Tom and Atticus

I don't know if you have found them yet, but I insist that you must.

You think you know Atticus M. Finch from a particular book, but you are incorrect in this case. Atticus was a miniature schnauzer who did amazing things up in the Northeast. You can read about his life in the book 'Following Atticus' and on Facebook or Twitter by looking up Tom and Atticus.

Even though Atticus has passed, Tom still eloquently talks about him and his previous companion Will. Tom is probably the best writer I have ever read. He touches your soul with his words.

Samwise  Passaconaway is his newest friend with whom he spends his time and about whom he writes.

Reading what Tom writes is a joy. It is pure emotion and provides a visual that almost overloads your senses. I do not live in the Northeast, but I feel as though I have been there many times.

Tom's next book 'Will's Red Coat' is out in March and it will be a great read.

I love my dogs to the moon and back.

Ten Truths about Having Three Children

I haven'the written in a while and then I came across an article that grabbed my interest about truths on raising three kids. I have my own truths.

Here are my 10 truths from my vault of having 3 beautiful, intelligent daughters:

1. You don't have enough hands so you get a kiddie leash and teach discipline.

2. They are all very different and even when you think you know them, you have no idea.

3. You think you love each of them with this amazing "I will kill anyone who even looks at them wrong love" and they are thinking "she loves her more than me."

4. I don't even understand where all that funk in the bathroom comes from, but thank God for mommy-iron-stomach genes.

5. There is no such thing as treating them all the same. They are unique and require unique treatment.

6. They will team up two against one whenever it serves them unless they require the Power of Three to defeat the Momma.

7. There is usually an informer.

8. Quiet is not an option.

9. You always have an opportunity to retry some parenting that didn't work the first, or second time. Yep, did that...which gets back to a bit of #3.

10. When all is good, and even when its not, there is so much love, so much.

Did we really just have this conversation?

I laughed really hard last night. The conversation topic though was one I never would have thought I would ever have - with my daughter. We were on our way to the gym.  To yoga. Yuck. Yoga.  Who does yoga. And why.  Anyway...

We are driving along and all of a sudden Emmy looks up on a pole on the corner and says, "hey, is that new?"  It was a horn. Like a tornado siren.  But the conversation went instantly south. "So that's what they will use for the Hunger Game or Purge announcements if Trump is elected.  What district do you think we will be in?"  WTF is what I am thinking.  "What?!" I say.  She says, "so are we going to be like agriculture because of Dad or like science and technical because of you.""Clearly, we are going with smart and technical because of me!" I instantly belt out.  Agriculture my ass...if we're going out, we're going out on top.  I've seen the movies...

"Well, Mom, we need to find an architect. You know someone who can design a wall or a sturdy electric fence for the purge night."  WTF again.  "Em, all we need is a room. A safe room. We just have to survive 24 hours in a safe room and avoid hackers too." "And bombs, like nuclear bombs...," she says, "if he gets elected, so we have like six months."  "Nah, it would take a little longer for him to pass the Hunger Game or Purge laws so we would have a little longer." I said...WHAT AM I SAYING.  What are we talking about, actually laughing about. This election has created conversations that are hilarious, ridiculous, and scary all at the same time.

I love that we get to have conversations like this.  I love that we laugh like this.  I love that we are above the age that would get selected for the games.

Deep Dark Secret - Update!!!!

So it's been about a year since I posted the information below about DNA testing. Well folks, it gets juicier. My youngest daughter decided to do 23 and me another type of DNA service. Ha! Lo and behold it comes back telling her that she has a grandmother (24% DNA match) in Australia as well as several first cousins. You may say what's the big deal?

The big hairy deal is that her grandmothers live in Indiana...well my adopted mom and Michael's mom so guess who that makes living in Australia with her grown children...yeppers, you guessed it - my biological mother and subsequent born children. That's quite the information overload for us and can you imagine when the email came to them? So whatcha been hiding from us mom? Ah, technology. Makes this world smaller than it appears. 

I still blame Ancestry.com. 

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I blame ancestry.com for all of this.

This story begins 50 years ago in a small city in Indiana. Where a woman decided to give up her child for adoption.  From here there are two chapters to this story. One that tells the joy of the couple who receives the child when they couldn't have one of their own. The other that is never told and the child never existed.

Queue the time travel music to fly us to 2016. The child is now 50 and has had a life that has had amazing ups, downs, and she has a family of her own that makes her beam tremendously with joy.  Her kids' persistence along with her own curiosity moves her to ordering the ancestry DNA test. She sends it in and learns a bit about her heritage.

