One Word at a Time

Tomorrow, we will celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday. As I've been making these chalk signs tonight, I've been reflecting a lot on all my grandfather has seen in his 90 years. 90 years ago, Charles Lindbergh made the first trans-Atlantic flight from NY to Paris.  Tonight, my brother will fly a red-eye from Seattle. 90 years ago, the first electric television was invented. Today, we are watching live sporting events on multiple televisions in the same house. 90 years ago, a new car cost around $300. This year, I spent over $1000 just to fix my very old low-end car. 90 years ago, he was the first to be born in his family, with six brothers and sisters following him. Today, he is one of only three with us - and they are the two youngest. 90 years ago, the man who would marry, have three children, who would produce seven grandchildren, who would marry and produce three great-grandchildren so far. I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

Are you a night-before or a weeks-ahead person? I'm a little bit of both. I'm a weeks-ahead person in terms of ideas and materials. I'll spend weeks thinking about ideas, sketching, working them out in my head.  I'll pick out materials, grab the necessary parts, usually more materials and parts than I ever need. But I am a night-before putter-together. Case in point - my grandfather has been turning 90 for, oh, about 90 years now.  We started planning his party months ago.  Since then, I've had ideas in my head. Those ideas have been solidified on my whiteboard, the signal that they're the ones I'm going with, for at least a month and a half.  I had all the materials necessary weeks ago. The party's Saturday. Guess what I'm doing tonight. Someday I'll learn!

Some days, the last thing I want to do is chores. I don't want to fold laundry. I don't want to do dishes. I don't want to vacuum. I don't want to put things away. Some days I walk in the house and don't do any of those things.  I just relax, or cook dinner, or watch TV, or read a book. Other days, I am in the mood to Get. Stuff. Done. I want brainless, mind-numbing tasks that will keep me moving. Today was one of those days. Laundry is done, folded, and put away. BOOM. Dishes are all washed and put away. BOOM. Dinner is cooked and ready on time - and is healthy. BOOM. Lunch is packed for tomorrow. Outfit is picked out for tomorrow. I may not feel like doing any of these things tomorrow. But today I got stuff done - and it felt good.  I'll take that for today.  Tomorrow's another day!

The rain today made me think about . . . digging my hands in the dirt and planting flowers curling up with a good book being lazy in bed and napping jumping in puddles pretty umbrellas my car finally being clean the sound of rain on the roof puttering around the library flower shoots peeking through the brown grass green covered hills playing soccer in the mud hiking through the woods streams running down the mountain

March Madness is in my blood. My husband just said to me, "Well, you know they're going to win, so why do you have to watch?". It isn't in his. I was 6 when Tate George hit the game winning shot for the men against Clemson in the NCAA tournament.  I was 11 when the UConn women went 35-0 to win their first National Championship. I was 15 when the UConn men beat Duke to win their first National Championship. I was 18 when the UConn women, with their best lineup ever, went 39-0 and won the National Championship. I was 20 when both the UConn men AND UConn women won the National Championship in the same year, the women winning their 3rd Championship in a row. I was 22 when I almost missed a flight because I was watching the UConn men play George Mason into overtime. I was 27 when the UConn women set the record for 90 straight wins. I was 30 when both the UConn men AND UConn women won the National Championship in the same year - again. I was 32 when the UConn w...

Part one and two here (important to read first!) ~*~ As the young man closed the door, he had a quick moment of guilt. He should have told her the truth about what he was doing. It wasn’t like him to keep things from her - they talked about absolutely everything - but this could be big. This could be a game changer. And until it was real, until it was tangible, until it was actually a possibility, he would keep it to himself. He turned the computer on, entered the meeting information, and waited to be greeted. The conversation went smoothly. He talked with a few different people. He asked a lot of questions based on the research he had done. He was impressed by the philosophy behind their answers, and inside, felt a glimmer of hope. He asked his last question, and it felt like his feet fell out from under him. ~*~ She was cooking dinner, a new recipe she felt like trying. She set the table with their new plates and poured herself a glass of wine.  Today had been a go...