March 31, 2019

I just got back from a nice run in Kennebunkport.....it was one of those effortless runs that I love. I can tell from the moment my feet hit the pavement if it's going to be a an awesome run where I feel light on my feet and the run feels like it's effortless like today or I feel like my legs are weighed down by bricks and I'm moving through sludge and there is effort in every stride. Anyway, while I was running and listening to the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack which I just downloaded on Apple music I got to thinking about my son's new "as white as they come" girlfriend. I can't help but wonder if her parents mind his skin color......whether they will be upset about her going to prom with him. I was also thinking how nice it was that both nights this weekend he was with her and home before 11 pm.......must mean she has rules and a curfew! This I like.

I also started a Cinquain poem in my head.....needs some tweaking

Running

Feet on pavement

Spring is within my reach

Ocean breeze wakes up my senses

Alive

The other 9/11 cont

As I said, my friends phone rang. She picked up and I could tell by the look on her face that the news was not good. “Broken arm? Ambulance? Ok. Bye.” This is the side of the conversation I heard. My friend turned to me, “Gabriel broke his arm.” He’s coming to the hospital in an ambulance. Mike (her husband) is riding with him. I turned to her, “are they sure it’s broke?” She nodded slowly. (Yes they knew it was broke bc it was quite literally hanging from his body I later found out).

I immediately cursed myself as a parent. Why wasn’t I there? I try to go to most things for this very reason. One thing you should know about me is that I don’t like to cry especially in front of people even if they are friends. But I did the unspeakable and began crying. We turned the car around so we could meet the ambulance at the hospital. We were close to the hospital so we arrived in no time (long before the ambulance from Bonny eagle bc apparently the driver didn’t know how to get to smmc….they were putting it in their gps and my friends husband yelled I will tell you how to get there….let’s go!

I ran into the emergency room to get paperwork going before the ambulance arrived. I was a mess of emotions…...guilt, anxiety, nervousness, even a little scared. I did all the necessary legwork when my friend came running into the er. “Caleb (her son) is in an ambulance too,” she exclaimed. My first thought and what I said was, “what a great friend (that was Gabriel's best friend) to give up playing in the game to ride in the ambulance with Gabriel.” She said no….he’s hurt too. Blew his knee out next play of the game at the same yard line as Gabe broke his arm. He’s in an ambulance right behind Gabe. Remember Caleb’s dad is with my son so another dad had to come with Caleb. So crazy.

Back to the er…..it’s absolutely packed that night. My son finally arrived. I was scared to see his arm but it was bandaged so I didn’t have to see it dangling. He was put in a room and immediately taken for an X-ray. He was in a lot of pain but was trying to put on a brave face. (He dabbed off the field and everyone who was there was amazed that he kept everyone laughing until he got into the ambulance…..gotta love it). His friend arrived soon after but had to be in the hall as there were no more rooms left. The ortho dr. came in and explained that there were no available operating rooms but that they believed surgery would be required. He explained that they would put my son under anesthesia right there in the er room and attempt to set the bones manually and put a cast on and reevaluate in a few days. I was kicked out of the room for this of course and I told the surgeon I’d be with my friends in the hall and that’s where he’d find me when finished.

I joined my friends and their son who it was determined had dislocated his knee. The setting of the bones went quickly and I rejoined my son in his room. Upon coming out of anesthesia he blurted, “anesthesia is a wonderful thing.” We went home a little while later as did my friend and their son. Both out for the season. We remarked that this was another 9/11 we would never forget,

Epilogue….. my son still attended every practice and game with his team that season….starting with the first practice after he broke his arm. I was extremely proud of him for this dedication. It was very difficult for an active boy to suddenly be inactive. We walked the beach every night until he got his cast off. At times, emotions were high and moods were low but we muddled through. He joined the basketball team at Thornton academy middle school that year but was not able to practice until just before Christmas break or play a game until January. Again, he attended every practice and game keeping stats until he was cleared to play. He complained and wanted to quit, but I encouraged him to stick it out….he needed something to do after school. After the first game he was allowed to play, he had a blast. On the way home, he said to me, “thanks mom for making me stick with it, that game was so much fun!”

Also, he never had to have surgery and continues to play football.

March 30, 2019

The end of another Saturday. Thank you to whoever commented that my writing inspired them and that I need to tell my story.....I'm flattered for sure but really don't think I have an interesting enough story to tell......I feel like a writing version of Seinfeld (a show about nothing), I feel I kind of write about nothing.....haha!

It was a good day all in all. I just finished the late night Saturday meal prep for my younger son and his posse. I got off easy tonight by making tacos. They have started a bonfire outside while I am inside by my wood stove which also has a fire. I am determined not to buy oil again until the late Fall. My older son has a girlfriend it seems and he is with her tonight.....he nonchalantly mentioned to me this week that he would be attending prom with her. No details about her were divulged other than her name so I asked my younger son and his friends about her. They all think very highly of this young woman ("she's hot," they told me) and apparently she's an athlete committed to a D1 school to play field hockey. I also asked the burning question...."is she black?" My younger son replied, "she's as white as they come." Whatever that means. Anyway, upon cleaning my house a bit today and doing yard work (it was pretty nice out despite the clouds and my dog and I were outside a lot of the day....he's sound asleep by the fire), I met a new member of my family who must be related to Mrs. Smith's family member, "Nobody Smith." I was introduced to "I don't know Older." There was a picture frame that fell off the wall and broke....who did this I asked...."I don't know, " replied my sons and their friends. There are tire tracks (very deep ones) in my lawn like someone had gotten stuck......who drove on the lawn, I asked......"I don't know," was the reply again. "Who clogged the toilet? Who broke a glass? Who left food in the living room?.... "I don't know Older" was the culprit every time.

As I said, I worked outside today. I have a fairly big property with a lot of landscaping that requires a ton of upkeep. I recently decided that this Spring and Summer I am going to make a concerted effort to be more green. Back in the day, I used to grow all of the vegetables our family needed for the entire year (other than like lettuce that you can't preserve). I froze vegetables, made sauce and kept root vegetables in a closet in our cellar. I also froze the raspberries from our patch and made jam. I haven't done this in a few years and I miss it. I have a compost bin that is quite large that I used to compost and use in my vegetable garden but it is a mess as of late overgrown by bramble and thistle etc. So today as a start to my commitment to start gardening again, I started to uncover the compost bin. Yikes! What a mess! I had to get inside to cut the thistles down.....ouch. No pair of gloves or clothing can help escape the wrath of these thorns. Next, I was focused on freeing up my clothes line from whatever prickly stuff was using it as a trellis. I used to hang my laundry all the time even trouncing through snow to do so. It saves so much electricity and the clothes (esp sheets and blankets) smell so good after being hung in the wind and sunshine. Another painful endeavor being poked by thorns continuously. I finally gave in when I had to go find my dog in the woods and I had thistle branches hanging off my pant legs, sleeves and hat.

I can't believe the Slice of Life challenge is over tomorrow. I realize I need to finish my 9/11 story and will do so tomorrow before this ends. I have enjoyed writing and can't believe I wrote everyday.

March 29, 2019

A couple of treats this week. First , there was school board meeting with Club Smith friends where they presented our 5 freedoms and one friend knocked over the board members name plates while handing out the petition.....all good for a laugh and so happy that friend was able to laugh at herself and not take offense that some of us in the audience were laughing with her. Another friend got a case of the giggles. Her whole body was shaking as she tried to keep the laughter in. The evening was topped off by an inspirational speech given by our friend, Sami's mom about what a great year she has had in Club Smith! It was touching and I got a little teary. I continue to be amazed, inspired, and rewarded by everyone that makes up Club Smith! I will be super sad when this year ends.

Continued

My chrome book died so continuing this entry on my iPad and will add to slice of life page later.

Another treat this week was a fantastic spin class put on by Janice and her husband. Such a great work out and so much fun to be sandwiched (on spin bikes) between my friends, Mrs. smith and ms. Smith (aka ms. Kate).....a ms.penny sandwich.

