Silly (and Spooky) Kid Stuff

If you are a parent, you know that your children are always a good source of stories to share. Here are a few of mine from the past few days:

Tea Party Gone Bad

While Andrew took a nap recently, Ella and I were in the living room playing with her Disney Princess Barbie dolls. She brought me the Mulan Barbie and she had her Moana Barbie. She sat them both across from each other and then grabbed a tea pot and tea cups. She set them in front of each doll. She then brought over this mushroom/muffin looking toy (she obviously thought they looked more like muffins). This is when things went awry!

I started to make Mulan (who she had given to me) drink her tea. I made slurping sounds and then did a loud fake burp. This made her laugh. Then I did it again. More laughter. Then I made really loud slurping sounds and the cup ended up on Mulan’s head. She started to do the same thing to her Moana. I was laughing just as hard as she was, especially when she was making her fake burp sounds.

Pausing Pap

Andrew has been using CPAP for over a week. Here’s the thing, it is supposed to help him sleep better. However, because of his age and the limited masks that he can use, the one he has works – when it stays on. Basically, mom and dad are the ones who aren’t sleeping now. Sam and I find ourselves pulling it back on his head or fighting him to get it back on. It is a struggle.

We e-mailed his doctor about it and we’re gonna take a break for a day or two to see if that helps. The good thing is that his apnea is mild, and we were only anticipating him wearing it for less than a year. The doc told us, if he lets us put it on – use it. If not – don’t.

All in all, whether he is rested or not, he is still giving us plenty of smiles!

Toddler Vocabulary Lesson

Ella did the cutest thing the other day. We had misplaced the TV remote and I asked her to help me find it. She reached he hand up to her eyes like she was looking through binoculars and said:

“Daddy, I can’t find the remote. I will have to use my ‘oculars’ and look for it!”

Hardest Part of Parenting

As a father of four children, I have taken each of them in for shots more times than I can count. There is always that look of, “How could you let them hurt me like that, Daddy?” after they get poked. It kills me every time.

Last week, Ella had her three year old well visit. We noticed that she is bruising very easily. She jumps around a lot and (as most toddlers do) bumps into just about everything. The bruising concerns us a bit, so her primary doc wanted to run some bloodwork to make sure she is ok. Sam was with her at that appointment and she was told she could just go next door to the lab to get the blood draw.

Ella was extremely scared and voiced that numerous times. I guess they poked her a couple times and could not get the draw. They were going to try to do the other arm and Sam said, “No, we’ll do it another day.” Ella had been through enough. So, today, it was my turn to take her to get it done.

I had picked out a short sleeve short for her, but she wanted to wear a dress. There were no sleeves on it and so the tourniquet the wrapped on her arm bothered her a lot. She sat in my lap and said she was scared. I did what I could to keep her calm, but after the first poke, she moved and wound up blowing the vein. The tech decided to try the other arm. In my head, I decided I would let them try one time and if they didn’t get it, we’d leave.

They found a good vein, got the poke and Ella and I took deep breaths and counted to 5 (over and over). That helped a lot! Once they were done and pulled the needle out, she was still crying, but she looked at the techs who did the draw and said, “Thank you.” They offered her a pack of graham crackers, and she was all better.

Hopefully, the test results will be normal.

Heavenly Visitor?

I’ve never been one to believe in supernatural stuff, but today something happened that made the hair on my neck stand up. I’m still scratching my head over it.

When I woke up for work today, Sam asked me what my oldest son called my mom (he is the only one of my kids who knew my mom before she passed away). I told her that he always called her “grandma.” She asked further, “Did he ever call her Grammy?” He didn’t. My ex’s mom was “Grammy,” but my mom was always “Grandma.”

I asked her why she wanted to know. She proceeded to tell me that Ella had said something to her today and when Sam asked her where she heard it (or maybe it was who told her that), she replied, “My Grammie in heaven.” So this peaked my curiosity and I asked her what else she had told her. She said something about princesses, but Sam and I think she was just talking about the princesses that we got for that Tonie.

