My Kid

Last week my five year old was in a unusually agreeable mood for 3 straight days! Now I don't know if you know the significance of this...
but let me tell you it was BIG!
My son is a really good kid even day to day...but let's face it...he's 5 years old! Most of the time a 5 year old is sort of like a psychotic beginning medication. A moody, disagreeable, sweet, tender, funny, nasty, silly little creature who can simultaneously bring you to tears, laughter, and gross you out! Being a good parent and trying to raise a decent human being is life greatest challenge...so when you get a couple of days of "unusually agreeable" it is something worth writing about! Are there others out there who have experienced this? Why is this not in the mommy handbook? I was taken completely off guard by my little person's imitation of the Dahli Lama. I was unprepared for No mini tantrums, No arguments, No whining...so it actually took a couple of days for the realization to kick it. (I must confess that for a few hours on the third day I actually started to attribute this delightfully easy boy to my outstanding parenting skills.) Then I woke up! And so did he! 3 days was about all he had in him...and then my usual capricious 5 year old returned!
I had to put it down here though to remind myself it really did take place and perhaps that congenial little person will return soon!

Ice Storm...Day 3!

Wow...
A little bit of family sometimes goes a long way................
We got 5" of rain over the weekend...along with some cold weather. So we really did not venture out all weekend. And by Sunday night, we found out an ice storm was heading for Austin. Unusual for our neck of the woods...but it happens every couple of years. By the time we woke up Monday morning...it was below freezing temps and although I could have gotten to work, I knew it would be hard coming home! More precip was falling and turning to sleet. So Monday at home with husband and 5 year old son was a fun "Snow Day"! We went out that morning to garner supplies...of course I forgot the most important items...cookies and anything chocolate! Bitch!
Tuesday was day 2 and we were getting a bit of cabin fever...but about noon time it started to snow! Beautiful, large, fluffly flakes and it was so lovely and quiet! My son was in awe! We hoped to be able to go back to our routine Wednesday...okay I hoped really really badly...but nope...more sleet, rain , and more ice...more ice...more ice! Almost busted my ass outside the garage door. Definitely not a pretty site! By this time, we are not quite in the "Snow day" kind of mood! The chocolate ran out Tuesday afternoon and with no reinforcements, I was not mommy of the year! "No dessert momma?"
But we have made it through Wednesday...my husband nearly pushed me over on his way to school tonight. He was in desperate need of some alone time and "other people" time.
Me too...I love my family...but 5 days inside with them was enough for me. Momma needs some Mommy time!

Off Key

I hear the sound of my voice and though I am speaking out loud, it still sounds alien and unfamiliar. To my ears the sound is tinny and slightly off key. And far, far away. Perhaps this is a reliable clue to the fact that I am not myself. Off kilter... perhaps to the left, I think. But then, what the hell do I know? Today... not much. Perhaps the inconsistency has more to do with my disposition than the reverberations of the voice in my head. And the feeling I have today of being far removed from myself comes from...?

Hope

Hope...a word that brings to mind a vast array of emotions and images to anyone who hears it. Definition wise... "a feeling that what is wanted will happen; desire accompanied by expectation." It can have religious connotations of faith and belief, the anticipation and desire of lovers, or the longings and dreams of an artist. Wish...opportunity...conviction...aspiration...trust.
All words synonymous with hope. Often times we frivolously hope for concrete things...I need... I want... I deserve. But hope has a genuineness symbolizing so much more. It's deeper in it's essence than just the mere "I hope this or that" we spout off daily. It is a word full of endless possibilities...a work in progress. Hope is what keeps us motivated to do and be. It's what gives passion to our very existence. If you have hope, there is inevitably a chance for tomorrow. As if a higher power were helping guide your destiny...albeit haphazardly at times. Having hope promises the greatest joys you can imagine, or perhaps the deepest sorrows when your desires take a detour your expectations didn't know about. Nevertheless, experiencing both joy and sorrow is how you know you are truly alive. You cannot know one without the other. However, in order to fulfill wishes and dreams, the hope you have must be accompanied by some kind of movement. Hope alone without action is hollow. But when the two are joined, the potential is limitless...