Tag: Life

The Troubles with Charlie

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

Cute + Charming + Curious = The Troubles with Charlie

We arrived at the Meet n’ Greet, which took place at the neighborhood clubhouse. It was a hot day in July, and the kids were promised a chance to swim. Unfortunately, the swimming was delayed due to a typical summertime thunderstorm. And, according to the life guard on duty, we had to stay out of the pool until 30 minutes had passed with no thunder.

Everyone was gathered in the small clubhouse, waiting out the storm. Though the kids were looking forward to swimming, they didn’t let the storms dampen their spirit. For two hours, the kids played happily indoors. I spent most of the time in a comfy chair, sitting with Joe, my 5yr old. He and I are people watchers. Rob was making his rounds, taking to heart the point of the ‘meet n’ greet’. And, Charlie, my 4yr old, was running around like Curious George, exploring any and all open doors, following the older kids all around, wooing them with his grin and staring out the windows watching the rain.

The rain and thunder did pass, shortly after we finished dinner. Once given the all clear, the kids darted out to the pool. Though Joe and Charlie are new to swimming, the two were quick to get into the pool. Joe chose to stay by the steps, while Charlie was ready to explore.

Clinging to the side of the pool, Charlie started to slide along, leaving the security of the steps. When he realized he cleared the steps, he let go of the wall and rolled on to his back, floating. I watched as he swam confidently on his back. The smile on his face made it clear he was enjoying himself. Suddenly, the once subtle waves became more intense as more kids entered the pool. Water was splashing onto Charlie’s face, and I could see his smile slowly turn to panic.

As Charlie’s panicking increased, he began to lose his bearings, which meant he no longer saw the wall. Charlie was within my arm’s reach, but rather than grab him – I bent down and tried to talk him through his fear. I told him to quiet his feet and let himself float. The waves and the splashing continued, and Charlie became more and more flustered. I admit, I was becoming a bit panicked, too.

I reached my hand out, in an attempt to grab Charlie and bring him back to the wall, but I couldn’t reach him. I turned around to Rob and said, “Get in and get him!” Rob had every intention of getting in with the boys, but he stayed back a bit, because we wanted the boys to try it out without ‘Daddy’.

Rob got a hold of Charlie and sat him on the side of the pool. Breathing a sigh of relief, I knelt beside Charlie and talked to him about what had just happened. I reminded him of the float position and keeping his feet quiet. Truthfully, Charlie wasn’t all that shaken up about it. I was the one that needed to breath into a paper bag. And, in less than five minutes, Charlie was standing up and asking Daddy to catch him as he jumped into the pool.

Charlie looking at the water under the 'temporarily closed' fountain

The rest of the evening, I watched Charlie slide along the wall of the pool to the deep end several times, letting go and swimming on his back all the way to the other side. I watched Charlie get to the point where he jumped into the pool by himself and swam to the steps, got out of the pool, jumped in again, etc. And, while I watched Charlie do all of this, I noticed Joe, staying in or near the shallow end, taking few risks and only jumping when Daddy was waiting for him in the pool.

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One of our house rules is that the boys cannot come out of their room before 7Am. I enjoy quiet mornings, so I make a point to wake up and have time to myself before the boys come out of their room. Well, the next morning, while I was reading a book and drinking my coffee before the 7AM ‘release’, I could hear Charlie in his bedroom. I heard him playing with his Lincoln logs, talking to his animals and singing. Though Joe came out of his room promptly at 7AM, Charlie remained in his room.

I got up off the couch and knocked on Charlie’s door, as I started to open it. When I opened the door, I found Charlie’s shorts drawer open and empty. He had scattered the shorts all around his room, looking for the perfect pair to wear. And, I found Charlie, standing on shelving in his closet, picking out the perfect shirt to wear with his perfect shorts.

