Running

I have been slow to embrace exercising as an adult. I don't know why this is, because I was a very active kid and teen. I was on the school volleyball, softball, gymnastics and track teams. I did city league fast-pitch ball, and gymnastics at a rec center. I water skied, ice skated, roller skated and swam any time I had the chance, and was always up for a sport activity. Plus I danced, any time I had a chance...from age 14 on. Sweet Fancy Moses...those were good times.

In college, I did gymnastics, ballroom dance, swam and ran sometimes, and was generally more active (no car, big campus and I had a mountain bike).

After college I discovered roller blading which I would do with a couple different friends when we lived in Chicago. At least 3-4 nights a week I would meet Zu or Kar and we would blade for hours and hours. It was glorious to race along the path on Lake Michigan, with the wind and sun on our faces and the water shining and glistening on the side and the conversation flowing back and forth as we spent that time together. Then they both moved away and I had my first child, and the last 12 years have passed with various stages of (in)activity. I lost the love of the game or something. I'm not sure what.

Meanwhile, I am surrounded by people, starting with Doc, who regularly exercise, and who also enjoy it. They're in great physical shape, and the cardio and strength benefits can't be overstated. I get all this, but for some reason have had a devil of a time making exercise a consistent, effective part of my life.

I'm working hard to change that right now, with the help of a particular drill sergeant. It's been a process, but I'm starting to get there. With the help of a few lovely friends who have gone out running with me recently, I've been getting past the initial hurdle of actually going. I'm trying to build up my knee strength so that I don't incur an injury...which has always been the case when I attempted to become a runner in the past. Then I just give up altogether till the next time I get the motivation to try again. I hope this time is different. I'm going so slow that people who are walking are the same speed. This may embarrass some people, but I'm grateful they put up with me "running" along side them while they walk.

So with that said, I should write that an odd thing happened on my run day before yesterday.

I finished my 30 minutes of running, and actually kind of felt like running more. So even though I could have walked, I kept running. And since I had a friend with me, it was actually not boring, and for the first time EVER EVER EVER I didn't just feel grumpy that running is something important (like washing dishes) that you just have to make yourself do your whole life. In fact, I felt like I sort of wanted to go out more that day...but didn't because I'm trying to follow the plan and go easy on the knees.

Then today I went to meet the same friend for our 2nd run together, but when I got there she wasn't home. So I ended up going alone. With no ipod or anything to "entertain" myself with.

And I went 43 minutes and didn't hate it. Again.

I don't know how this is happening, but can I just say how glad I am? I guess I've just needed a drill sergeant in my life all these years.

100 Things

Yowza! It's my 100th post on this blog!

To celebrate, I'm going to share 100 tidbits about me. Cause I know you're all real curious. I don't blame you, so here goes:

1. It may not be obvious to some, but I don't really like shopping, and am a complete ignoramus about brands, what's cool, what's hip and fashionable. For this reason, I prefer thrift stores over malls when shopping is necessary. I get way more excited about finding a deal than I do at the thought of spending money on retail.
2. My 1st born was born underwater....and she was the 1st waterbirth at the University of Chicago Hospital. The water was my only "pain relief" and it was an amazing experience.
3. My second child was in distress, so the planned waterbirth was nixed. I was induced with pitocin, and expected an epidural but ended up going through the entire L&D without pain relief meds because of the baby's condition. It was mindblowingly painful.
   
4. I was the pickiest eater on the planet growing up. I've worked really had to overcome that, and have been pretty successful. Most people wouldn't guess it seeing me these days.
5. The first time I ever saw snow fall, I was in college on my second date with Doc.
   
6. I have secret karaoke fantasies...coupled with secret mortification about my solo vocal abilities.
7. I want to go in a hot air balloon and also fly over the grand canyon in a helicopter.
8. I struggle with my weight all the time. I'm inclined to be considerably larger than I am.
9. I haven't ever "gotten my fill" of travel, and envy people who've seen so much of the world.
10. I don't watch tv as a rule. Exceptions are when I'm on a plane with tv in my seat.
    
