We learned tonight that our neighbor's two year old died last weekend and the funeral is on Valentine's Day. Jonathan's death was an accident. There is no preparing for the loss of a child. I can't begin to imagine what the family is going through. Certainly my family is getting hugged a bit tighter as we offer up our prayers.
Jonathan was such a cute kid, the 7th of 8 kids in the family. His older brothers or sister would take him for a walk and I loved to see him toddling by our house exploring the world around him like it was the greatest adventure. He'd stop every couple of feet it seemed and it may have taken them a good hour to lap the block as he explored ants or rocks or whatever caught his eye.
Jonathan also had a lot of spunk. He came to visit us last month while his mom went to an appointment. This little two year old walked into our house like he owned the joint and just had the sweetest disposition while he explored and played with my kids.
I never thought I would be attending a funeral on Valentine's Day. It certainly isn't the Hallmark way to celebrate Valentine's Day. But as we honor and pay tribute to little Jonathan and the family that loves him, we may just get a better understanding of the true meaning of the holiday.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
25 Random Things
My list from FB when I couldn't sleep the other night.
25. Given the choice between spending money on stuff or an experience I would rather spend the money on making a memory.
24. I have hiked the Grand Canyon 7 times.
23. I shot a hole in one while golfing with my husband and parents.
22. I practiced hypnobirthing and had two relatively short and painless births without medicine.
21. You would never guess if you tasted my prime rib, but I was a vegetarian for 9 years and gave it up when I got married.
20. I am a closet Trekkie. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is one of my all time favorite movies.
19. After ten years of wanting to learn how to sew Roman Shades, I took a class and made them for three windows last summer.
18. I love the library and usually read three books at once- one in the car and two on my nightstand. I usually finish one a week.
17. I spent a semester dissecting a human cadaver in college. I learned that while I will donate my organs, I will not donate my body to science and I want to be cremated.
16. I majored in anthropology as an undergrad. I loved field work and went on archaeology digs and traveled up and down the Baja of Mexico doing ethnography.
15. I earned a MBA. Considering I was an archaeologist working at a museum and had never taken a business class in college, I figured the admitting committee was going to laugh at me, so I beat them to it and titled my personal statement "Indiana Jones and the Quest for the MBA".
14. My husband would meet me before economics class to help me with my homework in grad school. This was before we started dating and he has definitely proved to be a wonderful helpmate.
13. I enjoy public speaking and used to give presentations at conferences.
12. I have anxiety over buying gifts for people. My dad is the exception because he always wants a box of golf balls.
11. My first job was cleaning mobile homes for my parent's business. It was a good way to "learn the value of an education" especially in the summer when there was no air conditioning.
10. We live two streets away from my brother in law and his family. We have extended family dinners three times a week on average between Marc's and my family.
9. We know all of our neighbors on our street.
8. I actually listened to the American Academy of Pediatrics about not letting kids watch TV and we have a not TV rule during the day. So when Marc comes home to a house of mayhem, at least he knows I wasn't sitting on the couch watching tv and eating bon-bons all day.
7. I had a friend in college who got married and had a decent inheritance from her grandmother. When they divorced a couple of years later, they split the debt, so when I was dating to get married my non-negotiable weed out question was "Do you pay off your credit card every month?"
6. I would be a terrible wife and mother if I didn't have the friends and support of the other mothers I know and talk to both online and in real life.
5. I love "hand me downs" and dread the day my kids are "too cool" to wear them.
4. My daughter is deathly allergic to sesame seeds and we carry an epi pen everywhere we go. You would not believe the vigilance I have towards those little seeds.
3. My daughter has a zest for life that is contagious. She enriches our lives so much.
2. My son is the child I always pictured when I thought of having kids. His laugh is my favorite sound in the whole world.
1. I believe in the power of prayer.
25. Given the choice between spending money on stuff or an experience I would rather spend the money on making a memory.
24. I have hiked the Grand Canyon 7 times.
23. I shot a hole in one while golfing with my husband and parents.
22. I practiced hypnobirthing and had two relatively short and painless births without medicine.
21. You would never guess if you tasted my prime rib, but I was a vegetarian for 9 years and gave it up when I got married.
20. I am a closet Trekkie. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is one of my all time favorite movies.
19. After ten years of wanting to learn how to sew Roman Shades, I took a class and made them for three windows last summer.
18. I love the library and usually read three books at once- one in the car and two on my nightstand. I usually finish one a week.
17. I spent a semester dissecting a human cadaver in college. I learned that while I will donate my organs, I will not donate my body to science and I want to be cremated.
16. I majored in anthropology as an undergrad. I loved field work and went on archaeology digs and traveled up and down the Baja of Mexico doing ethnography.
15. I earned a MBA. Considering I was an archaeologist working at a museum and had never taken a business class in college, I figured the admitting committee was going to laugh at me, so I beat them to it and titled my personal statement "Indiana Jones and the Quest for the MBA".
