Time Flies

Yesterday, Eric and I celebrated 9 years of married life together. Which...Wow!...Is. 9. YEARS! of MARRIED LIFE together!I have been accused in the past of being mildly obsessed with the flow of time and so things like this always knock my socks (and everything else...sorry...It is our anniversary) off. I remember each one. I think of the day I slipped into my white dress and talked with my dad as "his girl" one last time before the doors were thrown open and I saw my new provider (and life) waiting for me. How on our 5th, we went to see "Wicked" and Eric simply couldn't buy me enough stuff, everything I looked at was mine. Wonderfully spoiled! How I talked to the ladies at Bible study in the morning and they asked if I thought I was getting anything and I answered the same way I do every year-I don't know what I am getting but somehow it will be the most incredible thing that I didn't even know I wanted until it was given. And sure enough....The soft leather brown flats with the tiny strap across the side....Perfect!

And really, why not make a big fuss? Eric and I have been united in marriage for 9 years! And not all of it has been good. Some days are so filled with venom that I have to light a candle lest anyone stop by and smell the poison in the air. And some are so filled with love and admiration that I can't look at him with out blushing and thinking about all the days that lie ahead.

You see, Eric and I promised a few things on that day that I saw him waiting for me. We said that we would respect. honor. love. submit. encourage. At the time I was so madly in love with him that every time I was near him my head would spin. But time (and there's the obsession!) has a way of robbing you of those joys and eventually you have to choose to live and practice all that you said while gushing it out in front of friends and family.

So we are here. And we are pretty stinkin' strong. I reach for his hand when I need it and he for mine. We still care enough about each other to sacrifice and we still come together to share our dreams and thoughts on what life ought to be. We bow our heads together. We respect. We love.

I am very grateful to have married Eric. To have meshed our lives together into whatever it will be. I pray that we are allowed to do this very same thing for a long, long time.....

My strangest friend

I wanted to mark (for historical and nostalgic reasons) that this winter has been exceptionally mild in the Chicago land area. Today I wore a little skirt and aviator glasses. The latter being a gift from my brother in law for Christmas who said (and I quote)"I wanted you to look like Goose's wife." I told him that made me very sad because she was widowed so young. But he insisted with Ray Ban's like these that she probably found her way to the Bahamas and is just now frolicking with the pool boy, Sergio. It's a little weird because I happen to name the ridiculously cherished body pillow that he also bought me Sergio...I think I'm sensing a theme here. And that theme being "Life is good when you add Latino men to it." But anyway....Back to the weather. It is fantastic for the sunshine and greenery that a girl like me craves, but sad when Cole is BEGGING daily to go sledding and keeps sadly glancing at his little toy (unused) shovel every time we go into the garage. I haven't had that Winter Moment! yet where I long to be stretched out on the sofa, under the blankets with a good book and a cup of cocoa. Why, just this morning I got an iced mocha and a little piece of me felt sad for that fact alone. We'll see....Maybe an ice storm will blast it's way through our lives and remind me of my contempt but for now I almost ache for that beautiful glowing white. That excuse for movies and music and sipping while you watch each flake fall to the earth, knowing that each one is different than the one before. Winter, never in my life would I have believed that I'd miss you. But I wouldn't mind if you stopped by every now and again.

Winter Warmth

The longest conversation I've ever had with Cole

C-How come animals outside Mama?
Me-It's okay. Dad scared the raccoon away when he went outside. It's gone.
C-Did it go in a tree to get apples?
Me-Um, Sure? I think maybe it did.
C-Then I throw my shirt and diaper in the tree to scare it. He not eat them apples if my diaper is on it. He not want my diaper.
Me-No one wants your diaper honey. I think that's a very, very good idea.
C-(Struggling to get off pants) Okay Mom. I scare away animals with my butt.

I know that I didn't biologically make this child. But he is mine!

The first star I see

Sometimes I wish it was 1932 and I had to wear a hat and gloves everywhere I went. Sometimes I wish the moon would overcome the sun and it would remain dark forever. I think about a world where Macaroni and Cheese is the healthiest thing you can eat and everyone just can't believe that I stick to such a stringent diet. (Those are just my tastes is all I can answer.) Sometimes I wish that Eric and I lived in Paris and kissed under the Eiffel tower whenever we had a fancy. (I think we should use the word fancy more often) I also think that it should be okay to cry in public and to shout Amen! when someone says something that grasps your heart. Sometimes I wish we could just share what we feel. Sometimes I wish that Otis Redding still toured and that everyone craved the smell of Clove cigarettes. I wish I could be artistic and paint things that stirred other things and made people believe that I thought. Sometimes I wish I knew where this was all ending up. Sometimes I wish I knew.

Next time I'll wear lipstick

While the boys and I were leaving the zoo today, twin brothers were shoving each other and one of them bumped into me. He said he was sorry and I told him it was alright. Then he turned to his brother and said, "See? You just made me run into that fat old lady."

Thoughts I am thinking today: (Episode 1)

1) Seeing Cole's reaction to snow might be my favorite thing about this season.

2) Maybe I should chop my hair. I am kind of getting sick of it.

3) The fact that Mitt Romney is emerging as the Republican front runner makes me sad.

4) I wish the underwear I chose to wear did not have so many holes in them. And that I wouldn't have bent over so much at Bible study this morning.

5) I love cheeseburgers and fries. I'd also like to be Ms. America. It's time to make a difficult choice honey.

6) "The Movie Goer" by Walker Percy is an excellent book and was given to me with timely divination. (Thanks to my brother, Lyle Frankenstein)

7) Wow! Do I like my husband! Sometimes I wish we could just elope. I would elope him so hard.

8) I will never say the word, Cuddles, again. If you want to know why, get up from your computer and go look at yourself in the mirror. Then just say it...Cuddles. I think we're all on the same page now.

9) Pete's Fresh Market, right by my house, is hiring. Do I? Should I? Would I?

10) I should probably start drinking more water.