Over a year ago, my 71 year old mom was mugged and robbed by a worthless thug! After months of investigating, a suspect was apprehended. The loser has been in jail for the past few months. Yesterday my mom had to appear before a grand jury regarding her case. Now my mom has always prided herself as being a fashionable woman. So she arrived at the courthouse dressed in her, as she described to me, "cute, pink capris pants, matching t-shirt, and flip-flops". Present in the courtroom were the presiding judge, an assistant district attorney, and the panel of 16 jurors. My mom said that she was somewhat nervous but composed as she answered the questions from the judge and prosecutor. When the hearing was finished, my mom left the courthouse and met a friend for some shopping.
When my mom arrived home from shopping, she was changing out of her "cute capris" and noticed that she was wearing one green and pink flip-flop, and one red and white flip-flop. Not only had she worn the two different colored flip-flops shopping, but she had worn them at the hearing! When my mom was telling me her story, she told me how embarrassed she was that she appeared in court that way. I told my mom that she shouldn't worry because perhaps the jurors just thought that the entire mugging incident had left her so distraught that she wasn't even able to dress herself appropriately. This may even add a few years to the sentence.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Womanhood
The symptoms are there . . . I'm tense, I look as if I'm three months pregnant, and I feel like my back-side weighs 50 pounds. I know my "monthly time" is nearby. That's okay, though. I'd rather be HAVING it than NOT having it. If I weren't having it, that would mean that I was either pregnant, or post-menopause. And I wouldn't want to experience either of those conditions at this point in my life. So I'm perfectly content in experiencing a little discomfort and inconvenience for a few days each month.
Finding out about entering womanhood is a memory forever etched in my mind. You know how we always remember where we were when we heard about a major event? Like when the space shuttle exploded, I was at work and one of my co-workers who was watching the launch on television came out of his office to tell us about the explosion. And when I found out about John Lennon being shot, I was at my high school. Well, when I found out about womanhood, I was in my bedroom (which was decorated with bright floral drapes and bedspreads - it was the early '70's). I can still remember where I was sitting. My two older sisters had taken it upon themselves to tell me all about growing from a child into a young woman. However, they only told me "part" of the story. These are their exact words, "when your b_ _ bs get bigger, you have to start wearing these" (and they were holding up a maxi pad). It was kind of like "show and tell". That's it. That's all they told me. And I suppose I was in too much of a shock to ask any questions. I don't remember anything else about that fateful afternoon.
Okay, so I then knew that when my breasts got larger, I had to start wearing pads. I'm a fairly smart person so I deducted from my sisters' information that I had to stuff the pads down my shirt. They didn't tell me WHERE I had to start wearing the pads, just that I had to start wearing them. So for the next year or so, waiting for my breasts to grow, I would discreetly look at older girls and women to see if I could tell if they were wearing a pad underneath their shirt. Surprisingly to me, I never could tell which really made me feel better because I was concerned that everyone would be able to see the pads.
As time passed, my sisters never mentioned the subject again (and I certainly didn't ask). So I went until I actually entered womanhood thinking that maxi pads were stuffed down your shirt when your breasts grew larger. Needless to say, when I did enter womanhood, I immediately deduced where the pads went.
Several decades later, my sisters and I still laugh about this. This clearly shows that it's always best to tell the WHOLE truth.
Finding out about entering womanhood is a memory forever etched in my mind. You know how we always remember where we were when we heard about a major event? Like when the space shuttle exploded, I was at work and one of my co-workers who was watching the launch on television came out of his office to tell us about the explosion. And when I found out about John Lennon being shot, I was at my high school. Well, when I found out about womanhood, I was in my bedroom (which was decorated with bright floral drapes and bedspreads - it was the early '70's). I can still remember where I was sitting. My two older sisters had taken it upon themselves to tell me all about growing from a child into a young woman. However, they only told me "part" of the story. These are their exact words, "when your b_ _ bs get bigger, you have to start wearing these" (and they were holding up a maxi pad). It was kind of like "show and tell". That's it. That's all they told me. And I suppose I was in too much of a shock to ask any questions. I don't remember anything else about that fateful afternoon.
