Defending your child -vs- crossing the line

I was sitting on the couch tonight. Finally relaxing after a long week. My wife's phone rang and when she answered it, it was my younger son Tyler. He had just been in a fight. That a boy had walked up and punched him in the head. This is when all rationale leaves and protective instinct takes over. I flew out the door and jumped in the car to find my son.

I found him standing on the side of the road. I could tell he was worked up but, there was no sign of any injuries. I asked him what had happened and he said he and 2 friends were walking down the street and they had exchanged words with another group of kids. One of those kids walked up to Tyler and punched him. I asked him which way the kid went and it took no time at all to find the kid. He was with a group of other kids at this point. I got out of my car and I admit that I was not exactly calm when I asked this kid what his problem was. I was downright pissed that he punched my kid. While I admit I may have been a bit abrupt, I was very careful not to threaten this kid in any way. I must have still scared him though because this kid got right in my face and told me if I touch him, he will own my house, my car, and everything else. What ever happened to respecting adults? This kid had me pissed. However I just looked him straight in the eye and told him I had no intention of laying a finger on him. I told him instead I was going to call the police. He decided that was the time he should be heading home. I demanded his name but of course he refused. So I told him that I can give a complete description of him and that his friends would roll over on him when the cops showed. That didnt phase him and he left.

Now I know my son. He can be a bit of a wise ass at times. I questioned him about what lead up to this fight. Both parties seem to agree that tyler and his group had said something first. Tyler insists that all he said was "Hi people across the street that I don't know!" The other group said that someone from my son's group had called them "faggots." I am sure the truth lies someplace in between. That still does not give this boy the right to punch my son. And both parties agree that it was not my son that took the first swing.

I got tyler back in the car and I got back in myself. I thought about it and decided to skip the police. I had already scared the other kid enough that I am sure he is still waiting for the police to show up. And Tyler said that after the kid punched him, he punched the kid back in the face and the kid walked away. Neither was seriously hurt physically. Let it be a lesson to both. My son needs to learn to not shoot off his mouth and the other boy needs to learn that he can not just punch people over words.....and I need to learn to take a deep breath before reacting next time!

Sometimes it is obvious that God listens

I have fallen on a bit of a difficult economic situation this past week. I will not get into details of blame, but lets just say, my wife's idea of budgeting and lack of disclosure has left us in a situation where the mortgage has almost tripled for the next 3 years. I suppose I should be happy because before I called the bank in a panic, it was over 4 times as much. I told them the keys would be on the counter for them when they came to take the house back. But, after a bit of negotiating I got them down to the triple amount and while it is going to be really tough, it is at least doable.

For the first few days after I learned of this situation, I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't eat or sleep. I had no idea what I was going to do. So, I offered it up to God. I didn't pray to suddenly win the lottery and I didn't ask for money to suddenly grow on trees. I simply asked for the strength and the wisdom to get through this hard time. Well, He heard me.

Not more than 3 hours after offering up my prayer I was driving down the highway and a young girl swerved into the side of my car. My car is damaged but thankfully no one was hurt. Since this was the first day this girl was driving with a license I knew reporting an accident would cost her big. She agreed to pay for the damages. I got an estimate and asked her for only 1/4 of it. I knew the estimate was high. Her dad is going to be sending out the check. When I took my car to the body shop for repairs, the owner of the shop fixed what had to be done and refused to take a dime from me since I had helped him in the past. I still have a small dent but I dont care. I now have several hundred dollars to help me out.

The next day my wife ran to the grocery store for a few things. She spent $18. When she came out of the store, laying on the ground next to her car was a $20 bill. We had dinner for for free that night. 

Last year my wife was forced to close down her business. We owned a gymnastics school. The economic times took a toll and we could no longer operate. (This is part of how we ended up in our mess). We still had all of the equipment. It ended up in my basement. We have slowly been selling it off. There is not a very big market for gymnastics equipment at the moment. Last Friday a woman called to ask about a couple things. Yesterday, she came all the way from NJ with cash in hand and bought $1470 worth of stuff.

While I was not expecting this type of help, I really owe God a big thank you. He has made it a little easier this month and has given me a new sense of peace that everything will be alright. Thank you God!

Random Pic of the Day

This guy was big enough to make my wife scream like she was being murdered. 
While to many of you, this is not very big, here on the island we typically do not get them this large.

