I just found out yesterday that an old friend had died. We'd just recently been back in touch (one of the wonderful things about FB), and I was so happy to see where his life had taken him. He was a lovely wonderful person who had a much bigger impact on me than he ever knew, and I'll miss him very much.
Because of this, I've been thinking about the things in life that are truly important. I've taken some bad knocks emotionally this year, my life has been turned upside down, and I've had to change all of my ideas about what my future is going to be.
But that's not a bad thing. It's a painful thing yes, transformation and major life changes always are. The good thing about this is that everything over the last 6 months, and especially the last day, have renewed my sense of what has value in my life and what can be shed.
Life is so very short, it's so fragile. It can be gone in an instant. The things in this life that make it worth living for me are the people, and the relationships I've been lucky enough to have. There are many friends in my life that I haven't seen in years, there are friends I have that I've never met in person, but every one of these people has had an impact on me. Every one of you has brought something special into my life, and I am so grateful to have the privilege of knowing you.
As for the knocks I've taken this year, so what. I'm not the first woman who's had a cheating husband or her house robbed, or been lied to by a "friend", and I won't be the last. In the vast scheme of things, what's happened over the past year is just a pebble in the pond of my life.
I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and shoes on my feet. I have food on my table, a job and the means to get to it. I have two beautiful healthy children, a loving family, and wonderful friends. Everything above and beyond that is gravy.
None of us are promised any more than this very moment that we're in. The next day, hour, minute, breath can be taken away. Each second is precious, each connection is a gift, and each person that touches our lives is something to treasure.
I treasure all of you.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Another Monday, post work note
I got canceled yet again on Sat morning. At 4:30am. And that was it, I was up for the day. The upside to it was that Wyatt and I got to go to Beckys birthday party, which was lovely. As soon as we got there, Wyatt spotted a cicada, and promptly FREAKED OUT.
Not that I blame him. After having done the 87 Renn Faire, which coincided with the 7 year cicada swarm, I HATE those little fuckers. I have very unpleasant memories of the sound they make when you step on them in leather sandals, it's not pretty. And of how it feels to go sliding across a stage after stepping on one in leather sandals. And the utter freakout of having one fly down the front of a 10lb velvet dress you're wearing in 95 degree heat. Yeah, me and cicadas, not a good combination.
But Wy calmed down, we had a really nice time, headed back to my folks house, and then I went home and tried to get some sleep.
I say tried, because apparently it's a bad idea for me to drink Pepsi after 6pm. I was up until 1am.
But the dreaded 5am phone call never came, I got dressed and went in to work. I was assigned to 7 General, the neurological unit I worked on last weekend, and had one of the same patients I had last week. he in his 50's and has syphilis that's gone to his brain.
That's right kids, to the brain. The same shit that killed Henry VIII.
Of course, nobody would ever confuse this dude with a King of England. This guy was nasty, funky, with cornrows that grew out into mats a good 3 months ago. He'd had a bath the night before, but that funk was just so ground in, his whole room smelled like a hamster cage.
Luckily it was a mellow day, so one of my CNA's and I were able to give Mr Funky ANOTHER bath, we got some vasoline and greased up his hair enough to work out the mats and old cornrows, and them we each took half his head and re-did the rows.
Yes, I know how to cornrow. (Erica's so proud of me right now, because if Tim and I had kids, I wouldn't have been one of those white mothers of a mixed child who had no clue what to do with her daughters hair, so she wouldn't have had to laugh at me behind my back)
By 2pm, I was so wiped out, I ran to the Starbucks on the first floor, and got a White Mocha with double espresso, which perked me right up.
Which of course meant that I had nothing to do for the rest of the day.
I was chasing down every other nurse and CNA on the floor asking if they needed help, and nobody did. I was SO bored I ended up finishing the book I'd started reading the day before.
My shift ended, this time WITHOUT one of my patients coding, and I picked Wy up and headed home. As I was getting him tucked in, I had my hair down, and he started running his fingers through it. I asked if he liked playing with my hair, and he said "I love it. it looks just like the brushers in the Laser Wash 4000 car wash on University Parkway!"
