It's supposed to snow here tomorrow night. Hooray! :-) I haven't been out of the south long enough yet for the snow to lose its charm. I hope we get enough to turn everything white, even if it only lasts a little while.

In the Blink of an Eye

A few days ago, my husband was very late getting home from work, because he was the responding officer to a devastating accident. A family was going to have holiday pictures taken. A young sailor, just recently home from a very long deployment, was travelling on his motorcycle and his wife was following him in a car with her parents who were visiting.
He rounded a curve ahead of her, going too fast. She came through the curve and didn't see him. When she got to the on-ramp and still didn't see him, she turned around. When she got back to the curve, she saw his motorcycle. She stopped, and then she saw him, crumpled at the base of a light pole. He was taking his very last breaths as she approached him. The medics arrived and he was put on a life-flight to Seattle, but he didn't even survive the trip. She had to drive around, almost two hours to the hospital, just to be met with the news that her life had just been completely turned upside down.
He was 23 years old. She was 21. I can't get them out of my head. I wish, for just a moment, that I could take even a tiny bit of her burden just so she could have some relief and maybe a little peace and comfort. I hurt for his parents. I just don't understand why these things happen. I especially don't know how my husband processes the experience of being present at such an event, and I want to make it better for him, too. Sometimes, this world just doesn't make sense.

Dissecting Dissections

In an earlier post (which you can read here), I fretted over the fact that I was starting a Biology class that would require me to dissect things. Having never done this (not even a frog!) in highschool, I was filled with trepidation about what would surely be a disgusting, disturbing event.

Well, dissection week in the lab has come and gone, and I need to give myself a pat on the back. I not only got through the event without getting queasy or green, I did the actual dissecting of 3 of the 4 specimens. Our teacher, bless her heart, built us up gradually. We started with an earthworm, then a crayfish. The earthworm was a little gross, but being preserved, it wasn't slimy. You would not believe how much that helps. I was very freaked out leading up to the moment of the initial incision. After that first cut, though, it became fascinating! Once your specimen is splayed open on the dissection tray, it ceases to resemble much of a cuddly little creature (not that earthworms are all that cuddly), and you become so wrapped up in finding all the parts you're supposed to find that it's no longer very gross. The crayfish was pretty difficult to crack open, but it really wasn't much different from peeling a shrimp or eating lobster. If you like your shellfish with a yummy formaldehyde aroma, that is.

Dissection Day 2 in the lab proved to be a bit more difficult. I was prepared for the lovely odor this time, though. I brought Vicks Vaporub, and it was very effective. I learned that in an Alex Kava novel, apparently it helps at autopsies. :-) Our group had a large frog that we unfortunately referred to as "she" throughout most of the process until we moved enough fat bodies around to realize "she" was actually a "he". You see, the two important male parts are actually attached to the kidneys, and they're kind of hard to find. We managed, though.

Next was the most difficult of all. I maintain that if you can get past the initial incision, the whole dissection process becomes a piece of cake. It's just opening something up that presents a problem for me - I have learned that I have no trouble poking around the insides because THAT is truly fascinating. Our last specimen was a tiny little pig, and I was more than willing to let someone else operate. It turned out to be a great learning experience in more ways than one. I learned lots about organs and their functions, but I also learned that I can handle dissections! THAT is a big change for me, and I am pretty excited about it.

Piano Man

It occurred to me today that I have neglected to post about some pretty momentous events lately, so today I'll play catch-up. It's a good way to help me avoid all the cleaning and paper-writing I'm supposed to be doing, so I might as well. :-)

First - the Billy Joel concert. I mentioned in an earlier post that I didn't think I would be able to go. My husband was planning to be in Georgia on the day Billy was in Seattle. We've been trying for nine years to see him in concert (we once considered flying to St. Louis), so that was quite disturbing. Because we are completely insane when it comes to good music, we ended up buying concert tickets and a one-way ticket back to Washington. Was it worth it, you ask??? OH, YEAH!

He's a little grayer, a little balder, and a little more plump . . . . but he sings like a 30-year-old man on his best night. It was incredible. He did every song that I wanted to hear live, including Downeaster Alexa, which is probably my favorite and I never expected him to do. He dedicated it to the crab fishermen in our area (have you seen Deadliest Catch?). Toward the middle of the show, his piano disappeared and he got out a guitar and did Purple Haze!!! He said while he was in Seattle he had to do some Jimi. He also had his guitar roadie come out and do Highway to Hell, which is certainly not what you expect to hear at a Billy Joel concert, but it was the only thing that got this, um, slightly-older-than-me crowd on its feet. His first encore was Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, which is practically an entire rock opera in one song, and he closed out the night with Piano Man, of course.

