Baby vs. Wagon - there IS a difference!

While I was in the mall today I noticed something that reminded me of another of my "pet peeves".

I was watching a mother and her baby (who was about 18 months old). He was small. And he was all over the place. Running here. Running there.

So the mom catches up with the baby and holds him by the hand. But he's so tiny that in order for her to hold his hand, his entire arm is being stretched. I mean, it practically took 2 of his little arm lengths in order for his tiny had to reach hers.

So now, she's got in by the hand and she's dragging him along with her. Mind you, he's a baby...with tiny feet. Much smaller than hers. So his strides don't equal hers. So she's dragging him along by the hand with his little arm STTRRREEEETTTTTCCCCCCHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDD and I'm thinking...that poor little baby's shoulder is going to pop right out of the socket. What's even more sad is that this isn't the first time that I've seen a mom do this. The other thing that I've seen mom's do is pick the baby up by just pulling them. Urgh! I mean, come on mom...can you be any LAZIER? Is the baby so heavy that you can't just pick him up? I think we all know the answer to that one.

I've had 3 babies, and never dragged them around like that. They were either in my arms or in a stroller, but never pulled around like a wagon...never.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! What have you seen parents do to their children that made you want to go up to 'em and say, "Really?"

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Is this thing on?

So it's been a couple of months since I started blogging and I just can't shake the feeling that I am only talking to myself. Gotta tell ya...there is absolutely no fun in that. If I only wanted these thoughts to be kept private, I'd write them down in a book with a lock and store them away in a secret place. But that's not what this is people.

This was not meant to be a monologue...it's a DIALOGUE. And I am determined to keep posting until somebody...ANYBODY posts a comment and gets the dialogue going.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! Which blogs do you regularly follow, subscribe to, and post comments. What was it about those blogs that drew you in?

Keep in mind, I don't plan on changing "this" to look like "that" because I think that one of the beauties in blogging is that each blog is unique from the next, and The Dialogue Den will always be just what it is. I'm simply looking for some feedback.

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Party of 1

This time last week I was dining at my favorite restaurant, celebrating my birthday...ALONE.

My friends were busy and it would have cost a fortune to take my kids with me, so I did what I've learned how to do so well over the past 10 years (not by choice, but simply because this is the way it is)...I made a reservation FOR MYSELF and went.

You'd think that after 10 years the awkwardness of eating alone in a restaurant would have worn off. For some, maybe that's the case. For me...not so much. I still miss the company of having someone (that special someone) sitting at the table with me. Especially on special occasions.

And if my BFFs are reading this...yes, I know that WE do most of these things together, but sometimes...every now & then, someone else needs to be sitting with me.

But there came a point where I had to decide if "Me, Myself and I" were going to continue doing the things that I enjoy, even if done ALONE, or would I just stop doing them all together?

I love life and living too much to just crawl into my shell and turn into a hermit simply because there's no one to experience life WITH.

So, little by little I learned how to do things as a "Party of 1".

Movies? Yes.
Concerts? Yes.
Plays? Yes.
Dinner? Yes.
Vacation? Not yet, but I sure have been thinking about it.

Oh, you should see the look on the faces when I'm asked, "How many in your party?", and I say, "One".

The reaction is as though I've said the unspeakable. And they repeat, "One???".

"Yep." I say.
"Just ONE".

Now for those who know me and are probably saying, "Why don't you do these things with your children?"

Well, I do as much as I can with them. But there are some things that I'd rather do with another adult (a.k.a my Husband, which I'll have one day), or just do by myself.

Do people look at me like I have a blue nose when I'm sitting in the movie theatre alone? Of course they do.

And at concerts, where most of the time there are primarily "couples"...and then there's ME...ummm, yes...they look at me a little strange.

Plays? Same thing.

And dinner? Well, I've learned to just not look over at the other tables. I either take a book, or something else to divert my attention away from the other restaruant goers who look over at me with their "Oh, poor thing, she's dining by herself" eyes.