11. I spend too much time on blogs.
12. Most of my friends my age don't blog, and many of them don't even really email. In fact, the majority of my favorite people in this world don't even read my blog (at least as far as I know)
    
13. I used to ballroom dance. I was really into it. Loved the competitions, the dresses, the music, the elegance of it all.
14. My least favorite household chore is vacuuming the carpeted stairs. Just no way to do that job easily!
15. I cherish my close friendships, and have a hard time when life pulls us apart.
16. I am a HUGE fan of pie. All kinds of pie. Except meringue or rhubarb. I love chocolaty pies, fruit pies, cream pies, cheesecake pies, yogurt pies and peanut butter pies. I have a fantasy of going to some pie bakery for a party, and having one bite of every kind of pie on the menu (hmmm. Maybe I should do 40 pies for my 40th birthday!). My long-standing favorites are homemade warm apple crumble pie with melting vanilla ice cream and cold pumpkin pie with sweet whipped cream. So of course I♥Thanksgiving!
    
17. I have a black thumb when it comes to plants. Surprisingly, the four (oops...we've suffered a casualty since I first wrote this), three plants that have ended up at our house starting last fall haven't died (yet). I generally kill them by neglect, too much attention or bad karma.
18. I love sweets. I used to not like chocolate and I don't know why that changed and my body wishes it hadn't but there it is. This is one of my favorites, and is partly responsible for my shift into a chocoholic. Darn them!
19. My housekeeping abilities run in fits and spurts. I rarely slide into utter chaos, but the fastidious cleaning that was the hallmark of June Clever's era has never been part of my make-up.
20. I grew up the child of pack rats, and have made conscious, deliberate efforts to shake off the effects of those years. I'm by no means where I'd like to be, but I doubt anyone would come in and think "hmm, pack rat" either. (well, maybe Doc!)
21. From age 12 until I left home, I lived in the garage.
22. I've never played tennis. A couple years ago I asked a member of my extended family who is an avid tennis player if they'd teach me how, and they looked at me like I was crazy and responded that my request was akin to them asking me to teach them how to play piano.
    
23. I went out with Jimmy Osmond twice.
24. I am fine being alone, but am a major extrovert.
25. I adore reading in bed.
26. I procrastinate.
27. I am not a scrapbooky kinda gal. I've often wished I was, and admire those who are.
    
28. I have a knack for being resourceful. I find ways to get things done. Sometimes not till the very last minute, but I get them done.
    
29. I always make my kids really cool themed birthday cakes, generally based on whatever they're interested in at the time (fish, StarWars, Fairies, Trains, Bunnies, Trucks, SpiderMan, etc.)
30. I love to eat raw dough and batter (biscuit, bread, cake, brownie, cookie etc) and would routinely snitch if my mom ever made biscuits growing up.
    
31. Nothing tastes as amazing as the perfect peach or mango.
32. I only make my bed "all the way" (including decorative pillows) every now and then...but I'm trying to make a better habit of this. Perhaps a simpler bed setup would aid me in this effort, but for now we're stuck with an elaborate 14 pillow, 4 blanket arrangement. It's a lot of work!
    
33. Speaking of beds, I've been sleeping in the same bed since I was 14 years old, with the exception of my time away at college. I purchased it with my own money at a rummage sale during Jr. High. It's only a full-size. Someday we'll upgrade.
    
34. Speaking of sleep (sort of), I wear ear plugs to bed every night. I discovered them a couple years ago and have never looked back since. I finally wake up feeling rested now, as opposed to passing the hours micro-sleeping and never getting into REM (Doc snores).
35. I never graduated from high school.
    
