It's my party..

Today is my birthday. Really, on the calendar, it's just one of the 365 days of the year, but I like to use it as a day of reflection for what has happened and where I'd like to go next.

On Matt's birthday, I mentioned my parents' frantic rush to the hospital. That was not an exaggeration. My mom had had a long labor with my brother, who is 19 months older than me. When her water broke at 12:15, she figured she still had plenty of time, so she changed, finished packing, got my brother ready, then she and my dad headed for the hospital at about 1:00--a half hour ride. By the time they arrived between 1:25 and 1:30, my dad was pretty sure I was going to be born on the front seat of his brand new Mercury. As it was, I was born at 1:34--my dad was still checking my mom in, so when they came to tell him, he hadn't made it to the waiting room. It took him another several hours before he actually found out.

I've also found out that birthdays can be lessons in current events. I have two friends that I'll call Pete and Mike because, well, their names are Pete and Mike. I remind them every year that my birthday is coming up, and I wait patiently for my gift. This year, I found out what typically happens. From an email exchange yesterday:
Pete: I sent Mike $50. He was going to buy the gift and send it.
Mike: By the time I paid for gas and stamps, there was no money left for the gift.

How true is that? This is my second 24th birthday. The picture up top is of me in kindergarten--I still look pretty much the same; just older and significantly larger. As my friend Michelle reminds me (often), I am older than dirt. Of course since dirt is constantly being made, that's all relative. I am also officially middle-aged since I intend to live at least as long as my grandmother did, and she was 96 when she passed last year. I had the pleasure of listening to stories of her life while travelling with her a few years back, and it was amazing what she had lived through. But in thinking about what has transpired in my less than half a century, the world has certainly changed as well. Here's a snapshot of what I have lived through (not that I remember some of the early stuff!):

• The Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs invasion. I actually recall a drill in the bomb shelter when I was in 3rd grade.
• The Kennedy assassination
• The space race and all the joys and sorrows (landing on the moon, the explosion of the shuttle and the earlier explosion of the capsule containing Gus Grissom)
• The VietNam war, Gulf War, War in Iraq
• Civil rights protests--I've mentioned that I lived in Detroit (city proper) during the '68 riots
• Watergate; Iran contra
• Disco; preppies; yuppies

When I was a kid, we had a black and white console TV with rabbit ear antennas (I think I was 13 when we got our first color set, and cable became more common when I was in college). We got the 3 network stations, one UHF station (channel 50), and because we were close to Canada, we got the CBC, which came in handy for watching Hockey Night in Canada. You had to get up to change the channels. There were no VCRs or TiVO--if you missed the program, you could hope for re-runs. Phones had rotary dials. Cars didn't have seatbelts in the back seats, and there were no shoulder belts (or air bags or ABS). There were no personal computers--journals were the surrogate for blogging, and no one wanted to share what was in their journal! Music was on vinyl; 45's were king. There were plenty of drive-ins--food and movie (which were fun when I was in high school, lol). We had to do math by hand--calculators were expensive. I did NOT have to walk uphill both ways for 5 miles through snow to get to school. That was my parents (and probably yours).

I can't wait to see what changes the next 50 years holds for me!

Update on blooms

I should have waited a couple of days--my dogwood has bloomed although it isn't as spectacular as it has been in prior years. My tulips are also starting to bloom. Too bad the frost we're supposed to get the next few nights will probably do them in!

Spring flowers, without many showers

My yard is starting to come alive. I said I'd share. I wish the dogwood tree (in the background of the shot below with the pear tree) would bloom at the same time as the others--it's starting to open, but none of the vibrant colors yet. There are several beautiful white azaleas that will bloom by the dogwood as well, but they are also holding out (although my other azaleas are in full bloom). The down-side to all this? The pollen; but I'll put up with that to enjoy the benefits of Spring.

My "double-sub weeping cherry" tree (and a few hyacinths underneath).

Just click on the pix to get an "up close and personal" view.

My pear tree (no partridge!)--dogwood in background; daffodils up-close (you can't tell, but these have ivory petals and pink centers!)

