George Washington....the Rock Star

So last night my husband and I were watching Jeopardy with our six year old daughter Gracie. It was kids week and we thought, she can get these. Most of the questions she did great.

They showed a picture of Mount Rushmore asking what it was called, and low and behold she was able to guess the name. We had tivo'ed it so we paused on the picture. When Gracie get's really excited and says "Hey, that guy on the left looks JUST like the guy on the quarter....(insert thoughtful pause)...and the guy on the one dollar!"

Of course, my husband responds with an emphatic, "It IS the guy on the quarter and the one dollar, that's George Washington, our first president"

To which my daughter says "wow, he must be famous or something"

Policemen are Our Friends.....I Think

So I have waited to write about the events of my weekend until I could organize my thoughts into something intelligible. Unfortunately for me, that hasn't happened yet so I decided what the heck I'll give it a go anyway.

So Saturday, I'm minding my happy little business. I go to Starbucks to get a latte and head off to mail some Christmas gifts at the UPS store. I pull into the parking spot and well....park. Turn off my car and was in the process of getting out of my car when WHAM! the guy getting into the mammoth of a truck parked next to me slams his door into the passenger side of my car.

As most of you know....I tend to let my Irish temper get the best of me at times. Well, this so happened to one of those moments. Since my door was already half open, I jump out of my car and run to the other side of my car (admiring the fantastic parking job on my part) I quickly notice a line of silver paint on my door. My car is blue...the truck is silver. Sooooo, I yelled! "HEY YOU HIT MY CAR"

His response?....shut his door and starts to back out of the parking spot.

At this point I should pause and add that really....the paint is not a big deal and can be removed without much effort. However, I wanted an apology. I wanted him to acknowledge what he had done and simply say "I'm sorry, I was careless" at which point I would have said something like "no harm, just be more careful" or "it's ok" and gone about my business of mailing Christmas presents.

No...he couldn't be bothered with the messy details of all that.

Now, no one can EVER say "the police are never around when you need them" because within seconds of him throwing his truck into reverse an off duty cop runs up and slaps his badge against the careless door openers window and forces him to pull forward.

Reluctantly, he does what he is told. My knight in shining armor Leon, then flashes his badge and ID at me so I know he is for real. His wife enters the scene quickly and introduces herself to me. Laura. They saw the whole thing as they were getting into their car. As it turns out, when the door hit my car my whole car shook. Luckily I have a tough car because there is no dent.

I talked to him for a minute told him what happened. Mind you the entire time Mr. door opener is sitting in his truck on the phone. However, he wasn't calling his lawyer, the police or his insurance company. NO! He was calling his buddies. Who were there quickly. He wouldn't talk to me or Leon. At that point Leon called the police. He was one guy...off duty and he said something wasn't right.

Enter 10 friends. Surrounding us. At which point the guy gets out of his truck. He says, while the recognizable smell of beer follows him, "I didn't hit your car." "You didn't see that." "You're lying." and my favorite. "You're trying to swindle me" Leon asks us both for license, registration and proof of insurance. I diligently oblige. Handing him all of that AND my military ID. Just in case. Door hitter, walked away. Not far, just over to his friends. "He repeats his rants about my not seeing him hit my car. It must have been someone else...blah blah blah. So I simply say, "ok, but we are parked at a shopping center, I'm sure there are video cameras here. We'll just ask the store if we can see them. The video will show who hit my car. He paused for a minute....letting it soak in. Then he said well I didn't mean to hit it. Leon asks him again for a license. Suddenly he can't speak English. Funny, Swindle isn't exactly and introductory word at language lab. Fine, whatever...enter the "translator"

Forgive me, but she was the poster child for white trash inbred. As it turns out...in two hours of conversation with Leon and another officer, she is a....um..professional "working girl?" And has been arrested for pimping out her 14 year old daughter. Why they were both arrested just a month ago!

Really, at this point I'm thinking "what the hell did I get myself into?"

Somewhere in the hours that passed it came about that the door guy didn't have a drivers license. Well, we could figure that one out. Nor did he have insurance. Another shock. The vin number had been removed from the truck and the out of date registration was for a man named Irving. Well, having lived in San Diego for many years, I am pretty sure a Hispanic guy who needs a "translator" isn't going to be named Irving. I was still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt...mostly because I was fearing for my life at this point.

So, enter Officer P. He knew exactly who he was. Had pulled him over not two weeks earlier. He didn't have a license then either. He let him go, but state law dictates you have to have one within a week or go to jail. Failure to have one twice and it's a felony. This made twice because even though I kind of ignored him when he asked if I was a witness to him driving without a license...Leon had seen him.