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With Joe starting Kindergarten a week from today, Charlie will be the ‘big kid on campus’ at Suzann’s house. Charlie has been Joe’s shadow for most of his 4yrs. However, based upon his independent exploration at the Meet n’ Greet, Charlie is ready to spread his wings. Charlie is curious. Charlie is a doer. Charlie is an explorer. What’s worse – Charlie is a charmer. Charlie’s characteristics make me smile, perhaps nervously. I cannot help but wonder about my ‘potential’ troubles with Charlie.

Five for Friday

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

Fireflies. Joe loves fireflies. Last night, he came in from outside with a jar containing an inch worm and a slug. He quickly placed the jar on a table by the living room window. “This is a good place for the bugs to stay tonight.” He said. “They can watch the fireflies from here.”

Earlier this week, Suzann mentioned her back pasture is filled with fireflies at night, which tweaked Joe’s interest immediately. With Suzann’s permission, we agreed to take Joe and Charlie back to her house around 9:15 PM.

No fireflies caught yet, but fun is being had!

That night, Joe watched the clock, anticipating 9pm. A thunderstorm started brewing around 6pm, and Joe became nervous about the firefly expedition. His focus switched from the weather radar to the clock and then back to the weather radar. Fortunately, the rain and thunder lessened by the time we were to head to Suzann’s house. Having rained, Suzann’s pasture didn’t light up like a Christmas tree, as we had hoped. Still, Joe and Charlie had fun chasing the fireflies, but they were surprised how hard it was to catch the fireflies in the dark.

I think the anticipation of going to Suzann’s late at night was more fun than the actual experience. Still, it’s the little things. Much like when the boys ask me to honk twice when I drive away from Suzann’s house (like today). As I honked, I looked back at the house, and I saw both Joe and Charlie jumping up and down with excitement. Little moments like anticipating, watching and catching fireflies and hearing your Mom or Dad honk the horn are some of life’s biggest (and best) memories.

.::.

My theory: More often than not, someone takes on the negative emotion not being shown by someone else in the group.

Example: Rob and I are going to a party. We are running late. Very late. 30 minutes late. Typically, I would be the one getting frustrated with our tardiness. However, if Rob were to become frustrated, I wouldn’t take on that negative emotion, frustration.

The above is just an example, but the following is real life. And yes, my theory applies to animals, too.

The Three Musketeers: Sydney, Wilbur and Cherokee

Tonight we are experiencing serious thunderstorms with frequent lightening. Our two dogs, Wilbur and Cherokee, are visibly nervous. Wilbur is pacing the house, clearly uneasy with the frequent lightening and loud thunder.

Now, back up to previous storms when we had three dogs. During severe storms with frequent lightening and thunder, our dog Sydney, would become very nervous, pacing the house and looking for shelter. And Wilbur and Cherokee? They would rest, calm, cool and collected.

.::.

This week I went through a bunch of drawings and creations the boys generated these past 4 years. I did this project in my bedroom, where I could set up my laptop, keeping tabs on my paid gig. When the sorting and purging task was completed, I continued my work day in my room.

I love my room. In fact, my bedroom is my favorite room in the house. I’m not sure why I haven’t worked in my room prior to today. And, if I needed another reason to like my job, I am grateful that my job has mobile flexibility. Have laptop and wireless access: Can travel. Nice.

.::.

Did you read my post about laundry and lists? Yes, well, as I stated lists are not a guarantee that tasks will be tackled, and I was reminded of that very fact this week.

I buy birthday cards at the end of every month for the coming month. This month is the month one of my sisters celebrates her birthday. The card I bought her is hilarious. In fact, the card is so funny, I bought two. It was hard for me to wait to send it to my sister, because I couldn’t wait to hear if she found it funny.

The first part of the month, we traveled to Texas. I thought I put all the birthday cards in the mail before we left town, including the one for my sister. So, this week, on my sister’s birthday, I checked in to see if she had received the card. She hadn’t. I assured her it was hilarious, and she said she would let me know when she got it. We checked in daily.

