Friday Photo

No introduction needed.

And there you have it.

The Smart Car.

I don't know why, but I find this car to be incredibly annoying.
And every time I am driving behind one I just have this urge to...
To...
To...
Inch up...
And tap it.
Bump it from behind.
Just a tiny bit.
To see if it will crack open like an egg.


I know. It's not rational. But it is what it is.  
And this urge stirs from deep within my being. 
It's very hard to control. 


However, even I was surprised when I came upon this car in the parking lot the other morning and still felt that same urge.
While walking.
So I had to take a picture and tell my story.

And that is the end.
Aren't you glad I told you?


Now I am on my way to the Caribbean for a week away with extended family. I will be traveling with Nikon. Hopefully, between the two of us we can have some far more stellar Friday Photos than the offering of today.

Bon Voyage!

Happy Independence Day!

and

God Bless America!

Rachmaninoff Rocks My World!

It's Thursday. Which is piano lesson day. 

And a reminder that I am way behind on posting the good stuff 

that has happened over the past few months.

Like this...

(Eh...watch the constantly moving fingers.
Not the constantly moving head of the man in front of me.
Or the constantly moving camera as it tries to avoid the constantly moving head.)

And then check this out...

Yup. 

He's finally learned that
If He Plays It, They Will Come.
A chick magnet in the making.

And thank you, ladies, for gifting him the lovely flowers.
That will never die.
We love you, too!!

: )

Puddles of Mud

Last week while babysitting Grandson One I got to experience one of life's great and simple pleasures.

Mud Puddles.

There was no rain, but the sprinklers had done a very thorough job one night,
Leaving the little parking lot dips full of murky, dirty water. 
       An undeniably magnetic attraction for toddler boys.


And so it was in one quick motion that Grandson One was jumping, 
Stamping, 
Splashing,
And squealing.
In the icky little puddles.
        This was very fun to watch and his face was filled with delight!

But it didn't take me long to recognize that his feet and legs were becoming a mess.
And then he bent down and slapped his hands in the water. 
And then he bent over and tried to drink it. 
And so it was in one quick motion that I was scooping up Grandson One.
       To keep him from ingesting the filth.

For some reason the idea of cleaning up his little arms and legs was not such a big deal.
And the messy splashes on his clothes would only need a snappy turn in the washer.
But when water like that goes inside?
       Well, some things can't be undone.

Experiencing this reminded me of a poster I once saw.
It pictured a pair of hands filled with drippy, sloppy, gooey mud;
The hands sharing the mud with another pair of hands,
While another pair of clean hands sat in wait.
And a caption that read,
       "Gossip: Don't Pass it On".

I am not quite sure what it is about human nature that makes this such a difficult task.
For some reason we enjoy the dramatic and the fateful.
And love to exploit the ugly and the weak in others.
And so we share untruths, part truths, or misunderstood truths
In an effort to gain approval, attention, or false admiration. 
Or maybe even in an effort to make sense of things that make no sense.
But no matter the reason, 
       If you play in the mud you are going to get dirty.

I learned a lesson about this the hard way.
I was in High School
And my friend had temporarily left me behind to join a more popular group of friends.
One Friday night they were late to the football game.
I thoughtlessly made a false remark about where they might be. And what they might be doing. 
       That they shouldn't be doing.

And they never made it to the game.
Because instead of doing what I said they might be doing that they shouldn't be doing,
They were actually in a car accident.
No one was seriously injured.
Except for myself. And my friend...
       Because I had slandered her name.

I have never been able to forget that night.
And I have never been able to forget how I felt.
There was nothing acceptable, admirable, or respectable about what I had done.
The harsh reality was that I had been the one doing something that I should not have been doing.
And I felt slimy, dirty, and icky inside...
       Because I had played in the mud.

Over the years I have come to learn that everybody has their own Puddle of Mud.
Their own dramatic, fateful, ugly, and weak.
       And it can be very, very tempting to play.

But just like the other day, as I watched Grandson One jump, stamp, splash, and sip,
And just like the other High School day so long ago,
And regrettably, just like other days since then,
I must remember that if I play in the mud I'm going to get dirty.
       And some things can't be undone.