36. I never actually graduated from college either. I was taking my final course...a zero-credit basic math class...via independent study when Doc and I walked through graduation. They were going to mail my actual diploma to me when I finished it the math class, but I let it expire and never got the diploma.
37. I used to be a web developer. I've forgotten almost everything I used to know, and the field has changed dramatically in the past 8 years since I "retired".
38. I love being a part-time flight attendant. Being cooped up in a plane with 150 passengers and traipsing across the country a few days a month is the best job I've ever had.
39. Once upon a time I worked in a lingerie store. I had no idea what most of that stuff was for.
40. There are almost no baked goods that I'm not a fan of. Bread pudding and rye bread are the only ones that come to mind.
    
41. I almost never sit still. I am one of those annoying people who bounces their foot or swings their leg back and forth at the knee. I don't tap my foot, so at least I'm not making noise.
    
42. I play the piano by ear, and enjoy improvising on my favorite songs for fun.
43. I can be annoyingly frugal. But it's a skill that has certainly been useful through the years.
    
44. I'm often beset with a vast sense of gratitude for my life, relationships and faith.
45. I love the smell of concord grapes on the vine.
46. Water with lemons and Splenda is my favorite beverage.
47. I spent 18 hours in a recompression chamber after getting "the bends" while diving in Bermuda.
48. As a nursing mom, my milk production was excessive! I could pump 24 oz. (2 full-size bottles) with my dinky free hand pump in the "new mom" kit from the hospital in every sitting. It was insane.
49. I am not much of a leader.
50. I developed an allergy to cats as an adult.
51. I'm allergic to bee stings. My last serious sting was when I was in 2nd grade, when I stepped on a bee and my foot swelled up to elephantitis sized proportions.
    
52. I was way into roller skating as a kid. There were a number of times when my siblings and I would roller skate on our (single story) roof, and then roll off the edge into a big mulch pile. We took our 3 yr. old brother up with us when we were supposed to be watching him. To keep him safe we tethered him on a rope to the chimney so he couldn't fall off. As an adult, I prefer roller blading, but rarely do it any more (miss you Kar & Zu!)
53. I don't like any kind of seafood. And not for lack of trying. I worked in a gourmet seafood restaurant, and nightly the chefs would assure me "this will convert you". It's a texture thing more than anything else now...though the thought of some seafood just makes my stomach clench.
54. I'm a yeast flunkie. Almost everything I attempt that has yeast in it flops. My behind is very grateful for this fact (see # 40).
    
55. I count painting with water colors among my hobbies of the past. Maybe I'll do more in the future. I'd love to try oil and acrylic paints someday.
    
56. Like most people on planet earth, sometimes it seems impossible that I will ever not have money worries. I've been scrimping and living by the "waste not want not" mantra for all of my almost 40 years. It's a good way to live, but I could happily embrace losing the money stress part of life.
    
57. I am the kind of person that seems to be easy to ask for help from. I guess that means I'm approachable, and I'm glad others feel comfortable with me like that.
58. If I could have any one superpower, I'd choose flying.
59. My fingernails have never grown past the ends of my fingers. They get close to having a free edge visible from the other side, and then tear really high. I don't bite them, though I would as a child.
    
60. I think my little family is terrific, and I love their guts.
61. I don't know anything about cameras, lighting, lenses, apprature, F-stops etc...and I haven't developed a roll of print film since 1999. But I wish I was a better photographer. My little pointNshoot digi camera is great, and most of the time I am content with it. Perhaps photography will be a future hobby.
62. If it weren't for my stylish friends who began to intervene on my behalf when I was just a teen, I would be a top candidate on the "What Not To Wear" reality tv show. But I have these darling friends in my life who give me clothes. For this reason, I don't look like this and I'm really grateful.
    
63. I was a very accident prone child...but my injuries were mostly of the "She needs stitches. Again." type. I've never broken an arm or a leg, but do have a crooked right thumb from catching a fast-pitch baseball in high school. Broke it through my mitt (coach said it was just a sprain, and it healed crooked).
64. Because of the aforementioned crooked thumb, I am an utter waste of good money when it comes to bowling. The thumb hole on the balls for my size hand are too small so my thumb doesn't come out easily when releasing the ball. After a bowl or two it hurts so much I just start rolling it between my legs, and anyone I'm playing with usually pretends I just wandered into their lane.
65. I am trapped in the 80's and 90's musically-speaking. I rarely listen to the radio these days, but if I did, that's where I'd find the most appealing music. It's pitiful.
66. I make awesome english toffee and peanut butter fudge.
    
