Every man's memory is his private literature. ~Aldous Huxley

You get a line and I'll get a pole, Honey,

You get a line and I'll get a pole, Babe,

You get a line and I'll get a pole,

We'll go fishing by the crawdad hole,

Honey, Baby, Mine....

Years ago when we were looking for our future home, we determined that we wanted to have a creek in the back yard. I grew up out in the country. I was a tom-boy if ever there was one. We had every critter known to man, cats, dogs, parakeets, turtles, ducks, horses, rabbits...

I loved climbing trees, playing in the creek, and roaming in the woods for hours. What an adventure. There were crawdads, salamanders, minnows and snakes. There were huge muscadine vines that hung from the trees and we used to swing over the creek on them. There were hours of "childish boredom" which have since become cherished memories.

I was a very lucky girl. Yet, I did not realize it. I don't think most children do. So today when Baby Girl came running in with a crawdad from the creek, I was so happy. I am so glad she and all the kids have gotten to enjoy their own wild kingdom.

When I hear I'm bored, I secretly smile. It is in these moments of languishing by the creek, daydreaming from the branches of a tree, or lazily contemplating what to do next, that our future sweet memories of childhood are born...

Nate the Great, My Hero

This is the first blog I have typed since Nate fixed my computer. This is my Mother's Day gift and if it works, it is the best! Really even if if doesn't work, it's the best because of the thought and effort behind it.

This computer has the wacky ability for the cursor to jump all over the board while you are typing. And since I hunt and peck, albeit very efficiently; it is very annoying! Nate is pacing around me as I type. He is our resident computer genius and W.O.W. /World of Warcraft expert. However, around here we call it the World of Warcrack for the obvious addictive reasons! Nate is a level 80 priest and a mage... whatever that is! And apparently that is supposed to be top secret...shhh. He is also a member of the alliance, the good side, which is also a secret...shhh.

Anyway, he came home from co-op really tired today after exams. I was on the internet looking up new computers and prices which definitely got his attention. He then groaned and took the computer from me to try and fix it. Where upon I very subtly, with all the southern grace and charm I could muster, yelled at everyone else reminding them, "Hey, Sunday is Mother's Day and I would love to receive what I ask for every year and NEVER get... a clean house!"

About that time I turned to Nate and said if you can fix this that can be your gift to me. I have been typing all this time and Nate has been pacing and it has only done it once at the beginning and I'm so hoping I hit something by mistake. In the past it would do it every few words. Sooo this is great! Kudos to Nate. You are my hero!!!!
Now back to the clean house... hey, where did everybody go???

Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at? ~W.S. Gilbert

One exam down and one to go...I was up most of the night studying for the algebra final. Tomorrow is statistics. I am going to be so glad when these classes are behind me. I bet y'all will be glad too. No more whining!!! Well, at least not about math...

I should not whine at all, but I must confess I do. Wow, I feel better now that this tawdry little secret is out. Whew...

Anyway, I sent my teachers thank yous for their unending patience. However, I thought you might enjoy my post script to my statistics professor.

P.S. Dr. C,
I will never look at any data or polling information the same way again. The intelligent thing to say is that now I will be more critical and well-informed. However, the truth of the matter is I will forever be eternally grateful to the people who can live through the process of producing data to enlighten us without shooting themselves....

And that's the truth!

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! ~Dr. Seuss

E. and Baby Girl are building forts with the grands in the den.

Every blanket we own is draped between the chairs and coffee table.

The house is indeed a mess for those over 18 and at the same time a magical world for those under 10. I hear them crawling here and there, creating more rooms...I remember...don't you?

Forgotten Language

by Shel Silverstein

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?

How did it go?

Conspiracy of the Band of Brothers

Before this recent swine flu concern, there have been other flu scares through the years....

One year when the children were much younger, the public was warned to get vaccinated. Being a dutiful, health conscious mother, I explained the flu concerns and the solution to the children. Needless to say no one was enamoured with the plan to inoculate ourselves for protection. Really, being stuck with a needle goes against every child's sense of self preservation.

