March . . . Out Like a Lamb . . . NOT!

31 March 2017

Yeah, so much for the whole "In like a lion, out like a lamb" thing! Looks like today's shaping up to be a lion too!

You'd think, after all these years, I wouldn't get my hopes up. Ah well, what can we do about it?!? Maybe it's going out like a lamb in some other part of the country.

Noctambulism

30 March 2017

Weird word, huh? It's sleepwalking . . . also known as somnambulism. I really didn't know the scientific terms for it until today myself . . . 'cause it's the first time I looked it up.

Interesting phenomenon. There are some people who do crazy things while sleepwalking: raid the refrigerator, take walks outside, conduct orchestras, paint and draw. There have even been people who've killed other people while sleepwalking . . . some found guilty, some found not guilty.

Your mom was a sleepwalker. It started in Denver when she was about 5.

Before that, your mom suffered from Night Terrors. The first time that happened, it scared the daylights out of me! She woke up in the middle of the night . . . screaming! When I got into her room, I tried to comfort her, but she was rigid. I looked closer, and her eyes were almost glazed over . . . she wasn't really awake.

There was no Googling then, so I made an appointment with her doctor. I'd never heard of Night Terrors. I asked family and friends . . . nobody seemed to know what they were. I went to the library and found an article in a medical magazine. They're not like nightmares . . . they happen in deep, non-REM sleep . . . people who have them are not aware they happen.

Your mom had them several times a week for years . . . all I could do was sit with her so she didn't hurt herself . . . eventually she'd lay back down and sleep through the rest of the night. There's no cure . . . you just have to wait on the central nervous system to mature as they are generally caused by being tired, stressed or over-stimulated.  They stopped when we moved to Denver.

But the sleepwalking started.

I was sitting downstairs watching a movie when I heard someone talking, so I turned down the volume and realized it was a child. It was so weird! When I got up to look around, I saw your mom sitting at the top of the stairs . . . I thought she was awake, so I walked up to put her back to bed and realized she was still sleeping. I don't know how she didn't fall down the stairs! I picked her up and put her back to bed.

A friend of mine had a little one that actually got out of the house during a sleepwalking episode . . . luckily it was summer, so she heard him crying . . . he was standing on the sidewalk outside their house! She had to put locks on her doors to keep him in.

Scared, I put chain locks on our doors . . . out of your mom's reach. We had cougars and coyote that roamed our neighborhood in Denver!!

THAT went on for years . . . until she was in middle school!

The scariest sleepwalking incident happened in our old house here. I had put the girls to bed and gone downstairs to finish cleaning up the kitchen before I could call it a night. At some point I heard a "thud" from upstairs. Thinking one of them had fallen out of bed, I expected to hear footsteps. I heard nothing else, so I didn't give it much thought.

I finished up about 11 and turned off all the lights to head to bed. When I got upstairs, I checked to make sure both girls were sleeping. Erika was tucked in . . . snoring quietly . . . I closed her blinds to keep the morning sun out. When I walked into your mom's room, I noticed her comforter was gone . . . AND SO WAS SHE!!! I looked around the room, but she wasn't there. Thinking she might have been the one to fall out of bed, I just assumed she might have crawled into my bed. She wasn't there either!

Panic! And prayers!! I tried to allay my fear with prayer!

I went back to her room to check the window . . . thinking someone had gotten in and taken her . . . that would explain the "thud" I heard earlier. But the window was closed. I frantically searched the house . . . upstairs and downstairs. No Caitlain!

I turned on all the outside lights and walked around the house, looking for something . . . still thinking someone had taken her. NOTHING!

I was about to go next door to wake my neighbor who happened to be a police officer, but I thought one more thorough search of the house might be in order. I literally looked in every corner . . . every closet . . . under everything . . . STILL no Caitlain. My bathroom was the last place I looked, and it had a hidden area I hadn't really checked . . . a corner I couldn't see from my room.

She was there . . . wrapped in her comforter . . . talking to someone . . . fast asleep!

My heart pounded out of my chest as I scooped her up and laid her in my bed. She slept soundlessly through the night, but I didn't.

Thankfully those nights ended, but worry never ends. You simply trade one worry for another . . . those ended when her teen years began.

Psalm 46: 1God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea 3though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging 4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place there the Most High dwells. 5God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

UT's World Record - The Largest Human Letter

29 March 2017

"A person doesn't really become whole until he has become a part of something that's bigger than himself." ~ Jim Valvano

The logo to raise awareness for the university's endeavor to get into the Guinness Book of World Records

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this happened last year:

Today, as part of Al Roker's "Rokerthon" . . . a trek across the country in search of people breaking world records, The University of Tennessee broke that record when more than 4000 people showed up to do this:

If it weren't happening at 5:30am, I might be there . . . that's just too dang early!
 
