Aw Mom!

“No sprinkles?”

I got up early and slipped into my clothes and ran around the corner to the best donut shop in Memphis. I got three chocolate and three glazed, because last time I didn’t get enough glazed and that’s what everybody wanted. I stacked them up and put a candle on them and called Walker down for an early breakfast. The Tivo guy was due any minute and we needed to get in his room. I had forgotten that vanilla with sprinkles was his new passion.

Eventual lecture on the only response to a gift being “Thank You!” ...yet once again. A grumbling apology. Grumpy settling into the donuts, and a little conversation about the placement of the Tivo and an offer for onsite training from mom, the Tivo master.

“Where’s the Ghostbuster Trap?” Another failure by Mom.

I remembered the Tivo request Walker made a few months ago because I thought it meant a real change in his habits. He has a lovely “den” intended for his use upstairs, but chooses to hole up in his rather small room, sit on his bed, and spend all his waking hours watching TV or sorting his Polaroids. (Yes they’re still around, and he never leaves home without them either. They accompanied us on our recent trip to California.) The idea that he and a friend would sit in the comfortably appointed den, have some privacy, but not too much, watching a movie sometimes, sounded good to me. Big Walker dealt with the ordering. The additional cost to our satellite bill is minimal. Everybody wins.

But I forgot about the Ghostbuster Trap. It’s available on E-Bay, for only $79, new in box with all the required stickers. If it’s what he wants, I’ll order it for him and let him pay me back with part of the generous birthday money he received from friends and family. Is it a good idea? Probably not. But, heck, it’s his birthday.

The Michael Jackson CD and Tee were much more to his liking…probably because Sarah and Ned are way cooler than Mom. Oh well.

I hope Walker learns to be more gracious this year. I hope he might outgrow the adolescent stage we seem to be stuck in. I hope I learn to live with it if not.

Blessings,
Janie

Milestone

As I write this, I’m aware that it will probably be the post viewed by the 10,000th click on my blog. Wow! I have no idea who you are, but you are so gracious to have shared my life with me over the past year plus, and I am truly grateful.

My creative energies have been inconsistent at best, and I’m wondering if I ought to just delete all the drivel and see what’s left. Nah…drivel is in the eye of the reader not the writer.

The past week was surreal.

On Wednesday, the Walkers and I headed for LA to visit with Sarah and Ned as they has graciously invited us to be present at the ultrasound of their new baby. I’m not telling what it is until they do, but it is a beautiful baby. A framed picture of the prenatal self is sitting next to my bed in a frame surrounded by four tiny angels who remind me to continue to pray for all those unborn angels out there.

The visit included a very cool visit to the location set of Ghost Whisperer where Sarah is shooting a guest appearance. Initially, Walker resisted going to the set, remembering that he was corralled and stifled on the set of Brother and Sisters where he wanted to just wander around and check things out. This was a whole nother ballgame. The episode is for Halloween, and there were lots of scary, but not terrifying, touches. There were costumed extras including a Dracula and a mermaid, modestly covered up, at the Craft Services chow table across from us. He got a picture taken with Jennifer Love Hewitt, who was most gracious. It was a beautiful day to visit the Saddleback Mountain Ranch/Winery, which boasted acres of grapes almost ready for harvest, horses, a buffalo, a camel, and a mama and baby zebra. Wow! It was definitely Walker’s favorite part of the trip.

Sarah got a very long afternoon break and we were able to go to a beachfront restaurant and have a leisurely lunch and walk on the beach. It was surreal.

How amazing to go from the putridity of the city I live in and love and hate to all the amazing wonders of California and then be back home in my own bed a few days later. Nothing had changed much. Our mayor is still threatening to run for the seat he just resigned from in the upcoming million dollar election for his replacement. My plants looked a bit neglected, but survived. The alarm had gone off a couple of times, but the neighbors dealt with it.

But things feel different here too. Unseasonably cool weather reminds me that fall is around the corner. The kids are back in school, and Walker is busy working on the farm in preparation for his annual dove shoot. Walker III is making menu plans for his upcoming birthday celebration. He inquired as to whether Chic Fil A does catering. It will on Sunday. Life goes on…thank goodness.

Blessings,
Janie

My Summer Vacation

I miss the rhythm of going to school for nine months and then being gloriously free for three. At least as free as a child can possibly be.

Free to play in the yard with my friends from the time I woke up and went across the street to find Florence and get her mother to button my dress. Mama was not an early riser, and Mrs. Denio was. Free to float in the lake for hours on end on a big black innertube with my friends talking about boys and who likes who. Free to ride my bike to the shopping center just to browse and then come home begging Mama to go back and buy some Bermuda shorts. Free to ride the bus to the library and check out the maximum four books, read them non stop and then go back in a couple of days to get more. Free to walk to the museum in Anniston and hang out in the air conditioning looking at the mummy. Free to sit in the front porch swing and watch the convoys heading to and from Fort McClellan. Free to buy one admission to the movie, but sit through it two or three times.

I’m actually pretty free all the time now, but it doesn’t always seem quite so special. I do like getting up at my leisure, although it’s almost as early as I did when I had to set an alarm. I really enjoy my first glass of iced tea every morning and being in my robe until I decide to get dressed most mornings.

I actually did get some things done this summer…some of which I’m really excited about.

I made blackberry jelly for the first time in a long time. It all started with getting a bargain price on a whole flat of berries and then remembering my vow to waste less. I don’t know that it tastes any better than bought jelly…I rarely eat jelly anyway…but it does give me a sense of accomplishment to see the jars sitting on the shelf. John and Becket were very taken with the idea of a jelly sandwich, and each went home with their own jar.

I cooked and froze a lot of corn and peas and peaches and berries. I ate a lot of tomato sandwiches and a few popcicles.

I’ve almost finished a quilt I started for Becket five years ago.

I sat on the screened in porch and watched a lot of sunsets at Moon Lake.

I took Walker III shopping for a bathing suit.

I read a lot of good books.

I reconnected with some old friends via Facebook. I wasted a good bit of time reading about people I didn’t know existed this time last year. I also connected with some distant relatives on Ancestry.com, and found a possible link between Johnny Cash's family and mine. Might explain my daddy's obsession with a guitar he couldn't play.

I saw some swim meets and tee ball and soccer games.

I found a pair of shoes that fit and don't look too bad. Ditto on a few clothes.

I went to a wedding and a mini family reunion. I visited my brother and spent some time with the housekeeper who raised me.

I saw William learn to ski and heard funny stories about Robert chasing girls at the beach.

I hooked the ring on the ring toss game, but not as often as Robert or Walker III did. I played a silly game with William and Owen involving poker chips and my sandwich plate and a deck of cards.

I survived the attack mouse in my bed and went back to sleep. I did not weep when we found him in the trap the next weekend.

I also survived a tree limb falling just a few feet from where I was sitting chatting on the phone. It did some major damage to the AC, pool heater, and roof, but all got dealt with reasonably quickly thanks to my husband's making calls for repairs before the sirens stopped.

I'm about to leave for a visit to Sarah and Ned in Los Angeles and get to see my expected grandchild on ultrasound.

I had a great summer vacation.

I can't wait for school to start again. Wonder who my teachers will be and who will be in my class.

Blessings,
Janie