Anyway, I enjoyed our discussion today in club smith about how people tend to judge or evaluate people based on superficial (not sure this is right word to use here) traits. I appreciate that two boys in the class pointed out size as something our society values. It’s crazy. As you know, I have two sons, both very coordinated and fit, but they are short both around 5’8” range (although my black son with his Odell Beckham jr. hair) measures a bit taller bc of this hair style. My boys play sports so I am always surrounded by parents who value athleticism and size. These parents are very fixated on size and weight (in addition, my boys are lean and weigh 150-160 lbs). “My son is 6’2” and weighs 220#,” a mom brags (“yes it’s true your son is tall, but he is uncoordinated and quite honestly has the belly of a 50 year old man”, I think to myself while smiling and nodding to the mom like I’m so impressed…..I am also thinking,”he’s tall bc you and your husband are tall…...not bc he somehow achieved this”). I could go on forever with more examples of these comments about how parents are so impressed with their son’s size. I, however, can be proud of my sons bc they try hard, do their best, and are great unselfish teammates. Their size has nothing to do with this. Being a certain size whatever that size is has nothing to do with your character. Hopefully sports parents everywhere will one day learn this valuable lesson.

March 28, 2019

Cont of March 27

As I said even when my son was young we ran into issues bc of the color of his skin. One time my son and his dad were flying back from a hockey tournament when he was about 10 years old. My son was having a hard time bc he had a bad headache which was making him throw up. As they were going through security my son was crying bc of feeling sick. My son was questioned like crazy about whether the man with him was his dad, where was his mom, whether there was something he needed to tell them, etc. His dad was also “interrogated” about why was his son crying, where was his mom, where were they coming from, where they were going, purpose of their trip, what do you do for work…..crazy! I’m guessing he was not the first child to be crying through security as well as my son and his dad both had passports with the same last name, etc. Again hard to determine whether this was because it was a black child with a white dad, but my I think it was.

Next, there was a time going through the Canadian border…..4 of us. Mom, Dad, (married at the time) black son and white son all with passports with same last names. My sons were about 6 and 4 years old at the time. This story will give you an idea of how much my younger son never thought any different of his brother. We pulled up to the booth and handed them the passports. My older (black) son was asleep (thank goodness) and my younger (white) son was awake. The border patrol woman looked at the passports. She focused on Elijah’s, my older son's passport and looked just briefly at the rest of ours. And then the questioning began.....is he adopted? (jeez thank goodness he was asleep....even though he knew and we had discussions what a rude and inappropriate question), do you have full custody of him? (We are married parents and we all have the same last name on our passports.....who were we sharing custody with)? Where is he from? A dozen irrelevant questions that were not asked about my white son. They never asked if he was adopted or if we had full custody of him......hmmmmm. Anyway, here's the funny part. My youngest son who was awake was shocked to find out from the border patrol agent that his brother was adopted...."Elijah's adopted,?" he questioned. "I had no idea," he continued. "Am I adopted, " he asked. You gotta love kids and their innocence and all that goes with it.....he was living his life with a brother of another color and he didn't realize he was adopted. Warms my heart every time I think of this. Another time a couple of years later, we were on vacation and they went to an activity together. The person in charge said to them, "Are you guys friends?".....my younger son looked at the guy like he was dumb and he replied disgusted, "Ummm, we're brothers."

March 27, 2019

My black son’s recent trip to West Virginia prompted me to write this slice of life about situations he encounters bc of the color of his skin. My heart hurts for him at times and I feel terrible that I can’t know how it feels to be him.

Anyway, on his return trip he lost his passport (it was found in the airport thankfully). We were discussing how he misplaced it at dinner last night. He told me that in security they went through his backpack and took everything out which caused him to be disorganized and as a result left his passport in one of the bins. Was this thorough search bc he is a black man? Would my white son’s backpack been searched? It’s hard to say.

This got me thinking about other times things like this have happened even when he was little bc he is black with white parents.

I shared with the class the most recent thing that happened with the York County sheriff showing up at my house bc someone in the mall accused him of stealing a wallet in the Apple store when in actuality he was sitting outside the Apple store waiting for his car to finish an oil change. Of course I can’t say for certain if this was bc he is black but I’m sure the person who accused him thought all black males look the same and are criminals.

My son has encountered racism on the ice often (hockey…..his fave sport and unfortunately still a very white one)..... he has always been the only black player on his team and usually only black player on the ice during a game (with few exceptions). He has even said to me recently that he wished he would have played football and he will encourage his own kids when he has them to play football. Being called names on the ice started at a fairly young age and even opposing team’s coaches got involved (yes- grown men). The most recent incident of this was this past season at a game in Long Island. A player from the opposing team said some very nasty racist things (don’t want to share). Unfortunately anger and testosterone got the better of my son and he started to punch the other player. He was thrown out of the game. I felt terrible but my daughter and son in law were there so were able to talk to him about it. My daughter who is not a fighter said she too would have kicked this players you know what bc of the racist remarks that were made.

To be continued with more stories

March 26, 2019 Cinquain poem

"Stanley"

Running unleashed

Sniffing between bare trees

Black and white kitty following

Happy

March 25, 2019- Funny texts

I had some lol texts this weekend. They are probably "you had to be there" type things but I'll share bc I'm very tired and don't want to think too hard!

First are a few exchanges from my older son who was visiting West Virginia University this past weekend. He flew into a tiny airport on a 10 seat Cessna plane from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Morgantown, WV. Of course, his hockey bag didn't make it with him. He had to go back at 9 PM to get it. Here is our exchange when he went to get his bag:

• Me: Remember to get your bag at 9 PM
• Eli: Going
• Eli: Nothing yet
• Me (well after 9): Did you ask anyone?
• Eli: Literally, a janitor only in this airport
• Me: No baggage claim?
• Eli: I'm at baggage claim, no bags here
• Me: Is there a baggage claim office?
• Eli: NO mom, just a janitor!
• Me: ASK HIM!
• Me: I'm calling airlines
• Eli: GOT IT!
• Me: Thank goodness! Did you get it from the janitor?
• Eli: No

Earlier in the evening after Eli had been on campus for awhile-

• Me: Is the School far from the airport?
• Eli: No, like 10 minutes
• Me: That's good. Are you on campus?
• Eli: Yeah, I've been here for like an hour. Getting food rn
• Me: What's it like?
• Eli: Morgantown? Idk, narrow @#% roads

Just thought that was comical bc he is there to visit a school and all the info he gave me was that Morgantown had narrow roads.....certainly important when choosing a college. In addition, he told me someone on campus lost a pet peacock....also important.

Sooo, we (me and my daughter's sister in law and with some coaxing my daughter's mother in law) played a joke on my daughter's other sister in law who is also 7 months pregnant and was in charge of all the decorations for the baby shower. She is very organized and very particular.....a perfectionist with amazing attention to detail. Sometimes I wish I was like this but most of the time I'm happy I'm not bc seems like a lot of pressure and stress. Anyway we were arranging flowers for the shower at my daughter's mother in law's house. Neither of us are that great at stuff like this but we had it under control bc the arrangements were simple....hydrangeas, baby's breath and some greens in mason jars. We had this.....no problem. Here's the joke, we were getting ready to send a picture to the perfectionist of our arrangements (and they looked good) when we had the idea to make a horrible arrangement to send her as a joke telling her that's what we did for all of them. We put a single red rose cut very short with really long baby's breath on each side that stuck out to at a 90 degree angle and looked like it was falling out of the jar and one sad short hydrangea. It looked awful. We sent a pic along with a text from the mother in law phone bc she's too nice to do this kind of stuff so knew perfectionist wouldn't suspect:

• Us: Here's a sample of the arrangement. What do you think?
• Perfectionist (trying to be kind); Maybe get rid of the rose?
• Us: No we like it
• Perfectionist: Maybe trim the baby's breath
• Us; We think it looks good like that, don't you?
• Perfectionist: If you think so (meanwhile she is with my daughter and tells her she's sorry about the flower arrangements she doesn't think they are going to look good....lol)

We went back and forth for while us defending our arrangement and she was trying to be kind. Finally the mother in law couldn't take it any longer and told her it was a joke. You def had to be there but we were in hysterics bc she truly thought we were that bad at flower arranging.

March 24, 2019- Ferry ride to CT

I was just going to write end of a long day, but unfortunately it’s not. I am on the ferry going the other way to Bridgeport, CT from Long Island, New York. I won’t get off until 8 pm and will have a 31/2-4 hour drive…..the only thing that’s going to get me through is my book on CD and my cup of coffee.