Funny what people grab onto . . . the things we do . . . but really, it's kind of cool that these lighthearted moments exist.

Al Roker, The Today Show weatherman, at The Rock on campus

Stadium, t-shirts, and Al Roker faces . . . ready to go!

 

And it's been done!

Attack of the Fiddler Crabs

28 March 2017

It seems every time I write a story for you, a new memory surfaces . . . it's to the point that I have to write subjects down on a list so I can remember to write! Problem is, I sometimes forget to take them off the list as I write, so if I repeat myself . . . 

. . . well, I'll try not to do that too much.

I know a lot of people; most of them are scattered across the country . . . between growing up in the Navy and moving around a lot on my own, I've left a number of friends behind. In the past, if you didn't write letters on a regular basis, eventually people lost touch with each other . . . memories fading . . . links gone.

My parents kept in touch with a number of people that Dad served with through the years, and as I grew into an adult, I enjoyed getting to know many of them . . . even visiting them. Some I love almost as much as my own parents.

Mac and Sue are one of those couples, and I love them dearly!

When your mom was little, and we still had strong ties to Louisiana, we'd occasionally stop and visit with them on our way to or from Baton Rouge. They used to own a fish camp, which was cool, and on one of our visits, we stayed with them for a couple of nights.

The house was situated pretty close to the marsh . . . brackish water . . . the smell of seaweed permeated the air . . . rising and falling with the tides. Boats launched there snaked through the many tributaries . . . sportsmen wending their way to the ocean for a day of fishing. Gators and frogs sharing space in this mix of fresh and salt water with mudskippers and crab . . . water that's not quite fresh but not nearly as salty as the ocean.

Mac and Sue had a huge in-ground pool that was just behind the house.

Here's the thing about animals . . . water is water. Crabs, frogs, and gators, unlike fish, are able to cross land.

Yeah, you definitely wanted to check the pool BEFORE jumping in!

One morning we watched as the automatic vacuum sucked hundreds of crabs into it's little net . . . Mac scooped hundreds more. Fiddler crabs. We called them hooligans (there's another story for another day).

These creatures, at least the males, have one giant claw and one small claw . . . the giant one in constant motion . . . as if fiddling! Scientists still have yet to come up with a reasonable explanation . . . studies suggest it's for temperature regulation. Really? Is that the best you can come up with? Others believe the males use this one claw to attract females. Logic dictates they battle with those claws!

A violator of natural symmetry, they're really weird looking!

I think if I were a female Fiddler Crab, I'd take one look and skip . . . I mean, really, ONE giant claw?!? Whatever dude . . . I'm outta here! There's a handsome blue with two normal claws over there; I believe I'll check him out.

Anyway, that evening, after we unloaded the car and were getting ready to relax for the night, your mom realized she'd left something in the car. She was 5 or 6 at the time . . . quite capable of going to get it by herself. It wasn't dark yet, so I wasn't concerned about letting her go alone.

A few minutes later there was a blood curdling scream!

My first thought was that someone had grabbed her, and like a shot her dad and I were out the door . . . Mac right behind us!

We came to a skidding halt when we saw the freaky scene . . . your mom was standing in the middle of the driveway . . . blanket in hand . . . surrounded by tiny terrorists waving single gruesome claws! Fiddler crabs had managed to sneak up on her and take her by surprise, and she was freaked out!!

Thankfully these crabs are small . . . not really "hunters" . . . generally eat only dead, decaying things. Your grandfather stepped over them and scooped your mom up . . . saving her from . . . in her mind . . . certain death!

One Fish, Two Fish . . . The Guy Was a Dish But He Blew It

27 March 2017

 I have always loved books!! It's amazing how the world opens up when you read . . . books can transport you through time and space . . . take you to new places . . . inspire a curiosity like nothing else.

It was through a book that I discovered one of my favorite artists, Wassily Kandinsky, but again, I've sidetracked myself!

Dr Seuss books were my all-time favorites . . . in some ways, they still are. When my dad read them, they truly became magical stories; he gave the characters their own voices (he did this when he read us anything). Now, I can't really tell you which story I loved the best because they're all so good . . . pretty sure I mentioned that ABC book of his that had my name in it . . . so that was cool. His books will come up in future posts because my life was so influenced by Seuss's imagination.

Today's entry is all about One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish . . . how it led to one of my most horrifyingly embarrassing moments!

I also found redemption, but it would come much, much later!

