I'm Going to be a Marine Mom

Not yet ready to add the !!!! to that statement. Maybe when he graduates from basic training in December? I have a son who signed up last spring. Since then he is walking tall and proud, setting up his exercise program to be ready for basic in October, and feeling very good about his decision. One of his older brothers has joined the Air Force and goes to Basic in April. Out of 8 boys, that's two going into the military. I couldn't be more proud of their decision and their commitment.

We watched a DVD yesterday designed to inform parents and help put our minds at ease (if that's even possible at this point!) One of the moms on the DVD said when her son came home and went out somewhere in his dress blues, people came up to him and thanked him for his service to our country.

This took me and my husband back to the days after the Vietnam War, when our fighting boys who came home got garbage thrown at them and were spit on by passersby. They never wanted to wear the uniform because of the way the public treated them. This took recovery a lot longer for the battle-weary. Many of our Vietnam vets became psychologically unstable and homeless. So very sad.

War will always be with us, sorry to say but it's a fact of life. Like death, taxes, illness, divorce, poverty, hunger and natural disasters. My son is proud that he has taken the oath to be a Marine. The day he graduates from Basic will be a wonderful moment for all of us. I personally am so thankful that the citizens of this great nation now show respect and gratitude to their fighting men and women, rather than taking out their hatred of war on those who fight for freedom.

 Who doesn't hate war? I pray my son will not have to fight, but he'll be preparing for it, just in case.

Wasting Money is Stupid

I just got back from a sales meeting where a new guy talked about a company he worked for once that was on the verge of getting a huge contract. The boss said, "If this goes through, we'll all be sitting on the beach in Hawaii throwing hundred dollar bills in the air."

Of course, this image, which is meant to be a powerful motivator simply puzzles me. Why would you throw the money in the air?

Why not go shopping with it? There must be some fabulous restaurants in Hawaii where you could enjoy lobster, and all the amenities for that hundred dollars. Or go buy some great shoes, purses, and make up. Get a spa treatment.

Or is the idea that you have so much money that you can do all these things and still have enough to throw away?

If that's the case, then how about giving it to homeless people? Or better yet, find a nice catholic nun (aka Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost) and give those hundred dollar bills to her instead of throwing them in the air.

Is it possible to have so much money that ever wasting it like that makes any sense whatsoever?

A Lovely Day Involving Pie

Yesterday we picked 4 boxes of gala apples from our tree. They weren't quite ready but I got overzealous so there they are-- not as wonderful as they should have been but still nice, large, slightly tart apples. Of course everyone wanted pie. When they all want pie, it's fairly easy to get help in the kitchen. So my youngest son, a high school senior,  made the crust for two 9 in. apple pies while I cut up the apples.

He said:  Mom, remember last year when we had Pie Week?

I said: Yes, that was so nice. You learned how to make crust and every day after school we made a new kind of pie. Pie Week was fun.

(There was apple, peach, and something involving pudding and whipped cream I think, but I can't remember all the kinds of pie. I only remember how delightful it was that my teen-age son wanted to be in the kitchen with me making pie. That doesn't happen often. In fact, only then. And today.)

He said: I was telling my friend Megan about Pie Week and she said when they make pie at her home, she makes the crust while her mom does the filling, and when they're done they roll out the bits of dough and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top and bake it. I thought it was weird that we did the exact same thing.

I said: My mom used to do that too, but I didn't help her much with anything. She and I didn't cook together like we're doing now. Shall we have Pie Week again? We can make more pies than this. You can come home from school everyday this week, and we'll make pie again.

He said: No, let's just do this one. What did you do that was wild when you were young? Did you toilet paper anyone's house?

I said:  I never heard of that when I was a kid. But once a friend and I wrote nasty things about another friend on a bathroom wall. And I used to smoke straws. You light the end of a straw and smoke it.

He laughed.

Anyway, we had a lovely afternoon, and the apple pie was delicious.

Is This a Crush?

Conversation at dinner table:

18 year old son (high school senior): So this girl comes up to me at breakfast and says, 'Hey, can I have a drink of your juice?' And I say, 'Sure.' So she takes the cup and SHE DRINKS THE ENTIRE THING! I was so mad. So then her friend comes over and starts eating my cinnamon roll. Just picking away at it until it's GONE!

Me (highly knowledgeable mom and a girl with 3 sisters): She has a crush on you. They like you.

Son: No, they don't.

Me: Yes, they do. That's a girl's way of saying 'I want you to take care of me and feed me for the rest of my life.'

Son: No, it isn't. Just because they come up and annoy me and eat my food doesn't mean they want to marry me and live with me forever.

Me: Of course not. It's all subconscious. But yes, underneath that is what they're saying, although they don't realize it. Believe me, I know how girls think. One or both of them have a crush on you.

Son: (scoffingly) No, they don't.

What do you think, people? Is this a crush or not?

Sometimes I miss our dogs

We had a Doberman named Lugosi and a Bassett Hound named Tara. Lugosi died first, just a few years ago, and Tara followed the next summer. I am truly surprised she waited that long. They were the same age, had grown up together and were as bonded as a brother and sister--the kind who never fight, who do everything together, laugh and get in trouble together and play jokes on other people.

