Carly

I am so thankful that James, at age ten, is not yet at the stage where he is interested in girls. Hopefully we have a few more years until he is awash with teenage boy hormones, but in the meantime, he has taken a fancy to a girl he met while staying up at his Granny and Papa’s house a few weeks ago. Carly is the granddaughter of my in-law’s neighbor, and she is often at her grandmother’s house during the summer days. She’s a year or so younger than James, and very much a tomboy. “I really like Carly”, James told me after they met. “She likes to play football, and basketball, and she doesn’t want to play with sissy girl stuff.” Hmm, I thought to myself.

Since then, James has been to Granny’s house several times. “Do you think Carly will be able to play?” he asks shyly, as we drive. “I hope so,” I tell him. I am surprised with how tenderly he talks about Carly, and how much he looks forward to spending time with her. And I am a little nervous too; I am definitely not ready for school age crushes and broken hearts, and I pray that this friendship will not cause James embarrassment, hurt or pain.

So about ten days ago, Tom and I took Rachel and James on a family drive, noodling our way through NE Alabama and back into Chattanooga. We had a great time just driving on the back roads and stopping wherever we saw something that interested us. Towards the end of the day, we stopped at a truck stop on the interstate to fill up with gas and get drinks, and as I was making my way to the drink fountain, I saw James browsing through the typical tourist trinkets that abound in truck stop stores – keychains, refrigerator magnets, shot glasses, knick-knacks, and such. As I was filling up my drink cup, James came up to me and tugged gently on my arm. “Can I get this?” he asks. "I want to give it to Carly," and he opens his hand to show me a keychain, with the name ‘Carly’. I am honestly stunned! He has never bought anything for a girl before, other than his sister, and of course that doesn’t count…. I find myself in a bit of a quandary because I am always telling Rachel and James not to waste money on stuff like this keychain, but I think it is a good thing that he wants to get her a present. I find myself rattled and confused because I am not sure how to handle this. I’m sure he asked me knowing that Tom would probably tease him if he found out James wanted to buy a present for a girl. So I stick with my rules, but feel instant regret as I tell him “No, you may not get that!”, but right them , Tom comes up, and sees what James is asking for, and he also tells James “NO!” and sends him out to the car.

I finish getting my drink, and the whole time, I am feeling so bad for James. I like that he thinks about people and wants to do nice things for them, and I want to encourage him to have a tender heart and want to do things for his friends. But admittedly, this whole boy-girl friendship thing is just throwing me for bit of a loop; James would never think about buying a keychain for his other friends, who all happen to be boys. What does this mean??? Aaaarrrgggghhh! So I head over to the keychain rack, I find the ‘Carly’ keychain, I pay for it along with my drink, and I slide the keychain in my jeans pocket. I’ll give it to James later and he can give it to Carly.

The drive home is uneventful, and when we get home, James heads straight up to his room. After a few minutes I go up the stairs, planning to talk to him and give him the keychain. As I am walking down the hall, I see Tom in the room with James, and Tom is fishing a keychain out of his pocket too. He bought the same keychain! So I give James the keychain I bought, and now James has two of them to give to Carly. We laugh and shake our heads. But I feel restored somehow, and I am squirmy with happiness inside that Tom bought one too, as it revealed a sentimental side of him that is hidden too often. As corny as it sounds, it feels good. Even if it is just a silly keychain.

Because humor is a GOOD thing!

Jenni over at One Thing, who I happen to think is one of the best writers out here in blogland, decided to have a little poll on humor, so of course, I am compelled to participate. Here are my responses below. You can post your own on your own blog, and if you do, would you let me and Jenni know?

Here’s the poll:

1. Who can make you laugh the hardest (someone you personally know)? Absolutely, positively, my hubby. His stories make me laugh so hard that I make those awful snorty noises, and when he tells his story of Albo and the stuttering cop, or the cheese crackers I almost...... well........ I think you can guess what I almost do.

2. Who has the most contagious laugh (of those you know personally)? My mom, because when she laughs, it is a hugely physical thing. Her arms wave in the air, she doubles over, and then sits up for a deep breath, and then more peals of laughter. I like to make her laugh, just so I can watch her laugh, which then makes me laugh! Were you able to follow that?

3. What is the funniest movie you’ve ever seen? I'm going to cheat here.... I think the funniest movie scene is the very first scene of 'Lone Star State of Mind'. Not many folks have seen this movie, and the whole thing is pretty funny, albeit a bit questionable, but that first scene is a comedic killer.... "Panty hose Junior, not panty liners!!!!" Just go see it. But the funniest movie, beginning to end, is Young Frankenstein which just has too many funny scenes to mention one.

4. Who is your favorite comedian? Without a doubt, Carol Burnett! I loved watching the Carol Burnett show when I was growing up, although looking back, a lot of the humor went way over my head! There are so many funny Carol Burnett skits to choose from - Mr Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins, Eunice and Mama, and the classic spoof of "Gone with the Wind", but this one is priceless....

