Another Milestone

Today Patrick started Driver's Ed.

I have a kid who will be driving very shortly.

I am having trouble putting all the feelings running through me into words. I am so proud that he is growing into such a fun, responsible young man. Some moments I look at him and I see my little boy and I want to be able to pick him up and swing him around...then I realize he's 6'2" and besides being impossible, he'd kill me.

Two years ago, when we first got the jet skis, I was sitting behind Patrick as he drove the ski. Control freak that I am, I was yelling, "Slow Down", "Don't turn so sharp"... I could hear myself and how horrible I sounded, but I couldn't stop it either. I had a vision at that moment of how it would be teaching him to drive a car. I don't remember either of my parents yelling at me when they taught me to drive...I had good roll models ~ and I'm hoping I can do the same.

Patrick came home from Day #1 of Driver's Ed with a pamphlet for Mike and me. Here's the advice from the "Teaching Your Teen to Drive" pamphlet:

"Provide solid cues such as: "Let off the gas and begin to brake" instead of panic-ridden versions such as: "Slow down! Slow down!" and "Hit that brake before you hit something else!""
(Was the pamphlet rider sitting on that jet ski with me?)

"Stay calm, and try not to laugh at inappropriate times. New drivers are likely to make mistakes and are very sensitive to the additional parental demands that you're exerting."

So, here we go. In a month Patrick will be 15 1/2 and be able to get his temps. In February he'll be a full-fledged driver. While that makes me happy (so much less carting around!) it makes me realize how quickly he's grown up. I miss that little boy. I want to be happy for where he is, and I am ~ I really am ~ but, wow, that kid stuff FLEW by me. And that is just a little bit sad.

The Roller Coast of America ~ Ride On

Yesterday we went to Cedar Point. I haven't been there since the Magnum XL200 was a new ride...and it's 21 years old. I remember being afraid to go on it because the hill was SO big and the drop was SO steep! Then, later in the day when I'd finally worked up the nerve, it was closed due to high winds. (which went to show me how scary it was that WIND could blow it off the track) I thought I had just gotten too old to enjoy roller coasters anymore. Which was sad...because I LOVED to ride roller coasters.
My children had never been to Cedar Point. We'd been as crazy as crazy could be riding the Big Dipper at Geauga Lake the summers before it closed. How I loved the Big Dipper ~ but that's a story for another day. But they had never shown any interest in riding the "scarier" roller coasters at Geauga Lake ~ so I wasn't going to take them to Cedar Point...the Roller Coast of America. At the ages of 15 and 12, they got their first trip. Now Cedar Point has many, many new rides that are much higher and faster than the Magnum...

I finally rode the Magnum, as you can see in the picture, and I loved every minute. (each of the 4 times I rode it) But the greatest roller coaster face is Jacob's in this picture. It says it all. (by the way, he rode it 3 times)

Some amusement park observations:

1. Bikini's are not a good fashion idea for most everyone.
2. Roller coasters made of wood are by far the truest roller coaster experience EVER. The Gemini is still a great ride, but you have to learn to brace yourself so your body doesn't get too beat up. The Blue Streak was our first ride of the day and our last. While there is no replacement for the Big Dipper, (whose hills and turns I know by heart) these two help me remember why I loved it so. The Mean Streak was closed, so we didn't ride every coaster ~ but that's the only one I missed.
3. Fridays are a good day to go. Most ride lines were 15 minutes or less (many were walk-on). We only waited 30 minutes for the Millennium Force and the Top Thrill Dragster, and we waited an hour for Maverick
4. Roller Coasters made popular in the 80's and 90's that take you upside down are the WORST. The Corkscrew just bangs my body and head and gives me a headache. Same with Raptor and Mantis. I liked the feeling of standing up and having my feet dangling while falling down the hills, but I couldn't take the head banging.
5. I LOVE THE MILLENNIUM FORCE and THE TOP THRILL DRAGSTER. They were the smoothest and fastest and most AWEsome rides. The Millennium takes you up so so so high and just lets you fly down. Lake Erie and the park looked so beautiful from that high up. (rode it twice) The Top Thrill Dragster is A-MAZE-ING. Mike really just made me go on it. To say I was nervous is a gross understatement. While standing in line you read a sign that says, "Occasionally the ride fails to clear the top of the track. If this occurs the car will slowly return to the launch position." Seriously...I would wet my pants. But we watched it go up and over many many times all day long, so I hoped my ride would follow suit. The worst part is sitting in the car waiting for the launch. Then it launches and it is truly incredible. I can not put into words how much of a fun adrenaline rush that is. You shoot straight up and arch right over. You are then looking straight down at the ground and you just FLY. I only did it once, but I would have loved to do it again.
6. Some people live to ride roller coasters. While I think it's a lot of fun. I'm not going to carry around paper to record how many times I've hit a ride. There was a guy in front of us in line for the dragster; he'd ridden it 138 times. To judge, he was weird.
7. 12 hours at Cedar Point may be 15 minutes too long.
8. You have to be rich to eat and drink...Mike thinks yesterday cost as much as our Alaska trip.
9. Once you are gross and sweaty, it just doesn't matter anymore!
10. I am not too old to enjoy roller coasters. Ride On!

waitin' on a sunny day

"I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day
Gonna chase the clouds away
Waitin' on a sunny day

Hard times baby, well they come to to us all
Sure as the tickin' of the clock on the wall
Sure as the turnin' of the night into day"
~ Bruce Springsteen

This came on the radio today (E Street Radio). It was a live version, so the crowd was singing the chorus and Bruce had two little girls come and sing the chorus also, just like he did back in November in Cleveland. It brought tears to my eyes. With everything going on: Church drama, keeping Northshore afloat, Cottage struggles, affording college, my toenails being ugly... This "Hard times baby, well they come to us all" line just hit me. How true. My problems are no greater than many people's ~ they are probably less than most.