Next thing I knew, he had cuffs on him and was being placed in the backseat of the police car. So, I asked "what's going to happen to him?" "He's going to jail" Then I was asked if I will go to the court hearing...at which point I pretend to act as a concerned citizen and ask when. I'm told the 18 to which I quickly reply "can't I'll be out of town for the holidays"

Now, I don't like to lie. Especially to a police officer. But this guy is bad. His friends are bad and I was told in no uncertain terms by Leon to avoid that area for a few months and remove a sticker from that back of my car that is obvious so as not to draw attention to my car. Yes, he is a gang banger. His friends, 10 of whom had plenty of time to draw a sketch of me had they wanted, know exactly what I look like.

So yea...NO. I don't think I want to show up to court. I wasn't that mad to start and I was told by Officer P. that he was illegal and would most likely be deported. Well if that's not a reason to hate someone, I don't know what is! It turns out, they had 8 separate charges against him at that moment. More were sure to follow once they got him to the station and went over his record. Hitting my car wasn't one of them. Attempting to leave the scene was....but only one. 7 more had nothing to do with me.

Still I did feel bad. I didn't set out that morning to get anyone arrested. I certainly didn't intend on getting someone deported!

I am grateful that Leon was there. Had he decided to confront me alone this post could have a totally different ending. Nonetheless, I wish I could have a do-over. Take a Mulligan on this one.

Needless to say, I can no longer go to Barnes and Noble or Bed Bath and Beyond because they are in that parking lot. I had to remove a sticker that I love, two hours of my life are wasted that I can never get back, a Mexican gang wants to kill me. A prostitute wants to kill me and if I had just kept my mouth shut perhaps my father in law would have his Christmas present by now and I could have enjoyed my latte when it was warm.

Fall

It's that time of year again. The leaves turn every color in the rainbow and everywhere you look the trees look like they are on fire with color. The air is crisp and cool. The birds head south. We put on sweaters and drink hot chocolate. Light a fire in the fireplace and the smell of wood smoke fills the air at night. Frost greets us in the morning and winter greets us with that soft, gentle, quiet first snow. Peaceful.

However, I live in the South. Where the leaves are just now starting to change color. There is no frost in the morning. The chilly air is still a mild 70 degrees. There will be no peaceful first snow any time soon. Last time they saw snow was 1989. There is no need for a fireplace here. So the smell of wood smoke is out of the question....unless I burn down my neighbors house. The birds have indeed headed south. They come here for the winter. Because they are wise and no one in their right mind spends the summer here.

In short I am homesick. I miss the north. I miss the seasons. I miss the cold nights where the world is lit by moonlight and snow, and it's almost as bright as day. Every sound is muffled by the blanket of white. When your nose hurts from the cold but you stay out just a little longer to enjoy the beauty. I miss the crunch of leaves under my feet. The warmth of a sweater and new mittens. Seeing your breath. The crackle of a fire and smell of real pine trees. My house is decorated for Christmas, but it's not the same.

What NOT to do when company is coming

If cleanliness is next to godliness, and children are a gift from God....why are they so messy? My very dear friend Stacy and her boys are coming for a visit tomorrow. This morning I cleaned my house....as I tend to do every morning.

Silly me, I was just sure it would stay picked up throughout the day. Then I remembered I have a 6 year old.

It is a miracle how quickly a child....who is barely half my height can destroy a room. I mean she can mess it up before I'm even done cleaning it. That's how efficient she is. So, I cleaned it again, and again. Finally I had an idea...tell my human tornado to go clean her room. After all, her friends will be here tomorrow. So she does! Amazing right? Not so much.

After a half hour of silence in her room (if you know my daughter, you know silence is never good) I decide I should check on her. She did in fact clean her room. However, when she was done she decided to build a roller coaster. Using her books, chairs and various other things. She has a beautiful roller coaster-ish marvel snaking it's way around her entire room. She's calling her work of art the Poke' coaster in honor of Pokemon. Her floor is buried in 3 feet of roller coaster goodness and she has her table set up smack dab in the center of her room in preparation for her Pokemon tea party she is planning to have with my friends boys. Repeat BOYS.

She got a hold of paper plates and has decorated them to look like wheels. She taped construction paper together in long strips to connect the "cars" and has even added aesthetic touches like a "tree" and "mountains" for scenery. Oh yes, she has thought of everything.

Anyway, I don't have the energy to clean it all up again...at least not tonight. So, looks like the boys might have to endure the Poke-coaster and subsequent tea party. I wonder if she has tiaras for them to wear?

It doesn't make sense

Why do some people skate through life...without a care in the world. Never having to remove the rose colored glasses? Really, it doesn't make sense to me. These twits are out there, unaware what real pain and suffering is.

