Amazing Moments

When my oldest son was two, we adopted our dog, Champ. He is a great pooch, part border collie and part cocker spaniel! He is high energy, fun loving, and does not have one mean bone in his body. He quickly became my running partner, protector, and faithful friend. When I was home alone at night, Champ would be on duty, laying on the top of the step with his muzzle on his paws, watching over everything until my husband would come home from his night shift. During the day, he is always by my side or at my feet. I doted on Champ nearly as much as my son. The three of us were inseparable. My faithful friend, always there, always protecting us, always loving us, and ready to go for a run anytime. The years went by and the house dynamics changed. Champ's spot at the top of the pack dropped dramatically. There were several years between baby one and two, baby two and three, and ten years between baby one and four. As we added babies to the mix, I had less and less time to spen...

The kids hovered around the television waiting. The school closings scrolled across the bottom of the television screen and finally their school was listed! Whooo hoo, it's a SNOW DAY! Our yard was transformed into a winter wonderland and snow continued to fall. We spent the morning baking cookies and by afternoon it was warm enough to go sledding. A group of teens were organizing a group sledding outing at the tallest hill in the city. My oldest son, a senior in high school, was itching to meet his friends and he wanted to drive. My first instinct was no way, too slick and too inexperienced. But I gave my husband a quick phone call. He gave me some reassurance, and we decided to let him go. Of course he didn't leave the driveway before I gave all my winter driving tips. My last words to him were to text me when he got there. As he took off, I began to worry. Then worry and check the phone. What had I done? Was I crazy to let him drive on these snow packed roads? I...

I had just dropped my son off at Apple Camp and my youngest son and I found ourselves at the outdoor mall with nearly an hour and a half on our hands. The scrapbooking store was calling my name. For just a moment, I thought of how I would spend the time if I were alone. My thought was interrupted by my eight year old saying, "What are we going to do now? I want to go home." As he said that, I thought about an inspirational poem by Sally Meyer called, "Just for Today." I thought, "just for this morning, I will push all my grown up thoughts away and spend this precious time with a very special eight year old boy." "What would you like to do?" I asked. "I want to touch the giant ball that is spinning on water," he said. "Let's do it," I replied. He ran over and explored. "Now, I want to make a wish in the wishing well," he said. This was the beginning of our magical time together. We closed our ey...

Weird. That’s how it felt writing my son’s address in my address book. You see, he headed off to college over the week-end. For the first time in his life, he now has his own address and for the first time in my life, his name is written in my address book. As I was writing his name in my address book, I glanced at the page. Many addresses were smudged a bit due to the erasing. You see, I only write in pencil. I guess you can say, my address book is a place of transition. I have found that the simplest questions such as where do you live, who do you live with, and what is your name, are really questions that have multiple answers in a lifetime. When I look at his name in my book, I wonder where life will take him. Will he have a name written next to his? Where will he live? Will he have children? As the years go by, my address book will tell his story too for it tells the story of life.