Double Digits and Divine Intervention

Today marks the day that my oldest girl turns ten. Double digits. Pre-puberty. 'Tween. I can't even begin to imagine where that time went. It was a mere blur... a speck on my radar.

One minute I was pulsating through the pain of her ridiculously fast delivery, at the tail end of which my obstetrician beckoned me to open my eyes during a particularly strenuous contraction, and give him my hands. And when he positioned my outstretched fingers underneath my birthing daughter's tiny armpits, allowing me to gently grasp her and deliver her up onto my stomach myself, all of the pain simultaneously washed away, and the floodgates of joy took its place.

With this child, the feeling of joy has remained. She is, without a doubt, an incredibly special being. Her kindness is almost limitless, and her love for humanity is to be revered. During the insanity of 9/11, and all of the days of sorrow, confusion, and pain which followed, my husband and I (like almost civilized human beings on this planet) were practically glued to the television set, reaching out for even the tiniest smidge of hope that another lost person may be found; that some semblance of happiness or normalcy could be unearthed from all that rubble. My daughter was almost 3-years-old, then. Such a tiny thing, that one would think she couldn't possibly fathom the preposterous scope of the trauma that was coming into our living room every evening.

One day, shortly after the Twin Towers exploded throughout New York City, my teeny bit of a babe came to me and said, "Mama, I want to be a firefighter when I grow up, so I can help people like those firefighters did." Her conviction was so strong that year that, when we came across a uniformed firefighter one day at the grocery store, she walked up to him, tugged on his pant leg, and said, "Thank you." (To which he scooped her up, and with tears welling up in his eyes, he said she was more than welcome.) She also wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween, and I was proud to dress her up as one that October.

To this day, she still expresses interest...those memories firmly etched in her mind. When she isn't talking about fighting fires, she says she'd like to be a veterinarian, so she can make animals well. She sobbed uncontrollably over every lost fish, hermit crab, and bug that she'd snag in her bug catcher. She still talks about all of her "pets", recalling them with the fondness and love that only a person with the kindest of hearts can feel.

On her birthday four years ago, one of the earth's worst disasters hit most of the land masses that border the Indian Ocean, when, as a result of an enormous aftershock from a giant underground earthquake, the tsunami that followed rose up in 100 foot waves and devastated several countries, killing over 200,000 people.

Again, my compassionate, empathetic child watched the news....and cried. When she heard one of the news reporters state that all of the children survivors had nothing... not even any toys to play with.... she announced that she would like to donate ALL of her new Christmas and birthday toys to those children, because she was lucky, and had enough old toys to play with.

I believe this child is truly a gift from God. Two years before her birth, when I was convinced that, in my heart, I could never love more than one child, and was content to have only him, I dreamed of this little girl with wavy, sunstreaked hair, and the most amazing ice blue eyes I'd ever seen. We were at a park I'd never seen before, and I was lounging in the grass, calling out to her. She came running over the crest of a small hill, wearing a grape-colored, short-sleeved t-shirt with little puffs on the sleeves and the tiniest of bows on the neck, underneath a pair of faded denim Osh b'Gosh overalls.

She had in her hands a bright red ball, and as she ran toward me, giggling the entire way, I called out to her: "Come bring the ball to me!", and spoke to her by name. It was then I knew that she was out there for me. That God was trying to let me know, in his Infinite way, that this little girl was waiting to be delivered. This gift.

And, on the day after His son's birth, he brought my gift to me. Ten years later, I'm still feeling awfully blessed to have her in my life.

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

When I think of all of the gifts I could possibly want for Christmas, NOTHING can compare to the love shown to me by my family and friends. No material possession can come close to feeling the arms of my babies wrapped tight around me with a big "neck squeezing hug". No amount of money is worth hearing my kids laughter, or having them tell me they love me, or that I'm "the best mom EVER!". And, every time I either meet a new friend, or reconnect with an old one, I feel the blessing that is part of the REAL reason for the season.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May you and your family be blessed with the bounty of the greatest gift of all.

The Snow's STILL Falling

The storm came in right on time yesterday afternoon. The first flakes I noticed fell sometime right before 2:00 p.m. It is now almost 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, and it's STILL flurrying.

I can't tell for sure, but it looks as if we've gotten a good foot and a half. Enough to make driving anywhere distant a major nightmare. I'm just so grateful that we're DONE with all of our major Christmas shopping. We will need to make a trip to the grocery store sometime this week, to get the remaining ingredients for our Christmas feast (and for our oldest daughter's birthday celebration the following day), but hopefully the roads will be much easier to navigate in a day or so.

Last night, my girls and I all climbed into my bed and snuggled up watching Christmas specials while the snow fell. We must have all passed out relatively early, 'cause my husband said he came into the bedroom around 9:00 to say something to me, and I was passed out! I'll tell ya, all the jewels, fancy cars, and big homes can't compare with a nice snuggle with your kids. Especially when you know that as they get older, they're less and less inclined to want to cuddle with Mom (it's not too "cool", you see).

I know it's going to break my heart when my oldest daughter gets to the point where she no longer finds it acceptable to climb in bed with dear old Mom and watch some hokey movie on TV.

But, I have a three-year-old. There's still plenty of "cuddle" years left in her.

Battening Down the Hatches

An impending snow storm is heading this way sometime tomorrow. Depending on which channel I turn to, the forecasters have different conclusions about how much is going to be dumped on us, and when it's going to begin. The general consensus is sometime late tomorrow afternoon, with an accumulation of anywhere between two and six inches.

