Friday - Sammy 'driving'...he only wishes it was for real!
Saturday - Sammy and Mommy hanging out watching Bugs Bunny...
Sunday - the remnants of Sunday afternoon popcorn
Monday - Workin at the car wash, yeah...
Tuesday - Sammy's Cars. He may or may not recreate the scenes in the movie as he's watching it...
Wednesday - Sitting by the stove, waiting for the clock to turn to '10' for play group. What the picture doesn't show: it was 7:30.
Thursday - Clock watching. Not just for those punching a time card (or waiting for playgroup!); also useful for those up all night with little boys having growing pains in their toes (as an aside...WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?! Toes?)
Once upon a time I told Sammy to eat four more bites of his toast and gravy. I heard him say "one, two, four..." and both Isaac and I corrected him. And this was his reply:
"I said three, mom. I did all four bites. Because, you know, mom, TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS FOUR."
And then we did what any self respecting parents would do. We started quizzing him, assuming it was a fluke. Sammy, what's one plus one (two). What's one plus two (three). What's one plus three (four). What's two plus two (four). What's three plus one (four).
He did this without looking at fingers. Without hesitation. Without coaching. Without...teaching! We have no idea how he knows any of this. At all. But, lo. He does. Somehow. My four year old knows addition. Huh.
A personal favorite. They never seem to make "the list" when I list my favorite bands, but in all honesty they should. I LOVE them. I have ALWAYS loved them, since the day I started sneaking peeks of Never Tear Us Apart on MTV when my parents were gone (I mean, seriously...was there anyone more sexy to the teenage girl (teenage? oh, who are we kidding...) than Michael? I think not...Just look! And that song definitely gets an honorable mention. STILL cannot stop myself singing it full voice when it comes on). So. Here we have it. My Top 5 INXS. Which was DIFFICULT. It's Michael era only, please and I've changed my mind on a couple already. But as of...NOW. No, NOW. No, NOW, we're good.
1. By My Side: I get a little weepy when I hear this song. There are no words for how much I love it.
2. Beautiful Girl: I was never really aware of this song until way after the fact. I'm not sure why. I can't say the tape was overlooked, because I owned it, but...it just wasn't something I initially loved. But when I DID love it? It stuck. And the video is powerful.
3. The Loved One: There was a time, not too long ago (read: just a couple of years) that this was back on HEAVY rotation in my house. I think it may need to happen again.
4. Mystify: This is one that I forget how much I love until I spontaneously start singing it again (which happens WAY more than one would think...).
5. Elegantly Wasted: This one is one that I put on and took off this list several times. However, it ultimately made it on because it's the song that reminded me how very much I loved INXS after a period of inactivity from the band. But this totally changed it all for me. And, yeah. I still love this song, though I know of many who hate it. But, seriously. Those plaid pants? Stellar.
My largest regret about this list is that I will never have the chance to see them live. Man. I miss Michael Hutchence...I can't believe it's been 13 years since he died. Unreal.
When I was 19 and at college, I attended a devotional with my best friend and roommate. I didn't really want to go, but she did, so I agreed to go with her for the company. I don't remember who it was or what the real topic was about, but I remember this one part. He asked us to look at the person next to us - REALLY look at them - and know in our hearts that they were hurting. About something. Tiny, big, didn't matter. Something was hurting their hearts. Then we were asked to sit there and see if our hearts were softened toward those we may not know. I went to a lot of devotionals while in college. I don't remember most of them. But this one part of this specific one? I totally remember.
A couple of weeks ago, in church, we had a lesson on cultivating peace in our lives. What a timely message, for me. Peace in my life? I seem to have very little, sometimes. It was an excellent lesson. I took notes for the first time in...a long time. I spent an unholy (or, well, holy?) amount of time silently crying. Peace. Man. I miss it. Don't get me wrong. I have a good life. But my soul is truly tormented a good portion of the time. During the lesson, I shared a story, amid tears and snot, about a time when all my health stuff started, that I was told I would be ok. That even though I would deal with this the rest of my life, if I truly served and looked outwardly to others needs, I would be ok. And after that experience, I felt at peace with my condition. I felt at peace with what was happening in my life. I...felt at peace. And I have to wonder where that feeling has gone, now. I have to wonder why I forget it and what it really means in my life. I feel the need to sit still and remember, though.
After this experience with my biopsy, I keep coming back to these thoughts. That the lesson on peace and remembering that feeling in my life was given for a reason, and more than ever, I need to find my way back to that peace. That devotional when I was 19 was right. We all have things in our lives that have us hurting; a little, a lot, whatever. And my feeling that I've lost my trust in anything not tangible, lately, is clouding my perception and making me forget that others are hurting. I am increasingly skeptical and wary. I'm often not only second guessing, but triple and quadruple guessing as well. And I'm doing all of this instead of doing what I need to in order to find my peace again. Find the peace, remember that I'm not the only one here in pain. Serve others while looking outwardly.
Why is it that something so simple and something that made so much sense in my life is so easily forgettable.
I found this the other day while loading my ipod with pictures for Sammy. Look how small he was! This was...August 2007, about six months before we moved from San Diego. I found others where he was smaller, but this one? It's still a look he gets, now. And his hair is so blond! And this just seems forever ago.