Since car washes, and Goth Belly dancers are the new loves of his life, I took it as a compliment.
I feel asleep almost before my head hit the pillow, and woke up at 2am to Wyatt trying to pry my eyelids open, because he'd woken up, come into my room, put on Bee Movie, crawled into bed with me, and wanted me to watch it with him. Finally got him back to sleep by bribing him with a car wash promise for today (which I kept, because you can go through the car wash in your pajamas)
Not that I blame him. After having done the 87 Renn Faire, which coincided with the 7 year cicada swarm, I HATE those little fuckers. I have very unpleasant memories of the sound they make when you step on them in leather sandals, it's not pretty. And of how it feels to go sliding across a stage after stepping on one in leather sandals. And the utter freakout of having one fly down the front of a 10lb velvet dress you're wearing in 95 degree heat. Yeah, me and cicadas, not a good combination.
But Wy calmed down, we had a really nice time, headed back to my folks house, and then I went home and tried to get some sleep.
I say tried, because apparently it's a bad idea for me to drink Pepsi after 6pm. I was up until 1am.
But the dreaded 5am phone call never came, I got dressed and went in to work. I was assigned to 7 General, the neurological unit I worked on last weekend, and had one of the same patients I had last week. he in his 50's and has syphilis that's gone to his brain.
That's right kids, to the brain. The same shit that killed Henry VIII.
Of course, nobody would ever confuse this dude with a King of England. This guy was nasty, funky, with cornrows that grew out into mats a good 3 months ago. He'd had a bath the night before, but that funk was just so ground in, his whole room smelled like a hamster cage.
Luckily it was a mellow day, so one of my CNA's and I were able to give Mr Funky ANOTHER bath, we got some vasoline and greased up his hair enough to work out the mats and old cornrows, and them we each took half his head and re-did the rows.
Yes, I know how to cornrow. (Erica's so proud of me right now, because if Tim and I had kids, I wouldn't have been one of those white mothers of a mixed child who had no clue what to do with her daughters hair, so she wouldn't have had to laugh at me behind my back)
By 2pm, I was so wiped out, I ran to the Starbucks on the first floor, and got a White Mocha with double espresso, which perked me right up.
Which of course meant that I had nothing to do for the rest of the day.
I was chasing down every other nurse and CNA on the floor asking if they needed help, and nobody did. I was SO bored I ended up finishing the book I'd started reading the day before.
My shift ended, this time WITHOUT one of my patients coding, and I picked Wy up and headed home. As I was getting him tucked in, I had my hair down, and he started running his fingers through it. I asked if he liked playing with my hair, and he said "I love it. it looks just like the brushers in the Laser Wash 4000 car wash on University Parkway!"
Since car washes, and Goth Belly dancers are the new loves of his life, I took it as a compliment.
I feel asleep almost before my head hit the pillow, and woke up at 2am to Wyatt trying to pry my eyelids open, because he'd woken up, come into my room, put on Bee Movie, crawled into bed with me, and wanted me to watch it with him. Finally got him back to sleep by bribing him with a car wash promise for today (which I kept, because you can go through the car wash in your pajamas)
Once a Tool, Always a Tool
So I just got off the phone with you know who.
If you don't know who, you haven't been reading my notes, so you have nobody but yourself to blame.
I told him 3WEEKS AGO that Wy's open house was last night. I also called him 3 times yesterday, AND set him a text message reminding him. I spoke with him yesterday at around 4pm, because I hadn't heard back from him, and he said he was on his way back from a trip, but he'd meet us over at the school.
Of course he didn't show, Wy and I left, and went out to dinner with my family for my mothers birthday.
He just called me about an hour ago, and left a message, mightily pissed that he was at the school, and the open house was yesterday.
So I called him back, I got a shitload of attitude, alternating with dead silence. (Dead and silent are both really good looks for him BTW). He tried to blame the fact that he missed the open house on me, saying I didn't remind him. I very sickeningly sweetly told him, "well, don't beat yourself up too much, I mean people make mistakes all the time, I don't blame you because you forgot"
Which pissed him off even more, as it was intended to.
