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“The Surprise” needed to have a physical before leaving for college. The information includes a measurement of his blood pressure. I happen to have an electronic blood pressure cuff because I do take medications for hypertension. Soooo……
We decided to take “The Surprise’s” blood pressure. It seemed a little high to some of us, so we took “Pook’s” blood pressure. His seemed a little high. Sooo….. We took my blood pressure and it was great. We tried it on “Mini Me” and hers was good, but not as good as mine! Sooo… “Doc” jumped in. His was pretty good, but still not as good as mine. Sooo…. We then took “Max’s” blood pressure (on her thigh because she is so small) I still was better. Sooo…. “The Blonde” took her blood pressure. It was very good, but mine was still the lowest! Soooo…. “Doc” immediately disqualified me because I am on medication and that isn’t fair. For the next hour, we argued about “normal” blood pressure and who had the lowest. We continued to take each other’s blood pressure to see who would get the lowest. I am not going to lie, it got a little heated at times. “Mini Me” went home a little irritated. I still win!!!! At least for the lowest. “The Surprise” and “Pook” are still competing for the highest. I think someone was talking about trophies. Have a heart healthy day.
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It has been a couple of years, so I guess it is time for a confession. Publicly. My kids already know and believe me, they are usually reduced to tears when we start this story. So, P3 and Woman this is the mother of your guys.
A few years ago we had a family member visit for an extended period of time. Can I just say that you always want to think VERY HARD about allowing that to happen in your home. We have a sign in our house that says “ Friends welcome, Relatives by appointment.” They always say that relatives and garbage stink after a few days…. Well, at first things went well. It was exciting. Lots of new things to talk about and share. And then…everything little thing starts getting on your nerves. The little things become big things and you can hardly wait for them to go home. The day finally arrives, you fake some sadness at the departure. And then……after you put them on the plane in the airport early in the morning you feel suddenly lighter in spirit. You are all alone in the concourse, but you break out in a big smile! You even start to sing a little. Finally, you feel so light and happy that you start to skip! Until….. The toe of your tennis shoe catches on the carpet and you go down flat and hard, just like a bad comedy skit! Quick assessment. You didn’t put your arm out straight so no fractured wrist. Your knee hurts like crazy but you need to get out of there – fast! In a matter of seconds, you are up and walking or gimping as quickly as possible to the nearest exit and your car where your best friend is waiting. You can’t help yourself – you tell her what happened and the two of you laugh your way to tears all the way home. And not just because of what happened, but because of the thought that somewhere in that airport a security person is watching you and video and deciding whether or not to put that one on You Tube. (We literally still look for that video to show up) The moral to the story. By all means skip during life, but wear shoes with heels, flat ones leave you overconfident! Well okay, we are a pretty crazy bunch. It is not just me, Doc and the kids though. The craziness goes into our extended family too. Spent the Fourth of July at my cousin’s house and got together with some of the extended gang. We are all nuts! For our blood relatives, it is not a matter of if we will officially go crazy, it is a matter of when. And what medication will work.
Believe it or not, people actually want to join this nuthouse! They must because our kids get married and their spouses get added in as well as their children. They always manage to find their niche. Two of the boys have girlfriends. Calvin has a wonderful young lady in his life. My granddaughter affectionately calls her Wiz. She is great for Calvin. He tends to be very serious and clinical. Not a real “cut loose and act crazy” kind of guy. I have to admit, he probably gets that from me. I tend to be a little conservative and reserved. Maybe I should say that I used to be like that. Seven kids and a crazy friend have opened the floodgates of nonsense for me. I dance when no one is looking. I don’t mean to say that he isn’t fun to be around, because he is. He really should consider doing some stand up comedy. The stories that he tells about events in his life and our family are absolutely hysterical!!! Wiz has loosened him up a lot though, and he relaxes and enjoys life so much more since she has been a part of him. I enjoy seeing that and I am very grateful for their relationship. It is always neat to see your child find a compatible and complimentary match. Which brings me to Wiz. She is a lovely young lady and seems to go with our craziness a little more each time we see her. We had a conversation recently about her being called Wiz in our writings. She simply said, I want to be Pretty Pretty Princess. There is a childhood story that goes with that. What could I say but okay, you are Pretty Pretty Princess. Now, I have typed that twice and have made errors each time so I will simply shorten it to P3. I love P3 and can’t wait to continue family memories with her, even though she has not been brave enough to face a trip with us yet. That brings me to Pook’s girlfriend. They have been together for a couple of years. She went on a trip with us less than a week after we met her…and she is still around. (I am not judging you P3) Keep in mind that Pook did not go on the trip with us. We all travelled to Mommy’s because he and The Surprise were playing football in the area. Pook’s girlfriend came with and experienced a few firsts with us. She hung out with all of us crammed into Mommy’s house and spent a weekend with two nauseous and pregnant women (not me!!!). She ate crab for the first time and listened to Mini-Me gag at what she had to do to get to the meat of the crab. We asked a million questions and told a million stories, mostly about Pook….and she is still around. She went on vacation with us last week and found out that Pook is terrified of heights. He made her run across a suspension bridge that spanned a gorge because it moved a little….and she is still around. Last night she complained because P3 had a name and had been in the blog. She simply said, I want a name. So hereafter and forever, (unless I change my mind) Pook’s girlfriend will be known as “Woman”, as in I am woman hear me roar. She is a strong, independent young lady who knows what she wants and where she is going…..and she is still around!! Often, when we talk of a family vacation we remember the movie “The Lion King”. More than twenty years ago, I travelled with the kids to Cape Cod for a vacation. On the way, we listened to the soundtrack from “The Lion King” over and over and over and over… Actually, it played repeatedly from Ohio to Massachusetts. It became one of Pook’s favorite movies. I actually remember a conversation in the car… okay, truth be told I was yelling at the kids. I don’t remember what in particular had me upset this time but it came down to me informing them that our family was not a democracy and that I was in charge. Pook took that as his cue. His response was straight from the movie. “No King, No King, la la la la la la!” What can you say after that? It was the beginning of a lifetime of movie quotes instead of conversations.
Anyway, we just returned from a long trip to Colorado. Our trips are usually eventful. It just happens because of the sheer number of people that we travel with. Vacations when the kids were young were not vacations at all, at least not for me. The kids were my “job” and so my “work” always vacationed with me. It was the same routine for me with different scenery. Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. I love being with my kids. We create fun wherever we go. While we are on the road, there is a lot of music. There are also more jokes than the average person can handle. I am always reminded that I am personally responsible for all of the smart aleck responses I get from my children. Pook in particular reminds me that they never got straight answers from me! I am reminded of the circle of life whenever we vacation. The children are no longer little. They take up more room in the car. They still have their squabbles, but not as often. Their taste in music has changed and they now control the radio instead of me. We listen to their music and not Sounds of the 70’s. It is nice because they can now help out with the driving. If they don’t want to sightsee the places I want to go, I can just leave them behind. You can’t leave a small child to his or her own devices, but I guess sometimes you should think twice before leaving an older child alone too. I used to travel home to Illinois a lot when the kids were small. It got to the point where I had memorized mile markers and more importantly, I knew where every single bathroom and rest area was located. Invariably, we would just pass a rest area and one of them would start bouncing up and down in the seat because he or she had to go to the bathroom and couldn’t wait. I finally outsmarted them though! I started carrying a “potty seat” in the car in case of an emergency. Which brings us full circle because it is no longer the kids who have bathroom emergencies. More often than not, my husband and occasionally me has the emergent need for rest areas. And so it goes…… |
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