A woman parks her car and begins to unload the occupants while passersby observe the procedure. The 14 year-old boy exits the front passenger seat and holds the rear door open on the sedan to allow the 5 year-old girl to exit. The woman opens the other back door to help the 7 year-old girl to do the same. She then watches to make sure the young girl makes her way safely to the boy, who is standing on the sidewalk by this time. The woman then removes the car seat containing the 3 month-old baby from the middle of the back seat and makes her own way to the sidewalk after retrieving the diaper bag.
Finally, one spectator comments. "That's a beautiful family you have there," he says.
"Thank you," the woman replies.
"How old is your son?" he asks.
"He's 14," she states.
"No, I mean the baby in the carrier," he says.
"He's not my son," she replies. "He's my grandson. And he's 3 months old."
"Oh!" the man says in a perplexed way. "I thought . . ." Then turning to the 7 year-old girl he says, "I bet you like your little brother a lot, don't you?"
The little girl politely replies, "He's not my little brother. He's my cousin."
"And who is this then?" the man asks, pointing at the teenaged boy standing next to her.
"He's my uncle," the girl says.
Now the man is really confused. He looks at the youngest girl standing there. "And how are you related?" he asks.
"She's my sister," the little one replies as she points to the bigger girl.
"As I said earlier, you have a beautiful family, ma'am!" he states with a smile as he continues on his journey down the sidewalk.
I think I'll start carrying genealogy charts with me on the days the Bear, Polly, Tigger, Fen, and I go to taekwondo and/or run other errands besides. We once held up the line at the post office for several minutes when one of the postal employees was just trying to make polite conversation. :)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Speaking of Birthdays...
Mine is coming up soon. Specifically, my [drum roll] 50th!
My friend, Donna, sent me an email recently reminding me that Barbie also turned 50 this year. And man, doesn't Barbie still look good? But you know what? I'd probably look that good, too, if I had as much plastic in my body as she has in hers.
Donna also sent me a picture of what Barbie would look like today if she had been allowed to age through the years to look like the rest of us who were introduced to the world in 1959.
Yep. That's me!
My friend, Donna, sent me an email recently reminding me that Barbie also turned 50 this year. And man, doesn't Barbie still look good? But you know what? I'd probably look that good, too, if I had as much plastic in my body as she has in hers.
Donna also sent me a picture of what Barbie would look like today if she had been allowed to age through the years to look like the rest of us who were introduced to the world in 1959.
Yep. That's me!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tigger and Large, Gray Mammals
Our second granddaughter, Tigger, will be celebrating a birthday very soon so preparations are being made, shopping is being done, menus are being planned, and laughter is already abounding. Let's get this party started!
Polly reminded me yesterday that this is the birthday when Tigger "becomes a handful." If you'll think back you'll remember that my first-ever blog post was about the conversation we had last year about this. Read it here if you need a reminder. And remember that GD2 quickly took the name of Tigger for future posts. :)
I asked Tigger the other day what she wants for her birthday. She replied, "A manatee."
Of course she does. What else could Tigger possibly want?! Then she explained that somehow, her mom was going to come up with a manatee cake.
I was relieved for two reasons. First, she isn't heading for obvious disappointment when she opens her presents and finds no living, breathing, belly-button equipped (don't ask!) manatees swimming around in an oversized aquarium. Second, I was relieved that I wasn't asked to bake the cake! She was a bit worried though about how the decorator was going to achieve the proper belly-button effect. Hint: Might I suggest a raisin? After all, what's a manatee without a belly button?
So back to the question of what she wants for, you know, gifts.
Well, it seems that for Polly's 5th birthday - almost 3 years ago now - Pastor Dad and I bought her a bike. NOT a bicycle, Tigger was quick to clarify. A bike. Evidently, there is a difference in her mind. And evidently, we must now provide one for Tigger's 5th birthday.
Okay, so she says her favorite animal is the large, gray mammal known as a manatee. I think she might have it confused with another large, gray mammal known as an elephant. She sure has the memory of one!
Polly reminded me yesterday that this is the birthday when Tigger "becomes a handful." If you'll think back you'll remember that my first-ever blog post was about the conversation we had last year about this. Read it here if you need a reminder. And remember that GD2 quickly took the name of Tigger for future posts. :)
I asked Tigger the other day what she wants for her birthday. She replied, "A manatee."
Of course she does. What else could Tigger possibly want?! Then she explained that somehow, her mom was going to come up with a manatee cake.