The longer I sat in the living room drinking my first cup of coffee, the more I wondered about what she said. I have no pictures of my mom hanging in the house. I don’t have photo albums that we can look through. All the physical photos I do have are in a box and the rest are digital. For some reason, this really bugged me. So I took it a step farther.

I grabbed my phone and opened up my Facebook page. I went to the photo albums and found one that contains pictures of my mom. I pulled up one from before she got sick and opened it on my phone. I showed Ella this picture:

It had been a few minutes and I was sure she had already forgotten our mention of my mom. I asked her, “Ella, who is this?” Without missing a beat, she said, “My Grammie in heaven.” I was dumbfounded. I truly don’t know that Ella has seen but one or two pictures of my mom, yet she recognized her immediately.

When we found out that we were going to have a baby, my wife bought a special onesie that brought me to tears.

Who am I to question whether or not mom and Ella still talk?

Saturday Morning Kindness

With a lack of motivation to write tonight, I was scrolling Facebook and found an interesting story a friend had posted. I thought it was worth sharing here.

I’m not 100% on the source, but from what I was able to find, the story was shared from someone named John Perricone. It seems that the story was shared on a website called Upworthy, which shares many positive stories. Here is the story:

Several years ago I invited a Buddhist monk to speak to my Senior elective class, and quite interestingly, as he entered the room, he didn’t say a word (that caught everyone’s attention). He just walked to the board and wrote this: “EVERYONE WANTS TO SAVE THE WORLD, BUT NO ONE WANTS TO HELP MOM DO THE DISHES.” We all laughed. But then he went on to say this to my students:

“Statistically, it’s highly unlikely that any of you will ever have the opportunity to run into a burning orphanage and rescue an infant. But, in the smallest gesture of kindness — a warm smile, holding the door for the person behind you, shoveling the driveway of the elderly person next door — you have committed an act of immeasurable profundity, because to each of us, our life is our universe.”

This is my hope for you for the New Year — that by your smallest acts of kindness, you will save an other’s world.

As we wrap up the first week of 2023, this is something we should all strive to do. I don’t have any New Year’s Resolutions this year, but I do hope to take advantage of the opportunity to be kind to others and perform more random acts of kindness.

You have no doubt heard it before, but it really is the perfect quote to end with ….

She Still Has It! – A Christmas Memory From Way Back.

I was in elementary school. This happened somewhere between 3rd and 6th grade. I cannot be too sure when, although I bet if I reached out to my friend, she would know. Here is the story:

One of the wonderful things about elementary school (at least when I was there) was the class Christmas party. They probably call it a “Holiday” party now, or maybe they can’t do them anymore, I don’t know. Each student would bring a treat or drink to pass around and the day before Christmas break, you’d have a celebration.

Each year, there was a gift exchange. It was never anything really expensive. I think there was a $5 or $10 limit. A couple weeks before the party, each kid came up to the bowl or hat with the names of the kids participating and drew a name. One year, I drew Carol’s name.

Carol sat in front of me every year. Her last name came before mine alphabetically. She had blonde hair and I remember thinking how pretty she was. Of course, you never told anyone that in elementary school. The other boys would make fun of you! Anyway, I remember freaking out about what to get her. What does a boy know about buying for a girl!? (Incidentally, this still holds true today for most guys I know – myself included!)

I’m sure I had to ask my mom for help deciding. I don’t exactly remember all of what I got her, but it was probably candy and such. But there was one thing I remember seeing that I thought was a good idea. A snowman pin. I wouldn’t call it a hat pin, it was more of a lapel pin. You know, it was metal and had the gold or silver clasp that fit over the pin to keep it on where you pinned it? I did a search online and this is pretty darn close to what I remember it looking like:

It was such a simple little thing. Back when we were in high school, she still had it. She would wear it around the holidays. I was floored that she kept it. I know I would have lost it over the years.