5. What’s the funniest cartoon you’ve ever seen? I loved Jenni's choice of 'Bully for Bugs', but my favorite is 'Baton Bunny', where Bugs Bunny conducts the symphony orchestra. So so so funny! In fact I think Bugs Bunny is probably the ultimate comic genius/comedian, ever.... And Bugs Bunny cartoons are always perfectly orchestrated to the music. In fact my husband doesn't think of classical music as "Classical music"; he thinks of it as "cartoon soundtracks". You can watch 'Baton Bunny' here.

6. What’s your favorite comic strip? Dilbert - because I work with people who are just. like. that.

7. What’s your favorite joke? For the life of me I cannot think of one right now.

8. Here’s a link to something that will make you laugh: This is a classic, which I first saw in 1979, and I have remembered it all these years.... The Monty Python Fish Slapping Dance!

9. What was the last thing you laughed at so hard you cried? Kitty says wake up! My cats do the same thing...well except the last part....!

10. Got a funny photo? Show me! This is part of a series of photos of R&J playing on the hammock last summer. First photo, everyone is having a great time, smiles all around, and the last photo, Bottoms up! Hammocks can have a mind of their own you know...!

The Name Game

Jenni had this posted on her website; she says it has been around for a while, but I've never seen it.... Feel free to post your own edition, and let me know if you do.

Rock Star Name: (1st Pet’s name & current car) ~ Aslan Avalon
Fly Guy/Girl Name: (1st initial + first 3 letters of your last name) ~ A-Hud
Detective Name: (Fave color & fave animal) ~ Yellow Rabbit
Soap Opera Name: (Middle name & city/town born in) ~ Lindsay Noumea
Star Wars Name: (First 3 letters of last name + first 2 of first name) ~ Hudad
Superhero: (”The” & second fave color & fave drink) ~ The Blue Gimlet
Nascar Name: (1st names of grandfathers’) ~ Ivor Harold (ugh!)
Stripper Name: (Fave scent/perfume/cologne & fave candy) ~ Obsession Kisses
Witness Protection Name: (Mom & Dad’s middle name) ~ May Donald
Weather Anchor Name: (5th grade teacher’s last name & a city which starts with the same letter) ~ Johnson Jasper
Spy/Bond Name: (fave season/holiday & fave flower) ~ Spring Lavender
Cartoon Name: (fave fruit & article of present clothing + “ie” or “y”) ~ Raspberry Jeanie
Hippy Name: (What you ate for breakfast & fave tree) ~ Granola Maple

I love my rock star name.... who would have guessed???!!! Although the superhero name is oh so cool too.

Summer is here!

My kids have been counting the days and hours for school to finish, and they are THRILLED that summer vacation is finally here! Here's one of my favorite poems about summer, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Hope you like it!

I'm Mama Bear!

So the other day at work I went into the lunch/break room to make myself an afternoon cup of tea, and there in the sink, was MY coffee cup, the one that went missing off my desk about 2 weeks ago. I know it’s mine; no-one else here in the office has a mug celebrating 115 years of Whitwell First Baptist Church. And someone had obviously been using it because it was dirty and coffee-stained. Eeeeewwww!

So I washed my mug (several times), rinsed it out with bleach water, and took it back to my office where I will look for a safe hiding place for it…. I’m feeling a wee bit like one of the three bears… sniff…. Mama Bear, perhaps!

Psalm 36:5-7a The Message

I'm loving this verse today...

Do you think they would notice the butterflies???

Mornings in our house need to run like clockwork. That’s just the way it has to be. So we have honed things to a precise routine that involves having breakfast, packing lunches, and heading out the door. Things that break the routine are, well, horrible….

So this morning James comes bopping down the stairs, holding just the pant legs from a grey pair of cargo pants/shorts. These are the type of pants where the legs can unzip to make shorts… And he asks me "...are these pants khaki?" Sensing impending doom, I say "No. Why are you asking?" What I really want to say, but don’t, is “…Um, hello! They’re NOT EVEN PANTS! They’re just the legs!!!!” But I know what he is about to say and I can feel my stress level rising.... This is not going to be good. "Well,” he continues, “Today is choir sharing and I need to wear khaki pants to school". The monkey wrench has been thrown into my morning routine. I know for a fact James doesn’t own a single pair of khaki pants, and I’m mentally churning through Rachel’s wardrobe, desperately hoping she might have a pair he can wear.

Now it would have been nice if James would have mentioned this requirement for khaki pants earlier, say, like this weekend, or even yesterday when we were buying him sneakers and socks, but he waited until this morning – ten minutes before we need to leave the house to announce this need. AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!

So up we traipse to Rachel’s closet (yes, I’m that desperate) but the only pair of khaki pants she has is 1) too big for him and 2) decorated with embroidered flowers and butterflies…. I hold them up, thinking, maybe.... perhaps.... would his shirt cover the butterflies... But even I know that is not going to work. Rats.

Sigh… So, we drive to school, drop Rachel off, James and I drive back to Wally World, and buy him a pair of khaki pants and a white polo shirt, and I drive him back to school. Late, but in khakis, sans butterflies. He has no idea how lucky he was that Wal-Mart had ONE pair of khaki pants in his size.

Is it just my kid, or is this a common thing with boys?