My Super Power

I love to read.

I also like background music while I read.

Soft, but not elevator music.

My reading chair is close to my speaker.

As I was reading today, I had to lower the volume in order to concentrate.

It was then that I realized that I had lost one of my Mom super powers…the ability to drown out background noise of any kind.

I could read, talk on the phone, write a letter or make a list even when chaos was happening all around me to include the dog throwing up!

This skill kept me sane, especially on days when my rambunctious boys were confined indoors due to inclement weather.

My sons are grown with their own domestic chaos.

My days are quiet and predictable.

Everything in its place, for the most part, day after day.

I relish this quiet even though, at times, I miss the busyness of parenting.

I miss being needed, being accountable for someone, to someone.

There is no turning back the clock.

I am grateful for my life.

My First Born

I could tell many stories about my first born.

This is one from the summer when he was 12 years old.

The start of summer.

That summer, he joined a year-round swim team.
He suffered from asthma and we thought swimming would be good for him.
We were right.

The end of summer.

By the end of the summer his breathing was much better. He did not have to use his inhaler as often. His wheezing was minimal. Also at the end of summer he swam in his first competitive meet. His event was the 500.
He was swimming against kids who had been in the program since they were 5 years old. Even though he was much better after taking lessons and practicing all summer, he was not as strong a swimmer as those kids.

They swam laps around him. They finished, exited the pool, and stood on the side watching him, now the only swimmer in the pool. The official stopped him and asked him if he wanted to quit.

My husband and I waited to see what he would do.

Without hesitation, he chose to finish the 500.
All of the other swimmers, the other parents and the officials waited while he swam back and forth across the pool.

The 500 is 100 yards freestyle, 100 yards backstroke, 100 yards butterfly stroke and 100 breaststroke. A really good swimmer can swim it in under ten minutes. He took about 30 minutes to complete all of the twenty laps.

He did not take home any medals that day, but he was a champion in our eyes.

He swam competitively for six years and earned many swimming and diving medals. His asthma was no longer an issue.

The story today.

He now is the father of a 12-year old son who is following in his path as a swimmer. My grandson has mastered all of the strokes and is doing well. He has not yet competed against other swimmers in a meet.

How he swims under the pressure of competition remains to be seen. I am confident that he will be a champion in the things that matter.

Hello there

Just a quick note to say hello and wish you well.

I have a “to do” list that is a mile long and keeps me running.

Even though I am busy with work, isolated from my friends and, worst of all, my family, I am still grateful. Continue reading “Hello there” →

Happy Birthday Son

~Photo by Ben Mack, http://www.oceanfeels.com/pexels.com~

Today is my son’s birthday.

I could tell many stories about him but this is a favorite.

He joined a year-round swim team the summer he was 12. He suffered from asthma and was a wheezy, underweight kid. We thought it would be good for him. It turns out we were right. (Score one for the parents!) By the end of the summer his breathing was so much better and he was less dependent on his inhaler.

Also at the end of summer was his first meet and he was swimming a 500 for his team. This means swimming the length of the 25 yard pool 20 times. It is a marathon especially for a beginner.

His swimming was much better after taking lessons and practicing all summer. Even so, he was no match for kids who had been in the program since kindergarten.

The 500 started and the other kids literally swam laps around him and the event was over. The official told him he did not have to finish if he didn’t want to.

The other kids were finished but he decided to stay in the pool and finish the job.

The other kids and the parents all waited while this lone swimmer, this little skinny kid, swam back and forth to complete 20 laps. He finished.

He exited the pool to applause and cheers.

He didn’t win any medals that day. but he was a champion.

Christmas Day 2020

It is cold and raining in Portland tonight.

The end of a long and sweet day.

I was not sure how the day would be. I just wanted to get through it. Continue reading “Christmas Day 2020” →

The end of my sanity

Most of my days are pretty peaceful.

They are predictable especially now during the pandemic.

My house stays clean and tidy because there are so few visitors.

That’s all coming to an end around mid-September. Continue reading “The end of my sanity” →

Good ol’ Herbie

Every evening, I bring in the nine cushions from my outdoor furniture.

It doesn’t take very long to bring them in and stack them on my dining room floor.

In the morning I take them out again so that I can enjoy my patio furniture during the day.

This is something new that I’ve started after prowlers began to visit in our neighborhood. I have a video clip of one guy pawing through my pillows and smelling them.

I don’t like bringing them in. Continue reading “Good ol’ Herbie” →