sighs heard around the world..

The Sweetest Romances Part II

After watching the couple from last night, I was immediately reminded of my own grandparents.

I knew as a kid that Grandma and Grandpa did their own thing. I had caught them arguing one day and even knew that Grandpa had thought about leaving.

Just a few years before their 50th Anniversary, Grandma fell down the back steps and while she was recovering in the hospital she had a whopper of a stroke. We all thought she was going to die or that Grandpa would put her in a nursing home and be done with it.

Grandma made it, but she wasn't the same and neither was Grandpa. I watched him hug her, tell her that he loved her and even asked her for a date on the Fourth of July. He made sure the house was set up to accomadate her new needs and nurses to help HIM care for her. I watched as he rubbed lotion on her hands and arms and made sure she looked good. He took care of her for about 11 years.

Taking care of Grandma took quite a toll on his health as well and when he absolutely had no choice he put her in a home. A decision he hated more than anything. Grandma did not last long in the nursing home and soon passed away. Everyone was amazed and impressed with his love for the woman who gave him his three kids and took care of the house and him. He set an awesome example.

What does make me sad is that it wasn't until the end that all that happened. They let life get them down and it wasn't until death was upon them that they realized how much they needed each other.

I was so encouraged the other day reading a blog from one of our friends. He talked about the wonderful date he went on with his wife. He even called her a hot date. What an awesome thing to say about his wife of 8 years and the woman who gave birth to their precious three children. I could read the love in his writing and in her comments. It's nice to know romance still goes on even for the entering their thirties crowd.

The Sweetest Romances....

Last night at the softball game I sat next to a woman with a brain tumor. I've known her and her husband for over six years. She has always been tough and independent and he has always been funny telling stories about wrestling and the Sheriff's department he had worked for.

She walked slowly towards me her left arm hanging a little differently than usual and the left side of her face sagging slightly. Her husband was right there with her telling her not to get in too big of a hurry. I looked at him and saw several more lines on his face than the last time I saw him, which wasn't long ago.

He gently sat her down on one of those camping chairs built for two. He made such a fuss over her calling her his baby girl and making sure she was comfortable. They had traveled about 40 miles to watch their grandaughter play softball. They held hands and the love they had for each other shown in both their faces and in everything they said. He even said he had been trying to get back down on his knees in front of her and people kept interrupting them.

The doctor said that if there was any type of brain tumor to get this was the type. Her brain tumor is not a death sentence. Unfortunately, they still have a lot more to go through. She's had to give up driving and he's had to allow her to do some things for herself. They were so cute sitting there next to each other telling stories about the doctors, their grandchildren, and how their life has changed in the past couple of weeks.

Say Good-bye To Tutti Frutti!

The other night my child was in the bathtub while I was cleaning up the bathroom. She started singing.."Say Good-bye, to Tutti-Frutti!" over and over again.

It was so cutethat I called my husband in to listen to her. He quietly came to the door to listen and then once she saw him she started giggling. He asked her where she had heard that and she said she had just made it up. He said something to her using his favorite name for her "nugget". After he left, she starting singing, "Say Good-bye, to NUGGET!" "Say Good-bye, to Loo-Loo!" "Say Good-bye, to Frank!" These were all names we enjoy calling her and she hates all of them.

Hmmm...do you think she was trying to tell us something????????

Vile Felines

All they do all day is lie around getting cat hair all over your furniture. Yet when they are all curled up in a ball or lying on their backs they are just so darn cute.

They scratch, they bite, and they won't even let you hold them...at least for very long. But they are so sweet during the time you actually are allowed to hold them. Sometimes they just look at you and blink their eyes at you as if to say, "I love you, too."

Their wails, hissing, and screaming make you long for nails scratching on a chalkboard. But their purring is relaxing and reassuring.

People are allergic to them. So, it makes it hard for friends and family to come and visit. Hmmm...is that really a bad thing? Just kidding, Lori!!

They leave hairballs around for you to stumble on in the middle of the night. Which is just gross. But they are cleaner than dogs!