Living in Key West, fishing was a favorite pastime. My dad wasn't what you'd call an avid fisherman (he preferred to spearfish), but occasionally we'd toss a line into the water at my Uncle Fred's house. The cool thing about fishing in the ocean is that you never know what will hit your line; it's really a lot more fun than freshwater fishing (in my opinion).

So anyway, as Dad read this book, he'd tell me all about the fish in the sea . . . the red snapper . . . the green snapper . . . the yellow snapper . . . the blue snapper (as they're depicted in the book . . . at least that's what he told me). That information, combined with actual fishing experience and a very young, malleable mind, led me to believe I had, at one time or another, caught all four colors of that fish! Naturally, I grew up believing that the snapper came in a variety of colors . . . why wouldn't I?!

Flash forward . . . I'm now 21 . . . living in Florida again.

I met this really cute guy who had a really cool boat, and he asked if I liked to fish. I hadn't fished in years, but how could I say no to a really cute guy with a really cool boat? One Saturday morning we set out on our first . . . turned out our only . . . fishing expedition. He was so sweet . . . even baited the hook for me (by 21 most all of the "tomboyishness" had settled into the back of my mind, so I'd turned a bit squeamish).

It was a beautiful day . . . blue skies . . . not a cloud . . . the water was calm and almost glass-like. I'd packed a picnic lunch for us. I was sporting a new bikini . . . wearing my cool Ray Ban sunglasses . . .  just like the ones that Naval Aviators wore. I was ready to catch fish!

If you know anything about fishing, calm waters and bright mid-day sun don't really lend themselves to actually CATCHING any fish, but I don't really think either of us cared that day. We chatted while we watched our lines . . . about nothing and everything; not only was he cute, he was funny . . . and a great conversationalist. I could see this was going to go somewhere.

At some point I said . . . trying to impress him with how much I knew about fish . . . "Do you think we'll catch any Blue Snapper today?" My favorite color at the time being blue and all.

He gave me a really funny look and replied "Ummm, what?"

I said . . . again . . . "Blue Snapper. You know, Yellow Snapper, Red Snapper, Green Snapper, Blue Snapper!"

"Well," he started, "there is a Red Snapper. There's a fish some call a Yellow Snapper, but it's not really a Snapper. But there's no such thing as a Blue Snapper or a green one either!"

Now, at this point, I should have just laughed it off and made out like it was a joke, but nooooooo . . . I flashed. I mean, seriously, I'd lived in Key West and had actually CAUGHT these fish!

And so the argument began . . . I was going to stand my ground on this one because he was obviously not a real fisherman.

Day ruined . . . we returned to the boat launch . . . he took me home . . . an uneaten picnic lunch in my hand.

He simply drove away . . . no goodbye . . . nothing.

I called my dad . . . indignant! Dad would reassure me that yes, Blue Snapper were real.

"Hey Dad," I barked into the phone, "remember when we lived in Key West and we caught those Snapper . . . you know, the red, green, blue, and yellow ones?"

"What are you talking about Yo?"

"Seriously Dad, don't you remember those fish we caught when I was a little girl?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Dad!" Then it hit me . . . Dr Seuss . . . Dad's fun stories . . . everything. I hung up and sank to the floor.

I should have called the guy back and explained, but I didn't. I'd already embarrassed myself enough, and I just couldn't take the ridicule I was so sure he'd mete out.

There was no internet then, so actually checking to see if these fish existed didn't happen. I chalked it all up to a life lesson and went on with my life.

Not long ago . . . and I have no idea why . . . I actually Googled Blue Snapper. Can you believe it? There is indeed a Blue Snapper (well, a Blue-Green Snapper to be exact). It does not swim in the Keys, but it's real!

 I only wish I could remember that guy's name so I could call him and up tell him! HE'S the one that blew it that day! And my dad was right after all!!

"I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities!" ~ Dr. Seuss

The Pirate Mystery Comes to an End

25 March 2017

It appears that my the gift of mystery I began receiving at Christmas last year has finally come to an end. I got the last two installments just recently.

A box I had to open with a hammer along with more letters!

It appears to be a real whale's tooth!

There's even a map!

You obviously had to add your two cent's worth

The last gift that arrived!

And yes, I do know who sent it . . . wasn't a really HUGE surprise . . . but the sender did a really good job of keeping the secret!! I don't think it was too hard to do since the things that actually arrived in the mail were surprising to the giver as well.

No, I won't give the giver up . . . not right now . . . just let everyone wonder for a while . . . 

. . . because I can!

Well played . . . 

"Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand." ~ Neil Armstrong

Monsters From the Deep

24 March 2017

Yesterday's story about what makes toddlers cry reminded me of a funny story . . . about me and your Auntie M.

