Promises, Promises

I just read a comment by Uncle Dan that reminded me of a family story.
Uncle Dan said "I am always leery of anyone who promises the moon."

One day I heard one of my brothers trying to bribe his younger daughter to do something, He promised one thing after another. I did not say anything, but became increasingly annoyed. Finally I had had enough and blurted out "Well, why don't you just promise her the moon and be done with it!"

He never missed a beat. He smiled at me sweetly and confessed, "I can't do that. I have already promised it to her sister."

Random Thoughts....

We have had a few drops of rain here and it has cooled off....well, "cool" is relative.
Now guess what HEB has on sale....FIREWOOD! and we aren't even allowed to have open fires.

For several years I have attempted to view the wonderful meteor showers that should be appearing every August around this time. I never have any luck. I stood out in the backyard, in my jammies, staring intently at the eastern sky for about 15 minutes. The mosquitoes found me and I gave up. I did not see one "falling star."

Thank goodness for Jazzercise! I have to psych myself up to get out and get there, but I always love it after I arrive. Still walking 2-3 miles most mornings. Need to start riding my bike to prepare for my biking trip. I'll never be a triathlete like the rest of my family.

I have some good ideas for Christmas presents for the children this year. Hope I have enough time.

ChaMo went to a vocal workshop with me Wednesday. He has such a good voice and he is growing up too quickly. I am sure these years will go quickly. He and Em will both be in 6th grade. ChaMo is taking drama and Em is taking French.

I so dislike seeing people chew gum when they are speaking to a group. Did you see the guy on "America's got Talent"? He was voted off. I wonder if others were repulsed by it as well. The next day, I sat through a meeting where the leader of the group led the whole meeting while chewing her gum. I just couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. I kept thinking she should tuck it into a hole in her tooth until the meeting was adjourned. I wonder if this means I am getting "crotchety."

Happy Birthday "W"

A very happy 1st birthday!

Home Alone.....

All the hearts are settled in Colorado, well....as settled as they can be.

My heart just melted when I put Abs on the plane Saturday, after all she had been my constant companion for the last six weeks. Seeing the world through her eyes gave me a new perspective. I also have a new perspective on her world and the challenges she faces. No, I don't have any answers and I am not always full of patience for her antics, but she just brings such life to this world.

I goofed when I left packing Abs' bags until the last day. I had thought she would be anxious without her accoutrements, so I waited. The good thing was that her cousins, Chas. & D.A. were over for the day and served as a distraction while I packed things up. Abs could check two items and have a bag to carry on. First, I told her that the oversize dinosaurs would each require a seat on the airplane, so they would have to stay here until they could be delivered. Then I told her to bring all her things, including those left behind by other family members, so I could pack them.
The three children made several trips to pile my bed high with all the possibilities.... sigh...it was an overwhelming task. Finally, I packed the suitcase to sitonthetopandzipitup and stuffed a large box with everything else I could fit in. The bicycle pump, petrified rocks (legally acquired), plethora of books, and sundry other treasures will have to wait. I have a sinking feeling that much of it will be waiting until they move back to Texas.

The children are like little puppies. I think they all roll in the dirt as soon as I let them out the door to play. I gave Abs a quick bath, did her hair, and she dressed for her trip. We had made a quick jacket since she was leaving the 100 degree weather of Texas and heading into the 40-50-60 degree weather of Colorado. Whatever the temperature there, she was sure to feel cold.

I had been explaining everything Abs might encounter on an airplane from air pockets to oxygen, and reminded her that the pilots were professional and she could ask the flight attendants about anything she might not understand. she was very confident, but subdued. She asked a ton of questions at the airport. She had a bad case of the "What ifs...." for a while, a trait inherited from her mother. Fortunately, she stood quietly while I signed her in. She asked questions the rest of the time....
"What is that thing moving in the back?"
"The conveyor belt for your bags," I answered. That led to a flood of inquiries on her quest for information.
"Where does it go?
"Does it make a loop?"
"How will my bags get off?"
"How will they know which airplane to put them on?"
"What if they get lost?"
"Why do we have to prove who we are?"
"Why do I have to pull my shoes off? No one could possibly hide anything in their shoes!"
"What does that machine do?"
"Will it X-ray my bones?"
On and on, right up to boarding time. Then Abs became very quiet and hugged herself to my leg as if she could never be pulled away. Only the thought of her family waiting for her in Colorado, moved her to board the plane. One small girl carrying two bags filled with dinosaur books, colors, reading material, beading materials, and her supper - peanut butter sandwich, grapes, 2 oreos, dried cherries and raisins.
"I am a little scared," she admitted at the last minute.
There were a half dozen unaccompanied minors travelling on this flight, all older and appearing more experienced. Thankfully, a mature young lady about 12 years old, stopped at the gate and took Abs under her wing. Abs never looked back. She was off an a new adventure.