Tara & Lugosi used to work together to destroy the back fence. He would pull on boards with his teeth, she would dig out dirt underneath with her big paws, to give him more biting room. They'd keep at it until there was broken boards and splinters all around, and a hole big enough for them to squeeze through. Then they would be free to run around the neighborhood. They never went too far. And they were always together.

Neighbors would see them and phone us, "Your dogs are out."  Lugosi looked scary. After all, he was a large Doberman with cropped ears and tail, at attention, ready to attack. But of course he never did. He just looked like that. Can a dog help the way he looks? Tara flopped around, following Lugosi everywhere. She somehow made him look cuter and more innocent, probably due to her Bassett hound cuteness.

Tara wasn't very bright. One time an upstairs window was open without a screen. Tara saw something go past on the front yard, probably a cat, and decided to chase it. By going through the window. My mom and I were in the living room and saw Tara fly through the air in front of our picture window, her big ears flapping. She fell on the grass, tumbled back up and went chasing after the cat.

Yes, sometimes I miss our dogs.

Here's a good idea-- take the kids to see a film about the end of the world

One night awhile back my husband and I went to see the film 2012. And behind us was a family complete with soda cans rolling around the floor, who knows what other snacks they brought into the theater in mom's big purse, and a couple young kids. Just a fun, family outing to see Hollywood's version of what happens when the earth's core heats up and destroys the world.

This is a pretty good movie, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But not what you'd want children to see. Aren't kids prone to nightmares anyway, without help from the latest Hollywood disaster film?

So how about it folks. Take your little ones to see a film where California is completely destroyed in about 5 minutes of awesome computer graphics. No, that won't give them nightmares. How about where a dad tries to rescue his two boys and dies in the attempt with the boys watching and screaming? Sure, why not! It's all fake after all. The kids know that, right?

The Day our Nation was Attacked

There will be a lot of remembrances about this day 9-11. Each one of us remembers where we were when we heard the news, and the shock of seeing the planes hitting first one then the other tower.


This week I talked to my 93 year old mother on the phone, and she mentioned how back in 1936 or around there, she felt so worried all the time. She isn't normally a worrier, usually very positive and filled with faith about things. So I asked her, "What were you worried about?" She said, "Oh, all the news coming from Europe." Then last night I was watching a documentary on Churchill, and it struck me once again how scary these times must have been for our nation as well as all of Europe.

Looking back, we all know the outcome of WW II; and even though it was frightening and horrible to think back on, and so many people died, we have hindsight, knowing the Allies won, Hitler died, the concentration camps were set free, Jews gathered to Israel, Japan surrendered.


Our 9-11 was one shocking day, followed by weeks and weeks of analysis, the eventual war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a whole lot of political fallout. Back in the pre WW II and then those dark years of the war in Europe, finally Japan's attack on us at Pearl Harbor that convinced the US to get involved, and then the years after with all the major nations at war.... I can't even imagine how frightening this must have been to those who lived through it. And not just the fighting men, but especially for those back home, the wives, mothers, children....never knowing what would happen. They didn't know the outcome. And it went for a decade. The news started coming in the mid 1930's and it wasn't over until 1945. That is a long time to live with fear.

It is so vital to remember and honor those who fight for freedom and for peace in the world  The power hungry and the evil will not be appeased. They tried to appease Hitler back in the '30's, to give him what he wanted, and he just got stronger. I am not a warmonger, but when I look back at those times, it is clear that the US had to get involved for the sake of freedom and peace. I don't know what the answer should have been for our 9-11, but I do know that we cannot ignore the lessons of the past. 

Canning Tomatoes

Speaking of the end of summer, does anyone have any tomatoes in their gardens? We put in a dozen or more plants and have barely had enough to eat let alone can. I was resigned to not having canned tomatoes for the winter and then something weird happened.

Someone gave me four boxes of canning jars, about six dozen altogether. Not that I needed them, I have plenty but who can turn down free canning jars? Before they were even unloaded from my van, someone offered my husband 85 pounds of fresh, ready to can tomatoes. About six boxes. I don't know how they knew it was 85 pounds, did they weigh them? 85 lbs sounds like an obscene amount of tomatoes to bring home to your wife who had a bad day due to a really annoying book review.

Being the considerate husband that he is, he called me first and asked if I would want to can tomatoes. What do I say? First all the jars appear, followed by all the tomatoes. Obviously, someone is trying to tell me something. Is there going to be a famine in the land? Will I be so busy with my happy, successful life this winter that I won't have time to go to the grocery store? Will the economy collapse? Will our family economy collapse?

Who knows why it is so important for me to can tomatoes, but clearly it is. I say Yes. Bring home the 85 lbs of tomatoes and let's see what we can do.

Eight hours later. That is eight hours straight of me in the kitchen on my feet preparing and canning tomatoes. Hello world out there, I just want to say hi. Now I'm going to bed.