It is difficult

My breaking news alerts are often of a frivolous (I think) nature.  For instance - "Duke President Apologizes to LaCrosse Members".  I could have waited until the actual newscast to hear that one.  But last Friday, a news alert caught my eye and broke hearts across the state.

A 12-year-old girl in a neighboring town who had stayed home - alone -from school was murdered. Her grandfather stopped in to check on her and found her...Four teenagers - TEENAGERS! - who had broken in and were surprised to find her there have been arrested.

The same weekend, 4 children died in a fire.  The oldest was 11.  Their mother was across town at a party.

This post is not about being judgmental.  It's about horror and shock and 12-year-olds with strep throat being shot and 11-year-olds being left in charge of young children.  And the question has arisen - At what age is it safe to leave children home alone?

Frankly, I don't believe it's safe for an adult to be alone during the day, anymore.  I heard a man say - "We're buying into media-created fear."  I don't know about that...But I do believe, as far as children being on their own for hours, that a lot depends on the location of the home (secluded?) and the maturity of the child and if younger kids have been left in his/her care. 

My heart goes out to the parents of these children.  I cannot imagine the what-ifs running through their heads or the enormity of their grief.  Hug your kids, and be safe.

 

 

 

Running away from home.

Perhaps it's my inexperience at doing such, but making online reservations was not the easiest thing to do.  And so - after searching the hotel site for telephone numbers, I called the reservation specialist.  :-)

A specialist she was, indeed.  The good thing about telephone reservations is, the site does not go down the minute you enter your information, and in less than 5 minutes, I'm set for a long weekend in Myrtle Beach, my big indulgence this year.  An ocean-front room, private balcony, exercise room, indoor pool...free bowling! 

This is gonna be great.  Myrtle Beach in October is perfect.  The crowds have thinned, early morning is cool, almost nippy.  The last time I was there in October, I slept with the balcony doors open so I could hear the ocean and did picturesque things like watched the dolphins leap, close to shore. It was wonderful.
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You know, there's plenty on my mind this morning, but I'll just bask in the glow of my upcoming escape for now.

WHY is it??

Why is it that, the week or day you haven't had a chance to clean and your living room has been littered with movies and clothes and socks (none of them your own), and pop cans are littering the place - WHY is it that THAT is when someone visits?

You can't really call this a visit because it's the EMBARQ guy, connecting the satellite.  But geeze. 

I do clean.  He probably doesn't think so.  There has been a parade of guys and buds and pals of my son's over for the last week, and I haven't been able to get near the living room to do more than rush through it and...

now the satellite guy has seen this mess.

it's enough to make a girl leave town for the weekend - after handing the son a bucket of cleaning supplies and instructions.  so i'm gonna do all that.

have a great weekend, everybody.

An Overflowing Nest

In December, my son got married.  I remember how I cried because he was leaving, how empty the house seemed, how I brought Georgie-bear from PetSmart because it needed some noise.  And then Lacy, who spooks me when I,upon waking in the middle of the night, catch her in the eerie blue glow of the television antenna with her nose turned skyward, possibly worshiping some dark deity only she can see, and to which she sacrifices our sofas, came to feather the nest.

Life was pretty good, between sweeping up George's blonde hair and restuffing the sofas.  The kids were happy and on their own.  I became accustomed to doing pretty much what I wanted, which may or may not include watching TV all night from what's left of the sofa.

And then last Sunday, my son called his dad.  "Come get me..." and because of circumstances that won't be mentioned here, his dad "went and got him."

The baby has spent three nights with us.  And it's nice to have them here, but I wish - and am sure my son does, too - that it was not because a family might break up for good.

In Marc's recent journal entry, he wrote about the inner voice.  I'm listening to mine...it says to say as little as possible, but make what you do say count.  Like..Don't rush into anything.  Take a little time to think about what you can both make better, what you can compromise on.  I love you.  To both of them.

Ah, all we can do is let them make their own decisions.  But a little guidance never hurts, if it's presented in the right way, in a fair and neutral way.  I hope.

 

the bride

It has been..

a long, hot summer.  On a whim, I pulled up the weather this morning, and lost my breath at what the forecast said - 59 on Saturday night.  58 on Monday night.  And then I slumped in my chair with gratitude.

No more breathing super-heated air that burns the lungs.  No more sweltering in a century-old building in which the AC unit has died - for the 3rd time this summer.  Ah, sweet relief!  Autumn is coming, and I hope it brings rains with it to relieve the drought.

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We attended my niece's wedding this past Saturday.  It was a unique ceremony, all planned by Catherine to be the wedding she wanted, and if there was a theme, then that theme would have been called "simple elegance."

It was held in the gardens by the lily pond.  The aisle the bride walked down was a sidewalk flanked with lillies.  The music was guitar and flute - pure strains that held not one note of pretention.  She wore a simple gown with sequins, and flowers in her hair, and both bride and groom spoke their vows matter-of-factly - no quaver, no hesitation.  Each presented the other with a white rose - a symbol of new beginnings.  And then each took their rose and presented it to the parents.

To me, it was symbolic that love simply is and reaches far.

At the end of the ceremony the musicians played a Celtic tune.  The bride gave a sassy toss of her head, like - THERE.  I've got ya!  And one of the couples in the wedding party did a little hop and skip mid-aisle that set the tone for the reception.  It was nothing short of lovely.

50th wedding anniversary

It was a wonderful party - just the right number of people, lots of fellowship and, of course, food.  The cake was made by Kathy, a coworker at the hospital.  Picture 2 is mom and dad, although you can't see mom very well.  Picture 3 is of the grandkids and mom.  From left, my Beth, Catherine, Dad, Mom, Michael and my son Dale.  Picture 4 is of the great grandkids.  Mom is holding Mason, Sara Pie and Josh are seated on the sofa. See the look on Sara's face?  She's upset because Josh wouldn't let her hug him.

Everyone had a good time.  Mom and Dad are still talking about it.

Me

well, i think this is the first photo of myself i've posted.  it's small - the smaller the better.  heheh.  i have more photos to upload.  want to show you party pictures from the weekend.