A Mother's Message

Okay.... yes, I do know I'm a day late with this, but it was a busy weekend.  Laura and Mary, this song has always had such meaning for me and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  I love you both so much!  That will never change, no matter how big and grown up you become.


In my daughter's eyes, 
I am a hero,
I am strong and wise, 
And I know no fear,
But the truth is plain to see,
She was sent to rescue me,
I see who I want to be,
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes,
Everyone is equal,
Darkness turns to light,
And the world is at peace,
This miracle God gave to me,
Gives me strength when I am weak,
I find reason to believe,
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger,
How it puts a smile in my heart,
Everything becomes a little clearer,
I realize what life is all about,
It's hanging on when your heart has had enough,
It's giving more when you feel like giving up,
I've seen the light,
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes,
I can see the future,
A reflection of who I am and what will be,
And though she'll grow and someday leave,
Maybe raise a family,
When I'm gone I hope you see,
How happy she made me,
For I'll be there,
In my daughter's eyes

Baby Steps

Today, as I was driving home from work, I mentally took that first step..... I decided it was time for me to put on my walking shoes and heed the doctor's advice.  I needed to get started with an exercise regimen.  My feet had pretty much healed nicely from my recent minor foot surgery, so there was no time like the present.  I phoned Luis and said we would meet at the track for a walking date!

It was a very nice day at the track.... there was a nice little breeze and it wasn't too hot.  I like the track on base because it's made of cork or recycled tire rubber or something like that.  Whatever it is, it's easy on the knees and joints (for us old geezers who care about such things).  I had my IPod set on shuffle mode and I was hitting my stride on the back end of lap one.  Luis stuck with me, even though I could tell I was holding him back.  Halfway through lap two, my legs got slightly crampy and I slowed it down a bit.  By the end of lap two I was veering off toward the car.  I found myself a shady spot and stretched out my cramps while Luis did another lap.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't a 5K marathon, but it was a start!

Unfortunately.... (and this is where it gets BAD).... there is a Burger King within smelling distance of this nice track.  (Who planned that one, I want to know!)  Luis was the first one to catch a whiff and he twisted my arm into stopping there for our dinner.  (Okay, he didn't have to twist my arm TOO hard.)  So, to reward ourselves for the first day of my new healthy exercise regimen, we went through the BK drive-thru and ordered Whopper Jr.'s.  Hey, what can I say?  I'm weak!  And Luis is an enabler!

We can look at this one of two ways.... yes, you could say that the burger defeated the purpose of the exercise we did.  Or you could say that at least exercising before the burger was better than just having the burger minus the exercise.

So, I'm setting a new goal for tomorrow.  Some more exercise MINUS the burger.  Of course, there's that brand new Coldstone Creamery on base too and I can sometimes hear it calling my name.  I bet if the wind is blowing in the right direction, I might even be able to hear it from the track!

Lord help me!  My intentions are good, but my willpower needs some serious work.  But hey, tomorrow's another day!  Wish me luck.

My Big, Fancy, Impressive Word of the Day: Modicum

Mod·i·cum   [mod-i-kuhm]    noun
a moderate or small amount

Example:  "I proved today that I do possess a modicum of willpower when I resisted the temptation to order that new - and OH SO CUTE - baby girl paper line from Bella Blvd just because I MIGHT need it some day!"

Now tell me.... Are you more impressed by my vocabulary or by the "modicum" of willpower that I displayed?

Just Another Manic Hump Day

Yes, today was another stressful day in the salt mines.  So, at approximately 10:30 a.m., I decided that I needed a break.  I strolled across the street to CVS to stock up on some much-needed essential workday survival items.  I returned to my office loaded down with the following:

1.  A box of Animal Cookies - for those moments when I feel the urge to bite someone's head off.  (Trust me, these moments can often occur 2-3 times on any given day.)

2.  A new journal (or should I say another journal?) and some ink pens - to jumpstart my second career of becoming a bestselling author.  (I've been preparing for this one for the past 30 years.)

3.  Some Snickers Easter Eggs - because some days the animal cookies are just not enough.  Those days call for chocolate!

4.  A Southern Living magazine (with food on the cover, of course) - because I've become a true southern belle since we moved to Georgia.  And in the South, we like to cook and we like to eat.  (Personally, I just prefer the eating part.)

So, after my little break, I felt somewhat better.  I was pretty sure that my little stash would be enough to get me through the rest of this day.  And it did... I made it!
Tomorrow is Thursday and who knows what challenges await for me..... Hey, it's a tough job working for the government, but somebody's got to do it!

Memories of an old, dear friend....

A very dear friend from my childhood has been on my mind a lot lately.  We were almost inseparable as teenagers.  But - as it often happens - time, marriages, families, and distance - life in general - caused us to lose touch over the years.  Now, thanks to modern technology, we have found each other again and I am hopeful that we will be able to forge a new friendship.