Okay, so I then knew that when my breasts got larger, I had to start wearing pads. I'm a fairly smart person so I deducted from my sisters' information that I had to stuff the pads down my shirt. They didn't tell me WHERE I had to start wearing the pads, just that I had to start wearing them. So for the next year or so, waiting for my breasts to grow, I would discreetly look at older girls and women to see if I could tell if they were wearing a pad underneath their shirt. Surprisingly to me, I never could tell which really made me feel better because I was concerned that everyone would be able to see the pads.
As time passed, my sisters never mentioned the subject again (and I certainly didn't ask). So I went until I actually entered womanhood thinking that maxi pads were stuffed down your shirt when your breasts grew larger. Needless to say, when I did enter womanhood, I immediately deduced where the pads went.
Several decades later, my sisters and I still laugh about this. This clearly shows that it's always best to tell the WHOLE truth.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Shopping for School
By now we're all finished with our "school" shopping (supplies, clothes, backpacks). I've discovered that the older my son gets, shopping for the supplies becomes easier. Last weekend, with list in hand, I joined the other moms in the school supply aisle, reaching over small children's heads, and around moms with babies on their hips, grabbing the necessary pens, pencils, notebooks, and binders. I was in and out of the store in just a few minutes. I can remember when my son was younger, school supply shopping took longer because it seems there was always that one item I could never find (like that aqua colored folder with pockets).
Although school supply shopping has become easier, school CLOTHES shopping has become quite an adventure. The jeans HAVE to be that certain brand, from that certain store at the mall. So my teenage son and I headed out to the mall a couple of days ago. As we entered the "store", my first thought was "they need to turn on the lights". Well, then I realized the lights WERE on but they were very dim. I told my son that I was glad his dad wasn't with us, because his response would have been "Son, if I'm going to spend this much money on a pair of jeans, I at least want to see what I'm buying."
So, after "feeling" my way through the "store", we found the jeans. As I'm following my son back to the fitting room, he turns around and gives me this look. "What?", I ask. "Mom, you don't have to go back with me." "Well, of course, I'm not going INSIDE with you", I replied, "I'll just stand out by the door to see how they fit." So this conversation goes back and forth (it seems that I embarrass him . . . I can't imagine why. I mean, when we've gone shopping in the past, I usually just tug at the waste-band a few times, make him show me a front view, side view, rear view, front view again, etc. Now, why would that embarrass him?) So, we ended up compromising this time . . . I stood outside of the dressing area (with the other moms), and then my son just gave me a very quick look once he had on the jeans.
So, we leave the dark dungeon, and head down the mall to another store with much better light. We went through the same routine as before, and finally decided on our purchases. We were standing in line waiting to pay, and there was a display of really cute thongs on a table next to where we were standing. I was so tempted to browse through them for myself, but I could only imagine the horror that my son would have experienced being there with his mom looking at thongs! So, I decided against doing that.
Overall, our clothes shopping experience went well. We ended our day with lunch at the food court. We had such a fun time, we've decided to have a mall shopping day at least once a month.
Although school supply shopping has become easier, school CLOTHES shopping has become quite an adventure. The jeans HAVE to be that certain brand, from that certain store at the mall. So my teenage son and I headed out to the mall a couple of days ago. As we entered the "store", my first thought was "they need to turn on the lights". Well, then I realized the lights WERE on but they were very dim. I told my son that I was glad his dad wasn't with us, because his response would have been "Son, if I'm going to spend this much money on a pair of jeans, I at least want to see what I'm buying."