The house is very quiet now. I am not yet accustomed to the fact that there is no one else here and that "quiet" does not mean someone is into something. I have not had to fish Q-tips out of the toilet. I do need to buy some eye shadow since the last lot was turned from caked into powdered, but it had been cleaned up and that shows progress. The TV does not blare cartoons when I turn it on and there is not a trail of clothes and towels leading to and / or from the bathroom. When I put something down, it will still be there when I return...in the same spot....in the same condition. I am home alone....for a while.....

When All is Quiet on the Homefront

Abs and I had a wonderful trip. It is rather like childbirth, you forget the bad parts and only remember the good parts. There were plenty of good parts to remember, but Abs does not take "change" well, so there were a few difficult times too. Gunner was supposed to be in Colorado by a certain date, but he waited until we returned before he left so he could visit with Abs. ABW stayed a few extra days to run a triathlon, rested, then drove straight through to Colorado with two little hearts. Abs stayed with me. We dangled the offer of an airplane ride in front of her, like a carrot in front of Goozeberry, as temptation to stay. She will fly out Saturday.

This will be Abs' first flight since she was about 3 years old, so it will all be new. I have been filling her head with information so the ride will, hopefully, be smooth for all concerned. It is nonstop and her family will be waiting. Knowing ABW's desire to always be on time, they will be waiting at the airport long before the expected flight arrives.

My time with Abs has not been dull by any means.
"Don't blog about me!" she says, but we do.
Life with Abs deserves to be shared. So I choose a few things to share. They brighten my day, in retrospect, and I hope they brighten yours, serve as a reminder of fleeting childhood and that people are more important than things....or what someone else thinks.

With her parent's permission, I took Abs for a haircut. She had chopped a hunk off front and center and it was beginning to grow out. She is rivaling her brother's cowlick right now. She had also chopped a hunk off center back, but it doesn't show when her hair is down.

Before haircut

After haircut
"Doesn't that shirt belong to Em?" I asked Abs when I first saw her wearing it.
"She gave it to me," Abs said.
"Well, that was nice of her," I said, knowing Em is not fond of sharing her clothes with Abs.
"Yes. I touched it and she said it now had cooties, so I got to keep it," Abs told me matter-of-factly, but with a touch of sadness.

Abs has really been busy these last 3 weeks with me. She looked positively angelic serving as an acolyte Sunday morning. She has read "The Last Olympian" 6 times ( I offer new books, but she prefers to reread this one); painted plaster-of-paris dinosaurs, colored, and colored, and colored; pasted fabric on a sweatshirt for a project we are doing; strung beads, beads, and more beads; gone to 2 plays; gone to the park, played in the sprinklers ( mud and all); written letters using Egyptian hieroglyphics; built with Legos; played with cousins; etc., etc., etc. Ask her what she did and she will say "Nothing."


"This is a Drakon. It has hard scales and bright eyes, like spotlights. Most have no fire, but this one breathes fire so she can light campfires. She is several millennium older than dragons."

Abs plays quietly in the bath for as long as I will allow. That time has been getting shorter and shorter. The rules are:

• Don't add water to the tub
  
• Don't splash the water out of the tub
• Don't water the plants
• Leave the shampoo alone
  

Without strict supervision, she waters my tub-side plants to overflowing. When I asked why a giraffe planter was standing in an inch of water -
"I don't know how THAT happened!" she said with great surprise.

I shampoo her hair to conserve shampoo and water, but the tub was filled to the brim with bubbles and the shampoo bottle was empty -
"I didn't do anything," she said, "just swept my hands back and forth and all these bubbles appeared."

We are almost to the point of having water rationing here since we have had no rain for 60+ days and temperatures in the triple digits. Therefore, I request that Abs not add water to the tub. O.K., O.K., it is also because she tends to overflow it. Invariably, if I don't check on her often enough, I return to find a tub filled to the top with water, the tap "just trickling" in her eyes, "running" in my eyes, and Abs happily "surfing," and water everywhere.

Sleep? Abs lines up her 10-12 animals just so; snuggles down under 4-6 blankets, afghans, and quilts; says her prayers; then we call her mother. ABW talks to her for 1/2 hour, sings her a song; repeats the song as many times as Abs can commandeer; says goodnight and I turn out the lights.
"Turn the fan on; I'm hot!" she shouts from under her pile of blankets. Taking some of them off is not an option in her opinion.
Abs paddles in to get a drink of water....and again....and again...I am getting frustrated.....