It was a busy weekend especially today. I was up early to go for a run…..used my no excuses motto to get out of bed knowing I would feel energized for the baby shower if I got some fresh air. I take the same general route when I’m in (or on) Long Island. Down Oakwood Ave (literally down bc it’s a hill...always a struggle on the way back) left on Ferndale Ave, left on New York ave and a final left into Wood Hull Landing Rd which is the road that leads to the ocean. Even when I’m away I like to get a peek at water! The beach here is similar to some in Maine, a combo of rocks and sand. The shells on the beach are similar too minus the plethora of clams and mussels we have here but really smelly. I collected some on one trip but had to ditch them bc I simply couldn’t get rid of the smell. I love the small rocks on this beach bc they are very smooth and polished and not smelly like the shells. I collect a few every time I’m here. I arrived at the beach and thought what the heck I’ll run on the beach today, the tide was low leaving plenty of sand to run on. I find running on the sand challenging. My feet sink in and I feel like I’m not moving forward but running in place instead. I ran down the beach a stretch then turned around for the trek back.

I got back to my daughter’s. She was panicking bc she didn’t think I would have enough time to get ready (unlike her, I require a minimal amount of time to get ready). I had to be there early to help set up. “I can get ready quick,” I assured her which I did. I was out the door in no time. I arrived at the venue which was a quaint inn built in the 1800s (and as you know I love old buildings). The room was quaint with a fireplace and nice paned windows and a door that opened onto a nice stone patio. There were place cards to set up on a table (assigned seating? I thought this was unnecessary for a baby shower). It seemed that everything I did my daughter’ s sister in law and best friend was behind me, straightening or changing what I did. Then the guests began to arrive. One thing you should know about Long Islanders is that they kiss and hug a lot…...something foreign to a mid westerner like me. So the greetings began. My daughter arrived the center of attention which she despises (she gets this honestly). We ate, played a couple games and my daughter opened presents. The guests thinned out, my son in law and his brother arrived and the cars were loaded with presents. Then the few family members that were left sat and talked. My son in law and his siblings are very funny people, the life of the party where ever they go, so it was fun to sit and banter with them. Finally, the establishment hinted that we needed to leave. I drove back to my daughter’s with presents, unloaded them, changed, drove to the ferry and here I am now.

PS I made it home about midnight. I had to stop for coffee and leg stretch a few times.

March 23, 2019- Ferry ride to NY

Ferry ride

I am on the ferry from Bridgeport, ct to port Jeff station, Long Island, New York. Heading to my daughter’s for the baby shower tomorrow. I am writing on my iPad which is about to die and eating overpriced pretzels and hummus bc I’m so hungry. I have been on this ride more times than I can count but today’s ride is the roughest I’ve ever been on. It is very windy and I’m trying hard not to get motion sick. I am sitting in my car which is unusual. I usually love venturing out on deck (which I did briefly when I got my snack). The area where there are tables and places to sit and look at the Sound is packed and quite honestly smells really bad like sewage, so I came back to my car with a snack to write this (5% battery).

Of course this journey reminds me of other times I’ve made this trip. The first time was for Labor Day weekend after a summer of changes one of which was my daughter moving to Long Island after she and her then boyfriend now husband moved after graduating usm (2% and my car is rocking back and forth it’s awful). I travelled with my boys. As I said, it was a time of some family changes and I wanted this first trip that I took with just my boys to be memorable. I opened up the back of my Subaru Outback and told them they could bring whatever they wanted as long as they had room to sit. We (and my battery died). It is now a few hours later and boy am I happy to be on solid ground. Worse ferry ride ever.

Back to first ferry ride to Long Island. I told my boys “anything goes", bring whatever you want and suddenly my car was filled with fishing poles, skateboards, footballs, lacrosse and hockey sticks along with some live lobsters to share. Anyway we set out with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure!

Holy traffic! Yikes! I wasn’t prepared for it!. I screeched into the ferry driveway on two wheels a couple of minutes late with a full bladder. I put my older son (14 at the time) behind the wheel to drive the car onto the ferry so I could use the bathroom....needless to say, he was thrilled. It was busy so the ferry was running late so we were able to get on. However, security was very tight I guess bc it was a holiday weekend. There were armed police officers with dogs walking up and down the rows of cars which freaked my younger son out bc he thought the ferry was going to be the target of a terrorist attack. He went into panic mode. To top it off the ferry was followed by a police boat. I thought he might feel better if we walked on deck since it was nice out but he thought every person with a backpack had a bomb..Good times!

We made it without a terrorist attack. That long weekend we spent in Long Island was a great time. My now son in law and his brothers (all big kids themselves) took my boys in as one of their own and they played all weekend! It was perfect! I’d love to write more but have to go do flower arrangements for the party tomorrow…… hope someone’s going to guide me bc I stink at stuff like that!

March 22, 2019

What a treat to have the day off.....I am sitting here midday instead of at night. Thank you, Mrs. Smith, for your comments on my writing about books I read to my children. I teared up too when I reread it . Looking at the picture of my three children here on the Slice of Life makes me do a double take bc sometimes I can't believe they are really this grown up.

I have a task today and that is to write messages to my grandson in each of the books I bought him. It's so much harder than I thought. I have three books to write messages in. First, is "Blueberries for Sal" and I also bought "One Morning in Maine" and "Love you Forever." The first two my daughter loved as a child and the last is a classic for boys bc it's about a mom's love for her son (and in the end the son's love for his mom). Another one I always had trouble getting through without crying (I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always as long as I'm living my baby you'll be.".... try reading that to your son without bawling)! I also bought him some cardboard books so he can start looking at books right away.

So here goes:

March 24, 2019 (date of shower)- For "Love you Forever"

Dear Ryan,

This is a very special book to me that has a very special message. Read it with your mom often (and let me know if she cries). I read this book to your Uncle Gabriel and Uncle Elijah a lot when they were little and teared up every time. By the way, Uncle Gabriel was EXACTLY like the boy in the story.....being naughty, making messes, putting things in the toilet and swearing!

We can't wait to meet you, little guy! We love you!

Love,

Grandma P. , Uncle E and Uncle G.

*Side note Grandma P. was a name given to me by a Club Smith member and for some reason I kind of like it haha

Dear Ryan,

Happy Shower Day! I can hardly wait to meet you! This is a book that takes place in Maine where I live right now and where your mom grew up most of her life. It was one of your mom's favorite books when she was little. We read it often, and I hope you read if often with your mom and dad. I do hope that someday you will get to go blueberry picking in Maine with me.

Love,

Grandma P.

To my first grand baby,

I can't believe you're almost here. You're a very lucky little guy. You have the best parents and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins who love you a ton! And you have two pretty cool grandmas! I hope you like reading this book about a day in Maine when you get a little older. It is kind of a long story but well worth the time in your parent's lap to hear it all. Perfect for a bedtime story if you want to stay up a little later or great for a rainy day snuggle.

See you soon!

Love XXOO

Grandma P.

March 21, 2019

So happy to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day today in Club Smith with my friends! Such a kind, caring and supportive classroom! You guys rock! It is the end of a busy day, and I am sitting, you guessed it by my wood stove where I just built a fire. For some reason the fire was smoky and set off some smoke detectors. I was home alone and my son's friend showed up and came running in thinking there was a fire. I'm feeling better today about the days that are ahead. I got my son checked in for his flight tomorrow morning. I also gave him the essentials......cash, an emergency credit card and his passport. The hockey bag, hockey stick and clothes I will leave to him. I am also feeling a bit more prepared for my daughter's baby shower. I finally bought a dress to wear (found it at Target.....sometimes Target surprises me). I tried on 5 dresses and I actually liked 4/5....AMAZING! I chose the dress that had sleeves bc it is still March and that I had shoes at home to match and coincidentally matched the color I had my nails painted. Somehow it all came together! I also began book shopping for soon to be grandson......so awesome. It reminded me of all the special stories I read to my children when they were young. I read to each of them every night of their childhood and some of my best memories are of the books I read to and with them. I still have all my favorites on the book shelves of my house. I can remember reading my daughter a picture book called "The Big Big Sea" about a mom and young daughter (4-5) that went to the beach at night and put their feet in the water and looked at the moon etc. When they got home they ate "hot buttered toast" and the girl fell asleep on her mom's lap and the mom told her little girl, "Remember this time, it's the way life should be." This line always got me! At the time I read this book to my daughter the most she was about the same age as the girl in the story and we lived on Hills Beach Rd in Biddeford and we would go down to the beach at night. I could barely make it through this book without tearing up. A great memory I have of reading to my youngest son was when he was maybe one year old and he loved books that had real baby pictures in them. He had one about different feelings and he would mimic each face in the book. I remember holding him in fleece zip up feet pjs in the rocker in his room. He was a fussy baby so I was always happy to find something like a book to distract him. My older son seemed to like chapter books from the start and was an early reader. We read many "Hardy Boys" (always gigglimg about how the Hardy Boys friend Chet was described in every book as stout) and hockey books always taking turns reading bc his famous line as a youngster was "Let Eli try." He always wanted (and still does) to be older than he was. So I am super excited to share books with my grandson. Today I got him a hardcover of "Blueberries for Sal"......love this one as did all of my kids. More book shopping tomorrow!

