I have the greatest friends.

They are always there for me no matter what.

They make me laugh.

They celebrate with me.

They blog with me.

They drag my kids to the pool when I have a child nutrition meeting.

They bring me milk from the grocery store.

They help me organize the freezer.

They take my kids when I have a board meeting.

They shovel my driveway when my husband is in China.

They let me vent about the governor, who I think has a vendetta against public schools.

They read my articles.

They proof my books.

They are simply wonderful.

Eight years ago this month my friend, Don, passed away.

He was so many things.

He was a lawyer and my boss.

He was a fan of all kinds of music.

He was funny.

He was honest, and

He was gay.

I worked with him for nearly four years and he never once tried to make me gay.

He did however help me organize and carry out an intervention with his law partner about her drinking problem. It was emotional and difficult but when it became clear that I was practicing law and she no longer was we knew we had to do something.

Difficult isn't really a strong enough word to describe that afternoon.

He let me cry on his shoulder.

When a somewhat violent ex-husband of one of our clients came in causing quite the stir, Don was quick to intervene and put himself in between me and any danger I might have been in.

When I was leaving his law firm for greener pastures in another state, he gave me a recommendation that could have landed me a job in any courthouse in any state.

The things I will always remember about him include his goofy laugh, the way he would encourage me to put love stamps on the envelopes of all the divorce papers, the kindness he showed to everyone, and the genuine concern he had for even the smallest of someones problems.

I also will never forget that his partner, the love of his life, was not allowed access to him after he suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 42. I will always remember that because his "spouse" was male, Don died alone.

I will always remember the anguish in his best friend's voice when he called me to tell me of Don's passing. I will always feel robbed that he never met my son.

Would things be different today?

Sadly, they would not.

I miss you, my friend, and I continue to believe you deserved better.

The afternoon newspaper   I write for is doing a series on 911 to commemorate the 10th anniversary. 

As part of the series, the paper is asking citizens to recall where they were when they heard of the events.  What they remembered feeling...what they remember thinking.

911 doesn't feel like ten years ago to me but I know it to be true because my daughter is ten years old and she was 2 months old when the towers fell.  In fact, she was exactly two months old. 

Middle G. was born June 11th.  Before that September date.  Before that time.

We were at the zoo.

The girls and I were meeting some friends at the zoo.  We planned to spend the day there.  To have lunch there.

I was listening to kid music in the car.  We were singing along.  We were, like so many others, just going about our day.

My husband was not traveling, but my friend's husband was.

When I got to the zoo, I remember wondering why so many people were still sitting in their cars.  I soon came to realize that they were listening to the news.  Listening live to the gasps of the reporters as the second plane flew into the towers.

We didn't know how serious it was.  We thought it was an accident.  We didn't know it was intentional.  We didn't know that much hatred existed.  We didn't know it could touch us.

The zoo announced it was closing at 10:30 "to honor our friends and family in New York."  I still didn't understand.

Even as I was leaving the parking lot and heading home, I didn't understand.  When I pulled safely into the driveway with my toddler and my infant and found my husband home from work, I didn't understand.

As I watched live the events unfolding in a field not far from where I grew up, I didn't understand. 

Ten years later and I still don't understand.

Where were you when the towers fell and so much changed forever?

With the start of school just around the corner, I decided to take the time to write a letter to one of my high school teachers. As I have grown, I have begun to realize that the lessons he taught were above and beyond what he was contracted to do.

Dr. Mr L.

I gave you a real run for your money, but no matter what I did you didn't blink.

Your teaching style was considered unusual. I still remember having my name randomly called during the middle of your lecture. The expectation being that I would repeat the last word you said...that I would prove I was paying attention.

When I shouted out my name as the last word you uttered, you didn't find my response funny. You didn't give me an in. You were the only teacher to notice some of the pain I hid with my humor. You offered to talk to me if I ever wanted to share. You noticed all the things I was trying so hard to hide.

You stressed the gift I had for the written word and encouraged me to apply myself more. You urged me to take typing, something I am truly grateful for. You encourage me to write down what I was feeling. To blog before blogging was even thought of.

You made me repeat things daily like, "I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street I met a man who had no feet." When I was a teenager, I thought you were crazy. Now I get it. Now I understand.

How hard it must have been for you to hope that one day some of us would "get" it.

Thank you for being a royal pain in my ass. I realize now that it is only because you cared.

You encouraged all of us to take our good, to make it better but not to settle until it was our best.

I am honored to have called you my teacher.

~kisa~

Take time today to thank all the teachers in your life.

