This first edition of 2007 finds us getting back to the normal routine of life. The new year has gotten started with a lot of rain and average temperatures. As fun as the holidays have been, and we had a wonderful break, it is good to get life back in gear.
VISITORS FROM FLORIDA. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob have been here for a visit. They got here Thursday and left for their home today. We all had dinner together at Pauline’s house Friday night, which wound up all our Christmas celebrations.
The cards are really being shuffled while they are here. Each time I talk to someone from Aunt Mar’s house there is a new Spades tale to tell. Vicki has been over there for a couple of late nights.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE. When Vicki taught kindergarten she always had a week of activities with Gingerbread Houses. The highlight, of course, was that each child made their own house. She is happy to report that she has finally brought this activity home to her own kids. Jenna, Benton, and Nate had the best time. Fingers were licked (Nate even licked Vicki’s) and candy eaten during the whole process! We hope to make this an annual tradition.
THE HUGGING PHASE. Nate is in a stage where he wants to give hugs. When he is ready he’ll speak up, almost shout really, and say, “Hug Daddy!” If I don’t stop what I’m doing right then he can get very insistent. I’ll need to store these up for the hug drought that is sure to come in about 10 years.
ENJOYING MUSIC. Mom and Aunt Mar have really suffered because their stereo with its turntable hasn’t worked in a long time. As a result they have a few dozen LPs they haven’t heard in about 30 years. To add insult to injury, there really isn’t a market for music by artists like Lawrence Welk, Floyd Cramer, etc. here in the Nashville area so they have no radio station to listen to. I have recently gotten an iMic which allows me to connect a turntable to the computer, and for the past couple of weeks I have been converting the vinyl to digital (Vicki says I am obsessed).
Mom was telling me that they were really enjoying the CDs the other night and asked if I had listened to any of the records. Of course I had, but I could tell she was fishing to see if I had liked the music. I don’t share my mother’s taste in music so I had to reply, “Mom, this has been a labor of love.” But to be completely fair, there have been a few tunes in her collection I have enjoyed such as the soundtracks from Oklahoma! and South Pacific.
TAKING COVER. Ben has one very strange habit. Anytime he hears someone coming into the room where he is he hides. In the living room his normal hiding place is crouching in the fetal position on the floor between the couch and the ottoman. Sometimes I hear him take such a dive for his spot I wonder if he hasn’t hurt his knees. This has gotten to be sort of a cat and mouse game where I try to enter a room as quietly as possible in order to catch him out of his hiding spot. When I do manage this he makes a half hearted lunge to hide and gives up saying, “Aw man!”
HEADLESS. So Nate and Vicki were at the cash register making a return at Goody’s when Nate walked over to inspect a mannequin. After looking it over he came back to Vicki and commented, “It doesn’t have no head!”
As Vicki looked around she said, “None of them have heads.”
He studied this a moment and replied, “At least we got a head!”
The cashier and other customers got a chuckle from this exchange.
BASKETBALL SEASON. The first Upward game of the season was Saturday. Ben’s debut brought a whole new dimension to the game. He guarded his man very well although he runs like a gorilla. He scored 2 points.
Jenna, much to Vicki’s surprise, is turning into quite the point guard. While she needs to learn to dribble with her left hand, she has an eye for finding an open girl to pass to. She had 4 points and several assists to her credit.
Joe