Every objection was quickly over ruled, however, and every one was loaded in the car for a trip into town. Once at the doctors, we were ushered into the lab. I was holding Baby Girl while everyone milled around casually. Nothing seemed amiss, until the unsuspecting nurse entered the room...

Suddenly, someone barked a command and the volley began... All 3 boys began pelting the nurse with acorns from their pockets. Shocked, I called for them to stop, however the attack continued until their pockets were empty. The girls innocently stood by smirking. Helplessly holding Baby Girl, I just stood there in shocked disbelief. Speechless, I hardly knew how to respond. I stammered an apology however, after a few choice words the very unhappy nurse turned and left the room.

The boys cheered and laughed. Their mission, carried out with military precision, was deemed a success. Meanwhile, the nurse went to report the juvenile delinquents in the lab and get reinforcements. I ordered them to pick up the acorns while questioning what they had been thinking....What indeed.... the consensus was that it was self defense.

Eventually the nurse returned and everyone took their shots. However, there remained an air of defiance in those young faces, a look of smug satisfaction. This small band of brothers had faced the enemy and while they did not win the war. They had stood their ground bravely. It was a victory if only in principle. Never again would anyone ever underestimate their resolve or their valor...

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. ~Alex Haley

Well, Pop, out did himself today. He is a great Dad and an awesome Pop.
Today, Ma and the children used side walk chalk to create Lollipop Land on the driveway. Pop was outside admiring the art work when he told the grands we used to have a lollipop tree but it died... "This is where it used to be," he continued. "We planted another tree there..."
By now N. is observing the new tree only to shout for joy at the sight of several strategically placed Dum Dum Pops.
The older kids are snickering quietly saying we shouldn't try to encourage this nonsense. Hey... this nonsense is what makes childhood so magical...

Who, being loved, is poor? ~Oscar Wilde

"I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife."
~Author Unknown

The newlyweds arrived home from their cruise last night. Now mind you, the newlyweds have been married since 2007, but it's still so sweet seeing them together.

"Come, let's be a comfortable couple and take care of each other! How glad we shall be, that we have somebody we are fond of always, to talk to and sit with." ~Charles Dickens

Nothing makes a mother happier than seeing her children happy and nothing can make you love and appreciate someone more than when they love, honor, and protect your daughter. Thank you son; we always knew you were a keeper!

"When the one man loves the one woman and the one woman loves the one man, the very angels desert heaven and come and sit in that house and sing for joy." ~The Brahma Sutras

We watched their video documentary of the cruise; it was hilarious. We laughed and laughed. Thank you both for sharing your joy...

"There is no such cozy combination as man and wife." ~Menander

J. you are awesome and such a perfect addition to our family! I am so lucky I got another super, awesome son!

"A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short." ~Andre Maurois

The best part, this one I didn't have to birth! Kudos to his mom and dad...

"One of the best things about marriage is that it gets young people to bed at a decent hour." ~M.M. Musselman

Oh, so true...

Hunting...

Nights seem to drag on endlessly lately as I struggle to finish algebra and statistics while simultaneously stalking every job available like some beastly predator. I hate this feeling of desperation. I guess in that respect these courses have kept my attention diverted from the immediacy of the need for full time employment. That is good. I will plan to go to school forever if necessary. Never again do I ever want to be at the mercy of so many.

Work has been slow but with exams only 2 weeks away I can use the time. Ma is much better. Today was her 26th birthday...where does the time go? We watched the children for her so she could clean her apartment. You know your daughter's growing up when she uses her alone time to clean! Seems like only yesterday I could not see her bedroom floor...at all.

Later this month when the newlyweds get back from their cruise we are going to celebrate. One things for sure with 6 children and 2 grands; there's always a party somewhere :) Sleep tight, America, as they say "life is good" but it's also really, really hard sometimes...