Roller Coaster Tuesday

My Tuesday was a definite roller coaster ride. I was off from work because my son Tyler was making his Confirmation. It should have been a relaxing day from the start. However after receiving a notice from my mortgage company that more than doubles my payments, I was not starting off in a happy mood. Still I tried hard to not let the stress ruin what is supposed to be a happy day.

Tyler looked awesome all dressed in his suit and tie. Despite the pouring rain, it was a very nice celebration at the church. After the service we took his sponsor and all the grandparents, and of course Tyler, to a local restaurant for an early dinner. It was nice just sitting around talking to everyone over a good meal.

After the meal I headed home to take Kevin to his therapy appointment. It was still raining heavily so rather than letting him drive for practice, I decided to do the driving. That turned out to be a very wise choice. On the way home, a young girl driving in the right lane decided that she needed to be in the left lane. However, I was already there. I was treated to the sight of her car approaching fast in my direction and a nice loud bang as her car bounced off of mine. I pulled over of course to survey the damage. At first it did not look too bad. I had a small dent and my mirror was hanging off. I also had scuff marks on the side of my car where her tire hit. She called her mom because this was her first day on the new insurance and she only got her license a couple days ago. Her mom showed up and has agreed to pay for the damages rather than have this poor kid lose her license and have her insurance go sky high, I agreed to handle it between us.




I took the car to the body shop today. $1800 in damage! It sure didnt seem that bad until they showed me all the stuff I over looked. I know the owner of the body shop and I am sure he is being fair. I also know he will not charge me that much. So, to be fair, I will call the woman later and ask her to cover only 1/3 of the repairs. As long as the mirror is fixed, the scuff marks are removed and the dent can be minimized, I will be nice about it all. If she decides we should do the insurance instead, I guess I will just let them repair every little thing caused in the accident and not worry about the repercussions this new driver will have. I would really hate to see her lose her license already though. We shall see.

Yeah, yeah. I know I am a slacker

Things have been quite busy in life these days and I know I have been neglecting my blog. Please know however that I do still read all of your blogs on a daily basis. Even if I don't always comment. (Shhh...don't tell my bosses since I am typically at work while I read them).

When I tell you that I have so much to do between now and July, I am probably understating it. My son Tyler makes his confirmation next Tuesday. He also graduates from middle school in June and has his 8th grade formal in there some place. I also have to take him on an OA camp out at the beginning of June. (Scouters will know what OA means).

Kevin graduates high school this year and we will be having a party for that. He also has prom. While that is a big deal as it is, his date lives in Rhode Island which means I need to make time to pick her up at the Ferry on the east end of the island. She will probably be staying a day or two with us. Of course that means I need to paint my daughters room. I am also in the middle of wall papering the upstairs bathroom so she doesnt think we live in a cave. Add in all the stuff we are doing to get him into college.

Kaitlyn has her dance recital in June and there are a couple dress rehearsals for that. As some of you know, I also have two dance numbers in that recital. And because the dads and I are just so awesome at dancing in a tutu, we are doing our dances in a recital for another studio earlier the same day.

Once we get through all of the above, Tyler and I leave for a week of camping in Rhode Island. It will seem strange without Kevin this year. He finally found a job. He works in a restaurant as a bus boy. I am going to need that week in the woods to regain my sanity!

Now, on a side note: I am constantly finding funny things that I would love to share with my blogging buddies. Some of them are rather adult in nature so I have refrained from actually posting them here. Especially since I have readers that are younger. So I keep this blog on a family friendly level for the most part. What I have decided to do is create another blog that will have an adult rating and I will post stuff that crosses the line there instead. So check out After Dark

Hope you all have a terrific weekend!!

Random (Perverted) Pic of the Day

So now be honest, would you actually allow your child to wrap their lips around Wolverine's .....ummm....to blow him...up? What the hell was this toy designer thinking?

Schools are scary places these days.

My wife works as a teacher aide. She works in the 9th grade. In this particular district they have a separate building used exclusively for the 9th grade. Since it is located in what is considered a "low income" area it can be considered almost hazardous on some days. Today was one of those days. The following is a text message exchange from this morning:

C: "I was not in the pic. That's the good news"
(I was a bit confused since she had not sent any messages before this)

Me: "I am confused. What pic?"

C: "The pic that drew of himself shooting up the class"

What the heck is wrong when 14 year olds are expressing this kind of violent thoughts?

