50 Impressions in 50 Seconds

H/T "The Anchoress"

It Gets Me Every Time

We've been watching a lot of Olympics here over the past two weeks. As if the athletes and their often inspirational stories weren't enough, this commercial gets me every time.

Every. time. I. see. it.



I don't think it would have affected me like this when the boys were little. When they were small, I was so much a part of everything they did. But as they are getting older I can watch them beginning to spread their wings; taking their first steps on the road away from M. and me. I understand that even though they will eventually be taller than me and on their own. But they will always be children in my heart and in my head.

I am in touch with several of my former 4th grade students. All of them have grown up, and many are parents themselves. I tease them all that they are all still 10 years old when I think of them. They can send me all the pictures of themselves and their beautiful families, they can tell me about their careers and their travels around the world, but it doesn't change a thing. They are still small.

I see my oldest playing piano for senior citizens at a local care center, and I remember when he played his first notes on the keyboard. I see my middle son swim at a meet and remember when he and I blew bubbles in a "Mommy and Me" class. I see my youngest show off his sweet moves on a wedding reception dance floor, and I remember him taking his first wobbly steps.

I think life as a parent is a series of small separations. Our children are always moving away from us, into the lives that God has planned for them. However, no matter how big my children get - when they are grandparents themselves - I'll probably still see them as preschoolers. No matter what they do, my heart will be right there next to them. Watching them. Worrying over them. Holding my breath.

Thank you Lord, for the privilege of parenting. Thank you that, at least in one way, our children will never grow up.

It Was Like A Nightmare!

It was horrible.

It was so awful that M. didn’t even believe me when I told him what happened.

I just……

I mean, I can’t……

I wish I were a more talented writer. Maybe then I could explain to you the sheer horror that descended upon our house this week. Monday, specifically.

A day that shall live in familial infamy.

(shudder)

Monday evening the boys and I worked at organizing the basement. Braden and I assembled some bookshelves, then dusted them and loaded them with books. Brogan and Colson cleaned up legos on the floor and organized their toys. Together the boys organized all of our movies and repacked the shelves where they are kept.

Sounds horrible, right?

I wish. That’s not even close to the horrible part.

Once the stacks of books were off the floor, and the boxes and bookshelf-wrapping were taken out to the garage, I could see that I needed to vacuum.

So the boys helped me move couches and I vacuumed under them. The DVD shelves and the TV cabinet was now dusty after the reorganization, and I attacked that.

As I got ready to vacuum around the TV, I saw some small legos that the boys had missed when picking up. They were sort of mixed in and under the cords and surge protector by the TV cabinet. I grabbed the legos to put away, and also picked up a piece of cellophane and a twisty-tie thing that I assumed were left-over from unwrapping video games or toys from Christmas.

I know. I’m taking a long time to get to the horrible part, aren’t I?

Hang in there.

I’m setting the stage.


I’m talking it through. It’s like therapy.

I set the legos off to the side for the boys to put away.

The twisty-tie thing didn’t look right, though. It felt solid and textured like a twisty-tie, but it was in an odd shape – sort of like a shaky hockey stick; not the elliptical shape you usually see when you cut them off of the toys.

Also, it was black, but with sort of a cool, teeny-tiny pattern. Not the silvery-gray you see with the twisty-ties.

So I set to look at it more closely.

Now, keep in mind, this all took place over a few seconds. It sounds longer, because you’re reading it. But it really was just a few seconds.

I turned the twisty-tie around to examine it further, and that’s when I saw it.

The head.

It had a head!

I dropped that thing as if it were on fire and suddenly found myself across the room, grabbing Braden’s arm.

“Tell me that’s plastic!” I shouted at him.

Braden was working on something else, and had no idea what I was talking about. He looked at his mother with her crazy eyes and said calmly, “.....What??”

I waved wildly in the general direction of the thing-that-was-not-a-twisty-tie and said again,” TELL ME THAT IS PLASTIC!!! TELL ME THAT IS A PLASTIC SNAKE!”

The littles ran over to get a better look, but not too closely! Wouldn't want to risk getting bit, now, right?

Braden looked at the object in all its hideousness and slowly, while trying to suppress his laughter, said, “Well….I think…”

“TELL ME IT’S PLASTIC AND THAT THERE IS NOT A SNAKE IN MY HOUSE!”

“OK,” he said. “ It’s plastic.”

“Really?”

“No. It’s real. But it’s dead,” he told me.

As if that would make me feel any better.

Braden carried the serpent out of the house while I paced upstairs trying to get the heebie-jeebies out.

(Cheerfully disposing of uninvited, deceased reptiles = a wonderful blessing a teenage boy can give his mother.)

I touched a snake. With my bare hands. I looked the snake in its beady eyes. A snake in my HOUSE!

shudder

I want my mommy.

A couple of days ago I posted an Old Spice commercial that we spotted during the Olympics and immediately loved.

Since then, we've watched it several times. Occasionally you will hear me one of us quoting a line from the commercial.

Yesterday, on the way home from a class in the big city, Colson recited the commercial. The entire thing!

He's only ever seen it with me. Maybe 15 times total. None of the rest of us have it memorized, yet he managed to remember the entire commercial!

We got home and I simply had to tape it! He's a bit hard to understand, as he's smiling and for some reason he cannot smile and enunciate simultaneously.

Sharp Dressed Men

Such handsome and rather intimidating young men we saw at church yesterday.



Braden is the agent on the right. He looks deceptively short in that photo, but he grew nearly 4 inches this summer and is pushing 5'10".

(I realize that 5'10" isn't exactly gigantic, but I'm still not used to looking up at him. )


Okay, boys. Let's get a more relaxed photo. Why don't you smile for the camera?





Hm. I see I will need to be more clear with my directions: "Please smile like normal people."


That's better!

Look At Your Man.

We loved this commercial here.We've watched it over and over just to marvel at how they managed to create it.

Did you know that it was all done in one shot? The only CGI used was the diamonds falling/Old Spice appearing out of his hand. Everything else was shot live, in one take.

Well, it took them 3 days to get the one take they could use. But the whole commercial is done in one shot.

Brilliant!





I'm on a horse!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Somehow I Don't See This Catching On.

After watching one of the last games of the Vikings football season, Prince was inspired to write a new fight song for his favorite team.

Presumably he thought this fight song would help propel the team and its fans to the Superbowl. But, somehow, I don't see this catching on.