And some Happy Thoughts

Ok - a happy post, like I promised!

I've been having fun for the past couple of weeks. I downloaded a bunch of old Christian music and burned a couple of cds. It's stuff I listened to as a teenager and young adult - Sandi Patti, Larnelle Harris, Steve Green, Ray Boltz, etc. I didn't realize how much I missed that kind of music until I started listening to it again. I don't mean to sound prudish and old, but there honestly is not a lot of current Christian music that I enjoy. My kids love it and I hear them blasting Kutlass and Big Daddy Weave and Jeremy Camp up in their bedrooms - and that's fine. But I find myself tuning into secular radio stations more often than not because I can't stand most of what is offered on our Christian radio stations. So, I'm really enjoying these cds!

Will's football coach seems to have taken a special interest in Ben. One day this week Ben climbed into my van and told me that Coach K had said that Will had a football meeting the next morning. I wasn't sure if he was just babbling or what, so when I got home, I emailed the coach and sure enough, Ben was right. So the next day when I was walking through the hallway, on my way to the Superintendent's office to pick up a school permit form, the coach caught me and said that he was so pleased Ben had gotten his message home to me and that he told Ben he could be the one to start the clock for kickoffs this fall during the games. That is so neat! Maybe Ben could eventually be a manager or a mascot or something for the football players. I'll have to get him a Pleasantville sweatshirt for the games this fall.

Sam has officially crossed from toddlerhood to boyhood. It may be that he crossed that line some time ago, but it was this past week that I really noticed it. For one thing, our neighbor boy, age 6, usually comes over to play with David. That alone kind of baffles me, since David is 5 years older than he. But since he has only sisters, I suppose he's grateful for any chance to interact with fellow males, regardless of their age. But this week he came to our door, asking if Sam could play. Sam seems to be too little to be the desired playmate! But he was more than happy to run outside and play with Tucker. So I guess he's old enough for friends now.

I just don't have enough eyeballs to keep an eye on this kid. The feeling I was getting this week was reminiscent of when Ben was first mobile - around age 4 for him. But it's a slightly panicky feeling, knowing that if I don't literally tie this kid to me, he's going to do something destructive to the house, his brothers, or himself!

It was hot this week. Thursday, Sam comes into the house and announces, "Sam wock keys in van!" I didn't know which to be upset about first: 1) that he messed with my keys 2) that he managed to open up the van, unassisted 3) that he was playing in the hot, hot van and could have died out there before I would have known he was even there 4) or that my keys were now locked in the van! Argh!

And then last night I gave Sam his bath and then I got busy. I went out later to hang up some laundry and discovered Sam, naked as a jaybird, sitting on the deck, doing something potentially dangerous (I'm guessing, since I didn't really investigate, not wanting to know for sure) with two of my table knives (which would explain the growing paucity of my tableware of late). He was as happy and content as could be, though!

As I was typing the above paragraph, Sam limped into the house, sniffling and crying a bit. He showed me his knee - and he'd skinned it yet again. I am not kidding - since Sunday, he has skinned that same knee 3 times. It just gets healed up and then he puts another hole in it. I know that any day now we'll be making our first run for stitches with him. Will and Ben were both 2 the first time they had to be stitched. David was born more fearful of life, so he was 5 before he ever had to go in! But Sam is more like his older brothers in that regard. The nice thing is that when Sam gets hurt he wants to be cuddled. Last Sunday when he wiped out running across the church parking lot, he was just distraught for a good 45 minutes afterward. He insisted on being held and kept saying, "hurt my knee!" I think he was milking it just a bit, but I was more than happy to cuddle with him, since I don't get to do that too much anymore. Will observed that and said, "Yeah, next time you're going to trip him, aren't you - just so you can cuddle with him!" At the rate Sam is going, I don't think I'll have to be the one causing injury - looks like lots of cuddle times are in my future with him! Poor kid.

Well, I think that's all my happy news. It's Memorial Day weekend and it sounds like this beautiful weather is going to last all the way through. We're not doing anything special. Paul just got home from doing some AC work and I know he's hoping to be able to work on the house quite a bit. However, he is on call next week, so I'm not sure how much he'll actually get done. Despite my mounting frustration over the project, I know it will get finished.

I am looking forward to driving by the Swan Cemetery Monday morning and seeing the rows of flags lining it. I don't know who puts them up or when they do it, but they're always there every Memorial Day. That cemetery is so old (although there's still people being buried in there currently) that I don't doubt there are war heroes buried there from the Civil War onward - maybe even from the war of 1812. I'd like to spend some time there reading the stones. David, my child who is most like me, has commented a time or two he'd like to do that, as well. I'll have to make that happen sometime.

Well, gotta scoot. My to-do list keeps growing :(