July Heats Up....

Summer...there is no doubt that it's here. The weather has been in the 90's here in Southern Cal. July is a hot month, and it really warms up for me in another way because both my son, my daughter-in-law and my very precious great-niece all have birthdays in July. Plus, with the a/c on most of the day the electric bill will not be good.

However, tomorrow is the first of July and the electric bill is paid up and two major birthday presents are out of the way. My daughter-in-law spent her lunch hour today buying my son a birthday suit from his mother...not the first one I've ever given him (no pun intended). Thank goodness I have her to shop for me since she knows exactly what he wants and what size to get. The shop he likes is close to her job which made it very nice and the suits are very affordable, always a plus. Also, she needed a new phone so I was able to help with that, a chocolate maroon...hmmm...whatever that is. Two presents taken care of and two young people extremely happy. That only leaves Haley B, a very easy person to please when it comes to birthdays, and her birthday falls at the very end of the month so I have time to prepare. I'm feeling good about July.

July 4th is coming up, a holiday for me (yahoo!) and my son and his wife have invited me to brunch at Mimi's on some tickets they won from a fund-raiser. That sounds very nice to me. Also I am invited to their home for dessert in the evening with the Kaplan clan. I'm looking forward to a very nice holiday.

July 12th is the actual birthday bash for my son and his wife. They have hired a taquero (taco bar with agua frescas included) and purchased a huge pinata. There are to be water balloons and lots of family. It will be a great picnic to celebrate the birthdays and we're praying for good weather. Maybe I'll have pictures to post!

Anyway, Happy July and stay cool!

Goodbye to the Junk Car

There has been 1993 Dodge Intrepid parked in my driveway for over two years...yes...I know...procrastination is my middle name. My son drove the old clunker until he was able to get a new car and then it just sat there, unused for a long time. His friends called it "the green bomb". Almost a year ago we were cleaning out the garage and needed a place to store some rummage stuff. My son loaded up the inside of the old jalopy and there it has remained until this day.

But...it's time. The parking situation where I live is such that every space counts and since I now live alone I should not be taking up that much space. My son has graciously offered to "clear out" the old car and the "Junk My Car" people are coming to take it away while I am at work on Monday.

I will miss the old girl, she was a beauty in her day. I can remember when I first saw the Intrepid. A friend at work brought in a brochure. He knew I had been searching for the new car of my dreams and he brought me a picture of the Dodge Intrepid, a brand new line for Dodge. Wow! I was besotted. I remember the day I drove her off the lot like it was yesterday. I was in heaven! I can't tell you how many times people would admire her sleek beauty. She got much more attention than is usually granted to a new car, unless it is a luxury car.

Well, that was then. Now, she is covered with cobwebs and the paint is peeling. She has had her day "in the sun" and is now headed for the great junk yard in the...to tell you the truth I don't know where it is...I found it online! :)

Just Like Dear Old Dad...

My father may not be with me to celebrate Father's Day tomorrow, but I feel like I have the next best thing....a date with my son. A few years ago I wrote a poem for Dad and today I believe the poem has come true. In so many ways every day my son reminds me of my father...and that's a good thing.

“Just Like Dear Old Dad”

There’s an old saying, “She married
a man just like Dear Old Dad”
and for lots of folks that’s true.
But for me, if I had my druthers,
here’s what I’d like to do...

I’d raise my son to be a man
“Just like Dear Old Dad”
If he came to be just like him
I could never be so glad.

He’d grow up big and tall and strong
just like a big oak tree,
with a heart as big as Texas
and patches on his knees,

from hours spent in fervent prayer
for God’s will to be done.
And hands that help his neighbor
until the work is done.

He’d be a man whose word is truth
and honesty’s his law.
With a wealth of understanding
that’s free for one and all.

Of all the heroes in the world
any culture’s ever had
I want my son to grow up like
my loving, “Dear Old Dad”.

By Laurie Bray

Written for Frank Bray on Father’s Day, June 15, 1997

The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer...

School is officially out for the summer in my little corner of the world. To me this means fewer days of picking up Timothy and more days of doing whatever it is I need to do after work, even if that is just going home to relax. I leave work at 3pm so there are many hours left in the daylight to take care of lifes necessities and still have some time to take it easy. The days are mild and beautiful right now even though I know it won't be long before we feel the scorching heat of deep summer.

I picked Tim up afer school for the last time on Tuesday and we went to celebrate, him with a triple thick large chocolate shake and me with a vanilla ice cream cone (you can't beat McDonalds price if you don't mind soft serve). I will still pick him up from time to time but I won't be on a tight schedule to meet a bus. And no homework! Whoo Hoo!

It feels great to be home early and I know Tim is enjoying the relaxing, too.

Making Lemonade

This past week I had occasion to spend several hours waiting in a hospital, first for my sister-in-law to go into surgery and then to wait for the results. There is not a more boring occupation than waiting in a hospital, in my opinion. Because there are other relatives and friends waiting with you it's not very polite to read a book (my favorite pastime). The relatives that are available to talk to are usually not the ones you would choose (if you had your druthers) to make the time pass more quickly. But I got lucky...I had a very close friend waiting with me.

My very close friend is a friend of 30 years, a loyal and trustworthy friend, nearly a sister. Because of our busy lives we don't get the chance to sit and talk like we used to, to catch up on the latest news of our families' ups and downs. Once in a while a phone call that was brought on by another purpose will find us talking for awhile and I'm always amazed at how much has happened that I've missed. It's the kind of friendship that no matter how much time has passed since you've last spoken you know that the other one is thinking of you and when you come together again it's like you've never been apart.

We spent hours that night in the hospital waiting rooms, cafeteria and wherever else we needed to be just talking and catching up. It felt so good to be able to talk to someone who knows your deepest darkest secrets and loves you anyway. Someone that is not your family, because family loves you because you are family if for no other reason. To talk to someone you don't have to watch your words with because they understand your meaning and feel the same way.

So instead of counting the lemons (and hours) while waiting at the hospital and being all sour about it, I was able to have lemonade. And when her husband came in at the last and asked (as usual) if we had solved the problems of the world again, I felt very confident in saying, yes, of course.

The Flip Side of Youth....

Thank goodness Friday is here. It's been a long week, filled with a roller coaster of ups and downs, anxieties and relief, long days and short nights. But now....at last....it's the weekend!

I believe weekends were created so that we can recover from the work week. At least that's what I always seem to be doing. When asked what my plans for the weekend are my usual thought is "do I need plans?" No plan at all seems like a great way to spend the weekend.

Granted, for me Sunday is not a day off. By my own committment I spend most of Sunday involved in church activities. So that leaves Saturday. In an earlier post I expressed my feelings about Saturday so I won't belabor the point.

I guess what I'm getting at is that when I was young the weekends were meant for all the fun things I could handle and the work week was for recuperating from the weekends. As I get older those two things have switched places. Now I spend the weekend recuperating from all the activities I'm involved in throughout the week. My job takes up most of my day, but then there is homework with Tim, errands to run (Library, Bank, grocery store, Wal-Mart or Target, post office, etc), dinner with my kids if I'm lucky or dinner with friends, babysitting of the nephews and niece and all the fun stuff that goes with that. So by Friday night, instead of staying out late because there is no work tomorrow I am bushed by about nine o'clock and ready to hit the hay. But no, Miss Haley B. is still here with me so I will get to bed after she goes home. :) Not a bad life, but busy.

So, it's finally the weekend and I have no plans.....Heaven.