March 20, 2019

I am sitting here first day of Spring with a fire going in my wood stove.....I want to finish my 9/11 story but I don't have the energy tonight. It was a busy time after school. I did get a short run in though and made a nice dinner for my boys and had a couple of nice conversations with my daughter. She is getting quite far along in her pregnancy......time flies and she sent me a picture of her little guy on a 3D ultrasound where I could see his precious little nose and mouth. It has already been determined that his nose looks like the nose that both my daughter and I have! I can't wait to meet my first grandson. He is lucky because he has some pretty awesome parents (and a super cool Grandma....that's me lol)!

I've decided to write about something I'm good at and that is starting a wood fire in honor of my wood stove and the heat and comfort it has provided me throughout this Slice of Life challenge. Here is the process from the very beginning......

Every summer I have wood delivered to my house. They bring it in a big dump truck and dump it in a gigantic pile outside my barn. Moving it into the barn and stacking it neatly into many rows is step one. We haul it in in a wheelbarrow and everyone who lives here (aka my strong sons) are required to help.

When the air chills, we bring wood into the house using a cart. One person wheels the cart to the door and hands off armfuls of wood to the person inside to put in the rack we have by the wood stove,

Here is where I become the expert. I am better than my sons at starting a fire in the stove. There is a technique to it and I actually taught my brother how to do it by email when he first bought his house in Spain (a very very old home that had a woodstove as the only source of heat). First, you need to clean the ashes from the previous day's fire. You do this by scraping the bottom of the stove with a special metal probe like tool so the ashes go through the grate into the ash pan. The ash pan is emptied into a metal ash bucket outside. Next you keep the door to where the ash pan is open (the ash pan slides in and out of an area that has a door) while you start the fire. There are also two dampers that open and close with handles on the wood stove, When starting a fire, these have to be open which means they are pushed all the way to the right. I start with putting two small pieces of wood on the bottom of the stove. They are placed along the long edge of the stove and there should be plenty of space between them. Between the small logs, place balled up newspaper (don't skimp on newspaper). Make sure it is actual newsprint paper not glossy ads or magazine type paper.....this does not work so well. On top of the newspaper you put kindling which is small slivers of wood and/or bark (birch bark is the BEST for this). Next using a match or lighter light the newspaper. Keep the door to the ash pan area and both dampers open until the fire gets going. If the fire is going strong, then shut the ash pan door first. If after 5-10 minutes it's still going strong, close the bottom damper. If it continues to go strong, close the top damper (this is the one that closes the chimney flue). If you want to keep a fire going into the night, make sure all these things are shut and stuff the stove full of wood. If ever there is a time when the fire is not going strong, open in reverse order.....damper for flue, bottom damper and if all else fails ash pan door. If needed add more paper and kindling and start again.......hate when this happens. Timing, kindling , and dry firewood are key!!

March 19, 2019

I wrote in a journal last night and am typing it on Slice of Life now. I was really tired last night. There is a lot going on in my life right now (all good things). I might sell my house, my older son is taking a trip to visit a college in West Virginia leaving Friday and my daughter's baby shower is this weekend so I'm heading to New York and still have NOTHING to wear!!

I have come to the realization that seeing water in nature (not from a faucet or even a pool) is something I love and I usually sneak a peek of water daily whether it's a run or walk with my dog by the ocean or just a short stroll through my yard to the stream behind my house. My daughter lives in Long Island, NY not far from the ocean, so when I visit her, I always take a run to look at the ocean. I shared with her that I feel the need to see water with her on a recent trip. She asked me why (her and her husband live close to the ocean, yet they never go to see it,.....I don't get it)!! Here are some reasons I explained to her. First, the sound of waves crashing on the beach or the sound of moving water in a stream is extremely peaceful and comforting to me . It's hard to explain why but I believe many people feel this way. There are always people parked at the beach in Kennebunk sitting in their cars with the window down. I'm guessing it's to hear the waves. The sound of a river or stream offers the same comfort. When deciding on the purchase of my last two homes (one was on a river, the one I live in now has a stream), I went inside and opened the windows and listened. The sound of the moving water esp at night sealed the deal for me in both these homes. The other thing I love about seeing the ocean I explained to my daughter is it's vastness reminds me that I am a part of something huge. For some reason that makes me realize that my problems/worries are small in the grand scheme of things. We are just guests here, the ocean is here to stay. Another thing that comforts me are the smell of fresh air cold or warm either misty salty air or earthy, leafy, pine air. Both have a therapeutic effect and have a way of improving m mood.

March 18, 2019- "The Other 9/11" (Note: this story is in no way the same as 9/11/2001....it's just that these events happened to occur on 9/11 as well)

It was a dark and stormy morning. It was 9/11/2016. My friend and I were doing a triathlon. We set out early in the morning in the rain and wind, our wetsuits packed, bikes on the back of my Outback, cell phones by our side, waiting for an update about the race......would it be cancelled? Will we still have to do the ocean swim we wondered as we watched the waves crashing in? "Wouldn't break my heart if we got to run instead of swim," I said to my friend (I"m a better runner than swimmer). Just then we received the message that the swim portion of the race was being replaced by a 2 mile run on the beach due to lightning and rough ocean conditions, but the rest of the race would go on. We celebrated a bit as we pulled into the parking area. No wet suit to peel off today....YAY! We signed in, put our bikes in the transition area, and got ready to run. The 2 mile run on the beach went smoothly, the weather had calmed a bit. I was feeling good as I hopped on my bike for the 15 mile ride through Biddeford Pool. The weather became intense. It started pouring rain and I heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance. The wind picked up and I felt like it was pushing me and my bike over. Every part of me was soaked to the point where it didn't matter. Rain pelted my face and visibility was limited. "I can't believe we are racing in this, " I thought as I kept pushing myself and pedaling, passing other bikers. I was proud and felt strong. I am usually bummed when the bike portion of a triathlon is over bc I quite enjoy the ride but today I was relieved. I dumped my bike in the transition area and began to run. As I was running, the weather cleared and the sun came out. "My son's football game won't be cancelled, " I thought happily. He was enjoying playing and had done well the first games of the season. I looked forward to attending the game later in the day with my friend that I was doing the triathlon with. Her son was also on the team. They were getting a ride to the field with a teammate since we would be a little late to the game. I started to run faster. I was looking at all the women's calves ahead of me as I ran determined to pass anyone in my age group. For those who may not know, your age is marked with sharpie on your calf when doing a triathlon. I was seeking out females in my age group 50-55. There's one ahead, 53, pass her, not much longer to go, here's a 54, pass her, can't be too many more. Breathing hard and my legs were tired. I'm very close to the finish on the gravel driveway that leads to the beach where we started. One more to pass (51 on her calf), and I passed her right before the finish. My friend, a fierce competitor, finished before me and was waiting with her husband. We all hugged, thrilled that it was over, anxious to get on with our day. Food was being served so we decided to eat before we left to change for the football game.

"I think I'll head to the game," my friend's husband told us. "I want to be there in case one of the boys gets hurt." We said goodbye and said we would leave after the awards....after passing all those 50-55 year olds I had to place, right? Turns out I came in third that day for my age group! I was pretty pumped.....it was going to be a great day!

Well, not so much. We loaded our bikes. We went to our respective houses to change for the football game. She picked me up and we started off to Bonny Eagle where the game was. "I wonder how much of the game we have missed, " I commented as her phone rang. To be continued........

March 17, 2019 Happy St. Patrick's Day

First, I want to start this post by saying how fortunate, honored and grateful I feel to have gone on my friend, Sami's, home visit to videotape her interview with her grandparents. It was awesome to hear their stories and watch this interaction between generations.