As for the vacation...well, when I go, I'll let you know how it was.

Do I enjoy being a "Party of 1"? Absolutely NOT. But as I said...it is what it is...at least for now.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! Have you ever gone to a movie, concert, play, dinner or vacation alone? If so, why? If not, would you?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Surprise! (maybe not)

So tonight I had planned to take my son to the movies. I got home from work, told him to get cleaned up & dressed 'cause we were going somewhere. Of course, he hits me with his usual line of questioning:

"Where are we going?"
"Have we been there before?"
"Will I like it?"
"What will we do there?"
"Can you give me a hint?"

The only hint that I gave him was that he had to wear clothes. That didn't help him much.

So we get in the car and we head over to the theatre. We get there and he has at least figured out by this point that we're there to see a movie. So he says, "Yeah! We're gonna see 'Movie X (not the name of the actual movie)!"

>Insert screeching brakes sound here<

"Ummm...no", I tell him. "That's not what we're here to see. I thought you wanted to see 'Movie Y' (again, not the name of the real movie)".

He says, "Uh...no. I heard that wasn't very good. I wanted to see 'Movie X".

Okaaay.

Mind you, the movie that we were there to see was about to start in 10 minutes. So I dial up good ol' Moviefone to find out when "his" movie is playing. It wasn't playing again for another hour and a half. Oh NO!

I explained to him that I was pooped & there was no way that I could hang for that long. So I told him we'd try again tomorrow.

Was he disappointed? Of course. But I hope he understood. I think he did.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! Have you ever planned a surprise that just didn't work out the way that you had planned?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

07.14

Today has been a great day! Not just for being the day that I celebrate my birth and another year of life, but because it came with GREAT surprises. My family had some things up their sleeve that I never imagined and my day ended with a beautiful bang. I could go on and on but I'll keep it short and sweet tonight. I just have to say this: God answers prayers!

Let the DIALOGUE begin! What was your best birthday surprise?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Oh, and by the way...Happy July 14th!

Artsy Fartsy

So I went to Pageant of the Masters last night and had a GREAT time. I was with my best friends and we saw some incredible "live art". If you've never been to Pageant of the Masters I would HIGHLY recommend that you go. It's a wonderful way to spend the evening under the night sky, and see works of art that leave you saying, "Wow!"

Before the show began though, we had a chance to walk around and look at some of the pieces that were being shown (in hopes of being sold). Now some of the pieces were absolutely stunning. There was one artist who had two huge ocean scenes on canvas that I would've loved to purchase, but I probably don't need to tell you that they were waaaay outside my price range. Who knows though...maybe one day I'll be able to buy them and display them in my living room.

There was another gentlemen who made clocks that mixed old with new, and again...if I could've, I would've.

But then...there were some pieces there that I just simply DID NOT GET. Like the "mixed media" piece that contained lids to plastic Playdough containers, pencils that had been worn down to little nubs, DRYER LINT, and shreds of metal. Of course, the price tag on it was through the roof.

There was another piece that looked like someone took a bunch of paper that had gone through the shredder, then colored the paper (or maybe it started off colored), cut some marbles in half and clued them in with the shredded paper...and as a finishing touch...stuck a price tag on it. Go figure.

Or how 'bout the squiggles that someone throws onto a canvas leaving us to THINK that it really represents something when really all it is is a bunch of SQUIGGLES on canvas. That's it, that's all. Nothing profound or abstract about it. Somebody just took the paint brush, dipped it into the paint, then flung the brush toward the canvas and VOILA, they called it "art", with a hefty price tag to go with.

But even with all of the wierdness and the abstract, I found myself inspired to create some pieces of my own. Am I an artist? Before yesterday I probably would've said no, but now, I say, why not?

If we dig deep enough I'd bet that there's an artist inside each of us. Will it look good to everybody? Probably not, but when does ANYTHING ever look good to EVERYBODY?