Thought 4 My Thursday

People will follow you only so far in life. If you become so focused on your destination that you no longer see the ones that helped you get there, don't be surprised when you turn around to look for them and they are no where to be seen. Perhaps they stumbled some where along the way and reached out for a hand from you. Only you never took a minute to see if they were still by your side.

Random Pic of the Day

So now my question for you ladies is this: Thinking about what happens to pasta when you boil it, would you bother to even cook it first?

Random Pic of the Day (I'm scared!)

The picture below is of a recent school project done by my daughter. Click on it to make it larger and read what she wrote under her drawing. I was laughing so hard my sides hurt. She doesn't know what is so funny about it and I think I will wait until she is older before I explain it. LOL

I thank my kids for a uplifting weekend

As most of you know from my last posting, things at home have been extremely stressful. It takes a toll on everyone when there is turmoil in the house. This past weekend was the exception. It was an awesome weekend. Each of the kids found some joy and happiness and were literally giddy with excitement.

It started Saturday morning with Tyler. He is my middle child. He is 14 and a real ladies man. Most of his friends are female and every time I turn around there is another one that he is hanging out with. However, he is very adamant about them being strictly friends. .......till now that is. Apparently he asked out a girl named Kaitlyn. She said yes so, he has his first "official girlfriend" The smile on his face and his practically giggling all day was just so nice to see. Kaitlyn came over that afternoon. I was a little surprised by the dyed jet black hair with purple highlights, the lip ring, and the skulls on her purse, but she seems to be a sweet girl. As long as he is happy.....

Kevin, my oldest son, has bee trying for awhile to find a job. He is now 18 and striving for his independence. Saturday night while I was at work, he called me and sounded all excited. He had been out and looking to hook up with some friends. They didnt get back to him so as he was out wandering, he decided to stop into a local restaurant. When he inquired about a job, they asked him if he could start on the spot. So he spent the next 5 hours bussing tables. Since he spent last summer working in a camp kitchen, he had no trouble here. They told him he was a very hard worker and that they would be calling him to set up a schedule.

And finally, my daughter Kaity. Sunday my wife, Kaity and I went into New York City. My wife had homework to do that involved heading to the Hayden Planetarium. We took the train in and walked from 34th street to 79th street. We walked through Central Park. It was an awesome day weather wise. Kaity wasn't too interested in the museums but, perked right up when we agreed to take her to the American Girl Doll store at 49th & 5th. We told her we were simply going to look around. Seeing her that excited when we were there was the little push I needed and I agreed to buy some clothes for her doll. She is still bouncing off the walls with joy.

The wife and I are talking at least. It sure beats the way it was, but things are still up in the air. None of it mattered this weekend though. I was just happy my kids found something to each rejoice in.

Kaity and I in Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library

Kaity seeing how much she would weigh on the moon.

On the train heading to NYC

Across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theater where David Letterman tapes his show.

I need to grow hair so I can pull it out!

When I first started blogging I vowed to keep it fun and upbeat. Life as of late has sort of kept me from living up to that. It is why I have not been posting as much. I wish I had some funny stroy to share about the kids but I just don't. I am really starting to seriously look at divorce as my only hope of not having a heart attack and dropping dead. Let me give you the shortened version for a change.

This past Saturday what started as a minor dispute took a nasty turn later in the day. After several hours of trying very hard not to get into a full blown argument, I finally said, "I quit!" I was simply referring to being badgered. I decided to take my son out to practice driving and calm down. I returned in time to shower and get ready for work Saturday night. After I was ready I decided to check my email. This is what I had waiting for me from my wife. (Yes she has this nasty habit of writing me nasty emails).

April 3 at 3:11pm
go be with who ever it is your looking for I am totally done living on egg shells. I do not love you anymore and you said again that you were done. I have been cheating on you for months so now you have every reason to blame me and let everyone know it is all my fault.

I sat there in disbelief. Since she has cheated before, it was not a total shock. However, something in me didn't believe her. Either way I am mad. If she is cheating that is wrong. If she is not cheating, I am hurt that she could be so cruel as to say such a thing to get to me. She totally succeeded in pissing me off. She has since said she is not cheating and that she lied. My reaction is simply "WTF?!" I am still pissed and not ready to accept an apology yet. If I felt like typing an entire novel you would see all the other childish crap she is pulling lately that has me and the kids at wits end. Now she is mad at me because I believed her when she said it.

Now, before you all try thinking of all sorts of reasons why she would do this, let me point out that she suffers from depression. She was diagnosed with it and is supposed to be taking meds. She went off of them on her own about 8 months ago. The problem is this is the same stuff she has been pulling for many many years. Basically everything she has been accusing me of, is things she has been doing. Including cheating on me with 3 different men over the years.

