The Ride

My sister and I were chatting the other day about how sometimes we wish we could redo our parenting experience with the knowledge we have now.

And it got me to thinking about my marriage and family experience.  And I have to say that sometimes I think that we're pretty cocky at that juncture in our lives.   We have no idea what the future holds.

Would you just take a gander at this cute couple?!

That's The Hubs and I the day after we returned from our honeymoon.  We were fresh-faced, cheery, rosy-cheeked and filled with hope for our future.

I remember the night before my wedding sitting around in my bedroom after my future groom headed home to get some shut eye.  A couple of my girl cousins were with me and we were laughing and chatting about what the next day meant for my future.  A husband!  An eventual family!  Unicorns, rainbows, sunshine and an endless supply of Hershey's Kisses.

Us poor fools had no idea what the next 13 years would bring. 

Work, schooling, more work, more schooling
Student loans, medical bills, birthdays and holidays adding up
Random sticky spots, stealthy puddles, unidentified wetness
Vomit, poop and pee
Red puffy eyes, frizzy hair, wet-wipe baths
Torn jeans, shoes without soles, broken zippers
Humidifiers, cold medicine, Aspercreme, Preparation H
Boogers oozing, dripping, smearing, flying around
Bills paid late, or forgotten, or… even worse… unexpected
Flat tires, dead batteries, windshield wipers flying off on the freeway
Burnt dinners, crusty dishes, broken glass, full garbage cans

So the question remains.  Would I do it all over again?  Knowing what I know now, would I have still shown up for the wedding and put myself on that same path?

Heaven help me, but I would.  And I would do it with the same ignorance and inexperience that I had in the beginning.  Because there are just some stripes you have to earn.  And I don't think my life would have been as happy without the struggles. 

All the times I hear the kids laughing or singing or they give me a hug, I know I EARNED that through the sleepless nights, millions of pbj's and loads of laundry.

It may not be a romance, a mystery novel, or an adventure series, but this story is MINE.  And I have a feeling that if I see it through, it may be a happily-ever-after.  

Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie -

not perfect but who's complaining? 

~Robert Brault

 

The Burbs

I debated blogging about this because I know that some people who read my blog are friends with the people I'm going to be discussing and I don't want anyone to be offended or angry or whatever emotion they decide to feel if they catch wind of my posting. 

However, I just found the situation so humorous (and possibly slightly unnerving) that I couldn't help but share. 

Over the years that I've been blogging I believe that my faithful readers have come to expect strange stories and anticdotes.  I bet you often wonder where I come up with this stuff.

I assure you, what I'm about to share with you is all true.


********

Last night we got to live a scene from the classic Tom Hanks Movie, The Burbs.

Minus the bathrobe.

What I was wearing during said experience is, frankly, none of your business.

At the horrible hour of 4:30 a.m. I was up with Jabes (Baby J's nickname that seems to be sticking) for his nightly feeding.  Yes, he's 7.5 months old.  Yes, most normal babies sleep through the night at this point.  Yes, I'm tired of getting up.  No, I don't want your advice.

I digress.

While I was making Jabes's bottle I noticed that a neighbor's backyard floodlights were on. This happens occasionally so I didn't think much about it.  It was 4:30 a.m.  I wasn't thinking much of anything other than trying to remember how to mix formula.

When I finished with Jabes about 15 minutes later I entered my bedroom to find The Hubs peeking through our blinds into the neighbor's well lit backyard.

"What the devil is Neighbor doing?" He mumbled to me as I joined him at the window.

We stood in silence for a moment watching.

A few things were obvious.

(1) Neighbor had in his hand a shovel, a flashlight, a garbage bag.

(2) Neighbor was poking around in the dirt of his vegetable garden.

(3) Neighbor's dog was running around in crazy circles at his feet.

(4) Neighbor was scantily clad.

(5) Neighbor probably wouldn't like knowing he was being watched.
 
(Let this be a lesson fellow citizens!  You never know who's watching.....)

"What IS he doing?"  I repeated, trying to make sense of the scene before me.

"I don't know, but a few minutes ago he was dressed even MORE scantily (Hubs shared details that I will refrain from 'exposing'... ha ha ha...).  He had a gun in his hand and he was looking into the tree.  Then, it seemed like whatever was happening with the tree ended, he went back inside, put on some more clothing, left the gun behind and returned with a couple garbage bags.  Then, he shoveled something into one of the garbage bags and put it in the trash.  And whatever it was looked kind of heavy and awkward."

Pause for thoughtful reflection on what we know about Neighbor.

Not much.

He goes to church on Sundays.

But apparently you can go to church on Sundays and still sneak around your backyard at night.  Go figure.

"I'm thinking maybe he killed some kind of nuisance animal", Hubs went on, "like a raccoon or something."

"I didn't hear a gun shot," I replied logically.  Hello, 4:30 a.m.  Logic doesn't usually dwell within my being at this time.  And that, my friends, was a perfectly logical statement.

"Well, I had to go to the bathroom and I didn't hear him shoot the gun," Hubs said, "but that doesn't mean he didn't".  (I graciously refrained from making a crack about Hubs's  bathroom  experience being loud enough to drown out the sound of a gun shot.)

More silence as we watched Neighbor rooting around in some bushes.

And what did we end up with for our troubles?

Nothing.  We still have no stinking idea what was going on.

But I'll tell you what I do know: Neighbor means business and we'll be treating Neighbor right!