Too. Fucking. Bad.
He knew about this 3 weeks ago. I also e-mailed him the link to the schools web site, which had the open house date CLEARLY posted on the home page. But he apparently put more effort into remembering his rock climbing vacation than he did into his sons open house, which is typical for him.
When Wyatt was born, he told me that he wanted to go rock climbing to celebrate the birth of his son. He wanted to leave 2 days after I came home from the hospital. So, he was planning to leave me home with a brand new baby, and go hang off a cliff to celebrate the fact that 9 months earlier he had spilled off a few cells, which I then grew into a human being, carried inside my body, nurtured, and spent over 18 hours bringing into the world.
And he hasn't changed one bit in the past almost 9 years. What he wants comes ahead of anything else, and if it's not a priority to him, he doesn't manage to remember it.
So, just like the previous 6 years, I'M the one who takes care of everything related to Wyatts education, despite the tools protestations of wanting to be an involved parent.
Oh I think I'm going to need to take a xanax before he comes over to pick up Wyatt tomorrow!
If you don't know who, you haven't been reading my notes, so you have nobody but yourself to blame.
I told him 3WEEKS AGO that Wy's open house was last night. I also called him 3 times yesterday, AND set him a text message reminding him. I spoke with him yesterday at around 4pm, because I hadn't heard back from him, and he said he was on his way back from a trip, but he'd meet us over at the school.
Of course he didn't show, Wy and I left, and went out to dinner with my family for my mothers birthday.
He just called me about an hour ago, and left a message, mightily pissed that he was at the school, and the open house was yesterday.
So I called him back, I got a shitload of attitude, alternating with dead silence. (Dead and silent are both really good looks for him BTW). He tried to blame the fact that he missed the open house on me, saying I didn't remind him. I very sickeningly sweetly told him, "well, don't beat yourself up too much, I mean people make mistakes all the time, I don't blame you because you forgot"
Which pissed him off even more, as it was intended to.
Too. Fucking. Bad.
He knew about this 3 weeks ago. I also e-mailed him the link to the schools web site, which had the open house date CLEARLY posted on the home page. But he apparently put more effort into remembering his rock climbing vacation than he did into his sons open house, which is typical for him.
When Wyatt was born, he told me that he wanted to go rock climbing to celebrate the birth of his son. He wanted to leave 2 days after I came home from the hospital. So, he was planning to leave me home with a brand new baby, and go hang off a cliff to celebrate the fact that 9 months earlier he had spilled off a few cells, which I then grew into a human being, carried inside my body, nurtured, and spent over 18 hours bringing into the world.
And he hasn't changed one bit in the past almost 9 years. What he wants comes ahead of anything else, and if it's not a priority to him, he doesn't manage to remember it.
So, just like the previous 6 years, I'M the one who takes care of everything related to Wyatts education, despite the tools protestations of wanting to be an involved parent.
Oh I think I'm going to need to take a xanax before he comes over to pick up Wyatt tomorrow!
The Benefit Of Experience
I've been seeing friends go through some really hellish relationship crap lately, and it's very upsetting to me. Since I've been through my own hell lately, and come out of it stronger and wiser, I've decided that I'm going to pass along the benefit of my experience. Since this is from my perspective, I'll use the word he, but feel freee to substitute your own preferred gender.
Your relationship shouldn't have to be some big secret. Any man that says "lets just keep this to ourselves" doesn't want people to know that you're together. That should be a HUGE red flag. When you're in a relationship with someone you truly care about, you can't WAIT to tell your friends, your family, the people that matter to you. A man that DOESN'T want the person they're dating to meet their friends and family has a reason, and it's almost never a good one.
Someone that breaks plans with you (outside of a medical emergency) does so because they CHOOSE to, because what they want to do without you is more important to them than what they'd planned with you.
A man that can't clearly tell you what his feelings for you are, doesn't have feelings for you, but doesn't have the balls to tell you. He's not confused, he's a coward. He's not going to have some huge epiphany and realize that you've been the one all along, he's just going to keep stringing you along until something more interesting to him crosses his path.
