CA Girl

One of my favorite memories of Easter as a kid was not the candy--though I admit I didn't hate it either!-- was dying the Easter eggs. My mom probably boiled 3 dozen eggs when my brother, sister and I were kids. She would give us each an egg carton filled with eggs waiting to be colored and designed. We did it the old fashioned way, with dye and boiled water and vinegar. It was stinky, but it worked. Today I boiled 30 eggs. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I sacrificed two eggs from each pan to make sure they were done, and to make an egg salad sandwich. Since we wouldn't be dying eggs until Daddy got home, I collected them all back into their egg crate and set them in the fridge for preserving. Finally the hour arrived when I would start boiling the water. I always boil too much. I gathered up some old newspaper to spread across the table as the kids came flocking around in anticipation. Rich and I made 8 colors and as usual I boiled way too much...

The unknown is very scary. A first time mother usually has great fear of giving birth. It's unknown what it will feel like, how long it will last, and when it will all begin. Young people have a whole host of unknown experiences to contend with. They have one each year as they go through school. What will my teacher be like? Will I do well this year? Will I be with my friends? Yesterday, Kristin experienced the unknown of getting her first cavity filled. She fretted over it for about three or weeks. I talked candidly with her about the procedure. I didn't sugar coat it, as I don't think it is wise to do that. I told her step by step what they would do. Her two biggest fears were the needle for numbing and the drill. Would the drill be big and scary? And how loud would it sound in her ears? And just how big would that needle be anyway??? Finally the big day arrived and she ran the gambit of emotions all day. When it came time to actually go the real fear set...

Life is full of little surprises. A little surprise for my kids during spring break was a trip to the duck pond complete with a picnic. They were thrilled by this simple adventure. Another little surprise was going to see the rose garden. Some surprises aren't as nice as others. One surprise we had was that the ducks were not as hungry as usual. Normally they come flocking to even the smallest morsel you throw at them. They have even been known to squabble over the bite at times. Today however, they were not as interested. That didn't stop us from pitching bites of bread their way. It was then, that we were taken by most unpleasant surprise, as Ryan stepped too close to the edge and then right off of it. I only heard a big splash followed by my daughter shrieking her brother's name. At that exact moment, I saw him in the water flailing about trying to figure out what to do. Time froze all around me, and all I saw was him. I know it was all in an instant, but it...