For as long as I can remember my dad has had two BFFs--Rich and Smoke. During my childhood they umpired little league together, they played practical jokes on each other, they went to the little league world series together every year for many years, they played golf, they watched hockey.

They were there for each other in good times and bad times.

They helped each other move. They hugged each other when their parents died. They were there for each other when their children went to college. When those same kids married. When those kids had kids. They were there for each other.

The three amigos.

We often joked that it was good that they had each other so that when they were old and senile they could wipe each other's chins in the nursing home.

But cancer has a way of messing up even the best laid plans and Smokey has been fighting a brain tumor for a number of years now.

It went away.

It came back.

It made it hard to keep his balance.

It made it hard for him to see.

But through it all he had his family and his friends.

Smokey lost his fight with cancer on Saturday--A good guy who had a crappy hand dealt to him. He played it well and he never lost his positive attitude.

On Saturday morning, my dad was on his way to visit him at the hospice center carrying a cup of coffee for him. When he learned that he had died, he drank the coffee in his honor and remembered that someday they will share a cup together again.

RIP Smoke. We will not forget you.

Today is a shout out to my friend Rachel who is most likely going to kick my ass for posting this picture of her.

In my defense, I love this picture!

It is the one I have on my cell phone. Her sarcastically smiling face pops up on it every time she calls me.

She has three boys 8 and under. (Feel free to send Advil.)

She is a no nonsense, tell it like it is, kind of person and I enjoy being around her.

Her boys are silly and super cute. She makes me laugh with her stories about life, work and being a mom.

Her middle son and my son are in the same kindergarten class. I hope they are friends forever!

If I've had a bad day or just need to vent she is always willing to listen!

Who is in your inner circle of friends? Why not post a tribute to them?

My son has decided a few things over the last two weeks. These include:

~ The dark is a very scary, unpredictable thing.

~ Fire is terrifying and happens to houses when people are sleeping.

~ Sleeping alone is the scariest thing anyone could ever ask you to do.

~ If someone agrees to lay down with you, cling to them so they can not escape when you fall asleep.

Today's tribute is all about sleep. Glorious, undisturbed sleep. I miss you and I long to have you visit again.

I am so tired.

I feel like I cannot function today and I need to clean up this house and take the kids to swim lessons. I don't want to.

I want to go back to bed.

Sleeping with my son is like sleeping with an octopus. He never stops moving and always has parts of his body flinging towards yours.

I can't seem to reason with him about these fears of his.

About a month ago, he saw a barn fire and now he is convinced that our house is going to burn down. If you listen to him long enough, his argument is so convincing and so sincere, that it cause you to check the smoke alarms.

Through tears, he says things like, "It's too scarwee to sleep by myself, mommy. Sleeping with you or daddy is better cause all the scarwees disappear."

"How do the firemen know how to get to our house?"

"What if the fire alarm doesn't wake everyone up?"

"Are you scarwed of smoke?"

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I'm literally running on empty and starting to develop a fear of fire too.


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Today is Tuesday's Tribute. What is it? Well, I'll tell you what it is NOT... It's Not About YOU. It's about SOMEONE ELSE. It's our chance, each of us, to shine our light on someone else.

Huh? Whaddya mean?

We each spend a lot of time talking about ourselves and our lives, but we are also fairly GIVING people too...Tuesday's Tribute is a chance to talk about OTHER people, OTHER blogs, OTHER lives.

Now's your chance to shine your light on someone or something else.

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Today's post is all about my dear friend, Jean. She puts up with my many quirks and she always makes me laugh.

She will not get mad at me because I posted this picture. Besides, I think she looks good in it.

She comes with me on my bi-annual scrapbook beach trips and she doesn't like to scrapbook. Often times, she gets recruited to cut stuff from the cricut for all the other scrappers. She likes to help us out.

Dear Toothfairy,

Thank you remembering to come to my house last night and take away middle daughter's tooth.

Lately we have had a tumultuous relationship and I attribute this to the fact that you are outrageously absent-minded.

Granted, I do not know what is going on in your personal life and perhaps you feel spread thin like butter, but forgetting to pick up a tooth on more than one occasion should have resulted in your immediate termination.

No, that is not a death threat. I'm just saying that in the "real world" forgetting to do one's job would, indeed, result in the loss of said job.

That being said, I'm glad to see that you have resumed your duties with the utmost of care.

That you are arriving promptly and not at 5:30 in the morning after being startled awake at the thought of your forgetfulness.

In short, today's tribute is all about you! Keep up the good work and remember if you forget again I'm putting your job opening on Monster.