67. I don't like my hair, but feel guilty about my feelings because at least I have hair, and I'd feel even worse if I didn't have any. And it's not that bad, but trying to make it look good is the bane of daily life. Every person in my immediate family has fanfreakintastic hair. Ahh, genetics!
    
68. My mouth only ever grew two wisdom teeth. I ate chips and pizza at a party I went to the day they were removed.
69. I have lived in five states: Utah, California, Texas, Illinois, & Vermont.
70. I've been in the following countries in my life (actually walked on terra firma...not counting just being in the airport): Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, England, France, Ireland.
71. If I could go on a dream vacation, I'd take a Greek Islands cruise and see the Mediterranean
72. I hate MLMs. All of them.
73. I love the area where I live right now. It feels like home. I've never felt that way about any place I've ever lived before.
74. I grew up honestly believing I was the ugliest girl in the world.
75. I'm trying to become a runner, but my knees sure aren't cooperating.
    
76. Doc knows me better than anyone else in this world. I'm so lucky that way!
77. I'm shamelessly in love with my kids, and think they're the greatest. I wish I had 2 or 3 more. Did I already mention that I adore my kids? It's worth repeating.
    
78. If I had to pick only one food to eat for the rest of my life, I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd probably choose pizza.
    
79. I'm trying to become a better person all the time and I feel like my life is generally moving upward...a few steps forward and a setback here and there.
    
80. When I'm actually being organized and productive, I make lists. And yes, I'm one of those people who will add something to it after I've done it already, just for the satisfaction of checking it off my list.
81. I have a huge, negative response to large roaches. They simply freak me out.
    
82. I constantly wonder what's around the bend in life.
83. Some have observed that I am a great cheerleader for other people in their lives and endeavors. I think there's some truth to that because I just love people. I really value giving others the benefit of the doubt and think tolerance is a trait commonly wanting when it comes to how we view others. I think most people are generally good, and doing their best.
    
84. I don't have a favorite flower.
85. Glorious sunsets remind me of God. Every time.
    
86. I'm not really into jewelery, though I appreciate cute earrings when they come into my life. Unfortunately they often pass out of my life all too soon.
87. I am cold a disproportionately large amount of the time. For this reason alone, I'm glad to be living in a place that's blazing hot part of the year.
88. I have personally done the following home improvements in my lifetime: replaced toilets, removed popcorn ceilings, blacked a driveway, built rock walls, removed layers upon layers of wallpaper interspersed with paint, skip-troweled walls, installed a dishwasher, range, over-range microwave and new kitchen faucets, dug up sod to plant a garden, purchased, cut, installed and painted molding in rooms, replaced light fixtures, and assembled assorted furniture pieces.
89. I am positively enchanted by the sound of the creek near us. I mean, it's almost an obsession. I don't know anything that gives me the peaceful feeling that I get when I stand near it and just listen. To say nothing of how beautiful it is.
90. I'd rather pull weeds than try to find a new swimsuit or bra. Those are two items I loathe shopping for!
91. I had a school teacher once comment that I lacked tact and grace. Even though in hindsight it was a bit tacky of her to say so, there was probably a lot of truth to her statement and I still struggle with moments of gracelessness and tackiness.
    
92. The chore I fail at most often is putting away my clothes when I take them off. I tend to pile them on a chair till I dig in and clean the whole room. Which isn't often enough.
    
93. Politically, I care less about a persons stated position on something than I do about what kind of person they are. Their integrity matters more than almost anything else to me. This is why I'm so disillusioned by the 2008 presidential race.
    
