One of my favorite holidays as a kid was Memorial Day because that was when we usually opened our cottage on Portage Lake in Ohio.  It was always too chilly to swim but that didn’t stop us, only for the 30 minutes after dinner that the grown-ups insisted were off limits because we could get a cramp and drown. 

It wasn’t a fancy place, no cable tv, only a lake and a park with a cherry tree swing to entertain us.  My cousins Amy, Katy and I used to play for hours between the cottages along the lake.  We had a terraced patio and with a little imagination, it became a studio audience.  The garden hose was my mic and  I became Bob Barker of the “Price is Right.”  Our grand prize was Mrs. Slusher’s sump pump that stood in for a brand new washer and dryer.

Many years later a friend held a bridal shower for me and required everyone to write a poem.  Flipping through photo albums this weekend I came across the one that Katy (www.katyshops.wordpress.com)  wrote: 

There was a girl who liked to play, between the cottage every day

Katy and Amy come on down here, this was the start of her showbiz career

She came to Atlanta and paid her dues, here she met Ross and that was good news

Soon she was on her way to LA, and now she waits for her big wedding day!

When I watch my kids play outside, I am reminded of my summers at the cottage and how our silly little game shaped me more than I could have imagined.  They don’t have a cottage to go to but I wonder how their games are shaping them and what their fondest memories will be.

Lately our 8 yr. old has been asking to ride his bike around the neighborhood.  We decided that was okay as long as he stays on our block.  I thought to myself that today he wants to ride around the block alone and tomorrow he’ll be going off to college since time seems to pass so quickly. 

So as I have been struggling with that thought, an alarming flyer came home in his school folder from our village police department.  There were two separate incidences this week of young children being approached by a white male in a car offering them candy.  Both reported a different type of vehicle so they are not sure if it was the same guy or two different men.  Fortunately, in both cases the kids had heard of that trick and ran for help.   

I’m not sure what to do with that information.  Obviously, we all talk to our kids about stranger danger so what can we do?  Never let them out of our sight or train them well and pray for their safety?  We think we are living in a very safe community where some people even leave their doors unlocked at night.  But you never know.  Ham will attend “Saftey Village” this summer which is run by the police department and teaches Kindergartners safety in all situations like crossing the street etc.  But knowledge and action are two different things.  So I just pray that if my kids had to put their knowledge into action, they would know what to do.

Little league season is in full swing.  We manage to squeeze in a game or practice in between spring showers.  My son has matured since last year when he left the outfield during an inning to sneak over to the pitchin’ kitchen to see what was on the menu.  Certainly a highlight for the kids includes dinner at the fields even if it’s only popcorn and slushies.  Last year I gathered recipes and packed up picnic suppers. This year I’m not sure it’s worth the battle. So for the time being, my kitchen is closed.

Is there anything more painful than watching your child struggle?  Whether it’s with asthma or attitude, if I could do anything to help them through I would.  Take the breathing treatments five times a day or be the one to get left out at school, sign me up.  Since I can’t really do that I’m left to suffer through with them and hopefully they’ll remember Mom was there.  I do wish someone had told me I’d need a thick skin for this job!  Can we ever be prepared enough for the ups and downs of motherhood?

Even in moments of joy when we celebrate with our kids their success, I’m the one with the tissues!  When my son made it through his first piano recital last weekend I was bursting with pride.  Or when he went off to kindergarten and his little sister cried, I cried too.  Thankfully, I have my husband by my side encouraging me to “get it together!”

For some reason I agreed to speak to my son’s second grade class about my  (former) “occupation.”  At the beginning of the year I filled out a form describing what I do, or used to do for a living.  I wrote down that I could talk to the kids about having a career in Television…chasing a story down and covering Entertainment news for CNN and Business news for PBS.  Now I find myself with 20 minutes of time to fill.  I can tell them how to write a good story, cover the 5 W’s.  I can quote my J Prof. and tell them that no matter what the subject, a good story is a good story is a good story. That being said, I haven’t done this job full-time for eight years now so it feels kind of fraudulent.  I am a stay-at-home mom and while I consider it the hardest and yet most important and rewarding job I’ll ever have, it doesn’t sound nearly as exciting.  So, how do you tell people what you do?  If you work outside of the home do you say you are a mom first? 

I stood at a cocktail party this winter next to a stay-at-home mom/former trauma surgeon and listened as someone asked her what she did.  “I’m just a mom.” she said sweetly and never let on that she was probably the brightest one in the room.  That didn’t sound right either.

They’ve had a dentist speak to their class and they came home with some floss and a new toothbrush.  I will be handing out reporter’s notebooks if I can find them.  Wish me luck. 

I love Mothers’  Day.  The little homemade cards and macaroni noodle necklaces always bring a smile to my face.  The five extra minutes in bed with a cup of coffee isn’t too bad either.  What is it that you look forward to?  Is it closing your kitchen and enjoying brunch out?  Or having Dad play Mom for a day while you enjoy some much needed time to yourself.  Whatever it is, I hope you are happy today!

There’s a number that pops up from time to time on my cell phone and it looks vaguely familiar but I don’t pick up because I don’t quite recognize who it is.   The calls usually come mid-morning while I am at the gym or running errands. It looks familiar because it is the school nurse calling.. again.  She leaves a message and when I get it I call back in a panic.  My son has become a regular in her office.  At first I thought the complaints such as headache or upset stomach stemmed from being at a new school, but now I think that if I had a nurse at my disposal every day I’d be there too!  Just for a little tlc and reassurance or maybe just to lay my head down with a cool rag for a bit of a rest.   If I could go today, I’d have her take a look at the “boo boo” on my forehead that my girls keep pointing out to me.  You know, just to make sure it isn’t a staph infection or the flesh eating bacteria.  I guess I may be over the hill but my skin is still young at heart!  When the calls come I don’t panic anymore because I now have the number programmed into my phone: N for Nurse.

I did it again.  It starts out small.  There’s a thing that’s bugging me that needs to be fixed, sometimes little, sometimes big.  It starts to bug me until I can’t stand it and my husband can’t stand me asking him when he is going to fix it.  There’s probably some lesson I should be learning but I haven’t.  It happened again this weekend and I was left standing there with a pit in my stomach telling myself the feeling was very familiar only I couldn’t remember the details of the last time it happened.

We live in a historic ( very old) home.  The faucets drip. And drip and drip.  I obsess about how much water we are wasting.  My husband and I have even debated which would cost more, the plumber or the extra water we are wasting.  I even put a cup under the faucet to catch the water but the sound was keeping Ham awake.  So this weekend my best friend from college came to visit with her husband who also went to college with us.  He’s a doctor and very handy so who better to fix the faucets!  It didn’t go well and he ended up having to saw off the faucet from the sink.  He felt terrible.  Now we have to buy a new faucet and call a plumber.  At least there’s no more drip.

Now I remember what happened the last time.  At our old house we had this tree that grew at a 45-degree angle.  Every time the wind blew the branches scraped against the siding.  I kept saying we need to hire a tree trimmer.  My husband said he could just get on a ladder and do it.  I waited and waited and when the tree poked through the screen in our bedroom window, I called in the professionals.  They cut down the crazy tree and a perfectly good tree right next to it.  A beautiful little tree full of berries for the birds to eat.  A tree that provided shade in the summer and privacy.  I still feel sorry about it.   

Is there a thing that bugs you in your house?  My advice is to leave it alone.