Every time she is mad she threatens me with divorce. Again last night she said she is going to pick up the papers at the end of the week. She has done it before but then throws them at me to fill out. I never do. I am not so sure that this time around I wont. I had a long talk with her mom tonight. I asked her for help in trying to get her daughter back on her meds. Even she has realized there is a mental health issue going on here. I am hoping that my wife listens. If not, I will be forced to get out of this marriage. Otherwise "Till death do us part" will be here far too soon for my liking. Sigh......

Happy 18th Kevin

My oldest son Kevin has reached one of the major milestones in his life. Today is his 18th birthday. I know he is excited by it. Part of me is too. The other part of me is being a parent and wondering just where all those years have gone. Today has been filled with many moments of daydreaming. Remembering back to so many happy memories.

I just can not help but smile when I think back to things like the day you were born. I was scared to death. Would I be a good dad? Would you grow up healthy and happy? You were not an easy delivery either. At 8 lbs 10 oz and 21" you gave us a scare when you got stuck. Obviously you turned out just fine.

I find myself laughing about some of your crazy statements. Like when your slot car flew off it's track and you threw your hands up and yelled, "Crazy woman drivers!" I have no idea where you got that one. Or the night you were in the bath and called out to us about the water being too cold. We heard you say, "My nipples are getting hard!"

I smile when I think back to how you could not say the word shishkabob ( I am sure I spelled it wrong) and you called them "Squish-a-bobs" Or how amazing it was that we could mix peas into your mashed potatos and spoon feed them to you and yet somehow you would swallow all the potato and spit out the peas. You thought grapes were evil and would put them on the tray of your high-chair and smash them with your fist. Oh and how can I forget the time you scared a baby sitter so bad that we never heard from her again because you shot your imaginary family for being too noisy. You were about 4 at the time. Or how you and I would lay on your bed at bedtime and make up our own story. It was the only way I could get you to tell me what was going on your life. You always would have the characters do the things that you had experienced and I would always smile because you had no idea that you were revealing the secrets we needed to hear. I am still not sure why you chose the name "Ear-butt" for our little alien main character. lol

You still amaze me with your sense of wonder. Even back in kindergarten you wanted to learn languages. Here you are today and you speak English, French, Japanese, some Spanish, and you have taught yourself some limited German and Russian. While other kids were reading Curious George in 5th grade, you were reading "Alexander the Great" and the "Biography of Lucille Ball" When you set your mind to doing things you do everything you possibly can to accomplish them.

And I find myself looking back and getting teary over things like the time you dropped your Oreo cookie and it broke. You looked at me and said, "Fix it daddy" and I knew I couldn't. You cried and cried even though I gave you another one. Or the day Michelle passed away. That dog was your best friend. You picked her out and named her yourself. Again, no matter what I did, I knew I could not fix it. That was the first time I watched you hold in your pain and to this day you do it far too much...and I can't fix it. Or when the other kids would distance you because they just had no idea what you were talking about much of the time. (You even stunned your teachers with your knowledge levels). As a result you became a loner for many years...and I couldn't fix it. I know that you have many more obstacles to overcome in your life...and I can't fix it no matter how badly my heart wants to. Sadly, they are lessons you must experience to learn. Just know I am here for you to lean on.

Today you are out with your friends instead of home with us on your birthday. I know soon you will be home and we will have that cake you wanted, but I also know this is just a part of your growing up. There will come a day when you move out on your own. Please just remember this: No matter where you go in your life, you are forever going to be my son. I love you more than life itself and always will. Happy Birthday Buddy.

Music 4 My Monday

This is one of those songs I just can't help but love....

It's not my problem....

Somehow over the years I have turned into the "go to" guy. No matter if I am at work or at home, somehow I became the one that is expected to fix everything for everyone else. I am flattered that others believe in me but, I have reached the breaking point. I have learned to say "No" but that is not always acceptable to the other person. Last night was a prime example.

My wife decided to go back to college last year after her business went belly up. I am proud of her for making that choice and succeeding at it. However, whenever she undertakes a new project, she expects everyone else to assist in it. Last night she was once again sitting on the couch dealing with her homework. What always ends up happening is she will reach a point where she gets stuck on something and rather than working to figure it out she will expect others to solve the problem. Typically she will anyone within earshot. And sadly she relies far too much on my oldest son to rush to her rescue with anything computer related. Never mind the fact that it is usally with software he has never used or seen. It is typically a program that she is using for a class and the professor had explained it in her class time. We are expected to be able to figure it all out. If we can't we are subjected to nastiness and a sarcastic "Gee thanks."