Did I mention that his piano rotated? Every couple of songs, the whole thing would start spinning so that he faced each side of the arena several times throughout the night. All in all, it was a phenomenal evening, and worth all the waiting! :-)

I LOVE turkey day!!!!!

I love Thanksgiving. I do all the cooking, and I have, with the exception of one year, since I was married nine years ago. I love to do it, because I love the food! We like having lots of folks over, and during our time in the military it was pretty easy to round up a crowd of sailors that were unable to make it home for the holiday. We have a much smaller group this year, but I can't seem to successfully scale back the amount of food I cook so . . . . hooray for leftovers! :-)

Our traditional meal consists of turkey, gravy, cornbread dressing, squash casserole, broccoli casserole (it's the only day of the year I get to have it), cranberry sauce (no berries, from a CAN!) and green beans. This year our friends are bringing mashed potatoes. For dessert we have pumpkin pie and I usually make a cheesecake.

This year I'm going to try brining my turkey because The Pioneer Woman says I should. You can find out about her method here. TRUST me, she's worth reading, both her regular blog and her cooking one.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Almost Royalty

Like many Americans (although the number is less in my generation), I am fascinated with the Kennedy family. Their stories -all of them - amaze me. There is so much drama, intrigue, ambition, and tragedy for one family.

Last night we watched Bobby, which tells the stories of all the other victims in the days leading up to Bobby Kennedy's shooting in the hotel kitchen. The movie was very good, but I was especially moved by the real footage of him and all the photographs shown during the credits at the end. He and his brothers (well, not so much Teddy, but he really is the oddball) are insanely handsome. It's not that they had classic good looks so much as they looked REGAL! You glance at these ordinary pictures of everyday events, and you realize that there was NOTHING ordinary about this family. They were the closest we've had to royalty.

So Cute I Can't Stand It

I'm supposed to be doing homework right now, but I had to take a break to blog about this.

We are babysitting tonight. We've had our friend's little 3-yr-old daughter most of the day, and things are winding down. My husband took over children duty so that I can get some homework done, and they are all in the living room watching a movie as I type.

Yes, picture this . . . . my 6-yr-old and the 3-yr-old sharing a cover on the big couch, and my big ol' husband sprawled across the loveseat . . . all mesmerized by The Little Mermaid. I went in to check on things and got shushed. I would take a picture to share, but it would just disrupt the cuteness.

The End of an Era

It dawned on me recently that this may be the last year of "Santa Claus" around my house. My daughter turns 7 the day after Christmas, and she's a pretty quick kid. If she's like me, though, she'll keep playing along just to make her mom happy! I was clued in to the fact she might be catching on, or that some older kid might have told her at school (the likely story), by a conversation recently.

Haleigh: Mom, do you believe in fairies?

Me: Well, I guess.

Haleigh: But, are they real?

Me: Well, I think if you believe in something, it makes it real.

Haleigh: Do you believe in angels?

Me: Absolutely.

Haleigh: Yeah, me, too . . . (moment of silence) . . . well, and I believe in Santa Claus, too!

It's like she had to convince herself that it was ok to believe in him! It's a little sad to realize we are nearing the age where this one particular magic no longer applies. My husband told me that when he figured it out, his mom explained it in a good way. She told him that Santa Claus was based on a good man who gave toys to kids who might not have had presents otherwise, and the tradition of giving presents was carried on to honor him. I like it. I think it will come in quite handy when the day comes that Haleigh calls our bluff!

Chocolate Wisdom

I just had three Dove chocolates (yes, three, and my mother-in-law says that's ok). The wrappers said, in this order:

1. Read a book under the autumn leaves.
2. Gather ten different kinds of leaves.
3. Get lost in the moment.

Well, alrighty, then.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is easy. If you love somebody, and I mean truly unconditionally love them, it can be done. Forgetting is the tricky part. When somebody hurts you, it is a deep, deep festering wound. Honestly, real pain can only be inflicted by the people who matter, and it just rips something apart inside of you to have someone you love and trust turn on you. The world in which you exist is no longer the same, changed eternally, and you just cannot, no matter how much you want to, go back to "before".

