the sugar in my lemonade

I was going to write something pithy and wise today, the day before Mother's Day, about something that would be so important it would change your life forever.

Forget that. I do good to put two sentences together. So I decided to respond to the +FridayReflections prompt of who has impacted my life for the better. I could say something about my mum, because it is almost Mother's Day here in the USA. She and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but she did contribute one important thing to me. She gave me a backbone of steel, and the belief that I could do anything I wanted to do. 

But the people I want to talk about today are two of the most important people in my life. Throughout my whole life, they were there for me. During hard times, lonely times, times when I didn't have an answer, there they were. They didn't always have the answer either, just as I often didn't have it for them. But they loved me unconditionally, and without judgment. Even when we disagreed, it was always with the understanding that it was ok to disagree, and that it would not affect our trust or feelings for each other. I think of them every day, and especially today. 

They are my sisters, Vicky and Debbie. The sugar in my lemonade.

Vicky, Debbie, and Cathy

day2

We have another side too. A raucous, wicked side that lets us make fun of each other, laugh at each other, and gives me a feeling of zest and joy that last for days. Yesterday we were texting each other, asking Vix if mum's gifts we sent had gotten there. I just KNEW I was gonna have the most unique gift. I had thought this through, plotted, and planned it so that I would be mum's favorite daughter by Mother's Day. I sent flowers:

day 1

Vix Gave mother flowers:

We were both texting back and forth, pretty proud that we had made mum happy.  Then Dooj's GIFT arrived and Vix sent me a picture:

that is a balloon on top and chocolates too

Our text chat then proceeded along these lines:

Vix: the #$&%@ has outdone us Cath. LMAO.

Me: how dare she do that! I think that $(#*#@$ balloon is a $%*#&@$ bit over the top. 

Dooj: LMAO

Vix: is that the one you wanted Dooj, or is this arrangement too small?

Dooj: lolololol

Me: you sure you didn't tell them that was for a funeral Dooj? It's big enough to cover a casket.

Dooj: lololololol...I did tell them no lilies but I'm not going to tell Mother that.

Vix: Momma is getting a kick out of these comments. She did say it was big enough for a funeral. I told her if she kicked the bucket before Sunday (Mother's Day) we would use it.

Me: lololol.

Me:(to Vix) I hope Dooj's flowers die first....

Vix: lolololol....

I have a secret weapon though...today mum got these:

Score one for the big sis...

NaBloPoMo photo prompt day 9 is: Light

...be positive...the best is yet to come... ~cath
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter

the christmas caper

There I was, spinning through the days of the Christmas season, caught up in the stress of work and a depressed mood I just couldn't shake.  I was irritable and snapping at my staff at work, and just as Scrooged out and Grinched up as a person could get.

I had to hurry up and wrap the grandkid's gifts because Stevie Wonder was picking the twins up and I knew that if I didn't wrap them, they would ferret them out of my favorite hiding places.  I spent more time than normal on the wrapping, which amounted to adding real ribbon to the packages and tying bows.  I stacked them under the tree and off to work I went, knowing everything was as wrapped up at home as I could get it.  My mood was still dark, and I was just trying to get through the day.  All that was about to change.

I worked late, and by the time I got home, the day was mostly gone.  I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the car, as I looked up and saw Maddie holding the door open for me in the blustery, cool night air.  I grabbed my work bag and cell phone and slowly dragged myself out of the car and to the door.  I was tired and had no energy, and wondered if I would make it until bedtime.

Maddie said "Grammy where WERE you?", and I told her I had been at work.  She nodded in that knowing six year old way of hers, and we went into the house.  She gave me a big hug and said "Dunc and I made cookies, come SEE!" and ran to the dining room table to show me two cookie sheets full of cookies, and a big plastic container half full from earlier batches.  I looked at them and at her face as she grabbed one and said "they taste great!".  Then I noticed they were burned on the bottom.  Stevie Wonder had tried two different cooking times on each batch and they all burned.  Not black, but enough to leave a piquant charcoal aftertaste in your mouth, and instead of being soft to bite into, they crunched like crackers.

Maddie smiled at me as she showed me her treasure trove of cookies and crunched on one loudly.  That was when Stevie Wonder told me about the gifts.

"The kids looked through every gift as soon as we got home, and read all the names on the packages.  Then I had to go outside for a few minutes and when I came in, they told me that Dunc had accidently torn the paper on Maddie's gift.  I have it over here by me so they can't see inside."

I looked at Maddie.  When I was a kid, I was one of the best sneak-untaper-and-retaper of gifts that ever existed, so I knew what had happened.  I watched as Maddie slowly stopped crunching her cookie.  Her mouth dropped open and for a couple seconds she was speechless.  Then her brain kicked back into gear and she piped out sweetly: "yes but I didn't see what was inside."

I raised one eyebrow, and she repeated what she had said, trying to use a more convincing tone.  I walked over to SW and looked at the gift in question.  Yep, a big hole in it, and then, suspiciously, long tears going in three or four different directions.  I called Dunc to the living room to explain what happened.  He verified that it was his fault.  Then I asked Duncan how it happened.  Maddie demonstrated as she answered for him that he had tripped on the hearth and fallen on the gift by accident.

I asked Dunc if that was true.  He said yep that was how it happened, with a wide-eyed bland 'I'm only partly to blame' look on his face.  I looked around at Maddie, who was humped up in a ball on the couch by now, and asked her the fatal question...or rather, I stated it....

"You did see inside that package didn't you?"

She shook her head no, but her mouth was open in a toothless grin.  I knew what her next move would be.  Win Grammy over with a smile and humor.  I wasn't buying it.  I was laughing inside by now, but had a straight look on my face.  I repeated my accusation...

"You did look inside didn't you?"
She finally realized I wasn't mad and nodded, the grin still in place but a little shaky around the edges of her mouth.

I took the package to another room and taped the edges back together.  Maddie followed me and asked if I was I rewrapping it.  I said no, there was only one wrap per gift, and hers was getting a repair job.  She seemed ok with my answer, and returned to the living room to her blanket on the couch.

I finished and took it back to its place by the tree.  As I straightened up Maddie took her last shot at convincing me the contents were still a secret and said:

"Grammy I looked but I didn't see anything.  I didn't see a remote control in it."

I looked around at her, grinned and said:

"That's good Maddie, because it's a Barbie doll."  Her mouth dropped open in shock.

She hates Barbie dolls.

Score one for evil Grammy.

~cath xo
Twitter @jonesbabie

holiday bargains

I first posted this on December 16, 2010 and thought it was worth another go around.  I still believe the gifts we give to others, of our time and our attention, are probably the most important thing we can do.  I hope your holiday shines with happiness and love.  Mine will.  ~cath xo



Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone?  Don't have much money to spend this year?  Here are a few suggestions for last minute giving that make perfect gifts:

Smile.  That's it.  Smile at someone.  It truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Listen. When someone is talking to you, just listen to what they have to say.  And smile at them when you can.

Look.  Into the eyes.  Make eye contact when you are listening and smiling.

Touch.  Give that person a hug.  Or a handshake.  Touch the person's shoulder while you listen.

             










Laugh.  Together.  At a shared thought, at a shared joke.  Laugh.  It is contagious, and heals many things.

Time.  This one is the best bargain.  Give someone a few minutes of your time.  Your undivided attention.  Do all of the above while you are giving that person some time.

These are just a few of the bargains I have discovered and wanted to share with you.  They don't cost much.  And keep on giving long after you have given them away.

Blessings on you all during this holy season.