Hypokalemia... Say What ???

You are what you eat or rather what you don't eat. Thursday was spent in a local E.R. Ma, our oldest daughter, has been unable to sleep lately. She is a divorced mother of two with sole custody of our 2 beautiful grands. We help her out quite a bit. I honestly don't know how single moms with no help do it. Anyway, I digress.
In addition to being unable to sleep she started developing uncontrollable tics i.e. jaw clenching, head jerking...She and the grands had come to stay with us so we could help her and hopefully she could rest.
As a nurse of 30 years with 6 children of my own I am usually pretty calm, however when she woke me Thursday morning she was pale and could not control her movements...I figured possibly we were dealing with lack of sleep, stress and possibly an electrolyte imbalance of sorts.
However, what ever it was had my daughter trapped inside an uncontrollable body.
"Mom whats happening to me.." with pleading eyes...that was it. She has no insurance but at this point the probability of a monstrous E.R. bill pales in comparison to the possibility of something happening to my baby. Eight hours, several blood tests, 1 C.A.T. scan, some ativan (no not me) several doses of potassium and a i.v. with potassium, we are back home.
My troops have stepped up to the plate running the home front.
Gratitude and exhaustion flood my soul.

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. ~John W. Whitehead

For the second time this week, E. has surprised me. The first time was his first class organization of the Wrestle Mania event. The whole thing went off without a hitch and I had nothing to do with it! My kind of affair!
Tonight they are calling for frost and E. surprised me again. I asked if he could help me bring my plants in and put them under the porch. "Sure.." he says and disappears.
Later, I go out to make sure all the flowering beauties had been gathered.

What a surprise awaited me!

All the plants had indeed been gathered and creatively placed in a toy tent.
Out in the yard my flowering plants had been tenderly covered with bags, beach towels, and buckets.
E ? " Yeah?" Did you do this? "Yeah" This is great; thank you!

"Well, your plants are so pretty and I didn't want them to get messed up like they did last time."

And I smile, somewhere deep inside I realize, just like that,
my son is becoming a man.

Ironic...

Tonight, the house is filled with young boys who pooled their money to rent Wrestle Mania. The organization really was remarkable. Some brought the sodas, some the chips; we provided the pizza and the place. The labor unit was quiet all weekend, so much so that I was called off 2 days in a row! Tonight as we attempt to keep Wrestle Mania on the television and not on the living room floor, the hospital calls...you're kidding , right? Alas, life can be so ironic...

"Dogs have owners; cats have staff...." Enough said...

This is for Baby Girl. She wants a blog about cats. Since we are insane enough to have 5 in addition to various other critters, I shall oblige.

Local Environmental Emergency...

Skipping school today... for weeks I have been throwing items of clothing, papers, books, makeup, who knows, into various cluttered piles. It is time to clean and straighten before the Center for Disease Control intervenes...If I do not emerge with-in 24 hours call the authorities...

Yesterday....

Yesterday was hard, Memaw.
It's been 2 years since you left us.
I did not want to be alone with my thoughts.
I kept busy for the most part.
Later I visited the cemetery. You were there... but not there...
Someone had taken your vase...Who does that?
Modern day grave robbers; they can not have a soul...
We visited, rather I visited. I miss you and I always will.
It's not that all was perfect between us...but the older I became the greater my respect for you grew.
Life is hard but you stood up to the challenge.
You were a very strong woman;
you made me who I am
and I thank you.

Statistics + Algebra = 1 Unhappy Nurse

It has occurred to me that if I enjoyed statistics and algebra and found it to be as intriguing as studying the body, perhaps this time spent on these subjects would not seem so laborious.

Definitely algebra and statistics are sciences unto themselves. The information builds upon itself and intricately intertwines.

In mathematics a correct evaluation of an equation produces the correct answer. Whereas, in nursing though the answer to the equation of illness can never be so precise or immediate, in short, an efficiently functioning body produces health while inefficiency produces illness and disease.

