bec. knits’s

My friend's son Mary works at a local pool. Billy was working last week and he saved the life of a 9 year-old girl. Billy called Mary and asked her to meet him at their church. He felt the need to thank God because he said it was not him but rather Him. They talked for a while then went up to visit the little girl in the hospital. Billy took her some flowers. She had regained consciousness before leaving the pool with the paramedics so she recognized Billy. I found out today that Billy quit his job. Initially at the church he was ready to quit but he seemed to be better after he saw the little girl. Now a friend told me that he quit. Billy is a sensitive soul. I am so proud of him. We all are. Saving a life must be life altering. Please keep him in your prayers.

In other news...no word on the job.

J and I found ourself in a pickle today. We had torrential rain. We had been at Thing 2's baseball game. As soon as we saw lightening we had the boys off of the field. Things began to pick up and somebody thought they heard  the tornado sirens.  There was not a tornado, but it was a good thing we all left because the sky opened up. J and I pulled over and parked the car in a sheltered area. Al and T2 almost got hit by a falling branch. We took different routes home. It took us an hour and a half to get home. Normally, it would have been maybe 10-12 minutes. Roads were flooded. A big tree was down. We would turn around and try another way. We pulled over a few times to regroup. It was amazing to see some fools driving past everybody else like they knew something we did not. Finally as we approached the entry to our neighborhood we were feeling so relieved and there we saw a big tree down. There was just enough room to squeeze a car through. We are fortunate; many houses are without electricity. This includes the neighborhood behind us. Tomorrow is going to be a big clean up day. My parents have a tree on their house. They think that it is just leaning since the tree was rotted out. Oh and their basement flooded. This has happened before and it is a big mess.

Right now we are in the clear, but we know that there maybe loose branches that come down in the middle of the night plunging us into darkness with our neighbors. We have water in jugs for toilet flushing. That's as prepared as we get.

Before my interview I decided to go for a little run. When I got home I needed to stretch my left shin and cool down. While I was squatting I decided to boot-up my laptop. Since it is old, it needs a little bit of time, so I picked up my knitting. If you give a mouse a cookie....

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Things I loathe:

• shin splints
• thinking about my interview and becoming nauseous
• seeing my son cry (he does not do this often so it throws me when it happens)
• people who pay their children for their grades
• dog hair

• seeing my daughter sparkle at the mention of a boy's name (no not Smash - they are just friends)
• running with my son
• knowing that true love can be found...I am so happy for you Paige!
• reading a book for pure enjoyment
• reading professional books for fun and because I just cannot get out of the habit

Ang and her youngest daughter were  over yesterday. What did I name that child? LouLou? That works. She loves J. While Ang and I were chatting she went to hang out with J. LouLou is 8. She came into the living room with J's phone. Next thing we know she had hit some buttons and said, " Look. Smash, Smash, Smash!" J turned red and muttered something and fled. Ang and I just looked at each other. I tried to pull up her call log. Nothing. I am not sure where LouLou was looking. I did find out that she had Smash's cell number. He just got his cell about a month ago. I also know that they chatted on line briefly this weekend. J told me very casually. It was late. I am not sure who initiated the conversation. My guess is that it was J. I thought she was talking to her friend Ferris. They talk a lot. I said something in regard to Ferris and she answered that it was Smash. OK. We remain very casual about all of this. She has not mentioned the phone thing so I refuse to bring it up. This is a big test for me. I am so damn nosy. I just want to know, to know! They are not dating. They are not getting back together. I just want to know.

That's all.

I frequently buy wine base on the name. Once I sent  Al to buy at wine called Fat Bastard. Puh-leeze, Doesn't the name just make you smile a little. While shopping at my local market I saw a beautiful picture on a bottle. Juno Wine was the name. OK. When the time came to bust it open, I got my corkscrew out and then realized that the top was a screw-off style. What!!!?? Holy cow, don't judge by the closing. I tend to get a bit pissy about fake corks and then I end up with this. Well it end up being tasty and it packed a wallop! A little goes a loooong way.

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Ang got a job. I am so happy for her. She is learning disabilities so the job market is better for her, but she is fantastic. She has the It factor. She will be a great addition to any school system and the kids who's live she will touch will be truly blessed.

Three cheers for Ang!

I have an interview next Friday for a second grade position at my neighborhood school. The rug should not be pulled out from under me this time as I am considered highly qualified for this position. 

Things I loathe:

• 60 degree weather in June
• People who do not use their turn signals
• Men staring at my daughter
• Parents who ruin kids' sports

• Picking strawberries with my children and Ang's girls
  
• Making jam with my daughter
• Watching my son score a soccer goal
• Working out with my children
• My husband's legs in his running shorts
  

Maybe I should try writing here on a daily basis. There are a lot of thoughts going on in my head and real things happening. Let's try three themes: J, Thing 2 and, Me and Alan.

T2: I love that kid. He is just a good egg. He is a Boy Scout with out the badges. Yesterday we found out that many of the kids from his soccer team are quiting because of the coach's wife. She never shuts up. Her voice grinds on me. Our families have a lot in common. We don't hang out together but we have done many things together because of our kids. We have talked to some other people and have come up with a couple of options for T2. When Al and I talked about it with T2, he listened and really thought things over. He loves soccer. Some of his friends are going into a bigger league. We will not do that. As it is we find our selves driving a bit farther than we would like. The bigger league would take us several hours away each weekend. T2 understands that this is not an option. Another option is a league that has tryouts this week. He has a very good friend that just started playing this year. Evan is a good kid. His mom is the one who called me to tell me about the mass exit. I told T2 that since Evan has not been playing long he may not make the team (he made the other one because a couple of kids dropped out but neither of them know that.) T2 cried. So we came up with a plan B. If one of them does not make the new team, they will play in the rec league. He like that idea. Then he looked sad again. Well, he feels like he is letting Coach and Coach's Wife down. Our lives are so intertwined. The boys play baseball together. They golf together. We go to the same church. It is not going to be easy. Coach's son has been difficult for years. Donny is a know-it-all, pain-in-the-butt. He is a bad sport. His mom makes excuses for him. Despite this we love Donny and his family. They have been good to us, but I need to do what is best for my son. To others this may not seem like a big deal, but this is very big for my son. He is a loyal friend.

J: This will be the very short version. J wants to go to France with he school. She would like me to go. I would live to go too. It costs a lot of money. For both of us: approximately $7,000.  I don't have a job.  I have loans to pay off. Arghhh. We will send her. We are holding off on committing me.

Me and Al: I cannot go into it very far. We will be fine. We are just out of balance right now. Our 20th Anniversary came and went. We just seem to be out of sync. Don't worry. We love each other. We just need to find our pace again.