Quiet reigns. I go back to check and find Abs reading. I take the bulb out of the lamp (I learned this from her mother). The overhead light is too high to reach easily so I make threats....
I return later to find her reading by the night light. I promise to remove it if she reads any more. Many people would be thrilled to have their children spend that much time reading. I used to read by the light of the moon

Last night I did not check again until I went to bed. All was quiet, I had left her snuggled and sleepy-eyed, and had congratulated myself on finally getting everything under control. I stayed up way too late and headed down the hall to go bed about midnight. The overhead light from Abs' room was shining brightly and I figured she had left it on after reading too long. I slipped in to turn out the light and take a last look at her angelic face in quiet repose. I discovered her sitting in her bed, fingers fairly flying as she twisted pipe cleaners into shapes "for my daddy." She had made a bunch of "large fish," a large "fish net", a small "fish net", and many small "fish (anchovies"). The "netting" was based on our visit with a Paiute elder we met on our trip, who was demonstrating the craft. It was midnight!

Abs is preparing for her trip to her new home in Colorado. I have warned ABW that, although I have washed all the clothes, and Abs has been wearing underwear all week, now she has none.
There is never a dull moment.

I will miss her, but right now it is very quiet and I need to see what new surprise she has in store for me.

Trip with Abs - Heading Home - 5 July 2009

The Elderhostel program was over and we left St. George, Utah, to head home. Abs' family was preparing to move to Colorado and Gunner was waiting to give her a hug before he left.

I decided to make a couple of stops that were not out of the way and thought Abs might enjoy.

Somewhere I missed a turn and missed the weird houses I had seen previously but we did get a closer view of Glen Canyon Dam. Abs must have been a little anxious to get on the road because she declined to take a tour of the inner workings. Of course she did want to visit the attached book shop where we ended up with another book on dinosaurs.
We stopped early enough to drive through the painted desert

and visit the Petrified Forest (free with our National Parks Pass). The Ranger Station had scavenger hunt papers and Abs was all into it. She earned a pin and a patch and learned something in the process.

Abs was fascinated by the petrified wood.

She found it particularly interesting to see how dry the area was and learn how the trees had once stood straight and tall by a big lake that was frequented by dinosaurs. It really brought the entire picture into better focus.

Of course, we are never to busy to watch the rainbow and remember the promises God has made to us.

We watched the sun set as we headed back to our last night in a hotel. We would make it all the way home the next day.

Travels With Abs - 7/4/2009 - Kanab, Utah

We left Ruby's Inn and headed back to St. George via Kanab, Utah.

We stopped for a brief look at Red Rock Canyon, before we left the enticing colored cliffs.

Scott Richardson joined us in Kanab to explain more about the excavation and freeing of fossils from their surroundings. He also showed us some of the latest finds. What an exciting time for paleontologists!

Abs holds the "toe bone" of a dinosaur that had teeth at least 6" long.

Scott explains the fossilized impressions of dinosaur skin.

This plaster model is the only thing left of a rare find from several years ago. The original skull was stolen and probably resides now in the museum of some private collector.

Fossils are carefully collected from sites and transported in "plaster jackets." The pieces are put together like an ancient jigsaw puzzle, often without a photo to guide.

They must be carefully pieced back together to tell the story of the animal.

Sott Richardson holds the bone of a dinosaur that had a broken leg. The leg was partially healed, but probably left the creature vulnerable. Many bones show teeth marks and other trauma. Paleontologists can piece together many of the stories the bones leave behind.

We spent a little time in the museum. They had a Junior Ranger program, but Abs was the only one interested and she did not have enough time to finish.
A visit to the local rock shop was a joy for rock-loving Abs. She shops for rocks like I shop for fabric. She did end up with a small trilobite for her Aunt Kr to make into some sort of jewelry for her.
Lunch was served at Frontier Movie Town where there are many old sets from movies, many of them filmed in Kanab and surrounding areas. The sets have been brought to this central location and are fun to wander through and take photos. No charge!

Lunch was preceded by our group's acting in "How the West Was Lost." We all put on costumes and followed the set script while a man ran around frantically taking photos. The photos were available later for $10.00 each. Fortunately, they sold out to doting grandparents before I saw them. I don't imagine I was very photogenic in my Indian garb with camera, and other items I carried for a couple of children, hanging off me, but it was fun.

We had a very nice barbecue lunch. Abs only ate rolls and drank lemonade, I limited the rolls to two and gave her an apple on the bus. I should have tucked a jar of peanut butter in my purse.

It did not seem like the Fourth of July. We were visiting the museum when Kanab had their town parade, but we were headed back to St. George and were assured our hotel was a great place to see the fireworks. That was an understatement! I think the whole town gathered in front of our place and we joined in the family atmosphere. I cringed when someone pulled a pick-uo truck in front of the building, opened the door, and turned the radio up to LOUD, but when the fireworks started, I discovered they were set to the music on the radio station and we felt like we had front row seats. It was one of the best firework displays I have ever seen. A barrage would go off at the park a few blocks away, and while it was reloading, we were treated to another display on a nearby hill. The two sites kept up a constant, heavy stream of fireworks for the entire time. no downtime to wonder if that was all there would be.
Finally, I felt like the Fourth of July had arrived.