94. My favorite teacher ever was in 5th grade. Claire Ryan was the first grown up in my life who seemed to care specifically about my happiness and how I was feeling. She changed my life.
95. I played the male lead in the school musical H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan in 7th grade. I was the Captain of the Pinafore. I was in plays during most years of my childhood, but haven't been on stage since 10th grade.
96. Once upon a time I went to Texas as a missionary, but I came home because of family problems after six months. I was a Spanish speaking missionary...theoretically at least.
    
97. I don't eat fast food. Almost ever. For years now. Even though within a 3 minute walk from my front door we have the following eating establishments: KFC, Taco Bell, New York Pizza, Subway, a Chinese restaurant, 3 Mexican Restaurants, a Sushi place, Shivers (old fashioned fast food place), Citrus Grill (nicer sit-down), EggWorks (sit down cafe), Cafe Express, McDonalds, Wendy's, a bakery and 7-11. It's really insane!
    
98. Holy cow 100 things is a lot and I can't believe I'm not done. Okay. I used to think I wanted 14 kids, and would tell people this. I don't know why I picked 14. I stopped this when I met a guy who actually did want 14 kids ("at least"). He thought he'd found his soul mate in me, and I had to do some fancy back peddling to get out of that spot. I was 18 at the time.
    
99. I used to be a fan of Krispy Kreme donuts. I also used to have a gall bladder. Thanks to a late-night "Hot Ones" donut eating fest with my friend America when I was pregnant with Gator, I had my 1st attack and learned that I had gall stones. Now I'm stone and gall bladder free. But I still don't get donuts very often.
    
100. Finally! My last tidbit is that my goal in life is to always continue growing and becoming a better person. I don't ever want to plateau out. I also hope that I become someone who is charitable in the true sense of the world. I have a friend who stated that their goal is to become a holy man. I don't know if I'll ever be a holy woman in this life. But I'm trying to be the kind of person that I know God wants me to be. And I'm grateful for the people along my path who help me in this effort every day. Especially Doc!
     

Bunch

Bunch has had some fun experiences lately too. Her grade had a Colonial Days celebration this week, where the kids dressed up and got to try foods and do various activities that children did during the Colonial era, like tin punch, quilting, making a doll, etc. I helped out with the photos of them dressed up. Here are a few I took:

The night before last, as an act of spontaneity, I took Bunch and two of her sweet friends to see the ballet Snow White. Four of our neighborhood friends were performing in it. Miss Sara was dancing the part of Snow White, while two other friends were happily both cast as dwarfs which was perfect for these darling girls.

We arrived at the theater only 5 minutes before the show was to start, and as I was running to the box office, a man called out to me asking if I was going to buy tickets. I told him I was, and he said he had four tickets we could have. I thought he was scalping them, and the fact is, I was planning to purchase the cheap seats...and kids tix were discounted even further. I assumed that no matter what, it'd save me money to get them at the office. "Thank you" I replied to the man, "but I've got 3 kids, so their seats would be less than adult tickets".

"Are there four of you? Because I've got four tickets. You can just have them. No charge." He said, handing them to me. Then before I could really thank him he disappeared.

"Mommy, you are so lucky! Things like this always happen to you" Bunch said to me as I looked around to see if we could find our benefactor, but he'd vanished.

"Are they good seats?" the girls clamored. "Yes. They're very good seats" I told them, noticing that we were in Row J, Center Orchestra. We were directly in front of the stage, only ten rows back! It was a fun example of a pay-it-forward moment, and the girls were all thrilled.

two dwarfs, five friends

It was great to see the show, and the wonderful talent of these girls. They all did a marvelous job. I have such a great appreciation for people who work at developing their talents and sharing them with others. They add a richness and beauty to life with their efforts, and inspire me to work more diligently on my own.

Gator

A few notes about my darlin' Gator.

Yesterday while I was at the school, I noticed the bulletin board outside Gator’s classroom had a new display. His poem and creation is below. Gator is such a sweet, sweet boy!

When school got out, he offered to carry his sister's backpack home. Chivalry is not dead ladies!