A man that doesn't want you until he can't have you any more, doesn't really want you at all, he just doesn't want anyone else to have you, and that's not love. That's selfishness and possessiveness, and it's something a 3 year old would do. Do you really want to be involved with a man who has the emotional maturity of a preschooler?
A man who lies to you about where he's been or what he's been doing need to be shown the door immediately. If he wasn't doing something wrong, there's be no reason for him to lie.
A man who tells you he feels one way, but behaves the opposite is sending you a message. Actions speak louder than words, so pay attention to behavior. Talking the talk is easy. Walking the walk shows you who a person really is at their core.
By the same token, when you ask a man a direct question about the relationship, and you don't get an answer - you've gotten an answer. If you say "Where do you see this going?" and you get a sidestep, a change of subject, or an avoidance, then it's going nowhere. Save yourself the frustration and pain, pick up your purse and walk away.
What I'm seeing , especially with my younger friends, is this really skewed concept of what a relationship, of what love is. So many people seem to think that if it's not high drama ALL the time, if there aren't dizzying highs and gut wrenching lows, then it's not love.
That's bullshit.
Real love, real SOLID love, is not highs and lows. Real love is stable, you can depend on it. You know with NO doubt, that when you truly need him, he's going to be there for you. When you make plans he'll show up. When he tells you he's going to do something he'll do it. You won't have to make excuses for his behavior, because there won't be any behavior that requires an excuse.
When someone loves you, they treat you the way you deserve to be treated. They treat you with respect and kindness, they're affectionate, and they let you know that you matter to them. They respect your intelligence, they don't belittle you, and they don't deliberately do things that cause you pain. They don't embarrass you in front of your friends and family.
If you're involved with someone who treats you in a way that's any less than this, WALK AWAY! Step back, take a long hard look at yourself and ask yourself why you're allowing him to treat you this way. If you truly think that this is what you deserve, then for Gods sake, get some help. Nobody deserves to be treated badly.
People will treat you in whatever way you allow them to. Don't let someone use you as something to wipe their shoes on, just for the sake of having someone in your life. You're better off alone than with someone who shits all over you.
Your relationship shouldn't have to be some big secret. Any man that says "lets just keep this to ourselves" doesn't want people to know that you're together. That should be a HUGE red flag. When you're in a relationship with someone you truly care about, you can't WAIT to tell your friends, your family, the people that matter to you. A man that DOESN'T want the person they're dating to meet their friends and family has a reason, and it's almost never a good one.
Someone that breaks plans with you (outside of a medical emergency) does so because they CHOOSE to, because what they want to do without you is more important to them than what they'd planned with you.
A man that can't clearly tell you what his feelings for you are, doesn't have feelings for you, but doesn't have the balls to tell you. He's not confused, he's a coward. He's not going to have some huge epiphany and realize that you've been the one all along, he's just going to keep stringing you along until something more interesting to him crosses his path.
A man that doesn't want you until he can't have you any more, doesn't really want you at all, he just doesn't want anyone else to have you, and that's not love. That's selfishness and possessiveness, and it's something a 3 year old would do. Do you really want to be involved with a man who has the emotional maturity of a preschooler?
A man who lies to you about where he's been or what he's been doing need to be shown the door immediately. If he wasn't doing something wrong, there's be no reason for him to lie.
A man who tells you he feels one way, but behaves the opposite is sending you a message. Actions speak louder than words, so pay attention to behavior. Talking the talk is easy. Walking the walk shows you who a person really is at their core.
By the same token, when you ask a man a direct question about the relationship, and you don't get an answer - you've gotten an answer. If you say "Where do you see this going?" and you get a sidestep, a change of subject, or an avoidance, then it's going nowhere. Save yourself the frustration and pain, pick up your purse and walk away.
What I'm seeing , especially with my younger friends, is this really skewed concept of what a relationship, of what love is. So many people seem to think that if it's not high drama ALL the time, if there aren't dizzying highs and gut wrenching lows, then it's not love.