Azaleas

The whole picture... HAPPY SPRING!

much about nothing

I can't believe a week has passed since I posted. It's DWTS night--I'm hoping it's Marissa's week. She keeps hanging in there though, kind of like Syesha on AI (ugh). Hopefully, I'll be able to stay awake--I'm already ready for bed. It's exhausting sitting and watching baseball game after baseball game, especially if your team is losing. (4 games over the weekend).

I did manage to overcome a major fear getting to the games out at the Oregon Rec Center--I am bridge-phobic, and swore I'd never go on the new bridge. But I'm playing single parent this week, and I wasn't going to let the 16 year old drive me and his brother on 280, so I managed to suck it up and cross the bridge--6 times. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it again, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought.

I've had some interesting adventures with wildlife this past week. I was deep in discussion with my 16 year old (a rarity, so I took advantage of it!), and he started saying "OMG." I looked out the window, and there were 2 wild turkeys in our side yard (and NO, they weren't on the label of a discarded adult beverage bottle). Now, I've lived in the same general part of town for most of the past 35 years. The woods that are now my backyard were our hangout when I was a teen. I've seen pheasant, deer, fox, and small rodents, but never wild turkey. They were HUGE. Later on I watched 2 robins tormenting a cardinal. The cardinal sat looking majestic while the robins were buzzing it. I also threw out some bread crusts. A very hungry squirrel ate most of it, but it was comical watching him bury the parts he didn't want to eat. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have understood it if I would have tried to explain that it would be worm food before he could dig it back up. Must have been the nutty coating on the bread.

At least this week is fairly event free. One track meet on Friday and a baseball scrimmage tomorrow. Maybe I'll find the time to caulk all my tubs and showers or read a book or catch up with old friends. or blog some more about nothing in particular.

Who's idea was it??

I am slllooowwwly thawing out. Today was the first junior high track meet. It started off warm enough--didn't even need a jacket. By the time Matt's last event (which was the LAST event) was over, I was in a winter coat, with a blanket, thinking about getting out another, and wishing I had brought my gloves from the car. The thermometer in my car indicated that it had really only fallen about 4 or 5 degrees over the course of a couple of hours--I think I need to get that thing checked next oil change. Matt has never run track--he's a baseball kind of kid. But in order to qualify for the school scholar athlete award, the student has to participate in 3 sports, so I encouraged him to give it a go since his baseball schedule is more accommodating this year. I forgot how cold it is in the evenings in the spring! He's having fun though. I'm getting gray hairs, which could be because I'm getting older every day, but is more likely from trying to figure out how I'm going to get Matt to and from all of his activities (baseball, track, summer basketball, football conditioning, church youth group). Oh, and throw in Craig's events as well (but at least he can drive himself--once we finally get him a car). In the meantime, I'm looking for a battery operated space heater.... Who's idea was this again??

Brainiacs and Jewels

Today was the MCISD Middle School Quiz bowl, which brings the brains from the various middle/junior high schools together to match wits. Big doings for Bedford, which is the 2x 8th grade champ (and has also made it to the championship round with the 7th graders the past 2 years). This is only the 3rd year of the contest, so pretty good stats! Not much pressure on the kids!

The 7th graders flew through their competition. No close matches, and they emerged victorious.

.The 8th graders had my heart pounding a bit. They won their first match handily, then proceeded to get trounced in the next match. Now something was a bit off on the questions in this round--it was against a Catholic school, and they kept getting asked things like "what is the nationality of the group that guards the Pope?" or "what nationality is the current Pope?" Our kids didn't have a prayer (so to speak). After lunch (look at these boys--they were staving!), they won their next round (against the team that had won as 7th graders). That put our boys in the finals AGAINST THE TEAM THAT HAD BEATEN THEM. In order to survive, they had to beat the St. Charles team TWICE. Round 1 was a squeaker--I sat in the lobby because my stomach was in knots. BJHS by 5 points. On to the rubber game of the match. Another close one, but it was a Bedford sweep. Good for the balance in my house since the 16 year old was on the winning team 2 years ago!