Sincerely,

an absentminded parent

Although I wasn't a regular reader or a follower of April's mom, I was appalled when I learn that she, Rebeccah Beushausen, fabricated her entire blog.

A blog about her unborn, sick child.

Who does that?

Do you just wake up one morning and say "Mmmmm what do I have to do today? Run to the post office, laundry and oh yeah, make up that blog about the fake baby."

Beushausen had followers like I have flies in my house. Apparently, her subject matter hit a nerve. She had millions of people praying for her yet all that prayer didn't invoke a guilty conscience. She just keep right on typing. For nearly two month she wove a tale about being an unmarried mother who chose to carry her child to term rather than have an abortion "because of her deep Christian faith".

Say what?

After her heart wrenching post about her home birth and subsequent death of her fake baby, Beushausen posted a picture of her holding the "baby", which was recognized as a life-like doll by one of her regular readers. Game over.

What remains is an apology to her many followers, many of whom she left speechless.

Nearly two decades ago, when I worked at Burger King, I met a young boy who took me to prom when my then boyfriend wouldn't.

He was sweet and quiet and seemed to care about what I had to say.

That was 19 years ago this month. He is still sweet and quiet and for the most part cares about what I have to say.

We've been through our share of ups and downs over the decades. It was difficult when he was away at college and I was back at home working. We spent a lot of weekends together in various parts of the state of Pennsylvania.

When we first moved outside of PA, I was surprised by the homesickness I felt. He was right there, by my side, through it all.

After we were married and found out that we were expecting our first child, I was again surprised by how sick I was. I always thought I would have a large family until I realized how hard being pregnant was on my body. I threw up for many weeks. He was right there, by my side, through it all.

When I first experienced postpartum depression, he was the first to notice that I wasn't myself. I cried at TV commercials, I stayed in my PJs all day. I needed medication. He was right there, by my side, through it all.

When I decided not to return to work and to stay home with our daughter, I didn't realize how isolated and lonely I would feel. He was right there, by my side, through it all.

When I felt overwhelmed by the fact that we had three kids under five, he would immediately take over, cook dinner and handle bed time...even if he just got home from work. He was right there, by my side, through it all.

When we found out we had to more back to PA, after finally growing roots in Ohio, I was sad and not ready to leave. I was afraid of feeling all of the things I felt before--isolated, lonely, sad. But he was right there, by my side, through it all.

What I have learned is that we make a great team. We have our disagreements and sometimes we don't see eye to eye. But we agree on the important things and in the long run that's what really matters.

I don't tell him often enough how much I appreciate all that he does. Especially the little things like always emptying the kitchen garbage, putting gas in my van every time he drives it, and making dinner on the weekends.

He understands my quirks and doesn't care if my hair is green. He even turns the van around so we can rescue turtles from the middle of the road in heavy mid-afternoon traffic.

He will always be right there, by my side, through it all. And I am so very grateful.

My sister lives too far away. I don't get to see her as much as I would like. Because of that today's tribute goes out to CrazyTrain, who I wish was coming over for supper tonight.

Five things I love about Heather:

• She always makes me laugh: My sister is one of the funniest people I know. She can tell a story about a random trip to the doctors and before you know it you will be peeing your pants with laughter.
• She has pretty hair: All my life I have wanted my sister's hair. It lays flat, it grows long, it doesn't get bushy. Mine on the other hand...well let's not go there.
• She looks good in a sun visor and plaid shorts: CrazyTrain doesn't care what anyone thinks and will pretty much wear whatever she wants where ever she goes.
• She is an awesome teacher: She teaches special education on a high school level. That takes a lot of dedication and an actual desire to see her students make a better life for themselves.
• She fights for what she believes in: This year she has taken juvenile diabetes by the throat and isn't about to let go until her son is cured.
  

If you read my post yesterday, you are aware that I'm having some technical difficulties with my photos and videos from the weekend. I accidentally deleted everything off my SD card. While, thankfully, I was able to restore my photos, I wasn't able to restore the hilarious videos my sister and I made of our mock craft show: Crafting with Confidence

However, I haven't given up yet.

This is the only one I currently have and it is just a blooper. I'm sure you want to see the rest...keep your fingers crossed.

For today's tribute I would like to honor the blog Going Buggy. Enfys (pronounced Envis - it's Welsh) lives in the West Midlands region of the UK with her dear hubby Mike. They also spend part of the year in the states. Florida, I believe.

Enfys never ceases to amaze me with her awe inspiring cards. She seems to have an endless amount of time to craft, something I am profoundly jealous of. She dsigns for Bitten by the Bug, Funky Hand and The Cutting Cafe.

Seriously, En, where do you find the time?

