It's hard to believe that thirteen years ago I gave birth to you.
Here are thirteen things I adore about you...
1)You are very sweet to your momma
2)You are a boy of good character
3)You make yummy apple pancakes :)
4)You volunteer your time to help people without any hesitation
5)You are trustworthy
6)You are dependable
7)You are an awesome boy scout
8)You are a loyal friend
9)You are an amazing Lego builder :)
10)You draw awesome pictures
11)You are self confident
12)You love reading and devour books faster than I can imagine
13)You always ask when Dad is coming home from the fire station and greet him with a smile and a huge hug when he arrives
When you were tiny, I could never imagine what you would be like as a teenager.
Now that you are here...I am so excited.
You are growing into a fine young man!
I sat in my garage organizing some junk last weekend, when something unusual caught my eye. A little guy, maybe about 4 years old, with a big dog was walking on the other side of the street. Not having my glasses nearby, I couldn’t quite make out who the boy was.
What the heck are those parents thinking?
Letting a preschooler walk a huge German Sheppard alone?
And right in front of the Houdini pit bull’s house across the street.
They’d better catch up to the little guy!
How stupid and dangerous.
Then, my thoughts drifted back to my project.
About 5 to 10 minutes later I heard someone shouting from the end of the street. It was a teenaged girl, and she was chasing after the little boy who had passed me with the dog earlier.
She slowed at my driveway and asked if the boy was mine. I told her he wasn’t.
“Well, I found him around the corner sliding down a dirt hill. He doesn’t have anything but a shirt on,” she said breathlessly, “When I came near to him he started running.”
We both looked down the street and the kid was now running full speed in the middle of the road.
Immediately, I started racing after him.
I was running quickly, but the little guy was outpacing me. He was approaching a very dangerous intersection in the road and I my adrenaline surged.
Kicking off my slip-ons, my body went into a full sprint. Only with this full out run was I able to catch up to the boy.
I grabbed his shoulder, and he stopped, turning his face to me.
Oh my gosh, he was just a toddler! (Yes, I should wear my glasses more often!)
Immediately, I lifted him to my hip and turned toward home. The teenager was heading my way, as well as my next-door neighbor. We were all stunned by the situation and began looking around for the adult responsible for him.
When I got to my house, I dialed 911. It had been at least 10-15 minutes since I had noticed the boy walk by with the dog.
Some mother must be frantic looking for her baby!
“What’s your name?” I asked the little guy.
He just jabbered. He did not even talk yet.
I gave the 911 operator a full description of him and then stood in my drive waiting for someone to run by, or drive by, looking for him. I comforted the boy and my little girl brought him a stuffed animal to hold.
We stood out front and I waited…
And waited…
And waited…
It was now at least 25 minutes since the boy had come to my attention and no one was on our street looking for him.
My neighbor hopped in his car to go see if there was someone looking around for the baby on other streets.
After a few minutes, he found a family in their front yard and stopped. He asked if they were missing a kid. They were not.
Two little boys were nearby on their scooters and called out. “What does he look like? Maybe it’s our brother.”
They followed my neighbor around the corner to my house.
“Yep, that’s my baby brother,” the boy, who looked around 8, said.
He reached out to take the boy…
“I need you to go get your mother, “ I said
The boy headed down the street and went into a house nearby that was recently rented out.
He came back a few minutes later…without his mother.
“Go get you mother.” I said nicely, but firmly.
He left again and returned a few minutes later…without his mom.
Then, I saw the disheveled woman walking casually towards my house.
“Oh, thank you.” She said, sounding groggy, as she took the toddler into her arms. Her apparent lack of maternal instinct struck me.
It had been 35-40 minutes and she had not noticed her child missing.
I know that these things rarely happen, a toddler escaping, but I would expect a more rapid response and a pretty freaked out parent when they realized what was going on!
The police car arrived about 10 minutes later and took a report.
I found out later that another neighbor had found the boy out alone, half a block from his home, days before.
It’s been hard letting this go. I have seen neglected and abused children in the hospital, but of course it never gets any easier to see.
It is unthinkable to me, that children, so precious and vulnerable, are not protected by their caregivers.
It is a harsh reality of this world and it hit close to home last weekend.
(The picture at the top is not of the little boy in my neighborhood)
I’m joining Rachel and Mr. Daddy today for their True Story Tuesday. There are so many interesting stories shared on their blog. Head over and take a look.
What a wonderful morning :)
The almost-teenage-boy woke a bit later and was so very sweet.
Soon we will go for a hike.
Yep, that's what I want to do today.
I had the funniest memory of a Mother's Day morning about 4 years ago...
Firehubby was at work that morning and
I heard the hands of a 7 and 8 year old busily at work in the kitchen.
They were not allowed to use the stove, of course, so I was picturing some delicious toast.
