on.
Drawback #6. He was the "baby" and he was just so darned cute that he really never got in trouble for anything. We, on the other hand, were older and should have known better. (dang, cute, chubby, blond baby!)
There are many more and we will discuss them as I give you the run down on each fabulous brother in later blogs. I thought it would be fun to include one of the few pictures of us all together, its one of my favorites.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Promises from an eight year old.
My son moved out this month and I am learning to adjust. It's funny how quickly time goes by. Before you know it, they are kicking at the gates of the stalls ready to run free and fend for themselves.
On Saturday I was totally ready for him to be on his own. Thoughts like, "I cant wait until he has to clean up his own mess." or "When he has to fix his own dinners he will appreciate all my hard work." flooded my mind.
On Sunday as he packed his stuff I suppressed any thoughts of grief and helped him cram his car full of electronics, blankets and clothes. I graciously donated our micro wave oven, space heater and lots of safety tips and sent him on his way. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had successfully raised a "man child" to the age of twenty two without too much collateral damage.
On Monday morning I was a mess! As I sobbed on my husbands shoulder the sense of an era passing got the best of me. Memories of his younger years flooded my mind. I will miss his loud singing in the shower, I will miss his loud, contagious laughter heard throughout the house and, like all sappy mothers, I will miss his messes.
To my delight he has been back home several times in the two weeks since he moved out. He has been back to borrow a vacuum cleaner, he has been back to get some curtains, he has been back to get some fire wood and yes, he has been back to get some food.
As I adjust to my nest being a little emptier, I am thankful for our time we had and the beginning of a new era in life for us both. I knew this time was inevitable (there were times I wondered). I know he will be just fine.They all leave and make their way in the world but I can still hear his little eight year old voice promising me he would never leave and I wonder were time went.
On Saturday I was totally ready for him to be on his own. Thoughts like, "I cant wait until he has to clean up his own mess." or "When he has to fix his own dinners he will appreciate all my hard work." flooded my mind.
On Sunday as he packed his stuff I suppressed any thoughts of grief and helped him cram his car full of electronics, blankets and clothes. I graciously donated our micro wave oven, space heater and lots of safety tips and sent him on his way. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had successfully raised a "man child" to the age of twenty two without too much collateral damage.
On Monday morning I was a mess! As I sobbed on my husbands shoulder the sense of an era passing got the best of me. Memories of his younger years flooded my mind. I will miss his loud singing in the shower, I will miss his loud, contagious laughter heard throughout the house and, like all sappy mothers, I will miss his messes.
To my delight he has been back home several times in the two weeks since he moved out. He has been back to borrow a vacuum cleaner, he has been back to get some curtains, he has been back to get some fire wood and yes, he has been back to get some food.
As I adjust to my nest being a little emptier, I am thankful for our time we had and the beginning of a new era in life for us both. I knew this time was inevitable (there were times I wondered). I know he will be just fine.They all leave and make their way in the world but I can still hear his little eight year old voice promising me he would never leave and I wonder were time went.
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