One Part Inspiration...

A week after the first celebration, we geared up for another.  My daughter graduated from her program in Sign Language Interpretation yesterday. We had to be on the road very early - we went in a convoy.  She was allowed three guests, because the auditorium only seated 300, but she was quite sure she could fit her whole entourage in the seats - she has very long eyelashes. It was raining like November all the way in.  I was worried because I had dressed for summer and didn't relish the thought of sitting all that time in wet clothes and damp feet.  But she found us a parking spot right across the street - with one hour parking.  We questioned the wisdom of parking there for four hours,  but she was quite sure that we wouldn't get a ticket, because "they NEVER check", and trusting her long eyelashes again, we parked and ran across the street, clutching umbrellas to shield us from the rain. We made it inside with the minimum of water damage. Once insid...

This is the tuxedo. It arrived a week and a half early, and we had plans to get pictures taken before the big day, but the weather and timing did not cooperate. When it was sunny, one of them had to work.  When it was raining, everyone was available.  It all worked out in the end because prom day turned out breezy blue. This is the wrist corsage.  And this is the boutonniere. I bought the materials and a dear friend took time out of her day  (in spite of being sick) to make them.  I was impressed with how co-ordinated the grad and his date would look.                     These are the left over orchids which have lasted much longer than either of them.  This is the advantage of making things yourself.  You get to enjoy the product which you haven't used in another setting.                               ...

This is a week which I have anticipated for 9 months.  [No I am not pregnant.]  This little (now taller-than-all-of-us) guy is crossing the stage and graduating from high school.  I have seen my son approach this passage of time and there has been such a mixture of memories flooding in. Baby memories -   *How content he was - if he was crying, it meant something needed immediate attention.  *The hospital crib trying to catch his breath when he had RSV. *Watching his older brother and sister from his car seat. *Being content in his high chair with having a  pickle to suck on  while his mother raced around trying to make supper.  *How he conquered the milestones without the fanfare - like the day I noticed he was rolling over on his own in the middle of a crazy busy day.  *Crawling into bed with us poor, tired, just-can't move-to -take -him-to-his-own-bed-parents, every night until well after he was four because we had such a 'lovely bed'. ...

This is me. Waiting for my #2 son. He was trying on a tuxedo. It is my last graduation to attend as a mom. It is a milestone to celebrate and to look back and ponder the last thirteen years of his school experience. I have had a few "moments" this school year. They catch me by surprise because they come upon me when I least expect them - at ordinary moments. One of them was when I dropped in at the school to pay for soccer fees. I realized that this was the last time I would be an school athlete's mom. I had to leave the office very quickly lest the administrative staff see me break down. Another was when I picked him up for an orthodontic appointment.  I suddenly thought of the fact that the times we would have in the vehicle together going to appointments had almost come to an end.  He would soon be able to make his own appointments and ferry himself there.  Gone would be the days of chatting side by side, and making side trips to the driv...

A week before Valentine's Day, I saw these roses and just couldn't resist buying them.  I spent a happy afternoon arranging them.  Then I put them on the table, and walked away, and then walked back into the dining room to suprise myself again with the bouquet. When my husband came in the door and saw the roses, he was impressed with how thoughtful he had been to buy his wife roses a full week before Valentine's Day.   He got lots of brownie points. Valentine's Day is one that I treasure.  I like having my family around me - it gives me a chance to celebrate all my loved ones in one place.  I could hardly wait for it to arrive.  The day came and as I explained  here , I set up for our family dinner.  I had fun wrapping all the presents and making a special meal.  Since I wanted to keep costs down, I each gift to 5$ average.   I got a CD for my husband - 50's/60's music - I held off getting the more expensive ...

My mother-in-law always makes sure that the major holidays of the year are celebrated in style.  This usually involves a family get-together with lots of food and memory-making activities.  At Christmas, it is puzzles.  At Valentine's it is chocolate.        At Easter, it is an Easter Egg hunt.          Can I just say that my family is very competitive. Exhibit A  If you need evidence, just look at Exhibit A. Every Easter the hunt involves the eldest males of the family going out to hide the eggs, while the children wait inside with curtains drawn and strict instructions not to peek.  I don't think this has ever stopped them from trying to be the first to see where the eggs are being hid.  After the hiding, the children are gathered in one spot and no one is allowed to go until Nana says so.  And because there is such a discrepancy in age, the litt...

Yesterday was my #1 son's 20th birthday.  Imagine that!  I know.  He's been away from us over 18 months already - enjoying the work program  he is enrolled in - living life as an independent.  I am very proud of him.  From the time his feet hit the pavement after high school, he never looked back   He's lived in seven different places, became fluent in French, supported himself with various jobs, managed his finances and learned to bake REALLY large blueberry muffins in a  mega-muffin tin he bought at the second-hand store.  Everywhere he goes, he makes friends and influences people and proves himself as a hard-working, dependable young man with integrity at his core.  At the same time, he hasn't forgotten about us.  He sent flowers last Valentine's Day. He made the effort to travel cross-country for several days to be here in time to celebrate Christmas.  And he phones often enough for us to stop w...

Many years ago, the day after Valentine`s Day, I called my mother to tell her some very good news.  The night before, my boyfriend had proposed.  I was going to be married!  I remember that I didn't sleep very much at all, after arriving home with a ring on my finger.  I could hardly wait until the morning hour which would make it legimately late enough to call home to tell my mom the happy news.  She lived in a time zone that was three hours ahead of where I was.  I think it was about 6 a.m. my time, when I phoned. What made that conversation even more sweet, is that I had pre-arranged a surprise trip back to my home town. I was leaving that afternoon.   It was a break week from school - the college was going to be shut down anyway, and my brother had agreed to pick me up from the airport, keep me overnight at his apartment, and then take me to the bus the next day, where I would travel a few more hours to make it...

The year our girls turned 10, my sister and I took them away for a weekend. It was part of our decision to be intentional parents.  My sister had already forged the path, by doing something similar for her son.  The idea was, that at 10, the girls were on the cusp of adolescence, and if they had some information about what lay ahead, it might help them navigate the waters of teenage years. So we rented a cabin on the lake, and  listened to tapes on "Preparing for Adolescence" by Dr. James Dobson.  In between, we went shopping, got new haircuts,  and took them to get their ears pierced.  One night we got all dressed up and went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.  This year, they celebrate their 21st birthdays.  So my sister and I decided it might be a nice idea to take them away again for a girl's weekend.  When we broached the subject, my daughter's first question was "Are we going to have ...