Looking through my slice of life entries so far it is clear that I have only written lists and stories about my family so I'm going to get out of my comfort zone and try to brainstorm and write a poem about the walk I took in the woods by my house this morning with my dog. So here goes:

Hear- crunching from boots on snow, the stream, my dogs tags as he walks, tiny pitter patter of black and white kitty's feet (she joined the walk), the creaking of tree trunks from the wind, the wind, cars going down the road, occ meow from kitten, my phone vibrating for text (should have left it at the house)

See- my dog at the stream's edge, going between trees, and sniffing, black and white kitty climbing trees and following me on the trail, old forts my boys built when they were young, fallen trees, remnants of trees that have been taken by beavers, small ice dams, leaves blowing, trees swaying in the wind, my neighbor's fields and barn, the stream rushing by, blue sky and clouds, bare tree branches, tall pines and baby pines, the back of my barn

Smell- wood fire (from my house), fresh crisp air, earth (like dirt/dried leaf/pine cone smell)

Feel- Physical- wind on my face, cold air, like my hair needs washed, cold hands

Emotional- Content, relaxed, energized, a little sad that tomorrow is Monday, happy for my dog who is thrilled to be in the woods unleashed instead of running through kbunkport on a leash, fortunate, a little anxious, love for my pets

Thinking- about what I'm going to wear to my daughter's baby shower next weekend, my to do list for the week, how I'm going to bed early tonight to prevent Monday tiredness, how it was a good weekend so far, what am I going to write for slice of life, do I really need to go to Hannaford?

March 16, 2019

Adoption part 3- "Elijah"

I forgot to mention in the week before we left, I scrambled to get baby stuff. My friend from Massachusetts came and went shopping with me to get furniture and clothes. I remember this as a fun and exciting week.

The trip to Virginia was long. It was before phones and portable DVD players, so our time was spent reading out loud from books and listening to books on CD. I remember we listened to "Anne of Green Gables." That book will forever remind me of the trip to Virginia.

Here is a back story that will be important to know for when we meet the social worker in Virginia. A few years prior to the adoption, I had a baby who was born too early and died. He was a boy, and we named him Elijah.

We finally arrived in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Before meeting our baby, we had to meet with this agency's social workers who gave us additional details about his birth parents and foster family and yes, more paper work that had to be finalized before we could cross state lines. There were two social workers. All I can remember is that they were kind of like "southern belles" with thick southern drawls and they were very proper and one of them was named Penny. They also took their time with everything not realizing how badly I wanted to meet my baby.

And here's the moment where I knew this was fate. "You may know that the foster family has been calling him Bryce (said in a thick accent- Ba RICE)," began one of the social workers, "but his birth mother named him Elijah."

I immediately started crying. I had chills. The social workers looked at me like I was crazy. I told them the story of the other baby Elijah. We had thought about naming this baby Elijah too and now I knew we would. How could we not? It's funny how the universe sends you a sign sometimes to let you know that things in your life are meant to be.

Long story short. At last we got to meet Elijah. I loved him from the moment I held him for the first time....no joke. Some people don't believe in adoption bc they think you can't bond with a baby you didn't give birth to. This is simply not true. I kissed him so much that day, that I do believe his little baby brain was thinking, "Why does this strange lady keep kissing me?"

Now this baby is a teenager and a pain in my you know what most of the time. But thinking back to all that fell into place and knowing that his birth mother and I were connected by a name reminds me that Elijah was brought into our family for a reason. I'll never forget when he was a little fella like 5-6 years old and we were talking about his birth mom and foster mom (just explaining things to him), and he started crying (which I will also do as I type this), "I never wanted any other mom, I only wanted you," he said.

March 15, 2019

Adoption part 2- Reverse discrimination?

Going through my Slice of Life stories I realized I never finished my adoption story. I have a really cool story about my son Elijah's name but not sure if I'll put it in this writing or do a separate writing about it. As I was saying, the paperwork for adoption was immense. We had to write biographies about our lives including our childhoods as well as get three letters of reference from friends who knew us as parents, and as I mentioned, fill out countless forms saying what disabilities, diseases, deformities, etc we would accept. Phew! Then the waiting began. At the time this all began we lived in Massachusetts but were getting ready to move to Maine. The agency we used had branches in Massachusetts and Maine so it worked out. We hadn't heard a peep from the agency other than we were "approved" as adoptive parents as we made our move. We weren't in our new home but a week or so when we got a call. "Come into the agency so we can check in," they said. I believe I went in alone with my then 8 year old daughter. The agency worker just asked me questions about the new house and moving in.....pretty generic and general questions. She never mentioned any babies. My daughter and I got home and as soon as I walked in the door, the phone was ringing. I picked up and it was the same woman I just had a conversation with at the agency. I remember thinking it strange bc I had just spoke with her. "I didn't want to say anything because your daughter was with you, " she explained, "but there is a baby boy available in Virginia ready for adoption." I'm pretty sure I jumped and screamed for joy! She continued with details....his age (6 months), race (African American), location(Virginia Beach), and what happens next. I couldn't believe it! "He's ready to go in a week," she went on.

"Wh, Wh, WHAT!" I thought but didn't say because I wanted her to think we were prepared. Remember my daughter is 8 and we just moved. We have NO baby stuff. I mean not a thing and we are living in Northern Maine where shopping is nonexistent. The next step was to meet with a social worker to do (you guessed it) more paper work and get additional details. I was soooo excited! We met with the social worker who gave us more details about the his birth, that he's in a foster home and they call him "Bryce", and she gives us pictures. I can't even begin to tell you what a cutie he was (and he's still pretty handsome)! There were pictures of him smiling in a photography studio, ones of him sleeping, in a pool....he was obviously well cared for and I was madly in love already! However, my excitement was short lived. Later that day we got a call from the social worker. "I'm so sorry," she started (never a good thing when a sentence begins with I'm sorry). "The agency in Virginia found a black family for the baby and they think that's a better fit." I was crushed, destroyed, devastated. I immediately called the agency in Maine who said no way were they going to let this happen, but that it would be a day or two before we'd know for sure. In addition, we had to meet with our social worker to give proof (not kidding) that we had exposure to other cultures and were not racist or ignorant. After this paperwork was submitted we waited. The first day I stayed at home waiting and waiting for the phone to ring. Nothing, crickets, radio silence. The next day I resolved that I would NOT wait by the phone or stay at home but would get out with my daughter and do something. I can't remember what we did. When we got home we both went to the barn to feed her horse and do chores. I heard a car pull up our long driveway. I recognized it as our social workers. I was feeling anxious, nervous and like i might vomit. She got out and was holding a blue balloon that said "It's A Boy." I was ecstatic. My daughter and I were hugging, jumping up and down, crying happy tears. The social worker joined our hug. I will never forget this day for as long as I live. One week later we were driving in our Subaru Forester to Virginia to pick up our boy. My life has never been the same.

March 14, 2019

Ahhh....here I am again. I'm quite enjoying this new habit of writing every night before bed. I look forward to it like I'm going to see a friend.

Thank you, Mrs. Smith for letting me know you enjoy my stories. Often times, I think my life is kind of boring until I start sharing even the simplest things like dinners and conversations. We all find connections to each other in some way! I really felt a connection to the video about Josh today and was glad I got to share my son's story with the class bc I think kids can identify with some of his struggles and how he resolved them in a simple way. I shared his writing with Mrs. Smith so she can share it with you.

I'm going to do another list tonight of some of Ms. Penny's least favorite things....I don't mean to be a negative Nelly but we all have things we dislike, pet peeves or things that bother or annoy us. In the grand scheme of things I don't have that many (I don't think). Here they are (in no particular order).....

1. Shopping esp for clothes and Christmas presents (and yuck I have to go shopping this weekend to get something to wear to my daughter's baby shower)

2. Housework (I'd rather mow the lawn and garden any day)!

3. Mondays (I think most people agree with this one)

4. Negativity......nothing worse than this!

5. Complaining.......kind of goes with the negativity

6. Whining.....should have grouped 4, 5, and 6 together?

7. Fake, disingenuous, superficial people

8. Dishonesty

9. Ungratefulness esp from my own children

10. Self centered/selfishness

11. Holidays (sorry, I'm just not a fan)

12. Social media

13. Poor grammar (guilty myself at times)

14. Snakes....I've tried to over come this, a snake has never done anything to me, but I find them disgusting

15. Mice/rodents- I'm with Mrs. Smith on this one. The only mice I can tolerate are dead ones

16. Ignorance

17. Cartoons

18. Crying

March 13, 2019

After an obligation I had after school today, I remembered that it's light out later in the evening now and I would be able to go for a run outside.....fresh air and exercise are two musts in my life. They keep me in check for sure. I drove down to Kennebunkport and parked in my usual spot. I was getting ready to take off when it occurred to me that I'm in a rental car (my son's car is being fixed and he's not old enough to drive a rental) and I'm without my ear buds for music bc they are in my car which my son has. "Ughh," I said out loud to no one. There is nothing worse than running listening to your own breathing instead of music. "I can do this," I told myself, and I did.