More importantly, what do you tell a friend who is going through the worst possible torture a parent could go through? Mind you, for the second time in her life. How do you help her? How can you say everything is going to be alright when in fact you know it simply will not be alright...ever?

All I could do was repeat over and over "Oh my God, oh my God" I'm supposed to come up with something profound. I'm the proverbial shoulder. I'm supposed to be a rock. All I could do is cry. I don't think I have ever in my life, broken down and actually cried when someone needed me to be the strong one. This was a first. Of course it was a giant, ocean sized shock, but that's beside the point.

So I am asking you...how do you respond? Perhaps in your unclouded minds you can give me some thought provoking wisdom. What do you say to your friend who needs you to tell her it will be alright?

My Baby is Growing Up

Yesterday was Gracie's 7th birthday. 7!!! For some reason, 7 hit me harder than the rest. Maybe it's because 7 seems less "little girl" and more "pre-teen." Whatever the reason it just seems weird. I remember when I was 7. Sarah and I were already planning our future weddings with the Dans, Davids and Brandons of our Barbie and Ken collections. I remember when I was her age, feeling like I was half grown.

I still don't let her go across the street by herself to play! I still see her as a baby! I know, I need to let her grow up....a little.

I'm excited that she will soon be growing up very close to the same town I spent my childhood. While she has loved living in each new place we move, I am excited that when she looks back on her childhood (half of which is already in the past) she will have the same happy memories of the very places that I loved when I was growing up. I remember my hometown and my childhood as a fairy tale, happy place. Kids could be kids and the bad guys lived somewhere else.

I can't wait for her to grow up with the children of my childhood friends. Kolleen and I are already planning playdates!

Anyway...a little off topic. So...Gracie is now 7. She has her own taste in music, clothes and boys (the latter gives me heartburn) she is growing up. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of the young lady she is growing in to.

We made it!

Well we made it. We are finally residents of South Carolina! It was a VERY long road. Let me tell you all about it.

Day 1: we left Washington. It started to snow and the freezing fog was just rolling in. What fun. We said our goodbyes to our dear neighbors :( and set off on our adventure. Well, the trip was fine, we made it to Pendleton, OR. Everything was great, sun was shinning but it was cold. However, minor problem....Cabbage hill was closed. We had to buy chains for both my car and a U-haul. We waited, and waited...finally they opened it back up and we started over the mountain. 2 1/2 hours later we were in La Grande. Let me tell you, I have never been so happy to see LG in my life. By this time it was 7 pm. We decided to stay the night. 9 hours, and we made it 150 miles.

Day 2: we got up bright and early and headed out. To avoid the blizzard in Denver and Wyoming we decided to head south and hit I-40. We made it to Filmore, UT when the snow started. Though we avoided the huge blizzard we still saw the back side of it. So we settled in and called it a night.

Day 3: Decided to take a detour to avoid going all the way to Vegas. Went through Zion National Park. With a U-haul! It was beautiful, but scary as hell. We went past the Grand Canyon...also beautiful. Got into Flagstaff, AZ and pushed on to Winslow, AZ. Ok, let me tell you, that is the creepiest little twilight zone town ever. I won't even go into that.

Day 4: We made it as far as Grants, New Mexico. a whole 4 hours away. Why you ask? Because the blizzard in Denver shut down all the roads leading out of New Mexico. Did any of you know it snows there? Neither did I. So, we got a hotel and settled in around noon.

Day 5: New years Eve! I-40 is still closed. Still stuck in New Mexico. We made the most of it and enjoyed ourselves. We were just really thankful we had a really nice hotel and weren't one of the thousands of people stuck in their cars on the freeway.

Day 6: I-40 was STILL closed. So we detoured and went south...REALLY south. We went into El Paso,TX. Who knew when we started this trip that we would be seeing Mexico! That night we pushed all the way to Abeline, TX.

Day 7: We drove through Texas...all of it....the long way. We went through Big D. and made it to Rona's hometown around 2. Of course, she isn't there anymore, so I made a quick phone call to her, we gassed up and got back on the road. About an hour or so later we were driving into Louisana. I can't tell you what a great feeling it was to actually be in the south. Finally. That night we pushed all the way to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Day 8: Woke up before the sun and drove 8 more hours to Charleston, SC. We made it here before everything closed! We got into our house that day. What a relief.

The next day our furniture was delivered and then it took a few more days for the phone and cable to get connected.

So, we are here. It's gorgeous. I can't believe how many trees they have here. Reminds me of the Northwest. We have had a few hot days. Mostly warm and muggy. I LOVE my new house. It's so wonderful. I'll add pictures of it one of these days.

We said we wanted it to be an adventure and it was. Be careful what you wish for.