We just finished reading a few works by Shakespeare together, including Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. He really enjoyed the stories, and as far as I could tell he understood them too. (He's years beyond me when I was in 2nd grade) This boy is getting cultured!

A few nights ago we joined Doc and his study group, aka “The Girls”, for dinner at a restaurant across the street from our home. Before most of us had gotten started on our food, Gator was finished with is quesadilla…which is the only thing he would deign to eat at this particular restaurant. Gator is what I like to call a selective eater.

Of course as soon as he was done eating, he was bored and wanted to go home. Problem is, there was a busy, six lanes of traffic between this restaurant and our home, and we hadn’t started our food yet. He would have to wait.

Keeping this eight year old boy entertained isn’t one of my strong suits, but in a stroke of brilliance (these things occur at random moments during alternating decades as a rule) I pulled my digital camera out of my purse. “Why don’t you take some pictures Gator?” I showed him the basics and let him have at it.

We all enjoyed our meal in peace, and Gator had a blast taking pictures for the first time ever. When the battery died, he finally surrendered the camera, and I looked forward to seeing what he’d come up with when I downloaded them. Turns out there were over a hundred pictures. Maybe he’s stumbled on a new hobby or talent. We’ll have to see where this leads.

I don’t want to consume all my storage space by posting them here, but am happy to present to you selections from:

Life Through The Eyes
Of An Eight Year Old Boy
Trapped At A Restaurant

Dead Trees

So we went on our litter walk for Earth Day, and while we were out, I decided to take some pictures of the dead trees that have been condemned on the property that's being developed.
Glory Hallelujah they've been born again!

The sunset tonight was breathtaking. Nice benediction for the day.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day isn't something I grew up celebrating. I don't know if it was just us, or if a day hadn't yet be declared in which to honor our beloved earth. I first became aware of Earth Day during our years in graduate school. Prior to that, the closest we got was Arbor Day.

Today we are celebrating the earth by going on a litter walk to pick up trash. There's a lot of it nearby because we live off a busy road, surrounded by restaurants. Before moving here our family would often go on a litter walk and collect trash around the park and the trails around our home. It was much more like an easter egg hunt for the kids back then, because they were smaller, and there was much less trash to be found. We always had a snack or treat to eat when we were done.

Also, I'm going to start documenting a project starting next to our home. A large building which had been the State Board of Realtors home for 35 years, but which they outgrew and sold off to a developer, is about to be torn down. In the 3.3 acre space that we look out at, this developer has convinced the (small number of) local authorities and powers that be, to grant him permission to build eighteen single family dwellings on the space. Currently there is a large parking lot, lots of green and many trees sharing the area with the building.

I am quite annoyed by the whole thing for many reasons. First, I liked the former residents. They were realtors, and they'd stop by during business hours to pass their exams and get supplies etc. It was a great business to have next door. The parking lot was a nice short cut through to the neighborhood we're essentially isolated from on our little horseshoe. We walked through it to visit friends, go to school, church etc.

Second, the building would have made an ideal community center or new library (two things our township is addressing). But the asking price was out of reach for the township, and it went to this developer with deeper pockets.

Third, the developer is going to put a fence up around the premesis, and build this PUD (Planned Urban Development). These PUD homes are to be fairly small, no yard, with only 10 ' of space between homes. There will be a one-way street through the development, and they're gearing the homes towards empty nesters. The price range I've heard is $450+.

Because of complaints and concerns from local area residents about the impact of all this building, the developer agreed to build around the existing healthy trees. They hired a Tree Doctor (I wonder if tree medical school is as intensive as Human Medical School?) to come and assess all the trees there. It was the middle of winter, with no leaves on any of the trees when they had this assessment done, and wouldn't you know it, there happen to be several trees that are dead, which need to be removed. So the took blue paint, and sprayed these trees with the word "DEAD" on the trunks. I thought to myself how it's very convenient that these trees happen to be smack-dab in the middle of where a cash-cow PUD home needs to go. Too convenient. Especially when you look at them now, all covered with green leaves and buds. Looks funny with the word "DEAD" spray painted on the trunks.