So, after "feeling" my way through the "store", we found the jeans. As I'm following my son back to the fitting room, he turns around and gives me this look. "What?", I ask. "Mom, you don't have to go back with me." "Well, of course, I'm not going INSIDE with you", I replied, "I'll just stand out by the door to see how they fit." So this conversation goes back and forth (it seems that I embarrass him . . . I can't imagine why. I mean, when we've gone shopping in the past, I usually just tug at the waste-band a few times, make him show me a front view, side view, rear view, front view again, etc. Now, why would that embarrass him?) So, we ended up compromising this time . . . I stood outside of the dressing area (with the other moms), and then my son just gave me a very quick look once he had on the jeans.
So, we leave the dark dungeon, and head down the mall to another store with much better light. We went through the same routine as before, and finally decided on our purchases. We were standing in line waiting to pay, and there was a display of really cute thongs on a table next to where we were standing. I was so tempted to browse through them for myself, but I could only imagine the horror that my son would have experienced being there with his mom looking at thongs! So, I decided against doing that.
Overall, our clothes shopping experience went well. We ended our day with lunch at the food court. We had such a fun time, we've decided to have a mall shopping day at least once a month.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Weekend in Review
After an exhausting weekend, I started the work/school week somewhat rested. This weekend was our annual southern gospel concert that my family promotes. This weekend was the culmination of working for over six months on this yearly event. It's always hard work, but it's also fun and exciting! But I'm ready to get back to life NOT working on a concert.
Speaking of concerts, our son saw Journey over the weekend. He had an absolute BLAST!
Last night I watched some of the Olympics. I was able to see the end of the men's relay in swimming. The men's team won the gold! Even though I could live WITHOUT the Olympic games, it was exciting to watch this event and to watch the medal ceremony.
So, that was my weekend.
Speaking of concerts, our son saw Journey over the weekend. He had an absolute BLAST!
Last night I watched some of the Olympics. I was able to see the end of the men's relay in swimming. The men's team won the gold! Even though I could live WITHOUT the Olympic games, it was exciting to watch this event and to watch the medal ceremony.
So, that was my weekend.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
School Year Prayer
With the beginning of school just around the corner, I have mixed emotions: sadness that the leisurely days and nights of summer are ending, excitement about football season starting, and anticipation of the good things this school year is going to bring for the kids, specifically for my middle school son. He and I have a tradition that we started years ago when he was in kindergarten . . . we have a "morning prayer" in the car on our way to school. We've said our morning prayer together every school day morning since then. The prayer isn't a long one, and it's usually general in nature (Lord, thank you for another day to go to school, bless today, etc.) Some mornings, the prayer is more specific (Lord, please help with today's math test). Prayer is a wonderful thing!
My son and I will continue our "morning prayer" this year. And I want to start the school year off with this prayer:
Dear Lord: Thank you for the fun and safe summer that our family had. Thank you for all of the blessings you continue to give me and my family - they're too numerous to individually name. I come to you this morning asking that you bless this school year. Protect my son physically from any harm. Remind him by your Holy Spirit that You are with him always, at all times. Help him to make the right decisions in all areas of his life. Guide his paths so that he follows Your plan for his life. Thank you for his friends. Bless their school year. Help them to be the best young people that they can be. Help them make wise decisions this year. Thank you for the teachers. Provide them with the wisdom they need to teach their students. And lastly, help me to be the best mom that I can be.
Amen.
My son and I will continue our "morning prayer" this year. And I want to start the school year off with this prayer:
Dear Lord: Thank you for the fun and safe summer that our family had. Thank you for all of the blessings you continue to give me and my family - they're too numerous to individually name. I come to you this morning asking that you bless this school year. Protect my son physically from any harm. Remind him by your Holy Spirit that You are with him always, at all times. Help him to make the right decisions in all areas of his life. Guide his paths so that he follows Your plan for his life. Thank you for his friends. Bless their school year. Help them to be the best young people that they can be. Help them make wise decisions this year. Thank you for the teachers. Provide them with the wisdom they need to teach their students. And lastly, help me to be the best mom that I can be.
Amen.
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