We were pretty skittish kids sometimes . . . if you'd been raised by my dad, you'd be skittish too . . . monsters of all sorts were the center of his bedtime stories . . . sea monsters figured into them quite often since he was a sailor.

Living in Key West was cool . . . always at the beach . . . never cold . . . lots of kids around . . . pretty laid back place in the late 60's.

But living there came with its own brand of dangers too! Once time we were playing football in the back yard, and I was playing center . . . at 4 years old, that's pretty comical since the ball barely fits between your knees! I remember squatting down, and then suddenly feeling a very sharp pain where the sun doesn't shine! Turns out I was sabotaged by a wasp . . . wasps were prolific down there!

Of course, Key West is an island . . . Mile Marker 0 . . . surrounded by the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico! The ocean is full of remarkable creatures . . . remarkable AND sometimes frightening! We'd seen octopus and jellyfish wash up on the shores . . . sand dollars . . . seaweed. Mom and Dad had a curio cabinet full of objects and animals Dad had collected from his ocean dives: starfish, conch shells, coral . . . some REALLY cool stuff. Obviously my sister and I were quite familiar with ocean life.

And then this happened:

We were over at Mr and Mrs Pedersen's house . . .  they lived on one of the many canals that snaked across the keys . . . for dinner. We'd arrived early, so my sister and I wandered outside to play. Nobody really seemed to worry about kids much in those days . . . wandering around by themselves . . . around water . . . with dangerous creatures lurking. The Pedersen's had a boat launch below there house . . . where they could pull their boat out of the water into a lower garage. We were on the concrete . . . right outside that garage door . . . playing near the edge of the water. And then THIS wandered out of the water . . . up onto the concrete . . . mere feet from where we were!!!

It threatened with feelers and claws . . . looking at us with black, beady eyes! Death only steps away!!! Neither of us had seen such a deadly creature before, so we ran screaming . . . alerting my parents and their friends to the impending doom!

Since you have no point of reference on this photo, let me just tell you this . . . the THING that crawled out of the water that day was HUGE!!! Big enough to eat us alive I tell you! Okay, maybe not quite that big, but remember, we would have been about 4 and 5 at the time, so to us, it was ginormous!!!

Of course, all of the adults came rushing in to save us, and upon finding the "monster of nightmarish proportions" to be a simple Key Lobster, laughed at us. We were nonplussed. To make matters worse, my dad picked the thing up, took it upstairs to the kitchen where Mrs Pedersen prepared it a warm bath. Yesssssssssss!!! They cooked AND ate it!

If you look closely at the Key lobster, he's not nearly as frightening as his North Atlantic counterpart, the New England Lobster . . . those suckers have huge claws that could snap a finger off!

As all kids do, I eventually grew up . . . found what my parents loved about lobster: when cooked, they're rather delicious! There's a huge difference in the taste as well, and I do prefer the New England lobster.

 I've even been back to the Keys to actually catch lobster; that's something else! You have to put your hand into their hidey holes and drag them out. Nothing beats the taste of freshly caught and cooked seafood!!

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." ~ Jaques Cousteau

How to Make a Toddler Cry

23 March 2017

It's funny what makes kids cry! I was checking out a Buzzfeed post today that featured the stupid things that make kids lose it . . . here are a few examples:

• Mom told a little girl she had a big brain . . . little girl didn't want a big brain
• Dad suggested a toddler boy should play with his train . . . toddler boy didn't want to play with his train
• Little boy couldn't wear his brother's boots

That list could go on.

Some things that made your mom cry when she was a tiny tot:

• Strangers wouldn't acknowledge her greetings
• Touching grass
• I once wouldn't give her a napkin (she shredded napkins into tiny, tiny pieces)
• Not enough rubber bands
• Too many rubber bands
• If we wouldn't give her "stick" (she called tape stick) when she asked
• The caveman doll her sister got for Christmas
• Turning the TV off when her favorite commercial, one about chicken, was playing (there was Cajun music in the background which she loved)
• Putting Erika, when she was a baby, into the wrong side of the car, your Mom's side
• Reaching the end of a book

Most times, once the waterworks started, she was inconsolable . . . drove me nuts for a while until I figured out how to deal with it . . . 

. . . I just had to wait out the storm.

Wish I'd hung on to this thing . . . this caveman made a grunting noise when you squeezed his belly!

"Toddler (noun): emotionally unstable pint-sized dictator with the uncanny ability to know exactly how far to push you towards utter insanity before reverting to a lovable, cuddle-able child"

5 Months Old

21 March 2017

Can't believe it!! You're 5 months old today . . . you can roll from back to front and front to back . . . you've gotten up on all fours . . . your smile is so bright . . . laugh infectious!