Anyway, on earth day 2008, I just wanted to gripe a bit about commercial development that doesn't give any consideration to local communities and the impact and needs of the residents. I admit a lot of my annoyance stems from the proximity of this project to my front door. I don't relish living through the demolition and construction of the 3.3 acres I happen to live next to. The noise, traffic, debris, pollution, increase in strangers hanging out around my home...all of it galls me. I wish we as a community were better at reusing a perfectly fine building for a purpose that it was well-suited to (in this case, a professional office complex, dentist/doctor, library, etc) instead of killing trees and tearing it down to build the thing that will squeeze as much profit out of the space as the developer can get his hands on. It kind of makes me sick.

I'll end with a shout out to trees and good people everywhere by sharing this poem that I love:

Good Timber
by Douglas Malloch

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

Mom

Twenty years ago today, I pulled into the driveway of the house Doc grew up in with our friend The Strump Man, aka Kwis.

I had just finished up my 1st year of college. Doc and I were deep deep in love, and had planned for me to travel to his home town in Chicagoland to meet his family. He would be leaving in a couple months for a two-year mission in Argentina, and we were angling to spend as much time as possible together.

His family knew I was coming of course, but they weren't expecting us till later the next day. Kwis and I had thought we'd need to take more breaks, but ended up just burning rubber for two straight days. We got to their hometown at about 9:15 pm on April 21st...which happened to be Doc's mom's birthday.

My first thought when we pulled into the driveway was that the house was absolutely enchanting! It was a beautiful English Tudor, with a long, graceful lawn stretching out before it. Doc hadn't ever described his home...in fact when he'd visited mine (which was a study in contrasts compared to his), he'd said it was "about the same as his". I'm sure he meant to be kind and put me at ease...or maybe he was just so blinded by love, so bedazzled by the force of my overpowering beauty, that he just didn't notice the surroundings I grew up in. (If you're taking bets, I'd put yer money on the first option.)

Kwis and I got out of the car and paused in the dark. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Doc's parents had purchased him a round-trip flight when he'd flown out to college, and his return flight wasn't till the next day. So I would be meeting the family without him present (!) You must realize that I fully expected these people to be my future in-laws at the time. Needless-to-say, I was grateful Kwis was there.

We rang the doorbell, and within a moment I watched through the glass as a couple of cute, squirrelly little boys and a delicate, pretty young woman appeared in the foyer, followed by the most beautiful mom in a bathrobe you've ever seen. She just looked angelic to me.

For a moment, I felt bad arriving right before bedtime. Maybe we should have slept at a rest stop I thought. But then the door opened, and the warmest welcome of my life was extended. My nerves were quickly forgotten as Doc's mom pulled me into a big hug and said, "Oh! This is the best birthday present I've ever received...a new daughter!"

A pause is in order here, because as any regular readers of my blog might have gleaned, I'd kind of been "up for adoption" for as long as I could remember. I wasn't really accustomed to, nor was I expecting such complete acceptance when first meeting these people. But mom singlehandedly made me feel so welcome, so much a part of the family, that it quickly felt like I'd known them forever. Twenty years ago today is still among the very happiest moments of my life. It was a significant turning point for one very lucky little jeul.

This past Saturday, we got together with the family to celebrate mom's birthday. Those cute, squirrelly boys are not so little anymore, and they have cute, squirrelly little kids of their own now, as does the lovely young woman. It was such a joy to be with these dear, dear people who have become my tribe. And for twenty years, in concert with dad, mom has stood at the head of that tribe, nourishing, guiding, loving, serving, mom-ee-ing and leading each of us blessed enough to have found ourself counted among her people. She also feeds us yummy food all the time!

Here are twenty random shots from our fun afternoon picnic in the park to celebrate the past 20 years of my life with you as my mom. I don't know how I managed before you! Happy Birthday today, and may you have 40 great ones more! I♥you!