They attack your feet when you move under your covers. They jump on your sheets while you try to make the bed. They think your hair is a good resting place. They lay on top of you and chew you out if you move. But the fact that they would dare be so close to you and trust you that much is amazing.

They bring things or parts of things that come from mice, rats, birds, rabbits, bugs, and whatever else they can find into your bed. And you realize that they are trying to get your attention because you've been focused on so many other mundane things in life. Once you give them the attention they so deserve they stop leaving gross presents.

They scratch your brand new furniture or your grandmother's beautiful chaise lounge you inherited. You can't bring yourself to actually declaw them because somewhere deep inside you think that is inhumane. The furniture cannot give you love, but cats can give love, comfort, laughter, relaxation, and peace. They are truly a gift from God, and at times they feel like a terrible punishment!

The Burn...

Last Thursday was a wonderful summer day. My child and her psuedo sister went to swimming lessons in a nearby town. My psuedo cousin and I watched our girls and her sweet little boys as the girls worked on jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end of the pool.

After lessons we went in search of the perfect picnic spot and after much looking finally found the right place, at my father's former elementary school. We sat in the shade and ate our meals and then the kids played on the playground equipment. A very nice young man was very friendly by saying hi and asking us where we were from. We discovered he would be in fourth grade next year at that very school. Soon his mom came to pick him and his siblings up.

We cleaned our area and then headed back to the pool. That is the cleanest looking pool I've seen in years. Everyone got in and played. It wasn't crowded and my psuedo cousin and I both nearing our thirties....each jumped off the diving board twice and went down the slide once.

The kids loved it. The baby had a blast in his floaty just splashing and laughing. The three year old quickly realized he could float in his floaty suit and had fun. My daughter worked on just swimming around in the shallow end while her psuedo sister jumped off the diving board and slid down the slide. We all had so much fun. This is the day I will think about when it is cold outside and I'm sitting in my classroom wanting a break from school.

Now when we got home we were all exhausted and sunburned. Some more than others. We had put on sunscreen, but failed to reapply it and make sure it was in all the right places. I would fall under the most sunburned. It was painful to sleep, painful to move, and painful to be awake.

It's now Monday and the pain is about 80% gone and now a wonderful itch has replaced the pain. I'm not sure what is worse... My skin looks like something from an alien movie. Despite my annoyances, I wouldn't trade Thursday for anything. In fact, I can't wait to heal so we can do it again!

New Name

As a youngster it was easy to remember who was my friend. We may have been called Mutt and Jeff, but everyone knew it was Jill. After high school her stepfather adopted her and she changed her last name. Still no big deal...if I mentioned Jill everyone knew who I was talking about.

When I moved to NM I made a new friend named Jill and life got just a little confusing. I manged though.

So, what is my newest issue. I suddenly feel like Larry in a world full of Darryls. My child's name comes from my old youth director's daughter's name. His wife's name was Lori. There were also two real pretty older girls I always wanted to be like in the youth group named Lori Carey and Laurie Lovelace. I always liked the name Lori....it is a very pretty name.

In NM I had a friend named Laurie and you were suppose to put an emphasis on the Laur part, but most people didn't and Laurie was so sweet she would never correct anybody...

So, today I'm talking with my husband about the girls basketball coach and I ask where Lori's parents are from....my husband gives me this weird look and says "Granbury..." To which I replied I know where Lori Franklin's parent's live...where does Lori Flemons parents live? Then we got into an argument about how he was suppose to know which Lori. He's suppose to read my mind! Hasn't he figured that out yet?

Then I'm informed we might be having a new neighbor named-you guessed it..... Lori...only she is isn't one of the above mentioned Lori's. So, I've decided all the Lori's in my life have to change their name.....or we could have a drawing.....or maybe I will just go to the courthouse and change my name to Lori also.

Stolen from the Franklins....

I used up a ton of space on the Franklin blog to tell what I was happy about....and since I've thought of a ton more things I will go with the flow and share what makes me happy. Feel free to refer to the bein franklin blog to find out where this is coming from....