Last night was the same scenario. She was asking questions left and right and my son had to keep stopping what he was doing and try and explain for the 100th time how to import and export files. At one point she actually asked him to get up and cross the living room so that he could put paper in a printer that was at her feet. That had me annoyed but I kept my mouth shut.

A little while later she came to me with some sort of project she has been working on. She was unable to use a hole punch to make two perfect round holes because it would not reach far enough. Rather than ask me if I had any ideas she could try, she handed it to me and said, "I can't do this. I need you to make two round holes." I resented that. Once again her problem suddenly became mine. It is not my project. I didn't choose to do it. So yes I was annoyed and made it obvious. Well, that just pissed her off. I was treated to hearing about how I never want to help her and I don't support her. I didn't refuse to help. In fact I stopped what I was doing and got up to do it. Yes I grumbled but, I happen to think I was entitled to being upset. This escalated into a major battle.

She had gone upstairs which was fine but then came back down. SHe wanted to talk. Her idea of talking involves me listening and then her stomping off when it is my turn to talk. I was still mad and didnt want to talk at that moment. I really try not to talk when I am mad. I end up saying things I later regret and it solves nothing. When I was in therapy, I learned that I should just explain that I need time. I tried it and was met with a lovely sarcastic "So you just want to sweep it under the rug!" That is not what I was attempting to do at all. I just wanted time to cool off. Well, it turned into push push push until Tom cant take anymore. We ended up in a major argument. Complete with yelling and screaming and as an added bonus, major chest pains for me. To the point where I was doubled over.

My son heard me as I went into the bathroom and hit my knees. He came down to make sure I was ok. I knew it was just muscular but was in too much pain to talk. I could hear my wife saying, "He is fine" but my son wasnt so sure and demanded to be able to check on me. I was able to let him know that I was not having a heart attack but I felt even worse that he was scared.

This morning I over slept. So did my son. After last night I decided to stay home. I offered to let him do the same. He didnt want to but then he realized his backpack with his books was in his mother's car and she had left for work. So he stayed home too. We went for coffee and just sat and talked. I wanted to alleviate his stress over last night. I know he sees what is happening and sadly I am not the only one that resents having everyone else dumping their crap on them. He actually said to me, "Dad, she just pushes and pushes at you." I don't like that he sees it. I know it has taken a toll on him. I just don't know how to fix it. I hate that he is losing his relationship with his mom but, that is not my problem. My problem is it is also pushing him away from this house which pushes him away from me........

I like to torment my GPS

I have GPS on my cell phone. I always use it on long trips, even if I know where I am going. Because it is on my Verizon phone, it has up to the minute traffic reports and it gives me a pretty good idea of how long it is before I will reach my destination. It is pretty accurate too and if I pull into a rest area or off the highway it alwys self corrects and gives me the voice saying, "Recalculating route." Sometimes I do it just for fun. The kids like to hear it get mad at me.

This past weekend I used it on my way back from our camping trip. As I got closer to home I took a different route and of course the GPS made adjustments. My son commented about the female voice almost sounding annoyed at me for making up my own route. Of course I am not about to give into a female telling me what to do, even if she is nothing more than an electronic device. You ladies have your BOB, us guys have our GPS girlfriends. I somehow think your pleasure is better but hey, it's what I've got. So anyway, I made another non-approved detour and again the GPS yelled at me. It reached a point that it was telling me to turn onto streets that I had already passed. I think I may have really pissed her off. Either that or she has blond electrons. Because when I pulled up in front of my house, instead of getting the normal "You have reached your destination" my nagging electronic copilot decided to tell me to "Make the next legal U-turn" (I live on a dead end street so she knew I had to turn around). Of course I wanted to see what she had in mind so I started to scroll through the directions. This is what she was asking me to do: (I am abbreviating street names to thwart the paparazzi).

GPS: Make Next legal U-Turn (Note: we did not actually do this since we had just been driving for 4 hours to get here).

Me: Uhm I am already home here on O Avenue

GPS: Make a right onto O Street and prepare to turn right.

Me: That is the way I just came from.

GPS: Make a right onto L Ave. and proceed .2 miles to H street.