So I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day.

I'm actually claiming every day as a sunny day. Thanks Bruce.

Black Cloud?

These are our jet skis. We bought them used and got a really great deal...so it's really ok that the one on the left has never worked and is not worth fixing even if we could. See, Polaris doesn't make jet skis anymore so getting parts is a problem. But the one on the right runs and we have a really cool, two-ski trailer.

But to tell the whole story, I have to back up. Over the winter there was a HUGE GIGANTIC MONSTROUS black cloud over our heads. The upstairs furnace quit working. $$$. My washer and dryer (three years old) both started acting funny. The dryer was making horrible metal scraping noises as it ran ~ and the washer had knobs that didn't work and it wasn't agitating anything but me. Then the refrigerator started freezing everything. I figured if a fridge is going to go bad, freezing is the way to go, but we had to keep turning it off so stuff could thaw out. So out came the guy from Fred's appliance. $$. The washer and dryer were SHOT ($$$$) but he could fix the fridge. ($). So over the course of three weeks all gets fixed and/or replaced. We even had to return the brand new washer because it broke the first day home... Can you say, "Black Cloud"? I was afraid of what was going to happen next.

So when the blender that I got as a wedding present didn't work, I didn't think too much about it. Black Cloud or no, blenders don't really last 20 years. I threw it away and figured I'd do without the smoothie. Then the TV in the kitchen wouldn't work. At this point I'm really about ready to give up. I can't afford to replace the TV even if Matt Lauer and I have a standing coffee date every morning. Then the toaster wouldn't toast. "Wait a minute," my smart husband says...and he resets the GFI on the outlet in the kitchen. Out to the trash I went to retrieve my blender.


All this being said, let me go back to the jet skis. Mike went out this spring to put the battery in the one that runs. It goes in easily, gas is full, and the machine starts right up. Then it dies and won't start again and is reading a low something message on the display. Done. We know it's not worth fixing. They sit in the driveway for a few weeks. Mike talks to the guy who fixes jet skis and asks him to take a look to see if they are worth buying for scrap. Jet Ski Man calls Mike and tells him it runs fine. He just needed to turn on the gas.

Reason to Smile

When I look out my window today I don't see this sight. The grass is brown and the plants are drooping. We haven't had significant rain in a while and today marks day 4 of over 90 degrees. But, kind of like everything in life, there is always another day. In June I had these gorgeous daisies. I still have these daisies, and they will be gorgeous again. I water through the dry spells and remember how they looked on these, the hottest of the hot days, when they are saggy and sad.

And that is a reason to smile.

Dead Fish Day

I am sad. I am sad about things at church. I am sad that I don't always have the right answers. I am sad that I don't know what to do right now.

I am sad that when I went to feed my fish I found two floating on top. I am sad that while I was scooping them out (and throwing them into the woods ~ nice and ceremonially) I found another dead one, and another, and another, and, yep, another. I had six dead fish.

I have one live one.

SO...I decided I better change the water. I reached in and pulled out the pump and filter...and I found a dead snake on the filter. That was pretty gross.

My fish pond. Dug by my son and my husband as part of the 21 days of Becky...back in 2007. I bought 10 goldfish (30Cents each). Within the first two weeks three died, but those seven... Those seven were hearty buggers. They survived three winters covered with snow and ice and freezing temperatures. They survived hot summers and scummy green water. Until today. Dead.

Should I buy the live one a friend? He's so big and a 30Cent goldfish would be so little (and probably not 30Cents anymore).

As I was refilling the pond with the hose my Tonka dog stood on the edge and drank...as soon as I turned off the hose he jumped on in. He knows how to cool off on these 90 degree days! Maybe Tonka dog will be Nemo's friend.

Spring Flowers

“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without
feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.”
― Lindley Karstens

I love to dig in my gardens. You couldn't call them beautiful gardens or even pretty gardens. They certainly aren't "well-planned" gardens. They are just flowers that I love growing where they grow. Here we have spring favorites...

Yellow Columbine ~ reminds me of Colorado. It grows wild in the mountains and can be found during any trail hike. It's such a complicated flower for it's small size and it grows so well in my shady yard.

White Peonies ~ My Grandma Allen grew these all over her backyard. In my memory they are literally everywhere in the yard. She had this great tree stump that made a Y. My Grandpa nailed a board across the top of the Y and it was a great seat. You could sit and look at all the Peonies. These flowers make my soul smile.

Giant Red Poppy ~ The first great flower of spring. They are SO BIG and SO RED. They grow so tall on their thick green stem with the huge bud of promise that one morning just POPS open and you have the most magnificent flower. They don't last long and I tend to take lots of pictures to remind myself of their glory.