Soon, I hear happy voices and clanking of dishes coming up the stairs...
Breakfast in bed was on the way!
I pretended I was still asleep.
"Mommy, wake up!"
"Happy Mother's Day!"
There they were, with two of the cutest smiling faces, holding a tray out to me.
"We made breakfast-in-bed for you!"
So darling.
I sit up and they place the breakfast on my lap.
Hmmmm, what is that? I asked myself.
It was a VERY special recipe that they had just made up!
Here it is:
Start with a cup of:
Voila!
They were so proud of their "cooking".
I smiled a big smile as I took my first bite.
"mmmmm, so yummy!"
(Ewwwwww)
Oh, the delight in their eyes was so sweet.
They sat on the bed, watching me chew each bite.
"Mmmmmm, this is just so tasty."
I finished every last (ewwww) bite.
"You want so more Mommy?!"
"No thanks. I am sooooo full"
Too cute :)
Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom's out there.
I am remembering all of you mothers who, sadly, only hold your babies
in your hearts and memories, and not in your arms today.
~Hugs~
Julie is the best, so I look forward to joining her Letters of Intent this week.
Dear Meth House,
Please decide…Meth house ~OR~ Avon Sales Home.
The sign out front of your run down home, near the salon I go to in downtown, says “Avon Sold Here.”
However the meth heads that sit in the front yard and come and go don’t seem to be the Avon type. Your bobble heads, missing teeth, and sores give you away.
Take down the sign or clean up your act (I do recommend the Avon bubble bath).
Poor Cleo, she’d roll over in her grave.
Signed,
The girl who doesn’t want her fond memories of Avon violated
When I was a little girl, the Avon Lady used to walk from neighborhood to neighborhood selling her cosmetics, jewelry, and so on…
Our Avon Lady’s name was Cleo.
I remember the pictures of the Avon Lady in ads. She was pretty and young.
Well, Cleo was, well, different than that. I will describe her as I remember her… 60 years old, wore a polyester house dress, had pantyhose that sagged at the ankles, and of course, very practical shoes. She had an accent that might have been southern, but I have not met anyone else that sounded like her since.
Cleo would walk up and down the cul-de-sacs in our neighborhood carrying her heavy Avon Lady bag. With each step she tottered to one side to counter balance the heavy load. She seemed a bit weary as she walked. But when she arrived at the door, she would perk right up.
We children would run into our houses to let our moms know that Cleo was on the block.
I’d peak out as she rang the bell, then Mom would let her in. Cleo would lug that big bag up the stoop and into the front room. Mom would sit on the sofa, Cleo on the loveseat, and I would take my place on the floor, elbows leaning on the coffee table, ready to see what was in the bag that day.
Without fail, Cleo would take out a perfume bottle and the magic words would come out…”Mind if I spray?” Mom never minded. With a push of a finger, perfume was sprayed on Mom’s wrist and she’d always said something like, “Oh, that is nice.” Mom was that way, very kind and hospitable.
Then, the bar of soap would be presented. Without fail, Cleo would say, “It’s very crisp, you know, because it’s French milled.” I’m certain it was French milled, after all, Cleo was an Avon Lady for over 25 years and she would be sure to know her product.
Oh, but my favorite part of the visit was when Cleo would take out the tiny white sample tubes of lipstick. Do you remember those? Just thinking of them brings me right back in time. Mom had six kids and there simply was no money for the luxury of lipstick, so these were little treasures. Mom kept those little tubes in the bathroom drawer and in her purse. Sometimes I would sneak and use some, so I could look pretty too.
The one item Mom did buy was the bubble bath. I can almost smell it now, it ‘s sweet, fresh scent. I’m sure that I used more than my share. I never could resist a bubble bath. I was spoiled that way.
Cleo was part of the fabric of my childhood.
Good memories.
15 years ago today, innocent lives were lost.
I remember the day clearly...
The radio blared accounts of a huge explosion in Oklahoma City.
Chaos had ensued.
Something devastating had happened.
Sitting with my patient, we just stared at the television.
The horror of the day became more vivid as the smoke cleared.
The workers...
The daycare center...
Shocking.
How could this be happening?
We had no frame of reference for such an event.
Today, let's remember the victims of the Oklahoma City Bombings and their loved ones.
We honor their lives by remembering.
As I drove off to work in L&D yesterday it dawned on me that it was Tax Day.
All of my little babies would have the "dreaded day" for their birthday.
I could only imagine the comments they might get when they say that April 15th is their birthday.
Then I thought, why not pick a name that matches the day
(Think Christmas babies named Noel)
Here are a few that myself and my colleagues (and of course Firehubby) came up with:
IRiS
Cash
Goldie
Refundo or Refunda
Monet
Don't you think this is a great idea?
I could be starting a new tradition here!