The point of this is that I came up with a lot of ideas to write about bc I was thinking only instead of thinking and listening to music.

While I was running, I thought back to how much I enjoyed reading as a child and teen (and I still do). I think kids back then and even when my kids were young just read more for entertainment and pleasure rather than bc we had to, We never logged hours or were told by teachers to read a certain amount per night, We had fewer entertainment options, There were no computers, limited video games, no cell phones, and three tv channels with only one tv per household (at least in my house and guess what that meant? We were watching what Dad wanted). Anyway, I was running and thinking about a specific reading memory. I was probably 9-10 years old and had a cold. My mom allowed me to lay in bed during the day and read. You may not think of this as a big deal but my mom was a bit of a drill sergeant. We weren't allowed to lounge during the day. We were expected to pull our weight around the house by doing chores or be outside playing in the neighborhood. Definitely not allowed to watch tv and definitely not allowed to lay in bed. So my cold must have been pretty bad, bc my mom allowed me to lay in bed with a book. I shared a room with my older sister. I can still see my twin bed with the Snoopy bedspread. My mom put the vaporizer on with Vicks in it. The hum of the vaporizer and the smell of Vicks was very soothing. (to this day, the smell of Vicks Vaporub is very comforting to me when I have a cold). I was so comfortable and relaxed. The book I was reading was one in the series of Nancy Drew mysteries. It was one book with two stories in it, "The Case of the Old Clock" and "The Case of the Hidden Staircase." I was reading "The Case of the Old Clock" and using a piece of play money as my bookmark. I'm not sure why this simple memory is so vivid to me, but it is. In fact, this Nancy Drew book is still on my book shelf today and it still has the play money bookmark in it,

March 12, 2019

Don't Be That Guy

Ne excuses! No I didn't feel like writing tonight.....it's late and I have spent the entire afternoon, evening and night cleaning my house to show tomorrow. Anyway, I wanted to share that I borrowed a phrase from Mrs. Smith to use with my son tonight. It's the phrase "Don't be that person" but I changed it to "Don't be that guy." I was surprised that my son actually understood what it meant. Here is how I used it.....

I was having dinner with my older son. My younger son was at the gym and then having dinner with his friends. I made my older son one of his favorites (cheeseburger sliders) since it was just the two of us. He is a high school senior getting ready for the next stage of his life. He recently had a birthday. I didn't really get him a present...well because I was waiting for him to tell me what he really wanted. I didn't want to waste money guessing and quite frankly the kid has a lot.....a car with insurance, a cell phone with insurance, plays hockey with a private organization, etc. For his birthday, he had some friends over and I made his very favorite, lobster mac n cheese and we had a cake. Just this past weekend he found out that he got into West Virginia University and was invited to skate with their hockey team bc their coach saw him play in a tournament this season. So, I was thinking a plane ticket to WVU would be a great birthday gift since I had not gotten him anything yet. I purchased it over the weekend. So, here's where I used Mrs. Smith's line. We're having dinner tonight and he asked for something for his car for his birthday. Well, I explained your ticket to the college is your present. He kind of scoffed at that idea saying that that didn't seem like a birthday present and that's when I said, "Don't be that guy." To me this meant don't be that entitled spoiled brat bc you have more than a lot of kids and a plane ticket is expensive. He seemed to understand what was implied by the statement and rebutted, "I'm not that guy." We carried on eating and chatting about other things and the present was not brought up again (not yet) anyway. So, thank you Mrs. Smith for teaching me that phrase.

March 11, 2019

Adoption part 1

I want to tell the story of how my oldest son (middle child) became a part of my family and my life. It was the year 2000 (we had all survived Y2K)! Our little family had struggles providing a sibling for our daughter. I definitely knew I wasn’t an only child kind of mom…..I wanted many children, not just one. My then husband and I decided to try adoption. There were so many children in this world in need of a loving homes. This was a time when adopting internationally was the craze, but we thought no, there are plenty of children right here at home that need a family. We started the process. Let me fill you in…. it’s not a simple thing. We are well educated, good parents shouldn’t we just have to fill out a form and be given the baby of our choice.. not the case…..the paperwork is immense. There were forms galore, interviews of us and our daughter. They inspected our home. Holy invasion!! What age child will you take….well my daughter is 9 probably a little weird to add a sibling that is older than her. She is used to being the princess you know (side note she’s never gotten over being the princess). There were other questions, health related…...would you adopt a child with one arm, one leg, two heads (just kidding), who will be guardian if something happens to you….the paperwork was mind boggling and endless. To be continued.

March 10, 2019 Boston, MA. Next to Fenway park and across the street from house of blues where my sons are attending a concert

I am sitting here in Boston tonight while my boys attend a rap concert…..A Bogie wit da hoodie I think this rapper is called. I drove them down bc my older son is staying overnight with his friends. Even though he promised to help his younger brother and his friend get an Uber to the train station, I was a bit concerned that wouldn’t happen so I came to make sure they get home safely. I guess I didn’t pay attention when I got them the tickets for Christmas that this was a Sunday night concert. My younger son and his friend are very excited…..for my son, this is his first concert without me tagging along and for his friend, it’s his first concert ever. Seeing Fenway park reminded me of all the MLB games I went to when I was a child except it was the Cleveland Indians not the Red Sox. This started me thinking about the town I grew up in. As you’ve probably surmised, I grew up near Cleveland. Brook park is a suburb on the west side of Cleveland. It was and still is a working class, blue collar town. I believe most of the houses were built in the 1960s during a time when people were moving out of the city. In fact, my family moved out of Cleveland to Brook Park when I was one in 1967. It is very residential city of about 15-20,000 at the time with a lot of strip malls and fast food. There is nothing quaint or picturesque about it. One of the major employers was a Ford plant (now closed) and you could see it from my house. All of the streets looked the same, houses upon houses mostly ranch style and split level ranch style with small lawns. Most of the neighborhoods had sidewalks but there was a definite lack of trees. Everyone had a small postage stamp type lawn with one tree that must have been planted by the city bc it was in the same location on everyone’s lawn. Brook Park has a library which was conveniently across the street from my house and I spent many summer days there getting books or doing summer programs. There was also baseball and football fields across from my house and I also spent many days there since my dad was a baseball and flag football coach and I played on his teams until well tackling began and I started softball with girls. I recently visited and the fields have been improved. Next to the playing fields is the elementary school, brook park memorial. Across from that was a nice recreation center that was built when I was young with an indoor pool and track…..also a lot of time spent there. Tennis courts that were flooded in the winter for ice skating completes the area. I can understand why my parents chose this city to raise a family….it had a lot to offer and was and still is inexpensive to live. As a child I longed for trees to climb and woods and water to play in. So I sought that out for my kids and here I am…..close to the ocean and surrounded by woods!

March 9, 2019

It's late (11:17 PM) to be exact. My house is quiet which is unusual for a Saturday night. My boys are out tonight. One is at a University of Maine hockey game and the other is at Thornton Academy's winter carnival dance. I'm going to attempt a list of my favorite movies.

1. Miracle- this is the story of the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal against all odds. This was the last year that Olympic hockey teams were made up of amateurs and not professional athletes. The team was made up of all college hockey players. This was the first movie I took my older son to and I think it's why he decided to play hockey. If you like this movie, the book "Boys of Winter" is awesome and tells the story of each player.

2. Sound of Music- You all know I love this movie. I love the music and the history. This was the only movie my mom ever let me stay up to watch past my bedtime as a child.

3. Band of Brothers- this is not really a movie but a HBO miniseries about the 101st Airborne that parachuted into Normandy on D day. There are like 14 parts. The DVDs came out when my youngest son was born and I watched 1 disc per night while I held him when he was fussy. I think that's why he loves WW 2 history. There is also a book called "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose, also very good!

4. Juno- I love the main character because I think she's super witty. It's funny yet also sad and touching. I also adore Jason Bateman and he's pretty funny in this movie. This may have won an Academy Award awhile back.

5. Pitch Perfect- Just the first one. Silly but I love the music and love that Anna Kendrick is from Maine. I watched this on video the first time my now son in law came to my house. He sang along at the top of his lungs and I instantly knew I loved him.