After graduation, as most people do, I lost touch with Carol. Years later, thanks to Myspace, I was able to reconnect with her. One of the first things she told me was that she STILL had that snowman pin! She told me that she would always wear it every holiday season! I could not believe it.

With the dawn of Facebook, we connected on there and are still friends. I met her about 45 years ago. That pin has to be at least 42 years old and as far as I know, she still has it. This makes me smile to know that the one thing that I thought would be a good gift – was.

Merry Christmas, Carol. I hope that snowman is still smiling at you and making you smile, too!

Thanks, Kevin!

I have made it no secret that I love to read the “educational” portion of the newspaper. I am referring, of course, to the comics! A few years ago, when I started my blog, I even devoted a blog to them and talked about many of my favorites. You can read about that here:

The Comics

One of my favorite strips is Drabble by Kevin Fagan. I feel like I have been reading it since it first came out (1979), and that may very well be true. As I stated in the above blog, I found that I related to those characters a lot. The relationship between the father (Ralph) and the son (Norman) reminded me a lot of the relationship I have with my dad.

Over time, I have found that I relate a bit more with Ralph now. Kevin has drawn some very funny strips about golf featuring Ralph. They always seem to be very close to an experience I’ve had while golfing.

I don’t recall when I found that Kevin was on Facebook, but I sent him a friend request and he accepted it. He and I even had some brief conversations on messenger. I was really surprised that he would chat with me.

Since becoming friends on Facebook, I have learned much about him. He shares a lot of great stories, most of which I had never heard before. He was friends with Charles Schulz, the creator of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. You can read that story in a biography for gocomics:

https://www.gocomics.com/blog/2810/kevin-fagan-drabble

Fans of the strip can subscribe to the “Daily Drabble” where Kevin features old strips from the past. He shares a lot of the background inspirations for those strips and talks about the evolution of the characters, too. I have loved seeing so many of those really early strips. They are still funny!

He has a brand new book out that features the Drabble’s dog, Wally.

Subscribers to the Daily Drabble had the opportunity to receive a copy of the book from Kevin. He was more than happy to autograph them for subscribers. Today, mine came in the mail. He even drew a picture:

How very cool to have this! What an honor it is to call Kevin a friend!

For 43 years, Drabble has been making readers laugh. It remains fresh and funny today. Just like a good sitcom, I connect with the characters and enjoy the various story lines. I’m happy to add another Drabble book to my library and encourage you to pick one up for yourself!

The world seems to grow a bit darker every day with war, inflation, political nonsense, death, disease and many other depressing things. It is nice to know I can count on a laugh from Ralph, Norman, Wally and the gang on a daily basis. Thanks again, Kevin for a comic institution.

Happy First Birthday, Andrew!

It is truly hard to believe that Andrew turned 1 today! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Yet here we are one year later. A lot has transpired in 365 days.

For new followers to the blog, you can relive all the excitement of his delivery and birthday here:

He’s Here!

He didn’t go to bed any later than normal last night, but he slept longer than Ella today, which is not the norm. Ella was up and playing in her crib and I got up to get her. We came back to my room where Andrew was still sleeping. As much as she tries to whisper, every now and then she forgets and just gets loud. When I reminded her that it was his birthday, she screamed with excitement … and of course, woke him up.

When Sam got home from work, we whipped up some breakfast and had some well deserved family time. We snapped a few first birthday photos and then got ready for a day at the park. It was just beautiful today with temperatures up near 70. The sun made it feel a whole lot warmer.

We drove through and grabbed lunch and brought it to the park for a picnic lunch. There is a small park about 20 minutes away and it was just perfect. There was a playground with playscape and swings and a pavilion with picnic tables where we ate. There is a trail that you can walk with a small creek and fall colors.

Sam and Andrew explored the tennis courts and playground while I sat with Ella as she finished her lunch. When she was finished, we walked over to them. Sam asked if Ella wanted to show me where she had seen some ducks the last time they were there. She said she’d rather play on the playground, so Andrew and I took a walk over.

There is a little bridge that overlooks the creek and he loved just walking on it and looking down at the creek.