Whether it is this amazing rose card or this more recent card about what to do when life hands you lemons you will continue to be amazed by this talented woman.

Recently, after Enfy had numerous cards published in Papercrafts, I joked with her about needing her autograph. She graciously mailed me the UK magazine along with a cute set of stamps. To my surprise she took the time to sign a few little notes near her designs. My oldest daughter, who was studying the UK at time was throughly impressed that the package came Royal Mail/Air Mail and promptly took it to 4th grade for show and tell.

If you enjoy card making/crafting, you can't go wrong with this blog.

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A Jay and Deb Production.

Today I want to give a shout out to my son's preschool teacher.  If there was a remake of Mary Poppins, she should get the lead.  I have never met anyone quite as patient and understanding as she is.

Here are just a few things she does that absolutely amaze me:

• Last week the school had a gas leak, she calmly evacuated the building and while waiting for parents to arrive to pick up their bundles of joy she kept them warm by allowing them to play in her car.  When is the last time you had that many kids in your car?
• No matter what the story is, she always listens at eye level while my son retells it.
• To my knowledge, she has never raised her voice at anyone.  Wish I could say the same thing.
• She has full confidence that my son will ace his kindergarten evaluation later this month.
• My  middle daughter also had her as a teacher and to this day still remembers and loves her.
• Her favorite animal is a turtle; and I love to see all the turtle creations little one brings home.

So hat's off to Mrs. Z!  I've heard you should pursue a career doing something that you love.  It is obvious to everyone around you that you are doing something you love.

To Mrs. Lapp,

You don't know me, but I am grieving for you.

I heard about the accident that took your two sons lives. I'm sure your pain cannot be put into words and that no words can, or will ever, erase that empty feeling.
It brings me some comfort, and hopefully brings you some as well, to see the outpouring of love from your Amish nieghbors and community.  In my opinion, many of us so-called "Westerners" could learn a few things from the Amish.

After all, more than 200 members of your community went with you to the crash site to offer their love and support.  This community, these Amish neighbors, have seen more than their fair share of grief and hurt.    It is my understanding that you and your family live only a short distance from the site of the schoolhouse shooting not so long ago.

Perhaps, Mrs. Miller, who lost two daughters in that tragedy or Mrs. Stoltzfus, who had three members of her family shot that day, can offer you some sort of comfort.   The Stoltzfuses buried their 12 year old, but were able to offer immediate forgiveness to the shooter.  

You are right to surround yourself with people like this.

As for me, I have nothing but cliches and empty words.  Your boys, your babies, are gone.  I believe that you will see them again, but I do not know when.  And like many, I have no answer as to why this has happened.

May your deep faith help you through this dark and uncertain time.

~me

Today is Tuesday's Tribute over at Halftime Lessons. The idea is to write a post as a tribute to someone or something. Mr. Linky is up over there...why aren't you playing along?

Today is my 300th post and I feel like I should have something witty and funny to write about, but I really don't.

Today's post is all about my middle daughter.

She is the sledder in the back with her mouth hanging open.

She is almost 8; she is loud and sometimes opinionated. She missed me the most when I was away this weekend. She loves to read, she likes to wear all one color. She can be easily frustrated, but will be the first to come to your defense. She fits into just about every cliche you have ever heard about a middle child.

Last Tuesday I took her to the pediatricians to be tested for diabetes. It runs in our family. My 8 year old nephew has it. My dad has had issues with blood sugar in the past. My sister is hypoglycemic and I probably am somewhat too.


Middle daughter is not diabetic. She is reactively hypoglycemic. I'm not really sure what all that means. This is what I do know.

• She needs to eat frequently or she turns into emotional goo;


• Protein rich snacks are the best choice;


• This is something she may grow out of;


• Getting "permission" for your kid to have a snack in the middle of the day at school isn't as easy as it should be;


• After just one week of following more of a routine, I'm noticing a big difference.

I decided for Tuesday Tribute I would write ten things I love about my friend, Becky. 

1.  She will still be my friend even after she sees this silly picture and will not harrass me to take it down because she knows the importance of being silly and not taking yourself to seriously.

2.  She will change her plans, no matter what they are, to help me out if I am sick or without a car.  (Even if it means she can't go to the gym.)

3.  She takes my kid to school when I have the flu and then goes out of her way to bring me some 7 up.

4.  She shares my love for Quizno Subs.  BTW...I have new coupons!

5.  She agrees with me that vacumming and cleaning the bathroom should be very low on anyone's to do list.

6.  She puts family first and they return the love.  She goes to her niece and nephew's soccer games and her sisters and parents come to her kids games.