Forgiveness is the magic. I don't understand how it works, really, but it is tangible. And it takes its own time. It absolutely cannot be rushed, you just realize one day that something in your soul has been soothed. It took a process to get to that point, and if it is a true forgiveness, then a new facet of your relationship has been created. You and your transgressor have reached a peace, and your relationship has moved forward. You accept that you are both only human, and you hope that you get the same grace should you ever need it. Then one day, some seemingly inconsequential random thing reminds you of that original hurt.

And it still hurts. Really bad. But you're not in the middle of it any more. And you realize . . . it's ok to hurt. It's ok to be pissed off that it happened. And most of all, it's ok that you ignored your stupid pride and remembered that the love you feel for that person is so much bigger than a mistake. It's ok that you forgave, in fact it feels really good.

Tis the Season . . .

Please add this address to your Christmas Card list:


1st TSC, Medical Transient Detachment
ATTN: Soldiers’ Angels, MaryAnn Phillips

UNIT 23203
APO AE 09263

*Remember: With the Soldier’s Angels one, you have to send your card unsealed… Send multiple un-sealed cards in one big envelope
AND PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

Enchanted

Tonight, Jeopardy had a "Machu Picchu" theme. I wasn't paying much attention to the tv playing in the background, but I glaced up and saw Alex Trebec in one of the most beautiful, enchanting locations I've ever seen. Now I'm dreaming of a new vacation . . .

Dinner and a Cause

I LOVE Phad Thai with chicken from authentic Thai restaurants. We used to have one down the street, but they closed so I now have to drive a little ways to get the yumminess. Because of this, I decided to try a boxed version at home. I soaked the noodles as directed and stir-fried away. It was not good. The noodles should have been soaked at least twice as long, and there was absolutely no spice. It was, however, better than the last version I tried that only tasted like fish sauce. I guess I'll have to keep driving when I have the urge for this dish, or learn to make it from scratch!

The cool thing about this experience is that when I opened the box, there was a little rectangle of paper inside that said "Thailand's Turtles are in Trouble." There is a picture of the Mangrove Terrapin and an invitation to purchase a t-shirt or make a donation to help them out. It turns out that the company who makes the boxed dinners created a non-profit organization for this purpose. You can check them out here. There is a "project update" section of the site that is worth checking out. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to get a t-shirt, but I am going to learn more!

Going to the Dogs . . .

Today I took my older son to the vet. His name is Sam, and he's a large mixed-breed dog, mostly golden retriever/lab with a little bloodhound thrown in for fun (at least that's our best guess). He's a big boy, who has gotten a little bigger recently, weighing in at 117 lbs. He's just a whole lotta LUV!

So, the vet asked how much we feed him, and I guessed about 3 1/2 to 4 cups per day. It's a pretty good guess, we are responsible pet owners and we use the little scoopy thing that came with the food containers. The vet suggested that we use an actual measuring cup and cut him back to 3 cups per day, and we will probably ease him into less than that! I'm thinking to myself "are you looking at this hunk of doggie? How can he survive on such meager portions?" The vet must have sensed my concern, because he explained to me that our dog food is statistically way too high in calories for what they actually need. He said "the trends of our society are unfortunately reflected even in PET FOOD!" Now, that is just sad. Must we make our dogs fat and unhealthy, too? I assure you I will follow my vet's advice. I love my Sam, and I want him to be around for just as long as I can keep him!

It really is the "little things"

Every Thursday night, my husband relinquishes control of the remote. He even tivo's "The Office" because it comes on at the same time as Grey's Anatomy, and he understands that Grey's Anatomy is practically a religion for me. As silly as it is, this little act of kindness really makes my night.

Anxious

Today was the big surprise 70th birthday party for my husband's grandmother, who we call Dee. Without getting into too much detail, just trust me that it was a HUGE deal for my mother-in-law and Dee's husband to keep this a secret. My husband and his brother both came to town to surprise her, which is especially momentous because my husband hasn't been back to Georgia once since we moved across the country 5 1/2 years ago!!!!

Tonight, I am DYING to know how it went. I tried to call my husband earlier but he's not answering. I'm sure everyone is having a good visit and I'll hear something eventually, but COME ON! I want details!!!! :)