We were at the park for quite a while enjoying the day. We didn’t leave until it was close to nap time. Andrew wound up falling asleep in the car, which worked out because Sam wanted to stop and pick up some balloons for him. When we got home, Sam wanted to take a short nap before dinner.

Her mom stopped by to drop off Andrew’s birthday gift and brought their dog Toodles! We all love that dog! The kids loved that she was here and we all went outside and ran around with her. I wish I had gotten some pictures of that!

We had planned on making a chicken and rice dish for dinner, but I neglected to pull chicken out to thaw, so I wound up running to the store and picking up a rotisserie chicken. We made some green beans and mac and cheese to go with it.

After dinner, Andrew opened his birthday gifts and played with his new Little People School Bus before it was time for cake. We sang Happy Birthday and we gave him his cake.

Unlike the day of his cake smash pictures, this time, Andrew REALLY chowed down on this cake!!

It was very fun to watch. He just kept grabbing chunks of cake and stuffing his face. I swear, he ate 3/4 of that cake! I’m surprised he fell asleep tonight after eating all that sugar!!

He snuggled up with mommy and fell asleep on her tonight. It was just beautiful. Sam mentioned to me last night, she never really understood just how different it is in regard to the mother/son bond. She loved them both the same, but that bond is a little different. I explained that I totally understood what she was saying because I feel the same way with Ella. That daddy/daughter bond is really special.

Sam, Ella, and the birthday boy are all asleep as I write this. I think back over the last year and remember so many wonderful memories. He certainly has given us a run for our money. Plenty of after hours urgent care visits, a few months with his helmet, fracture of his foot, and all kinds of other things.

His sleep study showed he had sever sleep apnea. He was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia, which is some extra tissue on the larynx which can cause apnea and other issues. He goes in for surgery on Thursday to correct this. His sleep doc is also worried about whether or not the apnea caused some heart issues, so next week we have to go for an echocardiogram for him. We’re praying that all goes well with the surgery and the echo.

Before he has surgery, he had to get a COVID test. I had to take him in for it and I was totally prepared for a lot of crying. I just knew that it was going to be awful for him to be swabbed. The nurse came in, swabbed him, he made a face and there were no tears! I literally snapped this picture like 20 seconds after the swab.

What a blessing he is to us. As I said on Facebook today:

One year. 365 days. What an amazing trip around the sun it has been for our Andrew Joseph! He is unique and wonderful in so many ways!

This amazing little guy has brought even more happiness to our home. His bright blue eyes light up the room. His smile is contagious. His laughter is joyful noise.

His happy dance makes us all giggle with delight. He is a good little brother, even though Ella has said that he “drives me crazy!”. I have no doubt these two will be best friends. Thank you, God, for allowing me to be “dad” to these two amazing kids!!

Happy birthday, AJ! Thank you for a wonderful year of memories and milestones. We can’t wait to see what the years ahead will bring….

I love you, son.

Sam posted this:

Andrew Joseph-

Today you are ONE! This momma might be in a bit of denial that you aren’t my tiny baby anymore. Even though you are my second baby, you have definitely taught me how to be a momma in a whole new way. You taught me to listen to my momma gut when something isn’t right. You have taught me to fight for answers and pray harder then ever.

Andrew you are fierce and determined! You will not let anything stop you. Your sister might be bigger but you have no issues pulling her to the floor by her hair if it means getting your toy back. You will find a way to get to whatever you want. Even if it isn’t always the safest. There is a reason we call you Bamm Bamm.

You are brilliant! There is not a single gate, or baby proof tab or lock that you haven’t mastered. All it takes is one time of you watching and you know how to do it.

You are so loving! You have always been busy, but you are the first to always snuggle your momma. You still have yet to ever nap somewhere that isn’t in my arms and 99% of the time that is where you are all night too. You fall asleep with my lips on your forehead every single night. And it is secretly my favorite part of the day.