That's bullshit.
Real love, real SOLID love, is not highs and lows. Real love is stable, you can depend on it. You know with NO doubt, that when you truly need him, he's going to be there for you. When you make plans he'll show up. When he tells you he's going to do something he'll do it. You won't have to make excuses for his behavior, because there won't be any behavior that requires an excuse.
When someone loves you, they treat you the way you deserve to be treated. They treat you with respect and kindness, they're affectionate, and they let you know that you matter to them. They respect your intelligence, they don't belittle you, and they don't deliberately do things that cause you pain. They don't embarrass you in front of your friends and family.
If you're involved with someone who treats you in a way that's any less than this, WALK AWAY! Step back, take a long hard look at yourself and ask yourself why you're allowing him to treat you this way. If you truly think that this is what you deserve, then for Gods sake, get some help. Nobody deserves to be treated badly.
People will treat you in whatever way you allow them to. Don't let someone use you as something to wipe their shoes on, just for the sake of having someone in your life. You're better off alone than with someone who shits all over you.
It's never boring in my neck of the woods!
I got canceled from work this weekend, so no funny hospital stories, but you know, when God closes a door...
One of my classmates, Theresa is staying with me during the week, which is really great. She's a really good friend, great company, and it's so nice to have another adult in the house. There's only so much carwash and elevator talk a Mom can take...
So, Wy got home from school, we got his homework done, and T and I were sitting on the back porch chatting, when we heard brakes squeal, plastic crunching, general - oh shit that sounded like an accident- noises.
T and I both being nurses (She's an ER nurse), couldn't help ourselves, we HAD to go look. There was a car stopped in the middle of the street, and an overturned scooter, with a guy in roughly his late 20's lying in the road.
Well, that was it, the adrenalin kicked in, and we both took off at a dead run to check the guy. He had some road rash on his arm, his head was fine, despite the fact that he wasn't wearing a helmet, but his ankle was a little floppy and he was having trouble moving it. By the time T and I got to him, he already had his cell phone out, calling his mother to come pick him up. He was adamant that he didn't need any help until Theresa started moving his ankle.
Now in this situation, I know who the expert is here, and it's T. She's a very experienced trauma nurse, so I ran back over to the house to grab gloves, a stethoscope, B/P cuff and HAND SANITIZER. (that's how you tell the experiences nurses from the nubies - we're not touching ANYONE without gloves and sanitizer!) Got back over, told my neighbor to call 911 on the way back, and as T was assessing his ankle, I checked his B/P and pulse.
He had called his mother 2 more times since I had gone. T and I both told him he needed to go to the hospital, his ankle was probably broken, but he kept saying - Nah, I can't do that right now, I'll have to do it later. Theresa and I both noticed his pupils were a little too dilated, and he didn't seem to be in quite as much pain as you'd expect, which explained why he didn't want to go to the hospital or have an ambulance called. Scooterboy looked like he was high as a kite, and the way he kept checking his pocket made both of us think he was probably holding.
But, they were already on their way, along with Fire and Rescue, and 3 Winston Salem Cops. Which meant that it's showtime in the neighborhood!
That's right, pretty much everyone on the block was out on their porch, or wandering up to see what happened, including Wy, who was standing in the driveway, VERY excited by the fire truck and ambulance. The EMT's got out of the firetruck, checked the guy out, ALSO told him he needed to go to the hospital, Theresa and I gave them his vitals and told them about the ankle pain. Then we headed back to the house for a smoke, a beer, some dinner and some more studying. The rest of the fools on my block stood around staring, joking, and generally making a social event out of what could have ended with this idiots brains all over the street. I've seen this guy come flying through the neighborhood, on dirtbikes and scooters, usually at about 60 mph ( the speed limit here is 35) and never with a helmet on.
So anyway, the block party ended with Scooterboys Mom coming and picking him up to take him to the ER, and one of his buddies (who he'd also called on his cell as he was laying in the street bleeding) picked up the scooter. The woman who was driving the car gave her info to the police, the rest of the crowd trickled away, and not Theresa, Wyatt and i all have an interesting story to tell when people ask how our evening was.