Let the DIALOGUE begin! If you could create a work of art, what would it be?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Up Up and Awaaay

So, wha' da ya do when your two youngest children ask you, "What's it like to fly on an airplane?", and they're no longer falling for the answer, "Well, lean back...then sit up straight, lean forward, then sit up straight. There. You've taken off, and you've landed".

Um...no. After a while, they don't fall for that anymore so you've gotta come up with something better. That's just what I did. I bought the cheapest airline tickets I could find where we could go on a quickie trip, just long enough for them to feel like we went somewhere, and far enough to get there by plane. And so, we were off to...San Francisco!

No, it wasn't a trip to anywhere fancy, but it was a trip to somewhere, and I think they had a great time. I had a great time just knowing that they were having a great time. After all, isn't that what it's really all about...seeing the joy in THEIR faces and knowing that you've done something that makes them happy.

My son Terence must have uttered the word "awesome" a zillion times...and that was before we even landed in San Francisco.

And the good times just kept on coming. They loved the hotel (and the fact that we got cookies when we checked in. I'm actually a loyal customer to that particular chain of hotels, simply because of the cookies).

They loved taking the BART.

They didn't even complain when we walked for what seemed like hours to get to Fisherman's Wharf. Once we got there it was worth the walk.

They loved the Crab House (anything with Crab in its name is bound to be yummy).

They loved the street performers (especially my son who was called out by one of them to have his picture taken. He felt so special because of that.)

They loved the walk to the "surprise place" where I took them for dessert. Again, it was another looong long walk, but well worth every step once we got there...Ghirardelli Square...yum-mee.

All in all...they just had a San Frantastic time. And although I tend to pinch my pennies in order to make ends meet, it felt good to splurge just this once. Not one time did I consider how much anything cost. If we wanted it, we got it. Just like that. It felt so foreign because I look at the price of EVERYTHING before I buy it, then I've gotta figure out if we can afford the purchase.

This time, I just threw caution to the wind. We were on our "mini-vacation", and I wanted it to feel like a vacation. And it was well worth every penny spent to see my kids having a good time.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! Have you ever been on an airplane? If not, why?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Happy BirthMONTH to Me!

July.

The month of my birth.

Although my birthday falls in the middle of the month, those who know me well know that I celebrate all month long.

No, I don't have a party every day of July, nor do I buy myself gifts during the month either. But I recognize the blessing of another year, during this month. Which really doesn't seem to be much different that what I do during the other 11 months of the year, but during the month of July the days just seem that much more special.

I am thankful for LIFE.

I'm thankful for these eyes that SEE whenever I open them. That's something that I never really gave much thought to until a little over a year ago, but now...every time these eyes open and I can SEE in front of me, I realize right then and there just how BLESSED I am.

I'm thankful for the rest of my senses that also work as they are supposed to.

I'm thankful that I can THINK on my own and make decisions for myself.

I'm thankful for my 3 awesome children who I truly don't deserve, yet have been blessed with, in spite of.

I'm thankful for the ability to put words on a page. For me, this is like breathing...I have to do it.

I'm thankful for good friends who love me. I don't have many. The truth is, I can count how many I have and still have lots of fingers left over. And that is ALRIGHT with me.

I'm thankful for situations that I thought were going one way, yet God had His way and changed the direction.

I'm thankful for the ability to forgive and be forgiven. These are major!

And oh, the list goes on and on.

So you see...for these reasons and so many more, I can't just celebrate my birthday on ONE day in July. No, I start on the 1st and carry the thanksgiving all the way through to the 31st. Yes, I said "thanksgiving". For me, "thanksgiving" isn't just a day in November to sit around and eat turkey...thanksgiving is just that...GIVING THANKS...and that's what I do each and every day. I know...it probably sounds strange to some...probably to most, but that's just me...dancing to the beat of my own drum (again).

So how 'bout you? Let the DIALOGUE begin! What's YOUR favorite way to celebrate your birthday?

Talk to me!

Til next time...