Sometimes a Card Says it Best

Today the Gratitude is short and sweet...

Kids make you laugh.

Remember when I got A Little Help From My Friends? The impact was farther reaching than I was aware...



E-man makes an Easter card at school.



Gratitude to KJ too, who took it all in stride and even cracked a little smile herself.


Michelle

Robo-Not-So-Real-Baby

I am not ready to be a grandmother and I spend an awful lot of time reminding my children of that fact. I use whatever means land in my path to make the point that sexual responsibility is a real thing with real consequences and best left to consenting adults.

Think I'm kidding? Last week KJ was taking a prescription for a tummy virus. She opened the bottle and said “I think I missed one.” to which I, without missing a beat, yelled “PREGNANT!” KJ quietly explained to me that A) she's not that kind of girl and 2) prescription antacids do not have anything to do with pregnancy. “No”, I said “but if that had be your birth-control you would be PREGNANT!” *insert visual of teenager shaking head and rolling eyes*

It should be fairly clear that when Lula announced that she was bringing home Robo-Baby for the weekend I was ecstatic! I know that teenagers have an unrealistic view of infant rearing and I have heard some really great Robo-Baby horror stories. I was looking forward to the up all night screaming computer infant that would leave my 16 year old weary, frustrated and slightly sleep deprived. I wanted to see her pull her hair out for 48 hours and beg for it to stop.

This is the reality she got...

Robo-Baby turned on at 3pm, ate and slept until the evening. He let Lula eat her dinner hot and was only awake for 45 minutes between 7 and 10pm. He did not spit-up on my daughter's shoulder during burping. The diapers did not smell. Yellow baby poo did not gush from onsie leg wholes or up and out through the neck whole. Robo-Baby went to sleep after 5 minutes of rocking and stayed that way even when the chair creaked and the phone rang. Robo-Baby woke up once through the night for a 20 minute feeding and went promptly back to sleep until a reasonable hour. He let my daughter eat breakfast, get dressed, have a hot cup of coffee and enjoy a 25 minute car ride without fussing, crying, soiling himself or crying for no apparent reason. Night two mirrored night one and Sunday morning found my very lovely daughter not nearly as dishevelled as I was rooting for.

Apart from a few sparse moments of new Robo-Mother anxiety that had Lula doing the rock, bounce – what's wrong with you dance the weekend did not pose much reality... save for one moment...

During a crying episode KJ rather loudly complained “I didn't sign up for the stupid Baby why do I have to listen to it's crying and crap?”

So while the experience of Robo-Baby may have been under-realistic for the caregiver I am very grateful that the message was not lost on everyone.

Hope Gratitude and Smiles are meant to be shared,

Michelle

Michael, Nano Seconds and How Mickey Rourke Ended Up in Our Van

I'm sitting in the drive thru this morning with Michael, waiting in cue for our ice-coffee (sweet sustenance for the weekly errand run in summer) We are talking about the part we need for the dishwasher, items on the market grocery list and what we still need for cottage week. E-man is in the back trying to edge into the conversation with his 148th sales pitch on 'why we need an XBox 360.' There's a breath in the conversation, one of those thoughtful pauses where everyone contemplates the barrage of information that has just passed back and forth. The next words to fill the air in our van throw me for a loop.

"Mickey Rourke"

I turn my attention to Mike.

"What?" I ask
"Mickey Rourke." he repeats
"What?" I ask again. Trying desperately to replay the last 3 minutes, play a mental round of 6 degrees of separation and figure out what Mickey Rourke has to do with anything.
"The guy from that movie The Wrestler" Mike says
"I know who Mickey Rourke is." I say. "I'm trying to figure out where he came from"
"You know he was in all those movies in the 80's"
"Ya, I know, but what does he have to do with s'mores, a pump connector and beans?" I'm starting to feel a little stupid now because I still can't make the connection and Mike is looking at me like I just landed.
"Marlborough Man... he was the guy."
"Marlborough Man?" I inquire even more lost than  I thought I was.
"Ya, we were talking about that motorcycle movie, Marlborough Man and 'the guy' and I couldn't remember his name? It was Mickey Rourke."
"Seriously?" I'm looking out of the van window now trying to find the item that triggered that memory. Nothing. "Seriously? what has that got to do with anything we've been talking about just now?"
"It doesn't." He says.
"Then why are we talking about Mickey Rourke?" I can't even disguise the desperation and complete confusion anymore.
"Because I just got the answer. I couldn't remember the guys name and I just did." he replies
"Just like that? In the middle of a conversation about corn and gas mileage the answer Mickey Rourke just popped into your brain out of nowhere?" I'm lost for words.
"Ya, that's how it works, my brain, it's like a computer; it's always processing information, stuff I'm not even thinking about anymore. It's why I don't sleep at night, my brain is constantly processing crap stuff." he explains.
I am amazed at how quiet E-man is in the back. I think he might be thinking the same thing I am.
I stared at Mike, astonished. "Your processor is old, that conversation happened a week ago!"