6. Mystery, Alaska- another great hockey movie about a pick up hockey team in Alaska who gains national fame because Sports Illustrated does an article on them. They then play the NY Rangers professional team at their home ice in Alaska. It's funny and a great underdog sports story (one of my fave themes)!

Honorable mentions- We are Marshall, Remember the Titans, Grease. Breakfast Club, 13 Hours, Patriots Day, Invincible, Saving Private Ryan, the Patriot (just to name a few).

March 8, 2019

Again sitting in my favorite room by the wood stove. I am typing what I wrote in a journal yesterday because last night I was too tired to get my Chromebook from upstairs and I usually have a journal here by my favorite resting spot. I am tired tonight because after school I came home and cleaned my barn and basement which was a lot of work. I am cleaning because I am showing my house this week to someone who is interested in maybe buying it, Anyway, when I was cleaning the barn, I had to put my large extension ladder away. I keep it up in the loft of the barn. Putting it away reminded me of why I had it down in the first place. It's kind of a funny story in retrospect.

I think it was late October or early November. It was 430 AM and it was pretty chilly and dark. Most mornings I get up early to go to the Y before work. The first thing I do in the morning is go out to the barn. I keep my dog's food in the barn as well as I had just adopted two kittens to live in the barn as my elderly barn cat had just died. I went outside. It was cold. I am too lazy to put a coat on in the morning even in the winter. The first thing I hear was the kittens meowing, Not a pleasant mewing but a distressed meowing...... I knew something was wrong. Where I live it's very dark,,,,no street lights in Arundel. The only light I had was on my phone and inside the barn, I scanned the yard which is large and as I said dark. Then the dog starts barking as well and an owl is hooting. The noises are in stereo I think......cats meowing, dog barking, owl hooting. I spot one kitten.....the skittish black one. She is stressed and at the base of a huge oak tree. Still using my phone as a flashlight, I look up the oak tree and I spot the other kitten way up high....obviously stranded in a branch. She is upset and stuck. She is pacing on a large branch. She must be at least 10 feet up or more. I can't believe this.....I didn't think cats actually got stuck in trees. I thought that only happened in books and movies. Oh geez I thought to myself.....how am I going to get this kitten down? One thing you should know about me is that I don't like to ask for help, so I told myself I could do this....I wasn't going to call the fire department, animal control or a friend's husband. I have an assortment of ladders in the barn. The first ladder I tried was an old wooden ladder that came with the barn. I leaned it up against the trunk of the tree, This wasn't even going to come close. I climbed the ladder. It didn't even bring me close to the stressed kitten. I could see from this vantage point though that there was a branch that the kitten could get to in one small leap and I could grab her, I yelled to the kitten.....look you just need to jump to this branch I pointed and I can grab you. Surprise she didn't listen to me....Come on black and white kitty (she had and still has no name- I always call them black kitty and black and white kitty.....sad but true). The next ladder I got from the barn was a step ladder....probably about the same height as the wooden ladder but a little sturdier. Same routine.....yelling jump to the next branch...please! My last resort is a huge extension ladder that weighs a ton. I'm not even sure i can get it from the loft myself but guess what? I did. However, this ladder is tall....10 or 20 feet? I'm bad at judging these things. There is no way I'm going up without someone holding this ladder. You all prob remember that I have two strong sons at home. They were both still sleeping (at this point, it was about 5-530 AM....guess I'm missing my class at the Y). In my mind I'm thinking what son is most likely to help this early? I decide on the younger one.....he's an early riser and easy to wake up. I dart up to his room and explain the situation. He joins me outside and braces the ladder. I begin my journey up and up and up. It's terrifying being up so high stabilized only by a 16 year old's arms. I don't know how high I am but it seems like 100 feet. I get closer to the kitten who is still meowing. I get close enough to grab her front leg. Her claws dig into the branch. She does and does not want to come down. My heart is beating out of my chest, the other kitten is still meowing, the owl hooting, my son calling do you have her? I pull black and white kitten's leg harder afraid of hurting her but desperate to get off this ladder and back on solid ground. Finally she breaks free from the branch and I have her in my arms. Now the journey down the ladder, steadying myself as well as holding onto a frantic kitten. Down each wrung, 10 more to go, now 5....you got it my son asks me. My feet hit the ground, Relief rushes over me. The kitten claws her way out of my arms to be reunited with her sister "black kitty." I did it! No help needed! I honestly thought cats getting stuck in trees was the stuff of books and movies but it happens. As soon as I get down I wonder how people get up on ladders daily for work.

March 7, 2019

I am pleasantly tired.......the kind of tired that almost feels good, the kind that makes you feel relaxed. The kind that comes from fresh air and physical activity. The kind that ends a great day! I am sitting by a roaring fire in the wood stove wrapped in my favorite quilt (my daughter made it in high school) my dog at my feet in my favorite room in the house. It is my favorite room for a few reasons. In the winter it's because of the wood stove for sure. I also love this room because it has huge windows that overlook my side yard and the woods behind my house. In the summer the windows offer a nice breeze. There is a really big bird feeder attached to the side of the house that is right by the window. So many birds visit this feeder. I have a book of Maine birds on the window sill and I identify and check off any new bird species I see. There is a pair of cardinals that are regulars at the feeder and each day the male flies into the window several times in a row usually in the morning making loud thuds every time. I'm not sure why he does this, but he never seems to learn the lesson that there is glass there. This room also has a sliding door that leads to the pool very convenient in the summer. This room is the newest room in my house. It was the site of an outdoor deck. Now it connects the old main house with the newer apartment part of the house.

Back to being pleasantly tired from a great day.....I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the tubing hill with my Club Smith friends today! I heard laughter and saw friends having fun together. Everyone was happy! I loved seeing all of the rosy cheeks and smiles! Most importantly, I witnessed many acts of kindness. When we were having our discussion about why we were lucky the other day, I consider myself lucky to be part of this truly spectacular class. #Club Smith forever

March 6, 2019

It's day 6 and I'm still going strong. I can't believe it! I'm treating this challenge like I treat my daily exercise routine......My motto is "NO EXCUSES." I've always enjoyed writing and my head is always swimming with ideas for writing. These ideas come to me while I'm sleeping or going to sleep, while I'm running, when I'm working, when I'm cleaning/cooking, when I'm doing things with my family, when I'm shopping......you get the picture, right? There is not very many times when I'm not thinking about things I can write about.

Here is another list.....this is a list of things that make me feel content, things that make me smile (not really laugh or a big smile, but a little smile inside and out)

1. When I see dogs in moving cars with their heads out the windows

2. Chickens in a yard (not in a coop or pen)

3. Horses knickering or looking for a treat

4. Little kids in hockey gear

5. Young girls on horses esp in show clothes

6. Dogs waiting for school buses (esp my old dog who used to wait for my boys to get off the bus)

7. The sound of kids playing outside

8. Watching my own kids sleep

9. Tasteful Christmas decorations

10. Old houses with barns

11. Dogs sitting in the passenger seats of cars

12. Listening to children (my own included) talking and laughing together

13. The dishwasher running after dinner

14. A freshly painted room

15. A mowed and trimmed lawn and weeded garden

16. A good sports game

17. Fall colors

18. A fire in the wood stove

19. A good book

20. A good meal

21. A thank you from my children

22. Clothes hanging on the clothes line

23. Eating food from the garden in the winter

24. Birds at the bird feeders

25. Ducks in the stream in the spring

26. Watching my boys talk to opponents on the playing field or ice

27. The sound of peepers

March 5, 2019

The Basketball Hoop

After shooting hoops in the gym with two friends today, I began to reminisce about the basketball hoop that stands in my driveway. Here's its story......

About 8 1/2 years ago, my family moved from northern to southern Maine. My sons were young, and we had a smallish, inexpensive hoop that I didn't think would survive the move. Its backboard was cheap plastic I think, and it was a pain to move the hoop to different heights to accommodate different shots and different sized players. When the moving men arrived I instructed them to put it in the dumpster. We had a lot of other driveway entertainment options......hockey and soccer nets, roller blades, bikes, skateboards, scooters. I didn't realize how much the hoop would be missed. "Can you drive us to the court to play basketball?" became a daily request. The time had come for a new hoop. This also came at a time when our family was going through some tough transitions. "A basketball hoop will be a perfect gift for my son's birthday, " I told myself. I went to a large chain sporting goods store and was overwhelmed by my choices. There were different sized backboards (who knew?), ones that had a lever to change the height (seemed like a good feature), ones with bases and ones that could be cemented into the ground. After hemming and hawing, I finally decided on one that I thought was the best fit. I went to pay and remembered with my family's recent transition I needed someone to put it together. Another $100 I was told....ouch! It'll be worth it I convinced myself.