Which could mean that it starts early tomorrow morning, and we'll get whalloped with three feet. Such is life along the coast. The ocean breezes can sometimes wreak havoc. If you don't believe me, take a gander at these:

http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=45

http://www.mass.gov/czm/blizzard78.htm

After then, I think all of the meteorologists (especially the "old timers", who were here in New England forecasting that particular nightmare back then) have become a little gun shy when it comes to impending snow storms in our vacinity.

If there's one constant about snow, it's that it can sometimes be completely unpredictable.

Hopefully, this will all blow over and we won't get much of anything. I certainly wouldn't want to be cooped up in my house for a week, like we were back in '78. I have shopping to do! :)

Something to Do Until My Hubby Comes Home

Okay, so I'm sure there are a bazillion other things that I could do, other than to participate in this particular "tag", but none of the other things are half as fun! :)


1. Did you date someone from your school?

I had several boyfriends all throughout high school, some that never amounted to much of a relationship, and some I was pretty darn serious about.


2. What kind of car did you drive?

I didn't get my driver's license until I was 41-years-old, so in high school, if I wanted to get from Point A to Point B, I either took public transportation, bummed a ride, or hoofed it.

3. Did you pass your driver’s license test on the first try?

Why yes, yes I did! :)


4. Were you a party animal?

I certainly had my fair share of fun, but I didn't do anything lewd or lecherous. I was a good girl then. Still am, to a certain degree! :)

5. Were you considered a flirt?

HECK, yeah! But, mind you, there's a REAL distinction between a flirt and a tease.


6. Were you in a band, orchestra or choir?

None of the above. But I was heavily into theatre.


7. Were you a nerd?

Not in terms of the standard definition, no.


8. Were you on any varsity teams?

I've never been athletically inclined. I was asked to be on the cheerleading squad during my Senior year, but I was too crazy busy to fit that into my schedule, too.


9. Did you get suspended or expelled?

With the father I had growing up??? NEVER!


10. Can you still sing the fight song?

I never even knew we HAD a fight song!


11. Who were your favorite teachers?

Honestly, I liked most of my teachers, but my true favorites were Mr. Toomey (History), Miss Sullivan (English Lit.), Miss TePaske (Musical Theatre), and Betsy Grady (Psychology). Oh, and Miss Grant was the best Homeroom teacher EVER!



12. Where did you sit during lunch?

If I wasn't going across the street to grab a slice of pizza, I had lunch in the cafeteria.


13. What’s your school’s full name?

Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.


14. What was your mascot and colors?

I couldn't even begin to tell you what our mascot was, but our colors were maroon and gold.


15. Did you go to homecoming?

Our school didn't have a homecoming, but I did go to my Senior Prom.


16. If you could go back and do it all again, would you?

Yes, but only if I knew then what I know now (and could somehow arrange to meet my husband back then).


17. What do you remember most about graduation?

That the ceremony itself was excruciatingly long, and how amazing it felt when a whole buttload of people cheered for me as I walked across the stage to receive my diploma.


18. Where did you go on your Senior Skip Day?

I don't think we had a Senior Skip Day. If we did, I sure don't remember it!


19. Were you in any clubs?

No. I just participated in the Theatre Arts program.


20. Have you gained some weight since then?

Ppppffftttt!! Next question, please!


21. Who was your prom date?

Skipper McKaskill (hmmmm... I wonder what ever happened to him???)


22. Are you planning to go to your 10 year reunion?

That's come and gone. If there is another reunion planned, it'll be my 30th, in 2010. Ask me then, if I'm going.


23. Did you have a job while in high school?

Oh, yeah. I started working a month after I turned 16. And I haven't looked back since! :)

Conversation with a Three-Year-Old

My littlest little is home from preschool today. Partly because we woke up to snow on the ground this morning (told ya... New England), and partly because she has yet another cold, with a low-grade fever, and one of the many rules of her preschool states that you can't bring your child into school if they have a fever, and they may not return until they're fever free for 24 hours.

No matter. I love my one-on-one time with her.

Case in point:

After sitting on the floor behind me, contentedly coloring and singing a little tune while she was at it, she decided it was time to play with her dolls. So, she gathered up a couple of her stuffed animals (one in particular, her pink bunny with its missing ears and holey backside, is an absolute favorite of hers), her dolly high chair (in which pink bunny sits, at its place of prominence), and her little chair from her table and chair set.

She then proceeded to explain to me that I was the mommy, she was the sister, and her treasured, holey bunny was the baby, and that we were to pretend to be at a restaurant.

I asked her, "What are we doing at the restaurant?"

Her reply?

"Eating, you silly!"

Guess she got me on that one! :)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like... Springtime???

Here in Massachusetts, it's 47 degrees outside. Right here. Right now. It's supposed to get up to 56 degrees, at some point today (according to the weather thingy-ma-bob on AOL).

I currently have all of my kitchen windows open, my bathroom window open, one of my living room windows open, and both of my bedroom windows open, and the breeze that's blowing into each of those windows isn't the slightest bit cold. Not even cool.

Need I remind you... it's December. And I'm in New England.

It's just so weird, that it's a week and a half before Christmas, and it's so balmy here. Not that I'm complaining, though. I've grown to HATE shovelling.

But, seeing as how it's New England, the old adage can hold true: "If you don't like the weather here, just wait a minute."

I'm not holding my breath.