sometimes when you're not looking...

in the right light

at the right time

everything is extraordinary

~~

aaron rose

blessed...

and

when the man who is your father-in-law

has been part of your life since you started

dating his son

when you were 16 years old

and

has always made you feel like you were one of his own

well then

you

are doubly blessed

on father's day

~~

happy father's day

daddy dick

~~

we love you

we've got you on a pedestal...

wow

you were such a handsome

fun loving man

and

an amazing father

who did anything and everything for his girls

and

who am I kidding

?

you're still that same 

handsome 

fun loving

amazing father 

today

~~

happy father's day 

weekend

dad

~~

crazy baby love story...

my sister called on wednesday asking if I was lonely

and

even

when I told her I really wasn't

she asked if she could bring me 3 baby chipmunks who had lost their mother

of course I said 

yes

and

then I ran to the pharmacy and bought pedialyte 

~because a google search told me I would need that~ 

and 

a 1cc syringe which was impossible to find

but

which the pharmacist took out of her stash and gave to me 

after I told her my heart's always too big to say no

to anything baby

and

then she smiled and wished me luck

and

probably rolled her eyes at me after I left

once they arrived 

my sister left and took her kids to a movie

and

I was alone to feed three starving babies

which I did quite successfully if I must say so myself

but

when I realized that stimulating their genitals was not making them urinate

and

that if they didn't urinate

their bladders could rupture

~google search~

I was immediately on the road to our local humane society 

which takes in abandoned wildlife during the summer

yesterday 

my sister called again

telling me that a hard rain must have flushed out the nest 

and

that the REST of the litter

was scattered in her front yard looking near death due to a slight drowning

but 

were a little better now that she had warmed them under a heat lamp

and

could she bring this bunch to me and could I feed them and also take them to the

humane society

of course I said yes 

and

this time my sister and her kids

 got to see these little sweeties eat and come alive again

and

even though they had a few fleas that we killed in our bare hands

we really weren't phased

as we were just thrilled to hold these babies 

knowing that we were making a difference in their lives

at the humane society 

we were over the moon to learn that the first batch 

had been taken home by a volunteer to be fostered

and 

that this batch would also be placed in loving hands

that could take better care of them then I could

~~

the end

and i can hear a pin drop...

I'm alone

now that the kids are down south for their summer camp counselor jobs

and

john's on his second week at his new job

and

it feels a little odd

~~

not odd

 in a bad way 

~~

surprisingly

odd 

in a good way

like a 

"type of cleansing" 

way

~~

maybe we all need to be on our own every now and then 

to really appreciate the breathing bodies of our loved ones

~~

maybe we all need to eat our meals alone

to really appreciate an occasional burp at the dinner table

~~

maybe we all need to sleep in a bed where the sheets in the morning barely looked touched

to really appreciate messy wrinkled sheets from nights of togetherness

~~

maybe we all need to spend a day taking photos with nobody to share them with

to really appreciate opinions that differ from our own

~~

maybe you don't 

and

 I didn't think I did either

but I do

so I'm embracing this time of my life with everything I have

to really appreciate 

the woman and wife and mom that I am

and

the woman and wife and mom

I

am still becoming

*

a little bit of the sweet summer blues...

I'm not really a blueberry girl at all

as far as just grabbing a handful and eating them

but

a certain cake I make

which needs to be stacked high with fresh fruit as the topping

always includes blueberries

and

then I'm alright with them

~~

only because

I know they're good for me

~~

and

they look cool

you know what else they're good for

?

photography

~~

so

"what are you eating and shooting today" 

?

~~~~~~

of course if you live in the hills of kentucky it's more like

"what are you shooting and eating today"

with a wild turkey as a possible answer

~~

 hey

we used to live on the kentucky border and I love that state

the people

and

their accents

so I can say things like that

~~

can't I

?

not a happy camper...

sorry about the little peep show

but

 it's the only way I can show you why I didn't dance at my self induced pity party

yesterday

~~

let's go back a bit in time 

shall we

?

I was a sun worshiper for years and years

especially when we lived in st. louis and north carolina 

~~

okay

indiana, too

~~

in all of those states

we lived in pool and tennis community neighborhoods

where my days started and ended poolside

while my children

covered head to toe with sunscreen 

would play for hours

and

where I

believing I had a little super human in me

would only

apply sunscreen to my nose and the tips of my ears

and

then sit for hours and bake

because 

I thought a tan made me look sexy

~~

guess what

?

not so sexy after all

~~

at my dermatologist's office

yesterday morning

when I pointed out the two spots on my chest that seemed a little "strange"

I was instantly on my back while a needle was numbing my skin

so that biopsies could be taken

~~

as I laid there

I heard her say

results

basal cell

 surgery

clean margins

stitches

~~

and

then all of a sudden I was outside 

staring at the sun that I love

that I haven't worshiped for eight years

thinking 

"damn"

"why did I have to be so vain"

?

~~

so now I wait

for results

~~

and

while I wait

I'll act as a giant blogging billboard

which reads

~~

go out and buy yourself some 50 plus sunscreen today 

and 

apply it everywhere on your sweet little bodies

every time you leave the house

because 

tans come and go

but

scars last a lifetime

*