Make Plans! Just Don't Expect Life to Follow Your Self-Charted Course

22 March 2017

Ask any kid between the ages of "When They Start to Talk" until about the age of 25 or 26 how they expect their life to turn out, their eyes will light up, facial expression will reflect excitement (or maybe a little fear), and you'll likely get an answer that includes specific information:

"I'm going to grow up. Go to college. Become a doctor. Buy a Porsche. Get married and have 2 kids. Live in a house with a pool. Retire when I'm 62. Travel."

It's a popular question in job interviews:

"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

To which you're supposed to give the interviewer a solid response:

"I plan to get my PHD and teach English."

Life is just chock full of possibilities . . . the world is your oyster . . . accept the challenge and plan accordingly. There's nothing wrong with making plans!

Now, ask anyone over the age of 50 . . . "Did your life turn out like you planned?"

Their eyes will suddenly shift, and you'll see something different roll across their face. They'll become thoughtful . . . introspective . . . and simply say "No. Not really."

Most of them will add this: "But that's okay. I'm not where I pictured myself, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Ask me . . . this is what I'll tell you: "All the roads I chose led me directly to you."

Did I make bad decisions along the way? Did I do anything stupid? Was I successful anywhere? Would I change anything? Do I regret something?

Doesn't matter how you answer those questions because you can't change history. Sure I made some pretty poor decisions. Yep, I did some really stupid things. I was as successful as I worked to be (that's important to think about). But change anything . . . regret anything? I suppose there are some regrets, but if I had the chance to change them, I'd skip. Because all the roads I chose led me right straight to you. And you, Dean Thomas, have filled my life with a joy I've never known.

I ran across this not long ago, and it made me laugh hysterically . . . because it's kind of funny when you really think about it!

"Sometimes God closes doors because it's time to move forward. He knows you won't move unless your circumstances force you. Trust the transition. God's got you!" ~ Unknown

Vernal Equinox or in Layman's Terms: The First Day of Spring

20 March 2017

Yep, I Googled it. Oh, I know what the Vernal Equinox is, but I like to see what comes up when I hit the search button.

I found this website: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-vernal-or-spring-equinox

Maybe it will work for you one day . . . maybe it won't . . . things come and go. But here's an excerpt:

What is an equinox? Each equinox and solstice is an astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and ceaseless motion in orbit. The equinox is also an event you can think about as happening on the imaginary dome of our sky.

The Earth-centered view is that the celestial equator is a great circle dividing Earth’s sky into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The celestial equator wraps the sky directly above Earth’s equator. At the equinox, the sun crosses the celestial equator, to enter the sky’s Northern Hemisphere.

The Earth-in-space view is that, because Earth doesn’t orbit upright, but is instead tilted on its axis by 23-and-a-half degrees, Earth’s Northern and Southern hemispheres trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly, as Earth orbits the sun. We have an equinox twice a year – spring and fall – when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and Earth’s orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis is inclined neither away from nor toward the sun.

At the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally. Night and day are approximately equal in length. The word equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night).

But, since Earth never stops moving around the sun, these days of equal sunlight and night will change quickly.

I like when the sun crosses over into the Northern Hemisphere . . . it means MORE sunlight! My whole outlook changes when there's more sunlight!!

"In the Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt!" 

~ Margaret Atwood

Sunday Diversion

19 March 2017

I cleaned my desk out Friday . . . found something I'd meant to take to my mom . . . never delivered . . . obviously stuck it in a drawer and forgotten. It was just a little cartoon, but I wound up with a pang of guilt nonetheless. I wish I had taken it to her . . . she would have thought it pretty funny!

You and your mom came to church this morning, and I was the lucky nursery worker that got to hold you all morning. I don't normally work in the nursery, but I fill in when someone can't make it. Otherwise, I try not to be a "baby hog" since so many of those people at church want to hold you and love on you!

I do pray you ALWAYS feel that love!!

My truck had a problem, so after church we dropped it off at the shop . . . we had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant . . . where we hadn't been in a while . . . then you dropped me off at the car rental place so I could pick up a car. I have to work tomorrow you know.

I wound up in Chattanooga. Seems your Auntie E has developed a very severe allergy to her hedgehog, Ollie, and I was lucky enough  to find someone to take it. That meant I had to drive down there to pick the little guy up.

We visited with your Uncle Scott and his stepson Logan . . . had pizza. I do enjoy hanging out with Scott . . . he's not near as mean as he used to be . . . but that's another story!

Your Auntie E shed a few tears saying goodbye to Ollie.

"You might delay, but time will not."  ~ Benjamin Franklin