Feliz Navidad

A day off today, and I felt busier then if I had worked, trying to cram into the day multiple appointments. The last one on deck my son and I loaded into the car and headed off to take him to the dentist. I am a sucker for Christmas music and as soon as local stations start playing the festive tunes my radio dial is set and stays there until the holiday is over. As I hit the road I recapped the day thinking about all the things I should of or could of got done. It did not help that I was over tired as my son had spent half his night awake requiring nebulizers and chest PT for a severe asthma flair up. We were up early in the morning and in the doctors office, then waiting at pharmacy for new meds, a quick lunch then we were off to his planned dentist appointment. My son was feeling better and now my deli ma was dinner and praying for a good dental appointment (just to clarify it was a terrific dental appointment, the teeth all looked good)... The song "Feliz Navidad" came on the radio and almost as if on cue the both of us started singing along. We sang louder and I turned the sound up, at traffic lights cars next to us must of though we were nuts, or maybe they were jealous that we could take 3min out of our day just to enjoy and have fun. when my son was a bit younger he loved the song and would sing along as loud as could be. Brief, fleeting moments in time but memorable. I am certain that his day of singing a silly old Christmas tune with mom will end soon, embarrassment taking over. But for now I will take the stolen moment in a hectic day and sing my heart out with him. "Feliz Navidad"

The Value in a tennis ball

For just a $1.99 I get a can of three. Three beautifully clean, slobberless tennis balls. I bring the new can home forgetting about it... Eventually the 11 year old boy in the house finds the can and cracks the lid. Meanwhile at least three rooms away the two year old active dog hears the crack of the lid, her ears go up in curiosity, I imagine she is thinking "what was that"? Then she hears the slow melodic rhythm of bounce, bounce, bounce... The canine is quickly on her feet off to investigate the all to familiar noise. She finds the boy bouncing the fresh new tennis ball. Excitement sets in! The two quickly rush outside. The boy throws the ball pretending he is pitching for the major leagues and the puppy fetches happily bringing back the ball, tail wagging. The two are outside for a good long time eventually succumbing to hunger and finding their way back inside for dinner. As night falls and the puppy sets in to retire on her dog bed she snuggles her new tennis ball in close almost like a child with a teddy bear. Not a bad investment for $1.99.

Defying gravity

This past week we took an amazing vacation. I did something that has been on my bucket list for a long time....
Last Wednesday the sun high in the sky, the air warm I stood on a dock, the song "try defying gravity" from the Broadway play "Wicked" played over and over in my head as my stomach fluttered anxious for what I was about to do. Not only was I going to do it but I was taking along my 10 year old son for the adventure. He looked just as excited and I wondered what was going through his head was he also prepping a soundtrack for this milestone to bookmark this moment forever. We climbed aboard that boat and were given quick instructions- "was it that easy?". We were strapped into our gear and stood at the back of the boat, my husband our official photographer at the front snapped away. Our boat fired off and the instructor let out the parachute, a picture of a skull and crossbones (how fitting and a sign that my father the wanna be pirate was looking down with approval). "Lean back the instructor" says. My son and I lean back and slowly the parachute pulls us away from the boat... The boat moves forward and we move higher in the sky. Like two birds soaring without a care in the world enjoying the bright clear sky. To say it was amazing would not do it justice. For this mousy girl it was an experience of a lifetime and to share it with my son what a gift! We stayed up in the sky for about 20 minutes wordless just taking it all in. When it came time to land the boat pulled us in easing us slowly and safely to the back no bump no thud just as easy as walking down the block. It was then once on the boat when my husband asked "well how was it" that my son grabbed me and hugged me and said "it was awesome, can we do it again"! And that is the story of my Para sailing adventure!

Honk

Usually our mornings start with the crow of the Rooster waking us up pretty early, not so much the case today. Instead we heard "Honk, Honk"....
We have had a lot of critter visits lately, wild rabbits, groundhogs and wild turkeys but did not expect to find this big ole goose hanging out at our house today. She/he has been around all day hanging out in the big rain puddle at the end of the driveway. This afternoon she made her way out back where she/he went and hung out with the chickens. Not sure where she came from my husband has gone around to some of the farms in the area and nobody has claimed her. Gonna try again tomorrow because it appears she is making herself at home and is going nowhere.

I haven't posted in a long while. Suppose Im finding myself lost in summer off climbing trees with my kid or taking day trips with my husband. Its been a good summer, feel like I'm relaxing for the first time in a long time. Having lost a significant amount of weight over the last year I fell like taking on new challenges and new adventures that I never would have dreamed possible. This time next month I have a big adventure planned and I cant wait... stay tuned for more!

adventure on the lake

Personal milestones hit this summer! A year ago when I met with my doctor he asked me where I wanted to be a year from now and my response was "water skiing with my son". A year ago that was a scary thought, as my weight had tipped the scales and just small day to day tasks were a hassle let alone the idea of water skiing. Well next week I have an appointment with that same doctor and I look forward to walking into his office and announcing that this looser (that would be looser of pounds) water skied!! As the thrill and adrenaline of getting up on the skis pulled me forward so did the emotion of actually reaching my goal. It was a thrilling experience and not only did I get up on the skis so did my kiddo! I am so loving this summer:)

The worlds best dog!

While I suppose the title of this post would cause great debate, as all dog owners must imagine they have the worlds greatest dog living in their household, in our small corner of the world we believe our lives were graced with the presence of the worlds greatest dog, Miss Oreo!
12 1/2 years ago my husband and I then without kids were settled into our home, things going well we decided it was the right time to get a dog. A woman at work had a dog unexpectedly have puppies (accidents happen) and was desperate to find homes for the little canines. Sadly my husbands work had him out of state at the time, so he could not go with me to see the dogs. He told me to go pick one out but had one condition, that I pick the friendliest dog or the one who approached me first. That all said I drove out to the boondocks where this co-worker lived and as I drove up her long dirt driveway out came running this tiny little black and white fur ball eager to great me. I was told that she was an escape artist and had gotten out of her pen several times. There were 7 other puppies and I had my pick of my the litter. Assorted colors, hair lengths no two puppies were alike, tough decision but my husbands request to take the first dog to great me echoed in my head, so it was the Houdini dog/ escape artist that I picked. As I drove home with her I panicked thinking what have I done? If she is constantly breaking out of her kennel then I probably have picked the trouble maker of the litter. When my husband came home it was love at first sight. We named the little black and white fluff ball Oreo (I know not very original but it fit). Oreo grew, and grew, quickly becoming a very large dog topping out at a big 80+ pounds. We learned she was part Chow and part hound dog, beautiful and unique this gentle black and white giant colored our world. When my son was born, she became a second moma. Not letting the cat near him she would chase them away. When he cried she would wake me. When he learned to crawl and walk she tolerated and seemed to love him climbing all over her. When he toddled around outside and would start to wonder she would chorale him back. Halloween she would pose for silly pictures. His first day of school she would see him off and welcome him home, always tail wagging. When he learned to read she would allow him to lean against her and read aloud, his own little four legged audience. She was part of the family, and we were just smitten with her! Sadly Miss Oreo was laid to rest this weekend and our hearts are broken. There will never be another dog like her and we are blessed to have had her grace our lives. I will miss those big brown eyes but I suppose it was time for her to move on escaping on to heaven somewhere near the "rainbow bridge".