TAB (Take A Breath) Lauren's Cooking!

My oldest child is entertaining for the first time this evening in her own abode. She has had friends over before but to a Mom beer pong festivities do not count as REAL entertaining. This should be interesting. Lauren is great at making grilled cheese on her George Foreman, fried eggs, the occasional hamburger and of course reservations. 

It is truly hard to believe that a young woman who can stick tubes up people’s orifices as an ICU nurse is the same woman who called her mother up to learn how to make a pizza. I was so proud! I told her that I had some dough in the freezer she could use, fresh basil in our garden and there was a jar of homemade sauce at her disposal. She quickly stopped me in my tracks and said, “Wait Mom, wait! TAB (take a breath), I just wanted to know if I take the cardboard off the bottom of this before I stick it in the oven.”

I shouldn’t be surprised. On the way to the airport she told me how she mastered titrating drugs, and bonded with a man that was constrained which led to her being sent in other “challenging” patient’s rooms. I slowed down to five to drop her off for curbside check in and she began to panic. “Wait! Where do I get my boarding pass? Where’s the gate? Can I take this bag on? Where are you going?” she asked. I told her I was in total disbelief that she had just finished telling me how she responded to a code but couldn’t get herself on a plane. 

Like I said tonight should be interesting. One thing she has going for her is her tremendous childlike enthusiasm. She is the only 23 year old ICU nurse I know that still stands on couches when she is bursting with excitement and does a “happy dance”.  Good luck tonight Babe with your first non-kegger”. Remember to take things out of the box before heating them up.

Is it Time to "bust" out the Tree?

I did something I NEVER do; take someone of the male persuasion to work with me. I cover the social events of my community and was invited to a lovely (AKA jaw dropping gorgeous) event in which I actually took a male friend.

The party was very subdued, the conversation light and the food could have been someone’s last request before departing this world. I thought we were in for an evening of quiet elegance especially when we found ourselves seated next to two lovely ladies from the opera guild. One of the women asked if I was finished with my holiday decorating. I told her that I was except I was debating whether it was worth the effort of taking the Christmas tree out of the attic that I put in my bedroom. The other woman then asked my date if he thought my room could use some holiday spirit. He told her that he has yet to see my bedroom.

The women who are both aware that I have been through a cancer journey looked at me and informed me in no uncertain terms that they believed it was time for me to get my “tree” out. I reminded them that my tree has been in the attic a LONG time and that it is now missing a few ornaments and even though they have been “replaced” I am still getting used to them. The ladies would not retreat. I was then told that having a firm base and warm welcoming branches are the most essential criteria for a good tree and that MAYBE it was time to light that baby up!

Advise to ponder ladies! 

TRYING to Make Sense Out of the Senseless

I have been blessed with the ability to lift myself and I hope others, out of the minutia of life with humor.  It has been my coping mechanism that has gotten me through the murky waters of everything from a failed marriage to cancer survival. My editor (I have shoes older than she) is demanding…I mean firmly reminding me, that an article for my column is due.  After the recent unimaginable assault on the innocent in Connecticut, I just have not been able to “find the funny”. I am numb.

Paul Simon wrote lyrics about grieving. I am paraphrasing but as I recall he refers to a great loss as “A broken window on the soul where everyone can hear the wind blow.” Recently I had breakfast with my dear buddy and fellow cancer survivor Mike. He has buried a beloved son and a grandson. Mike is a man of faith and miraculously carries on even though there are still audible “gusts” of loss. Being with him, I understand there is no greater loss than that of a child.

I know no words of comfort for the families of such a senseless slaughter. The pain is beyond our comprehension and somewhere parents of the deceased are at this very moment reminding themselves to breathe. I had the pleasure of bonding with a bright eyed little 6 yr. old at a holiday party who told me all about the inside scoop of being a “mouse” in the Nutcracker while putting 8 layers of shiny lip gloss on me and giving me “princess eyes” with her stash of make-up. I had an “exhibit A” reminder of that magical age of twirling in dresses, Easy Bake ovens, and endless wonderment standing before me. How does one go on after the loss of one of these treasured “twirlers” and “explorers”?

I have lived peacefully with hunters up in our retreat up north and understand the right to bear arms (although I am more for “arming bears”) but could someone please explain to me why a semi-automatic weapon is needed to “harvest” a mammal or for target practice? Could someone please fill me in why parents of troubled teens have multiple weapons of destruction in their homes? I am the mother of an ICU nurse that deals with heroin addicts and gunshot wounds. Is it normal for me to be equally concerned about my middle daughter who will soon to be entering a classroom as a Special Ed teacher? Like the many educators I am blessed to have in my life, I know she would protect a child at all costs. PLEASE tell me when “hiding children in a closet from gunfire” became part of the criteria of being an effective teacher.

I pray that constructive dialogue, change and steps toward keeping our children safe emerge from the carnage. I have nothing to offer to the victim’s families but my prayers and concrete knowledge that even though HOPE is at times frail, it is impossible to kill and that love truly does conquer all.

I'm Back!

I’m back! Let’s see a brief update: Dad in ER, insurance company had my birthday wrong then figured out how much I under paid all this time and took it out of my checking (also found a few bills from “the war” that weren’t processed thanks to their error) and after having a busted water heater, and garage door issues I had to prove that things come in threes by turning on my flat screen TV and seeing pretty vertical lines. It is VERY tempting to WALLOW (especially on a bleak day) but instead I am going to “get my big girl panties on” as Gram would say and face the world with the knowledge that better times are waiting just around the bend. Of course I have a handful of dark chocolate acai berries currently doing the slow melt in my hand that always seem to make things look brighter. Hey, we all have our own ways of coping! Here’s to hoping that things are going swimmingly in your neck of the woods. If not, there is chocolate.