One evening, I pulled out the card drawer to get out the card for one of my nephews. I notice the card I bought my sister. At first, I thought nothing of it, because I bought more than one. Then I realized – two cards were in the drawer. Hmm… did I buy three? The next afternoon, my sister emailed me, “Still haven’t gotten the card.” That’s when I knew. I never mailed her the card. No worries. It is in the mail as I type. *sigh*

My sister may not find the card as funny as I found it, especially after the days of build up. However, she had a good laugh at the fact that the card, she was anticipating the most, had yet to be mailed. Stupid lists.

.::.

I am putting together a scrapbook of sorts (via Shutterfly) for our day care provider, Suzann. I will give it to her on Joe’s last day at her house. As I go through all the photographs of Joe and Suzann, I am becoming increasingly sad about his ‘graduation’.

I found a picture Joe painted back in October 2008, while at Suzann’s house. He was three years old at the time. Suzann made a note on the picture, letting me know what Joe was thinking about at the time: “Does God know babies cry?” I am sure God does know babies cry, and I am certain God knows I will cry on Joe’s last day at Suzann’s house.

.<::>.

From Ben Stein’s Lips to My Blog

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

The movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was my first introduction to Ben Stein. I remember various commentaries by Mr. Stein after the Ferris movie, but my next big memory of him comes from the game show ‘Win Ben Stein’s Money’. Suffice it to say, I was drawn to Mr. Stein, not by his wisdom and intellect, but by his involvement with mainstream and pop culture. Thankfully, over time, I learned more about Mr. Stein, his history, his philosophies, etc. He is more than The Shaq’s Comcast buddy. He is more than the bland teacher in the Ferris movie.

I heard Ben Stein’s commentary on CBS Sunday Morning (a show I love). If you didn’t see or don’t watch CBS Sunday Morning, I encourage you to click here, and read Ben’s commentary.

Mr. Stein, I have decided to live. Well, I’ve been living, actually. I’ve lived over 40yrs so far, and I hope to continue living for many years to come. But more to your point, Mr. Stein, I am writing. And, I am sharing my writings with the public, for better or for worse.

Since I was a kid, I have wanted to write and share my writings with anyone and everyone. As I have stated in previous blogs (and will state again and again in future blogs), I’d like to seek and obtain a book deal. And, I say ‘I’d like to’, because fear holds me back. The though of putting together a manuscript and sending it off to various publishing companies is a daunting task. Who knows, maybe I will be offered a book deal by some publisher who stumbled upon my WordPress blog. That probably happens all the time, right?

Do I really expect to have my big break because the right person stumbled upon my writing? No. But, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. To what Mr. Stein said in his commentary, I did not pursue my writing dream via the job market with vim and vigor. Instead, I took jobs where writing opportunities could have been classified as ‘other duties as assigned’. And now, though  my current job has proof-reading opportunities, it has less writing opportunities than all of my previous jobs.

Still, I love my current job, and I have no intention of leaving it. Plus, the flexibility of my current job affords me time to write. Plus, I am at a point in my life where I actually take advantage of the time I have and use the time to write. I treasure my writing time, and I milk it for all it’s worth. Moreover, I am putting my thoughts out there – in the blogosphere. I no longer feel the need to hide my written creations. (Though I suppose some readers may want me to get back into the closet.)

In the video commentary by Ben Stein, he referred to feedback he received from his therapist. And, his therapist was of the opinion that happy people are people who pursue their dreams. So, Ben summarized the overall viewpoint by saying, “Choose to live a life you want to live, not one that’s safe or what someone else thinks you should do. Decide to live.”

I started this blog earlier this year, when my marriage was floundering and my depression had a stronghold on me. Through my writing (and medication, and ice cream, and . . .), I’ve reconnected with the love I have for my husband and our marriage, as well as the love I have for life. Through my writing, I have decided to live. And Mr. Stein, because I have decided to live, I believe wholeheartedly that my blogging will lead to a publication or publications. Well, just because I have decided to live does not a book deal make, but I’m working on it. Oh yes, I am working on it.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be a publisher, eh?” Just thought I’d ask.