Three Blind Mice... yeah, well

Right now I think the Three Blind Mice can probably see better than I can.

I wear glasses. With bi-focals. The really strong bi-focals.

Except now.

Now I am wearing my OLD GLASSES.
The ones with the +125 bi-focals.
The ones I wore before I got my new ones.
The ones I kept for emergencies.

Yes, this is evidently, an EMERGENCY.

I took a shower and left my glasses on the sink the other night.
I asked BratChild to bring them downstairs when I realized that I had forgotten to put them on.
Actually, it was when I realized I couldn't read the lable on the ice cream bucket when I was making root beer floats for the kids but...

Anyway, BratChild says she brought them down to me.
She says she put them on the counter next to the ice cream bucket.
She says she told me and I said okay.

I have no memory of any of those things she says happened.
I have no memory of putting on my glasses.
I have no memory of seeing them on the counter.
I have no memory of doing anything with them at all.

What I do know is that they are were not on the counter the next morning.
Nor were they on the sink where I left them.
Nor were they on the coffee table where I would have put them when I laid down to watch Dr. Who.
Nor were they on the floor, or the breakfast bar, or the kitchen table, or the sofa...

They have apparently disappeared.

So now I am wearing the old glasses.
The glasses that are fine as long as I do not try to read anything written in a font of 10 or 12...
The glasses that do not fit like they should...
The glasses that slide down my nose and make me look like a librarian...
or an Old Lady...

Same difference.
For now.

Until I find the NEW GLASSES...
hopefully Today.

The Importance of being...Present?

I am going to be a Grandma.
Well, technically I am already a grandma...
so actually I should say I am going to be a grandma... again.


GoodMom, my oldest child, is expecting a bouncing baby boy in August.


We are so happy.
We are so excited.
We are so not looking forward to it.


Not that we aren't anxiously awaiting the new baby's arrival.
We are.
But I am not.

My mother in law planned a special surprise trip for HeMan Hubby's birthday.
In July.
Except that the trip will over lap into August...


There is a very real possibility that we will be away when the new baby comes.

Ok, not the end of the world... except...

I was away when FancyPants was born.
Yes, it again was a family trip with HeMan Hubby's family.
And it was planned so that we were away 2 weeks before FancyPants was due...


However no one told FancyPants she had to wait for her due date and she was born while I was on the Alabama coast... 18 hours away.


I am hoping that the new baby, despite being a boy as we all know they do not tend to listen well, will pay attention to his Grammy and wait until his due date to arrive.


When I will be in the same state.

When I will be able to hop in the car and dash to GoodMom's side.


When I will be able to see my lovely daughter hold her new baby for the first time.




But then, he is a boy ...
so I won't be getting my hopes up...


Much.

Happy Birthday... Again!

The month of May is a busy one in TheBusyFamily house.

Birthdays abound.
Graduations commence.
Final exams are suffered.

Today BratChild was born.
14 years ago.
It was a bright, sunny Sunday morning when she exploded in this world.
And I do mean exploded.
If not for the quick reflexes of HeMan Hubby she may have ended up on the hospital room floor.

Lucky for us he was paying attention.
Lucky for her he knows how to catch... without a mitt!

Julalapoo- Manboy's girlfriend of 5 years- had a birthday 14 days ago.
ManBoy had a birthday 13 days ago.
My niece had birthday 10 days ago.
My mother had a birthday 9 days ago.
My son from another mother has his birthday tomorrow.
My niece graduates from high school in 3 days.
TeenBoy has been taking high school requirement exams all week...
with more than passing grades...
such a rare occurence for him... to do the work I mean... not the being smart enough to pass part

Mother's Day was thrown in there amid the birthdays.
Memorial Day is thrown in amid the exams and the graduations.

Yes, May is a very busy month for TheBusyFamily...

Thank God it's nearly done...
Except...
June is even worse!

A cat is a cat is a ...Teen?

I have put alot of thought into this.

No.

Really.

I have.

Cats are self-centered.

They lie about all day in a sunny spot napping and passing judegment upon all that pass by.

They spend inordinate amounts of time grooming.

They are loving and affectionate, rubbing up against your legs or climbing on your lap, arching their backs until you find your hand running along their spine of its own accord.