Never a dull moment here!
One of my classmates, Theresa is staying with me during the week, which is really great. She's a really good friend, great company, and it's so nice to have another adult in the house. There's only so much carwash and elevator talk a Mom can take...
So, Wy got home from school, we got his homework done, and T and I were sitting on the back porch chatting, when we heard brakes squeal, plastic crunching, general - oh shit that sounded like an accident- noises.
T and I both being nurses (She's an ER nurse), couldn't help ourselves, we HAD to go look. There was a car stopped in the middle of the street, and an overturned scooter, with a guy in roughly his late 20's lying in the road.
Well, that was it, the adrenalin kicked in, and we both took off at a dead run to check the guy. He had some road rash on his arm, his head was fine, despite the fact that he wasn't wearing a helmet, but his ankle was a little floppy and he was having trouble moving it. By the time T and I got to him, he already had his cell phone out, calling his mother to come pick him up. He was adamant that he didn't need any help until Theresa started moving his ankle.
Now in this situation, I know who the expert is here, and it's T. She's a very experienced trauma nurse, so I ran back over to the house to grab gloves, a stethoscope, B/P cuff and HAND SANITIZER. (that's how you tell the experiences nurses from the nubies - we're not touching ANYONE without gloves and sanitizer!) Got back over, told my neighbor to call 911 on the way back, and as T was assessing his ankle, I checked his B/P and pulse.
He had called his mother 2 more times since I had gone. T and I both told him he needed to go to the hospital, his ankle was probably broken, but he kept saying - Nah, I can't do that right now, I'll have to do it later. Theresa and I both noticed his pupils were a little too dilated, and he didn't seem to be in quite as much pain as you'd expect, which explained why he didn't want to go to the hospital or have an ambulance called. Scooterboy looked like he was high as a kite, and the way he kept checking his pocket made both of us think he was probably holding.
But, they were already on their way, along with Fire and Rescue, and 3 Winston Salem Cops. Which meant that it's showtime in the neighborhood!
That's right, pretty much everyone on the block was out on their porch, or wandering up to see what happened, including Wy, who was standing in the driveway, VERY excited by the fire truck and ambulance. The EMT's got out of the firetruck, checked the guy out, ALSO told him he needed to go to the hospital, Theresa and I gave them his vitals and told them about the ankle pain. Then we headed back to the house for a smoke, a beer, some dinner and some more studying. The rest of the fools on my block stood around staring, joking, and generally making a social event out of what could have ended with this idiots brains all over the street. I've seen this guy come flying through the neighborhood, on dirtbikes and scooters, usually at about 60 mph ( the speed limit here is 35) and never with a helmet on.
So anyway, the block party ended with Scooterboys Mom coming and picking him up to take him to the ER, and one of his buddies (who he'd also called on his cell as he was laying in the street bleeding) picked up the scooter. The woman who was driving the car gave her info to the police, the rest of the crowd trickled away, and not Theresa, Wyatt and i all have an interesting story to tell when people ask how our evening was.
Never a dull moment here!
Morning Thoughts
Normally I'm NOT a morning person. Ask Nicole, she remembers me punching her when she tried to wake me up one morning. I of course have no such memory, but, as I said, NOT a morning person. I'm usually not even functional until after 3 cups of coffee.
But, with the new school year, and the summer of insomnia, I've become a morning person out of necessity. And I'm finding that I actually like it.
I have to get Wyatt up for school at 6:15. With him not being a morning person either, this is always a tug of war. The other day he tapped me on the head and told me he was hitting my snooze button so he could sleep for 5 more min. This morning he insisted that we had to snuggle in my bed for 2 min before he went to eat his breakfast. While we were snuggling, he told me he was dreaming about some girl from one of the Nickelodeon shows, and that he wants her to be his girlfriend.
(I see my future - it's going to be filled with chasing away little hoochie mamas that want my beautiful son...)