You have the best smile and the brightest eyes and we love you more than you know! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

I have said it before, but it is worth repeating – I am a truly blessed man.

Happy Birthday, AJ! You are so special to us.

I love you,

Daddy

Life Turns On A Dime

Just what does that even mean – “Life turns on a dime?” A quick Google search will offer up some explanations for folks unfamiliar with the phrase:

“Since a dime is the smallest U.S. coin, the ability to “turn on it” is a figure of speech meaning you can change direction very quickly in a very small space. In this case, it means that life can change course very quickly. Depending on the circumstances, it can be either good or bad, but either way it will be rapid.“

To “turn on a dime” means turning sharply and/or suddenly. To say that “life can turn on a dime” means that a person’s life can change radically in an instant (or very quickly). It’s more often used to mean someone going from a “good place” to a not-so-good place, but it can also mean suddenly taking a turn for the better.

Turn on a dime is an English idiom meaning change dramatically, suddenly and without warning or coming out of the blue unexpectedly. It usually results from a single event that dramatically alters the course of events either as a negative or a positive.

Stephen King uses that quote quite a bit in his time travel book 11.22.63. It is almost like a theme throughout it. One thing can change history (as in the case of the book) in the blink of an eye. I guess another way of explaining it is that life can change just like that (imagine a finger snap here.)

I had totally prepared to work on my article for the next round of Turntable Talk today, but some things have been tossed into our path that has led to this one instead. I write this as a reminder to you and myself to take nothing for granted. I write this as a reminder to live each day to it’s fullest. I write this as a reminder that life is a fragile thing.

In the baseball game of life, we are thrown many curveballs. Some of those we see coming and some brush us off the plate. Some of those we get ahold of and can knock them out of the park, while many of them we swing at – and miss.

Enjoy every moment. Never miss an opportunity to say “I love you.” Life is too short to hold grudges. These are all things that I have said in one way, shape or form in previous blogs.

It has been hard for me to scroll Facebook lately. So many of my friends are hurting because of sickness, death, grief, or struggle. I pray for each of them daily. Sure, there are plenty of happy moments shared on social media, but in amongst those things are people I care about – hurting. Life turned on a dime for them. Factor in some other news that we’ve been made aware of over the past few weeks and we see life turning on a dime again, this time closer to home.

The storm is off the coast. It is clear as day on the radar. Heading toward us. We will watch it’s course and the skies. We will prepare the best we can. We will do our best to be ready for it. In the meantime, we will enjoy the moments and savor each one.

“Can We Pray?”

It was unexpected, and it caught me off guard. It was also exactly what I needed.

A high school friend reached out to me on Facebook earlier today. She was just checking in as it had been a bit since we chatted. Rather than message her back, I called her on my way to work. I had interrupted her viewing of “Pretty Woman,” but she took the call anyway.

She has been a wonderful friend and offered positive vibes and support through some tough times. We basically spent the time catching each other up on life. She commented that AJ is getting big too fast and said that Ella looks like a wonderful big sister. Then she asked about my older sons. She is well aware of the situation and struggles that I have had with them since my divorce. I shared some of the recent drama and filled her in on the latest.

When I pulled into work, there was already a patient in the parking lot. I was quite early, so it must have been an early arrival. I mentioned that I had arrived at work and that I would catch up soon.

Before we hung up, she said, “Can we pray?” I’m not sure why this was such a surprise to me. I know that she is a woman of faith. We have often spoke to each other and asked each other to pray about things. In all the years we have been friends, this would be the first time we prayed together.

I closed my eyes, and she prayed. We prayed.

“Amen.”

I have often found myself praying on the drive in, or when I get to the parking lot, or walking through the supermarket. It was just me and God. This time, my friend and I sat in prayer together and it struck a chord. She doesn’t know just how much that meant, and so I say “Thank you.” It is one thing to say, “I’ll pray for you.” It is another to pray WITH you.

Thank you, my friend. I hope you know just how much that meant to me.

Thank You, Nancy!

