My Kids Made Me Cry

Mother's Day was yesterday and my kids made me cry. Good tears. Surprised tears. "I can't believe you did that" tears. It was an epic Mother's Day and one I will never forget.

It began on Friday when Curt and Vanessa dropped in at lunch time with the first surprise of the weekend.

A beautiful bouquet of fresh cut flowers! What a thoughtful thing to do! We sat and chatted for about a half hour before they had to go home to meet the kids' school bus as it dropped off students. Thanks, Curt and Vanessa! And Happy Mother's Day, Vanessa!

Saturday evening Craig and I dropped by Dog N Suds for tenderloin sandwiches. It's a fun place to go and we like to sit in our car, drink root beer, and chat. (It's kind of "our place," if you know what I mean.)

For Mother's Day itself, I spoke to all my kids on the phone (thanks, kids!) and then Craig and Lisa cooked me my favorite meal - porcupine meatballs, mashed potatoes, cut up fresh veggies and fruit, and Hershey Pie. (Really. There is nothing I'd rather have for a special dinner.) Thank you!

I didn't think my Mother's Day could get any better. And then my kids made me cry.

"I see you used the Purdue wrapping paper," I observed when Lisa set out some gifts. (Black paper with gold spots - Purdue's colors.)

"Well, Mom, that paper is a hint as to what is inside," she replied. "And the ribbon colors are, too."

What could they be giving me that was connected to Purdue? And what gift would be such that they all went in on it together? 

And then when she pulled out her phone and began videotaping, I REALLY began wondering as to what my children had done.

It was when I pulled the wrapping paper off the first box that I knew. I recognized the shape of the box, it was from eBay, and the tears started.

Inside was my most favorite Christmas ornament ever. One from my childhood. I cannot remember a Christmas without it. (I had stored mine in a similar eBay box which is why I recognized it.)

The "pink ornament," as it is known. Very, very fragile and very easily broken. Had my children done what I now suspected they had?

They had! The next box held the silver one! I hadn't seen that one in at least fifty years. (Like I said, they are fragile.)

Just as I remembered it, and now I had it for my own Christmas tree.

And then a BIG surprise. Wait, a green one? "You found a green one??" I asked.

Lisa was just as surprised as me. Apparently it had been advertised as blue but look around the stem and there is no doubt; that is a green ornament.

My childhood set was pink, blue, silver, and gold. I don't remember a green one. (Which actually I was excited to have.) Perhaps ours had gotten broken before I was old enough to really remember it?

When I opened the last one, a silver ornament, Lisa was confused. She said it had been listed on eBay as white.

It does look white. But our family silver one survived a long time and I remember it well; this is actually the silver ornament.

So then we looked at the first silver I'd opened. Turns out it had been listed as blue. But as we examine it more closely, we could see hints of green around its stem. This was also a green ornament and not the blue or silver! (The color on these oldies fades if the sun shines on them while they are hanging on the tree. It can be difficult to see their true color as a result.)

I reassured Lisa and my kids that I was extremely happy to have the colors they'd gotten me and to not worry about the missing blue one. (Those tears that I couldn't stop were proof!) Thanks, kids!!

It took me a while to recover from the emotional experience that that unwrapping had been. And there was still one more gift, one from Craig. We are going to Menards to get some mulch, flowers, and potting soil and he is going to help me spruce up my stepping stone garden. Much needs to be done and it is something I physically still can't do (those lifting restrictions from February's surgery are in place until August.) Thanks, Craig!

The day was wrapped up by some more phone calls from my children and playing a rousing game of Bank with Lisa, Craig, and Kyle who FaceTimed in for it. 

I am blessed. Thanks, everyone. I love you.

When Our Kids Rally

Note: A very little bit of blood can be seen in a couple photos in this post.

Yesterday was one of those days. A day when the unexpected happens and throws everything out the window. A day very similar to one a year and a day ago, with a different twist. 

We'd had some fresh snow and Craig went out to shovel our elderly neighbor's drive. He stepped on some ice and down he went, only instead of face planting like last year, he fell backwards. He was actually knocked out by the impact, although the doctors could not tell us just how long he had been unconscious.

When he came to, he made his way back into the house and called up the stairs to me, "I need help. Grab some towels!" I knew then that it was bad.

I went rushing down the stairs and into the emergency cupboard I had just put together when I'd put away all the Christmas things. Never did I dream I would be using it so soon.

Craig was wearing a new winter hat, one that he'd been given by the blood bank for all the blood donations he's made. (Cue the irony.) That hat kept a bad situation from becoming much worse. 

The yarn is very thick and it fits tightly around his head. That hat kept him from bleeding more freely than he would have without it, and the thickness protected his skull when the back of his head hit the concrete. 

I was still Covid positive and very tired and weak. I knew I was not up to helping Craig in and out of the car, let alone if he collapsed and went down again. As it was, he was so woozy, he couldn't stand for very long.

 Luckily, Lisa has a very understanding assistant principal who stepped into her classroom for the rest of the day so that Lisa could rush her dad to the ER.