After our 2 min snuggle, I got Wy downstairs, he got dressed, ate, I made him lunch, and we went out front to wait for the bus. This is becoming my favorite part of the morning. He's such fun to watch. He loves watching the streetlights shut off as it gets lighter out, he likes to tell me the make and model of each car that comes down the street, and he does a little happy dance with each school bus that passes. He always runs back to kiss me before he gets on his bus, and he turns his head and looks back at me and waves as the bus is pulling away.
He's just so full of joy at the simplest things. It's contagious. By watching him, so happy and excited, I can't help but be caught up in it and carry some of that joy forward into my own day.
I can't think of a better way to start the morning.
But, with the new school year, and the summer of insomnia, I've become a morning person out of necessity. And I'm finding that I actually like it.
I have to get Wyatt up for school at 6:15. With him not being a morning person either, this is always a tug of war. The other day he tapped me on the head and told me he was hitting my snooze button so he could sleep for 5 more min. This morning he insisted that we had to snuggle in my bed for 2 min before he went to eat his breakfast. While we were snuggling, he told me he was dreaming about some girl from one of the Nickelodeon shows, and that he wants her to be his girlfriend.
(I see my future - it's going to be filled with chasing away little hoochie mamas that want my beautiful son...)
After our 2 min snuggle, I got Wy downstairs, he got dressed, ate, I made him lunch, and we went out front to wait for the bus. This is becoming my favorite part of the morning. He's such fun to watch. He loves watching the streetlights shut off as it gets lighter out, he likes to tell me the make and model of each car that comes down the street, and he does a little happy dance with each school bus that passes. He always runs back to kiss me before he gets on his bus, and he turns his head and looks back at me and waves as the bus is pulling away.
He's just so full of joy at the simplest things. It's contagious. By watching him, so happy and excited, I can't help but be caught up in it and carry some of that joy forward into my own day.
I can't think of a better way to start the morning.
Wyatt-isms
This being (as you all know by now) Wyatts 9th birthday, I've been thinking all day about things he's done and said over the last 9 years. Things that have tickled me, made me smile, made me tear up, made me think. So, in celebration of my (not so) little boy, he's a few of my favorite Wyat-isms
In kindergarten Wyatt's teacher asked the class "Who can think of a word that starts with C?" Wy popped up, all exited and yelled out "CRAP! That's a good C word!"
One day in pre-school Wyatt didn't want to lay down for nap time. His favorite aide, LaKiesha finally got him to lay down on his mat. After a few minutes, she heard him singing to himself. She listened for a bit, then asked the teacher Donna "Is that little white boy singing Bob Marley?"
He was. He was singing "Get Up, Stand Up", complete with the Peter Tosh portion in the middle, in a perfect little Jamaican accent.
At the last Path Of The Moon kids ritual, Wyatt's job was to stamp bees on everyone's hand. He got to RavenHarts 14 year old son, looked up at him and said "Hey, you're growing a mustache! Are you becoming a man?"
One night as I was tucking Wyatt in, he started playing with my hair. I asked if he liked my hair, and he said "It's beautiful, it looks like the brushers at the Auteck 4000 car wash"
One year for Halloween, we did the trick or treating downtown in Kernersville. They had a magician there named Captain Jack, who had a real wooden leg. He did amazing tricks, but all Wy cared about was the leg. he went up to Captain Jack, patted his leg, and told him it was very pretty. Captain Jack gave Wyatt 2 handfuls of candy.
Wyatt told the guy driving the Ice Cream Truck that he only gets ice cream from Ford trucks.
POTMC Summer Ceilidh, Wyatt fell in love with all of the lovely ladies of Torque Tribal Fusion Belly Dancing. He invited all of them to come to Nana and Grandpa's house with him and told me he wanted to marry them all. But he still says he loves Sashame the best.
2 years ago I took Wyatt to the mall for an afternoon of elevator riding. The Black Theater Festival was taking place, and the mall was packed with people in town for the festival. Wyatt decided that he just HAD to climb into the lap of every older black woman he saw sitting down, and that's exactly what he did. Climbed into their laps, told them how much he liked their braids, laid his head on their ample bosoms and hugged and kissed them. And every one of those women hugged him right back, not one of them asked why this unknown little boy was in their laps.
