Please Stand By

Hey, there, new and old blog friends:

I just wanted you to know that I will be taking a little break from my blog for a few weeks - probably  until Easter.  There's a lot going on in our family right now, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and stressed. 

If you know me personally, or you have read my other blog, Postcards from Therapy, you know what kind of chaos we've gone through in the past 2 years.  Thank God His Almighty Power and Presence, the ability to begin anew every morning, and for my sense of humor.  If God hadn't given me a lighter side, I'd probably be dead by now!

Thanks for hangin' with me - I'll see you in a few weeks!

Ten Random Things I Know How to Do!

Once again, MAMA KAT has given us a mission:  write about something.

And no, not just about anything.  She couldn't risk giving that kind of freedom to amateurs.  You will understand why when you read my post.  She has to give us guardrails so that we don't careen off the mountainside highway of authorhood.  (Yes, I might have just made up that word.  That's because I am an established author using Mama Kat's writing prompts.  Do not attempt this yourself.)

The topic I chose for this week:

Ten Random Things I Know How To Do!

(I feel like there should be theme music playing here.)

1.  In college, I learned how to hold a flashlight and look pretty while a guy who likes me changes my alternator in a blizzard.  I'm proud of myself for learning that valuable skill.  Looking pretty, I mean.  I have no idea how to change an alternator.

2.  I know how to fly off the hood of a moving vehicle and get skid marks on my dress.  If I were ever needed as stunt double, I would rise to the challenge.  Skid marks on my clothing would be part of my resume.

3.  I could probably get a job in Hollywood, doing makeup, because I once hid under a dock, covered myself with mud and fish guts.  I was going to try to scare my older sister, but she saw me first and I ended up looking like a complete moron.

4.  While testing a frozen pond, I found out that I can half walk on water.  The other half of me fell in up to my thigh and I had to walk back 10 minutes back to my apartment half soaking wet.  By the time I got there, half of my clothes were frozen solid.

5.  I know how to sing a song in Tagalog (Filipino) for a free cab ride...in the Philippines.  I would not try this in New York City.

6.  I now know with what caution I should pick up a hot muffler off of the highway after it has fallen off my van.  That would be a lot of caution, because after it had been on a vehicle in the hot sun and then skidded down the highway, that sucker was hot!

7.  I know how to go on my honeymoon with my in-laws.  No, that's a lie.  Well, I really did honeymoon with my in-laws, but not gracefully.  It was a disaster.

8.  I know how to homeschool.  At least for the really little kids who just need to know 1+1=2, and that ABC spells CAT.  After that, it got too complicated, so I quit.

9.  I still remember how to make Christmas ornaments from when I was in elementary school.  I have tried several different ones over the years with my kids.  I thought we might get so good at them, we might be able to sell them on Etsy.  It turns out, they looked like something made by elementary school kids.

10.  I am a sanity daredevil.  What does this mean?  It means that I have come so very close to the edge of sanity - you know the part where you're standing on the glass-bottom walkway, looking down into the canyon on insanity, and you think, "It doesn't look too bad, maybe I'll give it a try."  I start to climb up over the fence, but a small voice in my head tells me it's not quite time yet.  "Give your kids a few more years to mature into full-blown teenagers; give your husband a little more time to "sort things out" in his life, give yourself a little more time to juggle 839 with 2 hands.  Then, my friend, then you will be ready to make this leap."

Now, if you are one of my regular followers, or if you are visiting from Mama Kat's blog, please do this for me:  If you are interested in hearing "the rest of the story" from any of the snippets listed above, please let me know in the comments section.  I love comments, and I love writing ideas. Because it's hard to come up with my own when I'm on the edge of sanity.

How My Parents Met

The Rivards were farmers.  My grandma cooked food from scratch for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  She made home-made bread and pies every day.  I can't imagine how she managed to stay ahead of 9 hungry kids who had been working the farm all day.

The Rivards were a tight-knit clan, even with countless aunts, uncles and cousins.  My dad and his brothers used to party with their cousins - legend has it that the Rivard boys were a bit on the wild side.  My dad, Gary, had a cousin who was dating a girl named Darlene.  Darlene had a best friend named Marie Johnson.  As all swooning young couples do, Dad's cousin and Darlene wanted to set Gary and Marie up on a blind date.

And so it happened...blind date with Gary, the party animal, and Marie, who happened to be extremely shy and quiet.  They stayed out until all hours of the night since Marie was too shy to mention that she had a curfew, and Gary didn't think to ask if Marie's parents wanted her home before 4 AM!

You can imagine what happened next:  my Grandpa Johnson was furious and forbade my mom to see my dad ever again.  Well, at least for a year, as the story goes.  But as my dad confided in me once, "I just couldn't forget her."

Not exactly sure how they resumed their relationship after that long separation, but they were married the summer after my mom graduated from high school.

This year, on August 23, 2013, our family will celebrate the wedding of my parents' first grandchild (who also happens to be my godson - yeah!).  The following day, on August 24, my parents will celebrate 50 years of marriage!

I love my family!

I joined up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week.  Thanks for your inspiration, Mama Kat!