* My house. I really do like it. It is better than any other house we've lived in and I'm just so excited that it is ours.

* My cats. They are wonderful. They purr, they meow, they're fuzzy, and they let me annoy them to my heart's content. They are my family and I do love them very much.

* My students. I've been lucky enough to be with this group of kids for two years. I really do love these kids and I don't know what I'm going to do when they leave for a new school next year. A few I will be willing to see move on, but the majority....it will be hard. They've all got such great personality..even Mr. Dumb and Innocent....I have a ton of stories I need to blog about my kids. School is my life.

* My Sunday School class. We have the greatest teachers in the world. I learn so much from them. Our directors have hearts of gold, and I've also learned a lot from the "kids" in the class. It's been a pretty amazing experience so far.

* My van. The poor thing has so many miles on it, it looks like the Mystery Machine, it has scrapes across the sides , the windows don't roll down, and the CASSETTE TAPE PLAYER doesn't work. BUT I have plenty of room to take lots of people places. Like our trips with Spooky Rach and Jackson. Or the part of the Franklins to Glorieta. It is relatively comfortable and I like feeling tall in my short little world.

* You knew it was coming.... My television shows. I LOVE being able to RELAX and LAUGH while watching Gilmore Girls, My Name is Earl, and Desperate Housewives. I also enjoy watching Lost and the Weather Channel. I'm lucky I live in the USA where we can depend on our shows to come on at certain times. The one thing I would hate about living in Australia is that you can NEVER rely on their television schedules.

*My books. I have been so thrilled to discover Christian Fiction! It is not preachy, but more like my real life and those around me. I love Lynn Austin, Karen Kingsbury, and Francine Rivers. Liz Curtis Higgs is funny also. I could gush on and on and on, but it one of the best things I've discovered in the last 5 years of my life.

Now these were mentioned on the Franklin blog, but I will repeat them.

* My husband. He is a great father. He shares the housework with me...and many times probably does more than me! He is a good cook. He is a talented writer. He knows how to be nice to little old ladies. He keeps me from going overboard all the time. He puts up with my issues. He knows more about our friends' kid than I do....COME ON ZACHARY, WALK!!!!! He lets me go on trips to see my best friend from the third grade and my sweet aunt. He has survived my family. He completely redid our old house. He knows how to fix things in our house..and is dying to work on our current house. I am one lucky wife.

* My daughter. Wow. She is such a miracle. The fact that she is even here is amazing. She is so pretty with her long blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes. She has a toughness in her that I envy. She is so smart and witty. She makes me laugh all the time and has a great imagination. She is very stubborn which sometimes is a really good thing. She takes good care of me and is so much fun to talk with. Instead of saying THE she says VEE...it is sooooo cute!!!!!

So, like Lori, I challenge you to think about what makes you happy. This isn't my whole list...I all ready wrote a lot earlier and can still add a lot more. I was just told that add starts with "a" and they all ready learned the letter "a". It's time to spend some time with my cute kid!!!!!

Phil Gets Killed

Phil woke up from his long nap and saw the tuna dish the nice lady sat out and decided to eat. He kept both ears twitching making sure danger was not lurking by. After his meal he set off to his third house to search for his enemy.

He crept inside the house and looked in all directions. His ears and tail were on full alert. He passed by the strange bald man who was busy watching and imitating wrestling moves. Phil slipped by the strange wife who was murdering a blood sucking mosquito with chopsticks when he noticed that the cross of Sharmalita looked a bit strange.

The cross was starting to spin in several different directions and turning fuzzy. Phil felt very sick to his stomach....very similar to hacking up a hairball, but a little different. He recognized the tuna surprise he vomited up. He felt so bad he wished someone would just shoot him so he could die. He heard voices that were getting fainter and fainter...suddenly he was purring and dreaming he was with his mommy and seven brothers and sisters. They were playing, drinking their mother's milk, and getting tongue baths from their mother.....