But first, I would like for Susan to follow me down memory lane for a bit.  I have some very fond memories from the 70's and Susan and her family played a large role during that time.  Of course, a lot of our time was spent at the skating rink in Petersburg.  I just lived for the weekends when we could hang out together.  Naturally, she was the cool one and I was just along for the ride.  And any ride with her was a wild one, for sure!  She was a force to be reckoned with and fearless.  I knew no one would dare mess with me as long as we were together.  Thanks so much, Susan, for being my body guard!  haha

But the very best weekends, for me, were the ones when I could go home with her to Emporia for the weekend.  Spending time with her and her family was such a treat!  Yes, part of it was about my wanting to get away from my situation at home.  I remember when things were very bad for me at home, I would sometimes call her and beg her to let me come spend the weekend with her.  I was so thankful when she always said yes!  I don't think I ever really told her how much that meant to me.

And don't let me get started on her mother.  I worshiped her like a saint.  I know that the two of them often did battle - don't all mothers and daughters? - but I thought Susan was the luckiest girl in the world to have her.  She was a very special lady.

I loved our weekends at her house, just hanging out.  We did whatever we felt like.... stayed up all night talking about boys, slept late, sunbathed in the backyard, played tennis at the park behind her house, swam at the motel pool, tried on makeup and every piece of clothing we both owned.  Emporia was a very small town with not a whole lot to do, but we managed to keep ourselves entertained.

We didn't have cell phones or computers or Ipods.  We had endless imaginations and we were happy as friends. I miss those days and I sometimes feel that our kids today are missing out because they have too much to distract them from the really meaningful things in life.

Susan, I know that you are going through some really tough things right now with your family.  I am praying for you and I hope that you know how much I love you and how much I care.  If there is anything I can do to help, all you have to do is ask.  I hope that one day we will be able to rekindle our friendship.  I would dearly love to get to know the woman that you have become.  I just know you are as awesome and amazing as the childhood friend I remember.

How is it Possible.....

that my baby girl is turning 25 today?  It seems like only yesterday that I was in the hospital, holding the cutest little butterball I had ever seen.  

It was obvious that she and her sister would be the best of friends.

Over the years, Mary has blessed our family with love, laughter, tears, happiness, and joy.  Her little footprints have been felt on all of our hearts.

Now she is all grown up with a family of her own.  I am constantly amazed by how easily she has stepped into the role of being a mother.  She has endless patience and love for her two boys.  It's obvious in everything that she does just how much she loves them.

Mary, we love you and miss you so much.  You have such a beautiful family.  My only wish would be that you all lived closer to us so that we could see you more often.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday.  Your family here in Georgia loves you very, very much.  

Just Another Workday Meltdown.... (aka: Just One More Reason Why I Love My Job)

Setting:  Me, in my office at work, on what you would think should be a normal, relatively calm Thursday, minding my own business, trying to keep my nose above the stacks of prisoner files that are threatening to bury me alive at any moment....  So far, nothing out of the ordinary....

Enter from Stage Right:  Three of our deputies - who, in the interest of anonymity, shall remain nameless.  Let's just call them Deputy M, Deputy P, and Deputy G.

Deputy G has been sent into my office by his supervisor to explain the circumstances of a recent incident that happened in court earlier in the week.  This explanation was necessary so that I could give a semi-intelligent response to all of the hundreds of family members who had been calling about it all morning.

Meanwhile, Deputy M is also in my office looking for some missing files and asking me questions as he looks.

Bringing up the rear is Deputy P who is also looking for something (I wasn't sure what) and talking on his cell phone and grumbling, all at the same time.

Now my office isn't all that big, so it was definitely getting a little crowded in there and I was feeling the meltdown coming on.  Plus, there's the issue of my hearing problem and the fact that I couldn't understand anything that all of them were saying.

All of a sudden, it happened.  I threw my hands up in the air and shouted (simply to be heard over the din, I'm sure).... "Would everybody PLEASE be quiet!  Now!  I cannot understand what anybody is saying when you are all talking at the same time!  Stop it now!"

Well, needless to say, that got their attention!  Deputy M and Deputy P made a beeline for the door and escaped.  That left only Deputy G standing there, with the "deer in the headlights" look on his face.  If I hadn't been so frustrated and stressed at that point, I would have felt sorry for him.  He finished our conversation as quickly as possible and he made a run for it also.

I understand (through the office grapevine) that my meltdown was the topic of conversation in the squadroom during the afternoon.  Oh well.... it isn't the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.

So... I think that the lesson learned here is that, as much as I hate this getting old thing, it just might have one advantage.  You can sometimes act scary and crazy and get away with it.  Combine that with my spiked up, "psycho" hairdo (as Mary likes to call it), and they attribute it to senility and shake their heads, saying, "Stay out of her office; Gail's having another one of her meltdowns."  And I'm thinking, "Ahh... peace and quiet at last!"