It broke Tammo's heart when Craig left. Poor guy! I gave him some attention as the day passed but he was mopey and really missing Craig. (Pepper did, too, but as long as I am nearby, she is fine. Tammo is more attached to Craig than me.)

Our kids rallied behind us right away. Curt's neighborhood (out in the country) was not yet plowed and he was unable to get out of his driveway and physically come help us. So, he contacted all his siblings and started a text chain to keep everyone in the loop.

At the hospital, Lisa FaceTimed in Sarah who is an RN and she helped us understand what the ER folks were telling us as well as to know what to ask them. Jessica, Kyle, and Cole sent supportive messages and called to check on me. And so on. Their care, concern, and contact were a comfort to me throughout a very long day.

Long story short, "Craig is very lucky" as one radiologist told Sarah.  There are no fractures but there is swelling around the site where his head hit the concrete and he has a concussion. There was a gaping head laceration that took 5 staples to close and a smaller one that will heal on its own.

Of course, my kids being who they are, the tone of the text chain changed and the quips and jokes began to fly once their Dad was out of the woods and on the way home.

Sarah: Stop at Arby's. Get that man a roast beef sandwich.

Kyle: No ice for his drink!

and

Sarah: I'm prepping a note for Dad's flowers now. "Stop being nice and falling on the ice."

And we all enjoyed the fact that, until he is allowed to shower and get his head wet, he has pink hair.

Lisa made sure we had everything we needed when she brought Craig home. She also offered to take Tammo home so he could run off some energy with Nash, but we declined. When the roads in his sub division were finally cleared, Curt brought dinner over and checked on us. Jessica called, Kyle called, and so it went for the rest of the day.

Whether they are physically near or far from us, when our children rally around us, their support and love is strong and we feel that all will be okay.

Thanks, kids. Love you so much. XOXY

Mom

Advice from My Children

Last year, I decided I would join my family in their love of football. I figured it was best to start small and local, so I followed Purdue's college team from the beginning of training camp in August to the bitter end in November. It was a lousy season with Purdue going 1-11, but I learned a lot about the game.

(Attending the West Lafayette High School games in the fall doesn't count as learning about football - I go for the social aspects of being with Craig and enjoy sitting outside on lovely fall nights!)

This year, my goal is to learn about it by following a pro team. My family will tell you that I like the Colts and Broncos because their mascots are horse-related (which is true), but I figured I should find a team that I liked for football reasons, not mascot ones.

Asking my kids which teams they followed seemed like a good idea so I sent them all a quick text (except for Curt; I asked him in person.) Their initial responses were remarkable similar.

Me: What is your favorite NFL team?

Sarah: I'm still my father's daughter. (Which means she roots for the Packers.)

Jessica: I don't really have one. Andrew likes the Seahawks so I have a Seahawks jersy. Why do you ask?

Kyle: I don't know that I have one. Why do you ask?

Lisa: Hmmmm. I would have to say Green Bay. Why?

Curt: The Patriots. Why do you ask?

Cole: The Jets. Why?

I was taken aback that they wondered why I wanted to know. But, I haven't traditionally been a follower of football, especially NFL, so perhaps that was a reasonable response and I should have clarified why I was asking. So I did.

Me: I started following college football last year and want to pick an NFL team for this year.

Jessica: I much prefer college myself. I don't really follow NFL. Especially since they play on Sundays and we try not to watch TV on Sundays.

Kyle: Ah. Well, I used to like the Dolphins (Starter jacket). And EverBank's name is on the Jaguar's field. Still don't follow them, though.

Lisa: Haha. Nice. I prefer college over NFL, though.

And a couple of them even gave me some very welcome advice!

Jessica: I would recommend the Colts if you want to get into the NFL. There is a local connection, probably a lot of fans in your area so you can talk to other people about the team. And they are a good team. Broncos are fun to watch as well. Plus you can connect with Sarah's family and they have Peyton Manning.

Curt: Well, you really ought to follow the Colts. They're more local and you will be able to read more coverage about them around here. Plus, you will be able to talk to your friends who probably are Colts fans.

Cole: Oh, don't pick the Jets! It's a terrible emotional roller coaster. Go with the Packers!

What's interesting to me is that I had three teams in mind, and my children recommended all three: Colts, Packers, and Broncos!

So then I took a look at each team that my children had mentioned, beginning with the Colts.

Hmmm. Local and horse related. But you know what? It has always bothered me that the nail placement on the horseshoe is wrong. Silly, perhaps, but it does. They should look like this:

But I am not sure that that is enough to rule them out (even though it really does bother me - the horse would go lame!)

What about the Broncos? Sarah and Todd live in their  home city, a nice plus.

And I really like the stylized orange and blue horse head. And, Anne Judge-Wegener, the "Girl on a Horse" (I say that lightly because she is 56 years old) went to school with me and graduated from Harrison. So there *is* a local connection of some sort.

My Dad liked the Packers, and Craig certainly does.

But aside from that, I really don't feel a pull to follow them, so I'm going to cross them off.

Which leaves the Colts and the Broncos.

The two horse-related ones I already was inclined to root for.

Interesting that the advice from my children led me right back to where I began!