Medicine could be called mathematics with a face. Too bad we don't have all those nifty little equations!!!

There is Always Hope...And Sometimes Sweet Surprises.......

Today was going to be complicated, no matter what...I think it's called life.
I was to work 11-11. Pops had a job fair to attend and somehow this weekend I had to take a statistics test and study for two more...yeah, complicated.
Before dropping into bed last night, I probably complained more than I explained, that I didn't know how in the world any of this would work out. Actually, I think that is the key. As you will see, it did not work out in this world...exactly.
And just what does that mean? Well, after a too late night, I awoke to the alarm. Instantly I'm thinking ...I would have been called off by now if that was going to happen. I fly through my morning routine. Then, just as I was preparing to leave, literally, just as I'm about to walk out the door, one of the nurses called," Might I want to stay home?"
Are you kidding me? Heck, yeah, I wanna stay home! I'll figure out how to make up the hours later. Needless to say I was amazed, relieved, thankful. The adjectives are as endless as His provisions.
Just a short, sweet reminder, when you don't know what in the world to do; step outside the world just a minute and talk to the one who does! Away I go; all those lovely numbers and formulas await.( This last comment was laden with sarcasm.)

Blessed...

For me the day began with an air of desperation ..." a state in which all hope is lost or absent." Last night at work I learned there still is no position for me. I work as needed but, with Pops unemployed, we must have benefits.
The uneasy truth is that in addition to this job and school... more than likely soon there will be another job. Pieces of me scattered here and there.
Henry Miller's words echo, "The tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we're passing one another without a look of recognition."
The day passed.... evening brought surprising comfort. One by one the gang assembled, unplanned and unscripted. T came home from school and began his brotherly duty of teasing Baby Girl, E, and Nate. Casually, the Newly-weds dropped by and were followed by Ma and her little ones.
Suddenly, amid all the laughter and chaos, all was right with the world, at least my world. That moment in time was perfect...I am blessed.

Morning Musings in the Garden...

It is warm, oh so warm, outside...the daffodils have recuperated from the recent snow and the cats are basking lazily in the sun...Baby girl is running across the yard bare foot, later emerging in flip-flops.
There is a hint, mind you a hint, of green everywhere. My mind begins ticking away with a list of plants to move, hideaways to create, as I sit lazily in the back yard swing.... Aaahhh....
I wander back inside. I am on spring break from school and I took the week off from work for baby girls B'Day. My grand plans.... to play catch -up in the house, i.e. spring cleaning, go through every bodies clothes, work in the yard and work on home work....yeah... that last one is a real bummer but soon algebra and statistics will be behind me, hopefully, f o r e v e r !
A year for the BSN, two for the MSN; it's a necessity. Pops is unemployed at the moment. Yes, America, we feel your pain...
T is home for spring break. It's nice to hear his low drawl in the kitchen...or should I say growl. "Where are the bowls"..me-Under the counter where I moved them a year ago.No, the plastic ones we always used to have"..me- I gave those away we use the real ceramic dishes now..." Mommm....I loved those bowls, why did you do that..."
From here he wanders into the dining room to torment Nate or any other sibling he can find.. I sure have missed that boy.........................

Morning Musings over Coffee...

March..." In like a lion, out like a lamb..."
Just this past week-end we had snow...falling silently over my newly emerging daffodils...It was beautiful, quiet, serene...
in my mind!!!
Reality...kids running in and out, squealing ,
wet shoes off, dry ones on,
wet gloves off, where are more gloves???
Hot chocolate, snowball fights and a diseased looking snowman
(You did not hear that from me).

Baby Girl was born in March, I took the week-end off so we can celebrate....
Build a Bear here we come!
Somewhere a bear groans...

" Good Morning, America, How Are You..."

Off to school to get more learning (tongue in cheek)...um...a higher education. When I get home we'll work on that first home-school segment. See ya later...