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, 

but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing in a tempting moment."

Benjamin Franklin

B is for Baby!!

And Babysitting.
And Busy.
And Breakfast.

If you've read my post from earlier this week you will know that I have been Babysitting Kid Two's Kid One. And if you're like me, trying to make sense of that at the end of a long day makes the head a little dizzy.
So I'll simplify.
I've been Babysitting Grandson One. Since Monday.

This has been FABULOUS! 
I promise you that there is not a cuter, funner, happier, goofier, or awesomer Grandson One out there!
I am also pretty sure that there is not a Busier Grandson One.
And by Busy, I mean, Constant. Motion.
As in I could not snap a-photo-that-did-not-contain-blur constant motion.
At least with the iPhone.

Exhibit A:

And all week long I remembered that I am older than 27.
Because this is how it went...

On Monday it was meeting for lunch to make the Grandson One hand-off.
He decided to show off his awesome dunking skills.
At the dining table.
By dunking the pepper shaker in my water.
And then laughing hysterically.
I'll admit it. I laughed, too.

Tuesday it was grocery shopping.
Where I remembered that there is no good place in a grocery store for a 17-month old Grandson One.
Because they really, really do not like shopping carts.
And they really, really do like gravity.
And stealthily grabbing and hiding surprises in the cart.

I also remembered that I used to have a 4-month old and a 17-month old that I would shop with.
At the same time.
Which explains a lot about my brain...
Hmm.

Breakfast on Wednesday looked like this:

Grandson One, on the counter, helping me with breakfast.
And by helping me with breakfast I mean playing with my spice jars...

And throwing them on the ground...
And opening them...
And emptying half a spice jar of Coriander seeds onto the countertops and floor.

(Guess what? The dog doesn't know what to do with Coriander seeds, either.)

You should know that I burned 4 pancakes that morning. A new record.

And the Thursday highlight?
It's a fun one...

Me and Grandson One.
In the local hardware store.
Not holding onto each other because he is independent like that.
I turn a corner. He does not.
He hangs back to find a row of glass light covers right within his little Grandson One reach.
I had no idea they were even there.

Until...

Yup.
A big glass light cover launched into the air.
Once upon a time it had been shaped like a globe.
Pretty sure he thought it was a ball.
But it didn't bounce.
Instead it was more like this...

***CRASH***

Amazing.

Grandson One was a little stunned. But did not cry.
I was a little embarrassed. But did not cry.
We just left the store.
As. Quickly. As. Possible.
Sorry. No picture.

(Gladly, the store guy who had to clean up the mess thought it was amazing, too. He even said how super cool the shattering glass sounded. I wonder if he really meant that or if he was just trying to be nice?)

By Thursday night I realized that I really had started the week with every intention of taking awesome photos of this kid while he was in my care.
By Thursday night I also realized that this was an impossibility without the help of an assistant.
Or two.
Maybe three.
Not to mention the brand new "boy mark" on his forehead from a poolside fall.
(Yes, I totally watched as this happened.)
And by Thursday night I also realized that I did not manage to pull my real camera out of its bag.
Not even One. Single. Time.
And I gained a new respect for Photog Moms everywhere.

So instead of really awesome photos, Friday morning we went to the park and I snapped these.
With my iPhone. Again.

Grandson One likes to swing...

And ride...

And slide...

And RUN!!

Away.

From me.

Friday afternoon we did this...

CHALK!!

And this...

Where Grandson One's favorite part was this...

Splash! Splash! Splash!!

It was a joyous week!
And we had to work hard to get it all in.
But we did.

*Happy, contended sigh*

Now it's almost time to start the drive to return Grandson One to his rightful owner.
I feel really sad about this. It's been great having the little Buddy around.
And I am going to miss his Busy little hands and feet.

Even though they kept me from a few things.
Like Blogging. Which also starts with a B.
And showering. Which does not.
Unless you "Bathe".

And Summer Begins - Girl's Camp

You should know that I spent last week at Girl's Camp.
A five-day FunFest involving camp songs, camp food, camp fires, and camp-ing. In cabins.
Also involving high energy, high emotions, high drama, high stress, and high maintenance.
Also involving dust, dirt, heat, humidity, ticks, mice, and snakes.
And spiders the size of small hamsters.