Then it happens. Someone else takes the test too. Someone from the chapter never told. It shows up in the system and they send the grown up child a message. The message contains names of families previously unknown.

In her excitement she responds to the message not thinking about the fact that for this other person, they are unaware that the existence of the child was likely a deep dark secret - until now.

So now she has information to find out where she came from. What does she do? Does she do anything at all? So many questions...Does she want any answers?

Stay tuned until next week's episode to find out what happens next.

Damn you ancestry.com for pulling us in.

Jello Cookies

If anyone tells my mom I posted this I will vehemently deny it and remove all evidence of its existence. That being said...

Every year my mom makes quite the assortment of cookies at Christmas.  Usually she tries some new recipe each year to see how it does. Many years ago she tried the Jello cookie.  Those of you who remember the Jello cookie incident of 1993, you have just blown cola threw your nose. 

You might think that this cookie would be soft and pliable. I thought that too. It was round, about the size of a half dollar, and light pink - really eye catching. Me being one who would try this good looking cookie picked one up and bit into it.

I thought I lost two teeth. That was the hardest damn cookie I have ever tried. I banged it on the ground. Other members of the family joined in. Then my mom saw us. She was unamused. The holiday can be stressful and making fun of my mom's cookies is like asking to be removed from the will. The jokes went on and we had a really fun time, be at a bit of her expense.

I lived in North Carolina at the time so we traveled back after the holiday and I had forgotten all about the cookies - until the package showed up at my job.

I had no idea what it could be. I opened it in front of my workmates and sure as shit, there was those jello cookies and a note.

My mom said she hoped I would appreciate having them since they brought me such joy at Christmas. Ha! She said she set them out for the squirrels since no one had eaten them, but quickly realized the squirrels were throwing them at the house in rebellion and she was pretty sure she had seen one squirrel flip her off. 

Those cookies come up in conversation now and again when we encounter un-eatable food.  I still remember bouncing those cookies off the ground and they didn't even crumble. Jello my ass.

Such an emotional weenie

I already know I can't go to live theater where emotion is involved.  Yes I am the one who stood up during Miss Saigon and yelled Noooooooooo! when she killed herself and the one sobbing uncontrollably during An Almost Holy Picture when she tried to shave off all her hair.  

Now it's movies. There have been several movies lately where the story was really emotional or someone has died or been killed and I just wasn't ready for it. It's a good thing it's dark in a theater.  I now at least take Kleenex and can keep my sobbing more quiet. Even when I see it coming. It doesn't matter if it's fairy tales or scifi. 

I used to try to be cool about it, now I don't care. I just try to keep the nose blowing to a minimum. If the director is trying to figure out if the movie will elicit this kind of feeling, s/he really ought to have me in the focus group.

Today was Star Wars -The Force Awakens.  Friggin' JJ Abrams. Had to go and do that. I have known these characters 38 years. The only thing that made me chuckle a bit in my tears what the fact that the Kylo Ren actor was just the youngest brother in This Is Where I Leave You. He was such an idiot in that movie. 

With more Marvel movies coming out soon I need to find a way to recover quickly. Maybe I should experiment with a movie stress ball.

Stroke of Luck

A week ago I had a TIA, a tiny stroke.  I was eating dinner with my husband and youngest daughter when out of nowhere I was talking jibberish. I knew what I was trying to say, but it wasn't coming out right. The harder I tried, the harder it was to say anything. Then my words were just gone. It only lasted about an hour, but the fear factor was incredible. Away to the hospital we went, where after a CT they promptly announced I had a stroke. I just started to cry. 

My neurologist found this all quite a mystery. I just don't have the risk factors. He said I was very lucky and that this is a warning. Okay, I'm listening! 

I know the event was scary for me but it was almost more so for my family. I think my daughter and I have a stronger relationship now. Much to my chagrin she knows I am human after all. If I had any doubt how much my husband loves me after all these years, that is gone. The fear in his eyes when he knew he could not protect me was overwhelming to me. I am not the most lovable person, but by God my family showed me how much they love me. I am very blessed and very lucky. Maybe in some weird way this was the only way to deliver a message to me. Don't be so hard on yourself. You don't have to be superwoman, we love you unconditionally. 

The one thing that hurts me is that I missed my middle daughter's graduation from graduate school. I know how disappointed she was. I wish I could fix that. 

I am thankful for my family and friends. I love the texts asking me how I feel today and the daily phone calls. As much as I am thankful for the outpouring of love, I hope this doesn't happen again. 

At least I kept my sense of humor...