They will snuggle up next to your head on the pillow, or wrap their furry boddy around your head, depends on their mood, not yours...
When they have need of you...
like when they need you to open the can of snacks ( no opposable thumbs!)
like when they need you to clean out the litter box
like when they need you to let the annoyingly filthy dog you let live in their kingdom outside.

See?
Teens are just like cats.
They make up to you and gain your affection when it best suits their needs.
They can just as easily turn their back on you to sit and daydream about grooming and friends and grooming.

Fortunately for us parents of the world,
Teens will become young adults.
They will move on.
They will grow up and become responsible for their own lives and deeds.

Unlike cats...
who will forever dig up your plants, torture the dog, laze around on a sunny windowsill until...

They need you to feed them, to care for them, to buy them cute little kitty toys.

Yes, a cat is a cat is a Teen aged child.

When is Enough Enough?

Many of you know that I am the Mom of 3 boys and 3 girls.

My girls, SmartGirl and BratChild, belong to the Masonic youth group for young ladies called Rainbow for Girls.

My boys, ManBoy and TeenBoy, belong to the Masonic youth group for young men called DeMolay.

The precepts, or virtues, that are the guidelines for both of these organizations are similar.

Love of God

Love of Country

Love of Family

These are the 3 premises that the others stem from. Without these 3 virtues, grasped firmly and indellibly written on our hearts there is no Patriotism, no Fidelity, no Comradeship.

As many of you may also know, or have read about here on the pages of my blog, there have been many deaths from within the ranks of our DeMolay family.

As of March there had been more than 10 deaths in 18 months, the last 2 of

which had been ladies, Moms to the young men of our DeMolay chapter.

Women who had been my friends, with whom I had spent time and enjoyed many laughs, joys and sorrows.

Once again I sit here saddened by the news that yet another of my DeMolay sons has passed away. Like Charlie and Kurt, so too was this man ...

From TWLOHA website

Too young

Too full of life

Too filled with dreams

To let anything get in the way...

Lenny was from the same chapter as Charlie and Kurt, not my chapter, but the one with which we are most closely bonded.

Like Kurt, Lenny was ManBoy's age and was just beginning the journey of life and love trying to make his dreams become his reality.

3 young men...

All of them good men.

All of them a part of something so much larger than they....

DeMolay

part of one of the oaths taken by those who enter the Order of DeMolay is this:

..." I Promise to come to the aid of a brother in need"...

Lenny was a brother in need, he was a brother who had the support of those who knew and loved him, and of all DeMolay brothers across the nation, indeed all over the world.

All he had to do was ask... all he had to do was turn to a brother...

A smile, a gleam in his eye, the sound of hands drumming out a beat on the back of a chair- annoying the person sitting in that chair of course...
These are the things that I remember of Lenny.

He was not one of MY boys, but he was one of OUR boys.
One of the herd that runs through my life on a regular basis, often trying my patience, often making me smile, always leaving me proud of the men they are becoming...
have become...

My pride in them does not stop once they are gone from my life...

So, there have been too many deaths, too many young lives lost...
Too much grief, too much of the pain of learning to say good-bye to friends...

Just too much.

Support Suicide Prevention in Teens and Young Adults... Give to TWLOHA... Show You Care

Just When You Think.... Ah-Ha! There's the Problem

Yes, life has been very hectic and very busy for TheBusyFamily.
It started back in January... and I thought it was getting better...
That's what I get for thinking!

Wednesday... so NOT my favorite day of the week anyway... they always seem to go horribly wrong at our house for some reason.

So, yesterday was Wednesday.
A good Wednesday.
Jul-la-la-poo's birthday in fact.
Oh, she's Manboy's girlfriend of  what, 6 years?

Which means that today is ManBoy's birthday.
Yikes.... gotta run to A STORE and get him something... soon...

Anyway, Wednesday is not a great day traditionally but I thought it was over and done with - scott-free, clean as a whistle, no worries...

Until ...

At work last night I opened my laptop and it took forever... like 40 minutes!
to boot up...
Only to have a big screen come up that said...

Internal Hard Drive undected...blah, blah,blah blah, blah and so on, and so on, and so on...

After the first 3 words I was done and so too was Wednesday as the clock silently flipped over to 12:00
and the computer screen went blank.

So... today is ManBoy's birthday. He's 22 now.
Maybe today will be better, it is afterall, Thursday.

And I promise NOT TO THINK about anything at all...

At least for a little while, that is.