The hoop was delivered and set up while my son was in school so it would be a surprise. I was super excited for him to see it when he got off the bus. However, much to my surprise, he was not happy with it. "This is NOT what I wanted for my birthday," he screamed as he stormed into the house, tears in his eyes. My heart sank. Part of me felt he was being a spoiled brat....this was an expensive, fun present and part of me felt sorry....he was having trouble with our family's changes and nothing was making him happy.

Long story short. He grew to love the hoop. We all did. Many memories have been made. We played many 2 on 1 games (my younger son and me v. my older son). Our team was "Chex Mix" and my older son's was "Doritos." Why we named them after snacks I'll never know. "Chex Mix, Chex Mix" we used to chant. Our family grew and we added my now son in law, a New Yorker who doesn't like to get his shoes dirty to the games..... making it 2 on 2. The boys grew as did their circle of friends. One of my fondest memories is listening to the laughing and occasional fighting as younger boys played against older boys. When it got dark, the spotlight went on. When it snowed, the hoop was moved to the barn. "Let's play barn basketball," they would say on snowy days. The hoop still stands in my driveway. It's still the site of many games. It's rim has been replaced several times. Most recently it fell during a wind storm and missed hitting my son's car by a hair. It is by far one of the best investments I've ever made. It has provided exercise, laughter, teamwork, comradery , entertainment, and stress relief to my sons in times when they needed it the most.

March 4, 2019.......SNOW DAY!

Ideal snow day vs. reality snow day

I always envision me sleeping in on a snow day when in reality I wake up wondering if school is cancelled. Next are the phone calls and texts which make me even more awake. Thornton Academy calls my home and cell phone as does Saco Schools and the calls are all placed just far enough apart that my eyes close for a moment and the phone rings again. I also get a well timed text from TA. I also have this vision that I will lounge in my pjs in front of the wood stove all day......you know, reading, writing, watching Netflix, booking vacations and that this day will be peaceful. What a snow day usually entails is losing power, making a wood fire so we don't freeze, starting the generator if it gets to be too long without power. Oh and wait, then there's the snow removal. I start immediately with a path to the barn, because well that's where I keep the dog food (curse) and I have two barn kittens that are in need of food because I'm sure another wild critter helped themselves in the night. Snow blow part of the driveway, clean off cars, move them and clean the rest of the driveway. Then there's the shoveling delegated to strong boys. Yes you have to shovel the walks and steps. Then the path to the oil and path to the propane. I think we will enjoy each other's company but not the case....boys get angry when I don't allow them to drive. Sometimes I'd just rather go to work lol.

Full disclosure- Today was not a typical snow day. I did wake up early and was without power and had to make a fire. However, the power outage was short, the snow was easy to remove and the boys were able to drive because the roads were clear. I did sit by the woodstove for a little while like now as I write this.

March 3, 2019

How I know it's Sunday morning......

I know it's Sunday morning. I wake up naturally without an alarm. The sun is usually up. I make a mental guess of what time it is before I open my eyes and look at my phone. I am correct within 15 minutes most of the time. I wish I was the type who could lounge in bed maybe read or watch a show on Netflix but nope, I open my eyes and my feet hit the floor and I'm up (my youngest is plagued with this inability to stay in bed as well....it's a curse). I walk downstairs. The next way I know it's Sunday morning is there are adolescent boy bodies on my couches. There are food and dish messes in my kitchen from midnight snacks. There are clothes strewn about everywhere. My dog who is usually sleeping on his futon or by the wood stove is up too.....he has made a mess in the night of snack wrappers he has ripped up. My dog knows it's Sunday and is ready for his run. He brings me his leash. I tell him we will go in a few minutes, I've got to start cleaning the kitchen. I take a deep breath and load the dishwasher.....at least the dishes made it to the sink I tell myself. I pick up water bottles, wrappers, socks, blankets, pillows. I finally go for my run. The cold air feels great. I am energized. I come back home. I am met by country music blasting in the kitchen. The smell of eggs and toast fill the air as I open the door. The kitchen is a mess again.

March 2, 2019

Teenage boys.....caught between young men and little boys

It's late on Saturday night.....10:47 PM to be precise. It's been a long day of household chores.....grocery shopping, cooking, dishes, laundry, you know the drill. I did get my run in and spent time with an old friend. We watched our sons (both our middle children) play hockey from the comfort of her couch on her tv.....it's called "Hockey TV" and it's live streamed from the rink they are playing at in Massachusetts. Does beat travelling there and sitting on cold, hard bleachers listening to over zealous parents scream and berate players who oh my gosh might make a mistake. My younger son and his friends are at my house, waiting for me to make food. They are always a hungry bunch. I begin to say goodbye to my friend. I think she feels sorry for me as I read a text from my son...."They want chicken alfredo," I tell her. She replies, "Oh jeez, that's a tough one this late at night."

"It's fine, " I tell her. "They will all be gone before you know it." She understands. She has one in college and another one leaving in the fall for University of Alabama. Her youngest is a freshman. My youngest is a sophomore.

"How many do you have to feed?" she asks. I do the math in my head......there's Gabe, Joey, Tyler, Daniel, Micheal.....so 5 in total, 6 if Eli needs to eat after the game. It's all good I tell her. They are great kids.

I arrive home and start cooking. The boys all gather in my small kitchen in anticipation of the meal. I love their company and their constant chatter and laughter, their humor. They always make me laugh. I'm always the only female in my house. This group fortunately doesn't seem to care about having teenage girls around. They are happy in each other's company for now.

I cook and eavesdrop on their conversation and interject once in a while as I stir pasta and sauce. The chicken and bread are in the oven. The smell warms the house. I listen to them talk, talk about when they were little like toddler age. They talk about what they were afraid of, what they did at that young age. "I used to eat Nutter Butters on the toilet," one says. "I wanted to be a Power Ranger says another. My son admits, "I wasn't potty trained until I was five." This is true. I love this talk. I love that this is a Saturday night and this is where this group of high school boys are. The next topic of conversation is their favorite shows as young kids. It's mostly Disney channel shows......"Drake and Josh is mentioned as is "Suite Life on Deck", "Zeke and Luther, "Phineas and Ferb", "Sponge Bob." Their conversations make me smile. I feel fortunate that these boys choose to hang out here every weekend. Sometimes I wonder why? Is it because I'm the only idiot who will cook food at 11 PM? Is it because there are no younger siblings? No strict Dad? Is it because my house is big with lots of rooms and I don't mind if they make a mess or are loud? They are polite, genuine young men. They all have good hearts and I can't wait to see what they all do in the future. They say "Thank you, Penny for the food" and retire to the living room couch. Next thing I hear is "Drake and Josh", then more talking and laughing. There is nothing better than this. It's gone in a heartbeat. I cherish it and know I will never regret making chicken alfredo at 11 PM.

March 1, 2019

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string, here are a few of Ms. Penny's favorite things........

1. My family specifically my children, my son in law, my soon to be born grandson and my grandmother and my dog, my late mother in law, my niece

2. Burgers and fries

3. Nachos

4. My weekend runs in Kennebunkport

5. Laughter

6. Good movies

7. Books I can't put down

8. Old houses

9. Dancing

10. Weddings

11. Traveling/vacations

12. Singing

13. Yard games

14. Swimming in the ocean

15. Hot tubs

16. The USA

17. The sound of peepers in the spring

18. Warm weather

19. Beaches

20. Wood fires

21. Playing sports, specifically softball

22. Bike rides

23. Club Smith

(List inspired by watching the Sound of Music this week)

Comments: I am inspired by your writing. You need to write!!!! You need to tell your story.

From Mrs. Smith: Your entry tonight about books you read to your children made me cry in remembrance. Stories that have a meaning that others can relate to last the test of time.

Thanks for that entry.

(I love how you made a story that was inspiring also I like how you added the parentheses for his favorite cheese burger sliders.)

From Mrs. Smith: I think you are a great story teller from the details of the cat in the barn to the dinner table with your son. I think the Slice of Life Challenge helps us share all the little details about life with others. It's great to know more about you through your writing.

from Lauren: i love your 31 entry and the poem good job on the race.