Out With The Old...In With The ??

2009 ended with many changes and halfway into 2010, many new changes have occurred. Is it safe to say that in leaving one year behind, everthing remains the same if everything is change? Could it be that life is ever changing and I more often prefer being stuck in this vacillating, apprehensive existence called my life rather than grabbing the carefree wave of adaptability and going with the flow? Hmmm...I don't have the answer to that yet.

What I am learning is that for every cautious step I take, the ground beneath me continues to rumble and I still have to leap from point to point, not knowing whether it is a leap of fear or a leap of faith. Still...I must take that leap.

And let go.

Welcome to the World Colten Benjamin!

My first grandson, Colten Benjamin, was born on Friday, June 18, 2010 at 9:54 p.m. He weighed 6 lbs 14 ozs and is 19" long. Welcome to the world "Little Man"!

Mr. and Mrs. P are doing great as they learn their new world of parenthood.

♥ ♥ ♥

Junebug's Ready to Make His or Her First Appearance!

I got the call from Mr. P at 1:48 this morning. He was headed home from work because Mrs. P was in labor. Then came the call from Mrs. P at 1:53 AM. Contractions were 3 to 5 min apart and I talked her through several of the contractions trying to keep her distracted from what was going on. You know the important stuff...is her bag packed? Yep - she said it's in the car. As she breathed through a contraction, I held my breath, like that's going to do any good. :) Then I breathed with her as she breathed. Does that help? I don't know, but holding my breath wasn't helping at all! LOL

Tears of joy and excitement stream down my face as I think about the day I gave birth to Mr. P, and now 21 years later, he will be at his wife's side as she gives birth to their first child. Oh how I wish I could close the 3,000 mile gap that exists between us, just for today. I'm so grateful for today's technology...texts are coming in letting me know the current status. Mr. P texted "they said today is the day". Yes it is, isn't it?

Needless to say, there is no sleep for this Gramma today. God bless this child and watch over Mr. and Mrs. P on this very special day.

Stay tuned for webcam pictures...hopefully tomorrow!

I Know I Need To...

I know I need to write. About what? Something. Everything. Nothing. I miss writing. I wish I could blame it on writer's block...but that's not it.

Maybe the dark clouds of change will pass and the sun will shine down on me, blessing me with the ability to write again. Maybe.

What A Great Sunday!

It's the first Sunday of the NFL Season. Finally!

My favorite team, Minnesota Vikings, were on TV. That's not very common here on the West Coast. And the Vikes won!!

It's cloudy and windy and cool. It was 102 on Friday, mid-90s yesterday, and at this moment (4:20 PM), it is 75 derees. Ahhhh, it's wonderful.

And all the things I should be doing right now aren't as important as what I am doing right now. Taking each moment as it comes and drinking in the sweetness of a great Sunday.

Proud Mama!

Last week I mailed out a DVD I made for Mr. MP entitled "In The Army". It included pictures and videos of him in BCT (basic combat training) and AIT (advanced individual training) at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, set to a soundtrack of music I hoped he would enjoy. My heart danced when he received it Thursday and said he loved it! I am amazed at how fast the year has gone since he completed training and came home for a brief stay before departing for his new home away from home, which is further away than any mother would want her son to be. But as they say "home is where the Army sends you".

The family has come to know that anytime we go somewhere, anywhere, they need to prepare themselves for a photo session that will result in a bazillion pictures and the occasional video or two. I love to scrapbook, so I am always looking for the right angle, the right shot, the perfect still. But now...making DVD's has become my new interest and I'm already getting hints from family members like "can we all expect DVDs for Christmas?" Hint-hint? (smile)

Mr. MP has such a talent for taking pictures, capturing a level of emotion in his photographs that is indescribable. I love to work with his pictures and revisiting his days at Fort Leonard Wood made it seem as though I just hugged him yesterday, instead of last October when he got married.

Since Mr. MP left for the other side of the country, I have begged him for pictures. I get a few...but just recently I asked for pictures of him in uniform, standing next to his patrol car, and/or whatever else he wanted to send. He poo-poo'd me off with "I just don't think about it mom" and that was that.

