Amusing pictures

Evan has "graduated" from his Little Tigers taekwondo program and is now in the big kids class. $84 later, here is some of the gear that we came home with. The helmet is what cracks me up. He is testing for his last belt in Little Tigers on Saturday so I'm sure I'll have photos/video of that.

Jessie's Girl

I turned on Oprah to catch a few minutes of it before taekwondo and much to my surprise (and once again delight), Rick Springfield was on!! Of course I screamed like a 15 year old girl. I love Rick and have a hard time believing that Jessie's Girl came out in 1981 as well as his start on General Hospital. 1981?? Really?? Anyhow, I'm not sure why Oprah has been having these older heartthrobs on lately but it's o.k. by me! He actually looked better today than he did when I saw him in 1999. I think that was the 3rd time I had seen him in concert. He really didn't look like he's had surgery-I actually thought that a few years ago but today he looked good. AND he's been with his wife for over 25 years. I liked hearing that. Kind of like my other boyfriend Jon Bon Jovi. That's for another day.

Today

As I was helping Evan get dressed this morning, he looked at himself in the mirror and said he liked turtlenecks (he had one on). I asked him why and he said because you can't see his trach scar-it makes him look like he doesn't have one. I told him that the scar is part of who he is-the trach saved his life and that God made him exactly how he was suppose to be. Of course what I really wanted to do is break down and cry. :) Anyhow, we went to church and he went up for the children's moment. I LOVE this time because each week, a different kid gets to take home "the box" and put anything they want in the box, as long as it's not dead, wet or alive. The minister then opens the box and has to then do an impromptu message on whatever the kid brings. Today it was sunglasses which Pastor Steve promptly put on. He talked about how people hide behind sunglasses-they hide who they really are but God knows all of us and loves us regardless of what we look like, what we've done, etc. He basically said everything I was trying to convey to Evan this morning. After that, I DID cry!!

Snow Day Entertainment

First and foremost, focus on the kid, NOT Mike's messy office. I take no responsibility for this one room of the house. I come in, use the computer and leave. I'm not sure that it's ever really been presentable in the almost 9 years since we've lived here. Anyhoo, I have the Thriller video on iTunes and I snuck up on Evan while he was watching and dancing along to it. He gets all his dancing ability from me. Oh, and yes, this child does wear other clothes besides these pajamas!!

SNOW DAY

AHHHHH! Another snow day. Two last week and then no school Monday due to President's Day and now a snow day today. I was so looking forward to my day off which translates into my day alone! It's 8:50 a.m.-no idea of what we'll do. Maybe we'll just stay in our pjs and eat and play Guitar Hero all day. I'm sure Evan wouldn't complain about that although my thighs would so I'm off to get on the treadmill!

We found our church

I've been thinking about my dad alot lately. It started while I was in Florida. The last time I was there was with my dad in 2004. We went to Cedar Key along with Mom, Liz and Cathy. It was a great vacation, one I'll never forget. I can still picture my dad way out on the dock near our condo fishing-we could see him from the balcony. This would of been about 7 months before he was diagnosed. I can't tell you how glad I am we took that trip together. While I couldn't find a good picture from that trip, above is one of Evan and my parents on our trip to St. Augustine 2003. That was a very special trip as well as it was the first time we traveled with Evan while trached. Alot of work went into that trip but both my parents took it all in stride.

OK, moving on to the church situation. As I've mentioned, I've really wanted and needed to find a church, for both myself and for Evan. We went to yet another new church last week in our quest to find where we are suppose to be and as I was sitting there, I realized that I knew exactly where I needed to be. It was as if my dad was whispering in my ear. The feeling was so strong and I was at peace immediately because it made sense. I wanted to go to church in London, the church where I was married, the church where we remembered my dad, the church that I've had the most connection with for the past 28 years, since my parents moved to London-I'm actually still a member. This was the congregation that embraced my family long before but especially during and after Dad's illness-this was the congregation that prayed so hard for Evan after his birth and have rejoiced in his accomplishments. That was the answer. I needed to be able to go "home" once a week, to be able to worship with my mom and sister, to have Evan baptized in front of a group of people that truly care about him. To worship where I had spent many Sundays with my dad. We went today and as usual were welcomed with open arms. It doesn't matter that it's 40 minutes away and that it's not in our neighborhood. What matters is that I feel a sense of belonging there and that Evan will have a chance to see his grandma once a week. I found myself looking towards the area of the sanctuary where my dad often sat. I shed a few tears (as usual) but laughed as well. Evan made us all laugh because after the service he had to talk to the minister to tell him that the one stained glass window was of the Ark of the Covenant and the 10 Commandments. I'd like to take credit for his knowledge of such things but no, he knows that as a result of watching Raiders of the Lost Ark and he told the minister that! Pastor Steve is a great guy and told Evan that he loved that movie too. Too much.

Guitar Hero

I just love watching him play! He wants to get me on video next-I'm not sure about that because I really get into it when I'm playing Talk Dirty to Me. No one needs to see that. I've also determined that I want/need a new camera that takes better videos. My birthday is in April, just in case anyone wanted to know that. Hint, hint.

I Think I Love You

You gotta love snow days. If it weren't for the snow day that Evan had today, I would not have been on the couch in my sweats turning on Oprah. Much to my surprise and delight, David Cassidy was on and he was singing "I Think I Love You"!! Of course I could sing along because I know all the words, about 38 years after the song was a hit. Ah, memories. Ask my brother and sister to sing that song 'cause I bet they could too. I'll never forgot a cross country trip the 3 of us took-Liz had gotten out of the Air Force and Jay and I flew to CA to then drive back with her. This was in 1991 I think. Anyhow, at some point in our trip we started singing it and we did it from beginning to end. I still laugh when I think about that. Like the picture? It's me and my buddy David in 1990 at a radio promotions thing. I had him sign a 45 of Cherish-I still have it in my box of treasures. I look very young, don't I? sigh............

Try not to laugh

Believe it or not, I had my fat ass on roller skates today. Try not to laugh as you visualize that!! Evan's school had a roller skating party tonight-we had the place to ourselves. I bit the bullet and rented some skates for myself-Mike would not even try. Chicken. I actually did very well except for my one big fall-I think I hit my head and of course tried to break the fall using my right arm which is suffering from tendonitis!! After I got that out of the way, I really enjoyed myself. It was fun to skate on the rink that I skated on 30 years ago-yes, it's the same place we went to when I was a kid. I'm sure I'll be sore in the morning. :)

I'm home (but I don't want to be)

I walked on the beach, ate fantastic meals, drank alot and stayed in a nice hotel-courtesy of Nationwide Children's Hospital. Not a great conference but I knew that going into it so there were alot of boring talks but all in all, it was nice to be away. I am tired though because we were up late at night and then up early in the a.m. Poor me, right? The picture was taken from my balconey with my cell phone so it's not the best.

I think the best part of all of this was feeling like a grown-up again. While I loved staying home with Evan and would not change that time for anything, working again has given me a sense of belonging and satisfaction that I didn't realize was missing in my life. Does that make sense? It was also fun to be back into the business meeting/travel part of it all that I used to experience in my past life. It was very educational as well in that I realized that the medical world is no different from the business world in regards to gossip!! I learned ALOT about the goings on at the hospital. :)

It was hard to leave the sunshine but Evan's smiling face at the airport last night lit up the room.