GPS: Make a right onto H Street and prepare to turn right on M Avenue.

Me: Why?

GPS: Make a right onto M Avenue and proceed .3 miles to O Street.

GPS: Make a right onto O Street and prepare to turn right onto O Avenue. Your destination will be on the right.

Me: Yes I am aware of that because I am already here.

My boys and I sat there hysterical laughing. I sure hope she forgets our laughing at her directions or next time she may direct me into a lake. LOL

Sad songs make me.......

Every once in awhile a song from my past comes on the radio and it just takes me back to the emotions I felt at the time I first heard it. I think I will start posting such songs from time to time. Tonight I am at work, just as I always am on Thursday nights. This song came on and I had to pull over and just listen. Ok so yeah, it was cause it is hard to drive with tears in your eyes. When this song fist came out it was at a time where one of my relationships had just ended. I never let on just how sad I was over it all. To this day I don't think she realizes just how I felt. That was in 1984...here I sit 26 years later and I am thinking back......In a few hours I am sure I will be just fine and life will go on. In the meantime I am going to just sit back and enjoy this video the same way I enjoyed it way back then. By playing it over and over and over again. lol

This past weekend the boys and I went camping in CT. We left Friday morning to head to Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ. Kevin had an admissions interview. From there we headed up to the CT / RI border for the weekend. It worked out very well that we were using a cabin instead of tents for this trip.

While we were away The north-east was hit with a major storm. It rained for a couple days. We got close to 4 inches. Living on an island means we don't get the same magnitude of flooding that many see on the mainland, but we do have some. Primarily along the coastal areas when the tides are extra high and back up through the storm drains.

The big problem was the wind. We were having gusts of 60 MPH. With all of the rain, the ground was soft. Add those two together and it leads to a lot of downed trees. My last couple days have been spent inspecting damage from the storm. Some very large trees fell on homes. Roofs were ripped off. Awnings were torn from walls of stores. The municipal gazebo collapsed. I even saw a portable carport hanging from the electric and phone wires. Many areas are still without power. Luckily the sun is out today and it is near 60 since no electric also means no heat.

My house sustained some damage. I lost roof shingles. I also had the hood ripped off one of my cars and it hit the sunroom. Fortunately it only dented one of the walls instead of going through it. We never lost power. Compared to many of the houses I have seen, I consider myself lucky.

The area we were camping also got hit pretty bad, but not as bad as what we saw when we got home. So now that the sun has returned, I will be spending tomorrow afternoon up on my roof fixing the mess that Mother Nature decided to leave me with.

Tyler and some friends played Monoply to pass some time.

While Kevin and friends opted for what turned out to be an 8 hour game of Risk

This was the cabin we stayed in

This is the type of destruction I came home to deal with at work.

Well, the do call them "portable!"

It helps to know some people still maintain a sense of humor! LOL

Thought 4 My Thursday

If you put things in your life off until "life slows down",
you better pray that there is life after death...

Random Pic of the Day

What you are looking at is a lamp chain decoration. They used to be really popular on floor lamps and the old ceiling fixtures before light switches became popular.

About a year ago I was inspecting a house. The owner had passed away and her daughter was trying to legalize everything. When I stepped into the house it was like being thrown back in time. Everything was from an era long ago. Including the appliances and cabinetry. When I stepped into one of the back rooms I saw an old lamp in the corner. Hanging from it was the decoration you see in the picture. I suddenly had all sorts of images in my head of being at my grandma's house when I was a kid. She had a floor lamp with this very same pull chain decoration hanging on it.

I could not help but remember things like summer days in grandma's garden. PB&J sandwiches and chocolate milk. Sleeping over her house for days at a time. Playing outside with kids from that area. Looking at pictures of my mom when she was little. Visiting my great-grandmother in her upstairs bedroom where she spent pretty much all of her time. Home made cookies. Sorting pennies for a coin collection that became mine when my grandparents both passed. Reading stories and watching cartoons. Even more than all that, it was time away from my home where my dad drank too much and my mom stressed too much. That combo meant constant fighting.

I did not get into the details with the lady I was meeting at this house. I simply commented on the stop light decoration and how it reminded me of my childhood. I was shocked when she said, "Would you like to have it?" Normally I would refuse but, I just could not let this chance pass. Today it sits hanging from the shelf above my desk in my office. Every time I look at it I can not help but flashback to grandma's house. I do it with a smile and just a hint of sadness that it is only a memory.....