Today Mr. MP's scheduled day off was changed to a blues mission, providing security detail for Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral. I'm going about my day, getting things done around the house, when my cell beep-beeps, indicating I have a text. When I opened it, there was Mr. MP, standing proudly in his uniform, with his badge, and my first reaction as a Proud Mama was "ahhhhhh". My second reaction was a smile that erupted into full tilt laughter. Now he gets it!! Now he knows why I need pictures!! And all it took was a DVD. Begging, pleading, asking, demanding...that didn't work. But the DVD did.

I am a smiling Proud Mama!! Who wouldn't be?

Fine Art of the New Millenium

I was stopped at a red light the other day and looked to my left. A man, in his mid to late twenties, sat confidently in the driver's seat of a construction truck, waiting for the light to turn green, just as I was. I noticed his body art creeping out of his t-shirt, halfway up his neck. It was at that moment I thought to myself...what is this world going to look like in 20 years? My thought of the moment wasn't about world peace, polluted air, or whether anyone will still drive SUVs. I was imagining 40 to 70 year olds running around with sagging body art and sun-damaged tattoo ink.

Everywhere you look, be it television, or in the newspaper, or even at a stop light on a random day, EVERYONE is wearing the fine art of the new millenium. It seems as if everyone is tatted up in some way or another.

Even my eldest son, Duce...inked for life. I remember when I accidentally discovered his tats. It was the fall of his senior year. He was asleep and I walked into the boys' room for yet again another "GET UP NOW!" start to the morning...when I saw his arm...and God forbid...a tattoo!! I was shocked! I couldn't believe my eyes! I paused...maybe it was a fake tattoo I thought. I grabbed his arm to get a better look, shocking him from his sleep, and as calmly as I could, I asked "what the hell is this???" He jerked his t-shirt sleeve down, trying to conceal what I had already discovered, and fumbled his way out of bed as I demanded loudly that he get up immediately and meet me in the bathroom. I had hoped the better bathroom lighting would ultimately prove that my eyes were deceiving me and I only imagined a tattoo on his arm. If it were real, this meant my "no tattoos/no weird body piercings under the age of 18 (which he was) and as long as you live under my roof!" rule had been broken.

There he stood, wiping his eyes as he tried to wake up, while I examined his arm- touching, poking, rubbing, and stretching his skin. Yep, it was real. And no, I didn't have a brillo pad to try and scrub it off - which I would have had if one were available! The tattoo had been there for quite some time. Void of any raised red areas indicating it was a new tattoo. My shock turned to acceptance. It was his body-his skin afterall. Even though I gave birth to that body, it doesn't belong to me, I thought to myself. He rolled his eyes ten times over as I voiced my opinions about aging skin, the lack of knowledge of where his life will take him in the years to come, and other profound motherly words of wisdom.

It was at that moment, Duce (who I've always said should have been an attorney), began to take off his shirt and gently defend his case. What??? What is that???? Another tattoo permanently stained across his left pectoral muscle! "Mom..." he said. "I wanted to tell you about my tattoos, but I knew you would get mad. But Mom, I love you, and that's why I had your name tattooed across my heart, because you will always be here..." as he patted his hand over the tattoo, "...right here in my heart".

Oh, how sweet. Again - Duce would have made one heck of an attorney. His defense was brilliant. He had taken an unmanageable situation, considering he was smart enough to know he was facing an indefinate period of "grounding", and turned that situation on its heels into a controlled, shining star, center of the stage moment, in which he professed his "forever" love for his mom.

I was touched, really I was, but it didn't change the fact that my boy, my son, was now tatted for life!

Back in my teens and twenties, guys with tattoos were...well...kinda scary! A tattoo usually meant some sort of rebellious incident that may have involved jail time, or a random act of drunkenness during military leave...or even worse - a biker. Not that bikers were bad...but think Hell's Angels and you get my drift.

That was then...and this is now. A world full of tatted up men and women running around expressing themselves in body art. In my little city, I've seen body art sleeves, leg art, and even a guy who had the inside of his ear tattooed.

Again, I think to myself...what will this world look like in 20 years???