Nancy was a music teacher at the school district I attended. She was always wearing a smile and her student’s loved “Mrs. T.” She was a very special friend.

I worked part time for the district as a custodian, in between radio jobs when I was in my 20’s. I would get a call each day from the secretary who told my what school I would be heading to each day and who I was filling in for. I remember being at one elementary school in particular for a long stretch of time. It was during this time that Nancy and I got to talk more.

I went into the music room to clean, and she was there working late. I don’t recall what she was working on, but I re-introduced myself (it had been some years, since I was a young boy). She remembered me, and my (now ex) wife and her family. We had some wonderful conversations about life and, of course, music.

I remember talking to her about how we used to put on musical plays when I was in elementary school. We did one on Thomas Edison (The Electric Sunshine Man), the year before they did Annie (Which scarred me for life), and I played the lead in The Runaway Snowman. She smiled as I recalled those memories. She loved working with students and she was glad to share many stories.

After I left the district and moved for a radio job, I lost touch with her. She reconnected with me on Facebook and we began to chat again. She was always interested in my life and supportive during some tough times. When Sam and I got married, she sent congratulations. When Ella was born, she made her a beautiful blanket/quilt. She was right there to congratulate us again when Andrew was born.

Over the past few months, I noticed she was a bit absent more than usual. It wasn’t until just recently I found out she had been in and out of the hospital. During that time, she was diagnosed with cancer and she came home to hospice in mid-May.

Her family set up a page for her on Caring Bridge, which allowed her friends and family to receive updates. You had to be approved to take part, so I reached out to one of her daughters. In talking with her, she asked for my address because Nancy had something for Andrew. I asked for her address in return, because I had misplaced it, so I could send a card.

On Sunday, I sealed up the card and was going to drop it in the mail Monday morning. When I awoke Monday, I saw that a new journal entry had posted. Her daughter posted that Nancy had passed away earlier that morning. I was heartbroken.

Just over an hour after I read of her passing, there was a knock at the door and a package was left. It was from Nancy. Inside was a gift for Andrew and gifts for Ella.

Nancy had made a blanket/quilt just like she had made for Ella, for Andrew.

Ella was excited to open up her gifts, too. Nancy had sent two pop-up books with shapes and colors. Ella loves books and immediately began to read them – while sitting on Andrew’s blanket!

I won’t lie, I was kind of overwhelmed with emotion. Nancy was gone, and yet, she still managed to shower my family with her kindness. Inside the package was a card:

Rest assured that there will be plenty of snuggles and smiles, Nancy. I hope you can here me expressing my gratitude to you for loving my family and for your friendship.

After the news began to spread of her passing, I was not surprised at all to see that she showed kindness to many others.

One post read: “Years ago, a wonderful woman looked at a beaten down young boy who she thought had amazing musical talent. She took that young boy under her wing and taught him the greatest joy in life – music. She also taught him all of the wonderful things music could do for him in his life. When in high school, she believed so much in this young man she helped pay for his vocal lessons so he could continue his talent and passion for music.”

Another wrote: “She was a wonderful, kind woman whose absence in our music department was felt the moment she retired a few years after I started teaching. Memory eternal, Nancy. Thank you for having such a profound impact on me.”

Yet another wrote: “You were inspiring in so many ways and will definitely be missed.. I’m glad you got to meet my kids and teach Emily music. We love you”

Another: “Mrs. T was a truly amazing teacher. Such devotion and compassion as hers is not seen enough in a lifetime. It was an absolute privilege to have you as a teacher, and for my children’s teacher. Thank you for your kindness and years of dedication. You will be missed.”

There were also posts from friends she had for decades! She obviously was a very special lady.

I began this blog with a picture that had a quote on it:

” There are some who bring a light so bright to the world that even after they have gone the light remains.”

Nancy “light” will definitely continue to shine for many years to come. Her influence and impact that she made on her students will live on through them. Her friends will forever have wonderful memories of her and the times they shared.

I will always look at those blankets and think of my wonderful friend.

Heaven’s choir obtained a wonderful voice this week.