Whenever my Mom or I wear frosted lipstick Wyatt says "Oh, you have cake lips, let me kiss your yummy cake lips!"
My friend Theresa is staying with us during the week, for school. She walked through the kitchen yesterday, Wy asked where she was going and she said out back. Then she grinned at him and said "Will you miss me?" Wy said "No, you're just going outside"
When Wy was a toddler, every time my sister Tracy would talk to him he'd stick his fingers in his ears. We didn't know at the time that the pitch of her voice was too high for him, poor Tracy just thought he didn't like her!
I had taken Wyatt up to NY with me to pick up his brother John. As we were waiting in line in a rest stop, a very tall truckdriver bent down and started talking to Wy. In a near perfect Robert DeNiro voice Wy said "Are you talking to me? Are you talking...to...me?" (He had just watched Shark Tail and had picked the line up from that - no I did not show my then 4 year old Taxi Driver!)
In kindergarten Wyatt's teacher asked the class "Who can think of a word that starts with C?" Wy popped up, all exited and yelled out "CRAP! That's a good C word!"
One day in pre-school Wyatt didn't want to lay down for nap time. His favorite aide, LaKiesha finally got him to lay down on his mat. After a few minutes, she heard him singing to himself. She listened for a bit, then asked the teacher Donna "Is that little white boy singing Bob Marley?"
He was. He was singing "Get Up, Stand Up", complete with the Peter Tosh portion in the middle, in a perfect little Jamaican accent.
At the last Path Of The Moon kids ritual, Wyatt's job was to stamp bees on everyone's hand. He got to RavenHarts 14 year old son, looked up at him and said "Hey, you're growing a mustache! Are you becoming a man?"
One night as I was tucking Wyatt in, he started playing with my hair. I asked if he liked my hair, and he said "It's beautiful, it looks like the brushers at the Auteck 4000 car wash"
One year for Halloween, we did the trick or treating downtown in Kernersville. They had a magician there named Captain Jack, who had a real wooden leg. He did amazing tricks, but all Wy cared about was the leg. he went up to Captain Jack, patted his leg, and told him it was very pretty. Captain Jack gave Wyatt 2 handfuls of candy.
Wyatt told the guy driving the Ice Cream Truck that he only gets ice cream from Ford trucks.
POTMC Summer Ceilidh, Wyatt fell in love with all of the lovely ladies of Torque Tribal Fusion Belly Dancing. He invited all of them to come to Nana and Grandpa's house with him and told me he wanted to marry them all. But he still says he loves Sashame the best.
2 years ago I took Wyatt to the mall for an afternoon of elevator riding. The Black Theater Festival was taking place, and the mall was packed with people in town for the festival. Wyatt decided that he just HAD to climb into the lap of every older black woman he saw sitting down, and that's exactly what he did. Climbed into their laps, told them how much he liked their braids, laid his head on their ample bosoms and hugged and kissed them. And every one of those women hugged him right back, not one of them asked why this unknown little boy was in their laps.
Whenever my Mom or I wear frosted lipstick Wyatt says "Oh, you have cake lips, let me kiss your yummy cake lips!"
My friend Theresa is staying with us during the week, for school. She walked through the kitchen yesterday, Wy asked where she was going and she said out back. Then she grinned at him and said "Will you miss me?" Wy said "No, you're just going outside"
When Wy was a toddler, every time my sister Tracy would talk to him he'd stick his fingers in his ears. We didn't know at the time that the pitch of her voice was too high for him, poor Tracy just thought he didn't like her!
I had taken Wyatt up to NY with me to pick up his brother John. As we were waiting in line in a rest stop, a very tall truckdriver bent down and started talking to Wy. In a near perfect Robert DeNiro voice Wy said "Are you talking to me? Are you talking...to...me?" (He had just watched Shark Tail and had picked the line up from that - no I did not show my then 4 year old Taxi Driver!)
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