Last year I wrote about the spiders here:

http://pointshootspeak.blogspot.com/2011/06/spider-proof.html

But this year Girl's Camp was surprisingly different from any other year. Ever.

For starters, the weather was...Awesome.
Last year it was hot enough to brand your heel on the sidewalk.
This year it was not.
Instead it was sunny and slightly breezy, with temperatures in the low 80s.
Perfectly Pleasant.
Except for that one night I couldn't sleep because I was...too cold.
Seriously. That happened.

And there was high energy.
But there was not high drama.
Or high stress.
Or high maintenance.
As for high emotions? Well, this is pretty much relative when it comes to teenage girls.
But I will be the first to unemotionally admit that the high emotions were relatively low.
Also Awesome.

But here is the most Awesome part of all.
I did not see even one spider the size of a small hamster.
In fact, I did not see even one large-ish spider.
Till the last night. It was outside.
And I only saw one medium-ish spider.
Also on the last night. It was inside.

The outside spider got to live.

The tick count was low. The mice count was high.
And there were moths.
I learned that some girls feel the same about moths as I do about spiders.
And they scream about it.
So now I have a new favorite Reason-Not-To-Be-Afraid-of-a-Moth quote...

"It's a moth! What's it going to do? Flutter??"

I did not make this up. But I really, really appreciate my friend who did.
Because at 1:00am it made me giggle. For a really long time.

And now a handful of pics for your enjoyment.

Our fearless leader.
Truly. Fearless.

Pretty sure the picture says it all.

Another fearless leader. Also Truly Fearless.

She brought us donuts between the 4:30am sunrise devotional and breakfast prep being complete.

I ate three breakfasts that morning.

And the next.

And the next.

Oy.

There was a fun relay race with these "waterskis".

When they work it goes like this:

When they don't it goes like this:

Fearless Leaders on the ground!

And here is a funny thing I learned about taking pictures of girls. 

If everyone is all dressed up and asked to pose there is much moaning and groaning. 

But slather them in shaving cream and start shooting and here is what happens...

It starts small...

And grows...

And grows...

And grows...

And grows...

Girls just kept running to be in a picture. Until no one within running distance was left.
Truly irresistable fun!

All in all, this year Girl's Camp was pretty much everything you ever want Girl's Camp to be.
And pretty much nothing of what you don't ever want Girl's Camp to be.

There was
Great Cooperation,
Great Unity,
Great Spirit,
Great Fun,
And really Great Girls...
Who on a scale of 1 to 10, I love far more than an 11.
Or 111.
And they are the reason I can hardly wait to go again!

Now on to this week's adventure...
Babysitting Kid Two's Kid One for five days.
So she can go to Girl's Camp.
Could it get any better?

Passing the Baton

For those of you who read the My PR post, this is my after-race report. Because I know you're dying to know.

1. The weather was amazing! Cool, sunny, and slightly breezy. Absolutely perfect running conditions!
2. It was fast running for most people.
3. Not for me.
4. This is okay. I didn't plan for it to be.
5. I got from this race exactly what I needed most.

If you didn't read the My PR post then you should know that I ran each mile dedicated in gratitude to those who have been beside me through some of the toughest times of my life. And this is what I found:

Gratitude begets gratitude.

This is how it went.
1. Instead of a race day mantra on the top of my hand I wrote 13 names on the inside of my forearm.
2. I began each mile with thoughts of that person; how they have served, and how they have loved.
3. I ended each mile with a very full heart. Then a new name stepped in while the other hung back.

A metaphorical passing of the baton.

The beginning and end of each mile was emotional. And profound.
The in between of each mile was serene. And meaningful.
And I quickly learned that I needed many more miles.
Because there have been so many more exchanges of the baton.

This was my tenth half marathon, and of all races, my favorite.
Not because of what I was able to do, but because of remembering that I cannot do it alone.
Nor do I have to.

Bonus: I got to run the entire race...with my hair down. : )

Richly blessed. And deeply grateful.