I didn't suggest that perhaps I should be considering an upgrade. I was too busy laughing my head off!

Gratitude today for my husband who is always thinking. I wouldn't of course even consider trading you in. I would miss living in the middle of a sitcom! Seriously!

Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.

Michelle


Did this post brighten your day? make you smile? If so I'd be ever so grateful if you shared it on Facebook or Twitter. Someone else might be in need of a smile - Thanks!

Really, I Don't Mind

Could there be a finer thing than a hobby? A passionate endeavor that provides escape from the "have to's" and the "I need's" of daily life?

 A hobby demands nothing of you except whatever time you have to indulge it and thanks you with serenity, purpose and relaxation. Yes, a hobby is an exquisite thing...the only thing finer is the hobby that keeps your husband occupied...without which, for your hobbies... there would be no time.

Gratitude today for the NHL Playoffs that are affording me many guilt free hours of writing

Message in the Laundry Pile

Seeing as laundry is my housekeeping nemesis and I find myself doing laundry for 8 now instead of 5 I'm really too busy for a post today. Instead, I present a laundry inspired poem I wrote some time ago and a photo of my day.

In the Wash

Mountains piled up so high,
colours reaching to the sky.

The task at hand fills up the room,
the scent of softeners sweet perfume.

A fragrant mess to be sorted through,
separate piles for me and you.

Somewhere within, a wrinkled dress
and your good shirt that needs a press.

A bed now covered in folded frocks,
a victorious pile of folded socks.

Neatly sorted to be put away,
to lay in wait for another day.

As the piles shift from fresh to worn
another mountain of clothes is born.

The air fills with the heady scent,
of adventures and commitments met.

And somewhere amid the crumpled mess
An unworn gown and a shirt not pressed.

                                            Michelle

I suppose, today I'm grateful that I don't have to travel to a laundry mat!


Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.

Michelle

Did this post brighten your day? make you smile? If so I'd be ever so grateful if you shared it on Facebook or Twitter. Someone else might be in need of a smile - Thanks!

Wednesday's Example of Domestic Bliss

What did I do before I got a dryer with a "dewrinkle" setting?...If I couldn't get away with defining the wrinkles under the 'casual' category, I chose something else to wear. If my only option was wrinkled beyond wearable status I cried, then I ironed... but mostly I cried.

Today I am grateful for domestic technology that compensates for my lack of enthusiasm and aptitude.


Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.

Michelle

Friday Gratitude Funny

Sometimes you're not grateful for a thing until you reach for it and it's not there.

The Dr.'s Waiting Room Got Nothing on Me

There are things we take for granted everyday. Items we pass by, Things we live with that take up space but not much of our attention. Items like family photos that hang on the wall. They hang there, you pass them 12 times a day as you travel up and down the stairs delivering laundry and running to the washroom but would you notice if someone drew a mustache on Grandma Betty? No, not until a visiting friend inquires about when Grandma stopped shaving. (I promise at that moment you will also notice that it's been awhile since you dusted the tops of those photo frames).

Our home is an extreme example, every room looks like a "find 12 things that are wrong with this picture" page. Every once in a while I catch something myself. Like the magazines you will find in my powder room should you find yourself in need of "reading material" Wow! that's neglectful, even for me!

Today I am grateful for the many friends and family members who have used this room since 2003 and have never commented on my domestic ineptitude.