Thank you, for being you, Nancy!

My Kids – Posers?

One of the things I love about Facebook is the ability to meet others who share the same interests as me. I belong to many different “fan” groups and have connected with some very cool people through those groups.

Some time ago, I saw a painting of Moe Howard that I thought was very well done. I’m not sure exactly where I had seen it, though it may have been in Moe’s book. At any rate, through one of the Three Stooges groups, I found that the artist was a member. Her name is Belita William and she painted the amazing portrait when she was in her teens!

She and Moe became friends and they were in contact with each other until he passed away. Moe liked her work so much, he had her paint him a portrait of President Kennedy.

I was surprised to find out that she had also painted a portrait for Larry Fine, as well. This is another picture I had seen somewhere prior to learning she painted it.

Belita is very talented and I am in awe of her talent. She has painted portraits of her children, church members, and many others. Here are just a few examples of her fantastic work.

To make a long story short, Belita and I became Facebook friends shortly after connecting through the Stooges group. She has often commented on photos of Ella, Andrew, and my kids. I was truly surprised when she reached out to me privately recently.

“Hi Keith. Your kids are gorgeous. Maybe you might consider portraits.”

I won’t lie, it is certainly something I would love to do. She talked about pricing and such and it is something that I definitely want to save up to do. It may take a while (thank you highest inflation rate since 1981!), but I really think this would be an amazing and one of a kind way to capture the kids. I am sure that she would do a wonderful job.

When Ella was first born, one of my co-workers said we should enter her in a “Cutest Baby Contest.” Others have said the same about Andrew. As a parent, you are biased. I mean, you KNOW how cute your kids are, right!? Sure they are “model” material! Sure they would be perfect for a portrait! Absolutely they could be in a magazine ad! You always think that, but when someone reaches out to you and actually asks to paint them (as Belita has done) or asks to use them in promotional material (like Andrew was by the place where he got his helmet), it makes you feel pretty darn good!

Thank heavens they got their good looks from their mommy! LOL

I’ll Skip This One …

June will mark 34 years since I graduated from high school. My class has never had an “official” reunion. I’m not really sure why that is. It doesn’t really matter. The only time our class had some sort of get together was a combined event with the class after us. They held it at a local bar and I remember it being very loud. It was great to see some of the faces from the past, but I felt like it was hard to catch up because you were screaming at each other.

I’ve DJ’s many high school reunions, and they are difficult to do. Not many people want to dance, because they are busy catching up with their old classmates. One reunion organizer told me to play 70’s songs (they graduated in 76) and to keep the volume down “so we can talk.” That really is what reunions are about – catching up with old friends.

This coming weekend, there is another Alumni Get Together being held. It will again be at a bar, and this one is open to pretty much anyone who went to our school. There was a Facebook invite sent out and the event is in my calendar. I can look at who is attending, but can only see those people who are my friends on Facebook.

Just yesterday, Facebook reminded me of the event again. I glanced over the friends who are going and believe me, I would love to get to hang out with them for the night. However, I decided early on that I am going to stay home. There will no doubt be many pictures taken and posted from the event and I will anxiously await seeing them.

A high school friend and I chatted on my way to work this week. She asked if I was planning on going this weekend. I told her I was not, and it isn’t because of where it is going to be or anything like that.

What it all boils down to is that there are too many possible people who could show up that I would rather not see. I have many former friends who have bought into the lies and stories that have been told about me and quite frankly, I don’t want to give anyone anything to talk about. Many former relatives went to my high school. They have their opinions of me and that’s fine. They have written enough “bad press” about me and continue to do so. Yeah, no thanks. I certainly don’t want to see any of those people, or the ones who took what they said as “truth.”

As I look back over the list of those going to the event, I know that I can message or call them at any time. Many, I do. Thanks to Facebook, I can keep in contact with them. I am sure there will be some friends not on Facebook who will be there, and I’ll miss reconnecting with them, but I keep hoping that one day my class will have an actual reunion.