I was relieved for two reasons. First, she isn't heading for obvious disappointment when she opens her presents and finds no living, breathing, belly-button equipped (don't ask!) manatees swimming around in an oversized aquarium. Second, I was relieved that I wasn't asked to bake the cake! She was a bit worried though about how the decorator was going to achieve the proper belly-button effect. Hint: Might I suggest a raisin? After all, what's a manatee without a belly button?
So back to the question of what she wants for, you know, gifts.
Well, it seems that for Polly's 5th birthday - almost 3 years ago now - Pastor Dad and I bought her a bike. NOT a bicycle, Tigger was quick to clarify. A bike. Evidently, there is a difference in her mind. And evidently, we must now provide one for Tigger's 5th birthday.
Okay, so she says her favorite animal is the large, gray mammal known as a manatee. I think she might have it confused with another large, gray mammal known as an elephant. She sure has the memory of one!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
"That Face Seems Familiar"
You're gonna think I'm bonkers - ha! you already did anyway - but I said, "That face seems familiar," to myself while watching the Bear recently. No, I haven't been diagnosed with any form of senility so I wasn't having any problems actually recognizing the Bear. And it isn't because he has similar facial features to his sisters. It's just that . . . Well, I couldn't put my finger on it for awhile.
It all started when he began student teaching for his taekwondo master at the homeschooling co-op as part of his black belt training. When the Bear is helping the instructor I am in a nearby room that is designated as the parents' lounge. The door has a window that looks directly into the part of the gym where the Bear and the class are located. What I saw made me think that elusive thought.
There was the Bear, who is at least twice as tall as the young children he was assigned to help, holding a large padded shield that the young warriors were to attack with sidekicks. Some of the little guys obviously weren't understanding the drill as they were rushing head-long at the Bear with all their might and kicking from a straight-forward position. Some of the kicks looked like they missed the target altogether and landed squarely on the Bear's shins instead.
What was it about the face he made during this exercise that made it seem so familiar? It was a combination of slight amusement and calculated patience with a touch of boredom and a hint of annoyance. It was the look of someone who could easily do serious harm to the oblivious aggressor with the blow of one well-placed punch or kick. I just couldn't place where I'd seen that look before.
Then I saw it again the next day. Only this time, the look was on the face of the Bear's 60-lb. dog, Pepper, as she lightly held the 6-lb. dog, Fergie, in her paws while the little dog aggressively bit the big dog's throat in mock battle. It was obvious that Pepper could kill Fergie in one bite if she so desired but instead she laid there on the floor and let Fergie think she was subduing her. When Pepper had had enough she merely flicked Fergie off just like I saw the Bear lightly push some of the little guys off of him and send them back to the end of the line to wait for another chance to pretend they were beating him up.
I guess it's true what they say about dog owners and their pets looking more alike over time. Bear would still be considered more of a yellow Labrador as opposed to Pep's chocolate color, but the looks on their faces were identical.
It all started when he began student teaching for his taekwondo master at the homeschooling co-op as part of his black belt training. When the Bear is helping the instructor I am in a nearby room that is designated as the parents' lounge. The door has a window that looks directly into the part of the gym where the Bear and the class are located. What I saw made me think that elusive thought.
There was the Bear, who is at least twice as tall as the young children he was assigned to help, holding a large padded shield that the young warriors were to attack with sidekicks. Some of the little guys obviously weren't understanding the drill as they were rushing head-long at the Bear with all their might and kicking from a straight-forward position. Some of the kicks looked like they missed the target altogether and landed squarely on the Bear's shins instead.
What was it about the face he made during this exercise that made it seem so familiar? It was a combination of slight amusement and calculated patience with a touch of boredom and a hint of annoyance. It was the look of someone who could easily do serious harm to the oblivious aggressor with the blow of one well-placed punch or kick. I just couldn't place where I'd seen that look before.
Then I saw it again the next day. Only this time, the look was on the face of the Bear's 60-lb. dog, Pepper, as she lightly held the 6-lb. dog, Fergie, in her paws while the little dog aggressively bit the big dog's throat in mock battle. It was obvious that Pepper could kill Fergie in one bite if she so desired but instead she laid there on the floor and let Fergie think she was subduing her. When Pepper had had enough she merely flicked Fergie off just like I saw the Bear lightly push some of the little guys off of him and send them back to the end of the line to wait for another chance to pretend they were beating him up.
I guess it's true what they say about dog owners and their pets looking more alike over time. Bear would still be considered more of a yellow Labrador as opposed to Pep's chocolate color, but the looks on their faces were identical.
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