As for the jewels, well that's for me tonight. I'm off to what others in my household consider "cult" parties--a girls's night out. Sometimes it's for food products, sometimes for candles. Tonight it's about the bling. I have my eye on a stunning necklace.... (Really, I think it's a good excuse for a cocktail party, and I'm sure we'll be using some of the food from the last get together.)

Congrats to the Bedford Junior High Quiz Bowl teams for bringing it home! And remember, diamonds are a girls best friend!

Oh my aching back...

I am having a tough time getting out of a chair; an even harder time standing up straight. My thighs are singing and tomorrow is going to be worse. I should have been hitting the gym over the winter, doing squats, but that would have meant going out in the snow, if my kids didn't have some sort of athletic endeavor, so that didn't happen. But it's all worth it because it means I've hit another spring rite of passage--the de-winterizing of my beloved flower beds.

I spent the better part of 7 hours today bending, stooping, sitting. I pulled all the weeds that got neglected last year. I did my final dead-heading of the plants that flowered late into the fall. I cut back most of my decorative grasses. I still have to trim up some of my shrubs, but that will wait for another day.

This all heralds good news. First, it was actually warm enough to be out there today without a jacket.. Yahoo! (of course, it also means I'll be loaded with freckles by Monday. Grrr) Second, I had insect activity (worms and such) which means the soil is healthy. I saw very little root-rot, which means I lost little in the way of stock. And most importantly, my hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils are pushing up through the remnants of the mulch (another chore-ugh), my salvia is raring to go; my irises and daylilies are looking good. My dogwood tree is laden with ripening flower pods. My lilacs and forsythia are on the brink! Oh the glory I will have in a few short weeks. I will share. Spring has sprung!

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack

Spring is here! My spring obsession, NCAA basketball is drawing to a close, but now it's time for one of my passions--BASEBALL. This sport is a way of life!

I have been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. My family is originally from Chicago--the south suburbs. By all rights, I should be a White Sox fan. But on opening day 1964, my dad took my brother, who was 5 1/2 at the time, to see the White Sox. He said I was too young to go although I was only a few days shy of my 4th birthday. My mom taught me how to ride a two-wheeler that day without training wheels, but more memorably, that was the day I became a Cubs fan.

I am also a Tigers fan, although not as passionately as in my youth. I can remember standing on the corner in Detroit, hooting and hollering when they won the Series over St. Louis in 1968. This was a few short months after we watched the National Guard roll down the same streets to attend to the riots in the summer. What a contrast. I believe my dad also took my brother to see a Tigers game at the end of that season--one of Denny McClain's big wins (30 or 31). I got left home again. But I got the last laugh--I'm the baseball fan and my brother couldn't care less.

In the '80s, I became a KC Royals fan, unless they were playing the Tigers. My friend Margo had met one of the players, and he used to leave us tickets for all of their games in Detroit, and occasionally in Cleveland, for a 3 year span. We'd go out with the players occasionally after the games. The parking attendents and stadium security knew us by name. Pretty cool. One of the players is now in the hall of fame; one is a major league coach. Don't know if they'd remember me or not, but oh what a time it was.

I have spent the better part of the last 40 years watching youth and high school ball. I was the head statistician for 3 years in high school--had my choice of running track and being on the bus with a bunch of smelly teenage girls, or keeping score and being on the bus with a bunch of smelly teenage boys. It was no contest. I even played a season of baseball (fast pitch) in a parks and rec league in Detroit when I was 12--an all girls team that played against boys. We won our division, mainly because 2 of the 4 other teams wouldn't play us, and forfeited, but we did win half the games we actually played.

Now I'm involved w/my kids' games. Between the two younger boys, I probably get in 60 games a season. Matt had a scrimmage last night. It was more like being in an ice rink than on a baseball diamond. BRRRR. My fingers and toes are still thawing out! But oh the anticipation!

Closing with a few quotes from my favorite baseball movies:
From Bull Durham, the words of Annie Savoy:

• Baseball may be a religion full of magic, cosmic truth, and the fundamental ontological riddles of our time, but it's also a job
• Walt Whitman once said, "I see great things in Baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us."

From Terence Mann in Field of Dreams:

• Ray, people will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams:

• You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day.

PLAY BALL!