14. My husband would meet me before economics class to help me with my homework in grad school. This was before we started dating and he has definitely proved to be a wonderful helpmate.
13. I enjoy public speaking and used to give presentations at conferences.
12. I have anxiety over buying gifts for people. My dad is the exception because he always wants a box of golf balls.
11. My first job was cleaning mobile homes for my parent's business. It was a good way to "learn the value of an education" especially in the summer when there was no air conditioning.
10. We live two streets away from my brother in law and his family. We have extended family dinners three times a week on average between Marc's and my family.
9. We know all of our neighbors on our street.
8. I actually listened to the American Academy of Pediatrics about not letting kids watch TV and we have a not TV rule during the day. So when Marc comes home to a house of mayhem, at least he knows I wasn't sitting on the couch watching tv and eating bon-bons all day.
7. I had a friend in college who got married and had a decent inheritance from her grandmother. When they divorced a couple of years later, they split the debt, so when I was dating to get married my non-negotiable weed out question was "Do you pay off your credit card every month?"
6. I would be a terrible wife and mother if I didn't have the friends and support of the other mothers I know and talk to both online and in real life.
5. I love "hand me downs" and dread the day my kids are "too cool" to wear them.
4. My daughter is deathly allergic to sesame seeds and we carry an epi pen everywhere we go. You would not believe the vigilance I have towards those little seeds.
3. My daughter has a zest for life that is contagious. She enriches our lives so much.
2. My son is the child I always pictured when I thought of having kids. His laugh is my favorite sound in the whole world.
1. I believe in the power of prayer.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Get It Done Robo Hiker
This morning I got ready for my Sunday morning hike. M decided I should take his heart rate monitor and GPS to see where I was at. I have known where I was the past couple of weekends- hiking, on a mountain and out of shape. However, I became Robo Hiker as I was trying to get out the door to pick up my sil and meet a friend.
My sil is in better shape than me. She has done boot camps and became my drill sergeant today pushing me on the mountain to keep going. A couple of times I just had to stop because I was out of breath. M was kind enough to download the data from his gadgets when we got home. Apparently I went into Zone 5 for 9 whole seconds. I probably have a good idea of when that happened without seeing the data on the computer. It was a good workout and I was in zone 2 or 3 most of the time.
When I used to hike in college it was different. I would have a snack or lunch when we reached the end of the trail and sit and admire the view and talk and eat for a while before hitting the trail again and heading home. There was no view admiring today at the end of the trail, we just turned around and walked back. No one else brought snacks or wanted any of my trail mix. It was all about getting the hike done.
Granted we were women hiking, so there was non stop conversation. Not that I heard all of it or contributed much as I was breathing hard and lagging behind on the uphill. But what I heard was interesting and it was nice to have an uninterrupted conversation.
We did knock 17 minutes off of our time hiking today compared with last weekend. If we start doing the hike in an hour or less, we are going to need to go out to breakfast afterwards because this is my time away from the kids and I really don't want to rush the hike to just go home.
I don't so much mind the attitude of "get it done" on Sundays because I do need to get in shape for my rafting trip through the Grand Canyon in June. However, when I am in the Canyon hiking I really want to enjoy the view. Actually I have visions of sitting on a picnic blanket over looking an amazing view and sipping wine while eating a delicious meal at the end of the trail. This is a vacation after all. Heaven help me if I have a guide and group that are of the "get it done" attitude. Just in case I will bring my camera so I can admire the view when I get home.
My sil is in better shape than me. She has done boot camps and became my drill sergeant today pushing me on the mountain to keep going. A couple of times I just had to stop because I was out of breath. M was kind enough to download the data from his gadgets when we got home. Apparently I went into Zone 5 for 9 whole seconds. I probably have a good idea of when that happened without seeing the data on the computer. It was a good workout and I was in zone 2 or 3 most of the time.
When I used to hike in college it was different. I would have a snack or lunch when we reached the end of the trail and sit and admire the view and talk and eat for a while before hitting the trail again and heading home. There was no view admiring today at the end of the trail, we just turned around and walked back. No one else brought snacks or wanted any of my trail mix. It was all about getting the hike done.
Granted we were women hiking, so there was non stop conversation. Not that I heard all of it or contributed much as I was breathing hard and lagging behind on the uphill. But what I heard was interesting and it was nice to have an uninterrupted conversation.
We did knock 17 minutes off of our time hiking today compared with last weekend. If we start doing the hike in an hour or less, we are going to need to go out to breakfast afterwards because this is my time away from the kids and I really don't want to rush the hike to just go home.
I don't so much mind the attitude of "get it done" on Sundays because I do need to get in shape for my rafting trip through the Grand Canyon in June. However, when I am in the Canyon hiking I really want to enjoy the view. Actually I have visions of sitting on a picnic blanket over looking an amazing view and sipping wine while eating a delicious meal at the end of the trail. This is a vacation after all. Heaven help me if I have a guide and group that are of the "get it done" attitude. Just in case I will bring my camera so I can admire the view when I get home.
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