Sixty Minute Fun Date

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pic this morning is of my totally finished fall dining room table. I think it is "divine." Roxie thinks it is "too-too much." I'll let you decide. (But if you agree with Roxie, don't let me know. It might hurt my feelings.)

RANDOMNESS #1 - I am in a very sad place today. It is September 22 and my fall magazines have not arrived in my mailbox. Not one. I am used to receiving my monthly subscriptions by the 5th or 6th of the month. Not the 22nd or 23rd.

If I go to an empty mailbox one more time, I'm going to be forced to go to the store and buy my fall magazines... which means they will all be in my mailbox tomorrow... which means Mikie will be upset because we have not one, but two, of every fall magazine known to man.

So, I'm hoping for Mikie's sake the magazines are where they are supposed to be today. I hate it when his blood pressure goes up because of someone else's mistake!

RANDOMNESS #2 - In case you are wondering, Mikie nixed the "Arnie, the Basset Hound Adoption" scenario last night. He wouldn't even look at the picture. This makes me a little sad... especially since I have an appointment to meet Arnie this afternoon.

Not really. No sense starting World War Three at Faulkner Farms (circa 1842) this fine September day. I'll wait awhile and see if he warms up to the idea.

RANDOMNESS #3 - A Hospital Story - After over 18 months of not "having this problem," Monday night I had a massive panic attack. "Massive" since it came out of nowhere and it had new symptoms from my previous panic attacks. "Massive" because I forgot all of my "panic attack training" and completely let it get the best of me. "Massive" because Mikie wasn't home from work yet, and I knew we had to get to my favorite people in town pronto... the paramedics.

Once Mikie arrived home, I calmly told the kids where we were headed, and off we went. Within seconds, SIX of my town's finest were taking my blood pressure and hooking me up to a portable EKG machine. (I want one of these for Christmas.)

They also had a defibrillator. (Something else I want for Christmas.)

I heard the Head Paramedic ask Mikie my pertinent information, but when he got to the question "How old is she?" Mikie just said, "Fifty."

I'm sorry. That is not completely accurate. So I mumbled, "I'm just barely 50."

The paramedic hooking up my electrodes looked at me and asked, "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"My husband told that man I was 50, but I've only been 50 for 24 days. It's not like I'm 'well into my 50s.' I mean, less than a month ago, I would have come in here and I would have been in my 40s. I just want it to be accurate."

And then, because I had depleted what little oxygen I had left in my hyperventilating body, I asked him if he had any oxygen on hand. He declined to give me any... I'm assuming because I was practically in my 40s and all.

To make a long story a little shorter, I looked up and they had a stretcher and an ambulance waiting for me in the parking lot.

Hmmm. I had never ridden in an ambulance before.

Hmmm, again. I had left my camera on the dining room table.

Hmmm, one more time. My house was on the way to the hospital. Would these fine gentlemen be willing to stop by for a minute and let Mikie grab the camera? It would be my first ambulance ride EVER. It would definitely be picture-worthy.

But even in my anxiety-riddled mind, I knew this would be most inappropriate. I also decided to let Mikie drive me to the hospital.

So after I was "unhooked," I said my good-byes to my favorite people in the world (the paramedics), and we headed downtown.

A few EKGs, blood tests and X-rays later, it was determined I had had a massive panic attack and not a heart attack.

I was told to rest (no problem), take it easy (gotcha) and not to stress about anything (yeah, right).

And Mikie took me home. Except for the lack of hot food, unflattering fluorescent lighting and the ugly hospital gown I had to wear, it was a pretty good middle-of-the-week date.

I like the Original Pancake House or movies or a picnic at Botanical Gardens SO MUCH BETTER, but when you're barely in your 50s, you kind of take what you can get!

RANDOMNESS #4 - A Roxie Story - No surprise here. I'm going to share another "sports" story.

Roxie and her friend, Kelci, played basketball on City League together before making the school team. Kelci was, and is, level-headed... a calming presence in the midst of game play... a force to be reckoned with at any given sport. Roxie is a firecracker. Quick... analytical... a spitfire.

During this particular game, the other team was a little, shall we say, hot-headed. It happens from time to time in sports. However, this attitude started at coach-level, quickly descended to parent-level and eventually found it's way on the court... player-level.

While the coaches and parents hashed their differences out, Mike and I watched the girls standing on the court. A player from the other team was all up in Roxie's face, pointing her finger, swinging her ponytail and saying things I am assuming should not have been said.

Roxie never blinked. With hands on hips, she waited until the other player had her say... and then she had hers.

In unison, The Brothers (who happened to be sitting together on the first row of bleachers) turned to look at me and Mikie. Their unspoken question, "Do you want us to take care of this?"

Our loudly spoken answer, "No! Sit!"

I whispered to Mikie, "What should we do? It's going to be a fight in just a minute?"

He whispered back, "Wait. Watch Kelci."

And I did. Kelci had been standing beside the two girls with her hands on her hips, not saying a word. At the appropriate time, Kelci took a step between the two angry players, held the palm of her hand out to the chick who had started the screaming match and shook her head. She didn't say a word.

The screaming chick's hands dropped to her side and she took a step backward. She was obviously deflated.

"Perfect," I thought. Kelci needs to be a diplomat somewhere when she grows up. She has the "gift."

However, I didn't take into account Roxie's "gifts." Within seconds of the END of the exchange, her bright red ponytail appeared from behind Kelci swinging and her finger came out pointing.

"This is not going to end well," I said to Mikie.

And he replied, "Wait."

Before the other little girl could replace her hands on her hips, Kelci swung around and held up her hand to Roxie. The two of them exchanged words. Kelci nodded. Roxie nodded. An agreement had been reached. The two of them turned their backs on the screamer and simply walked away.

There's a lot to be said about the importance of teamwork... especially when you see it at it's best.

I am happy to report that to this day, Roxie and Kelci have each other's back... on the court and off!

Blog Linkage - I have great reads for you today. Get busy.

1. Go to BigMama under My Blog List and scroll down to the post entitled "I don't have a barn. Or any pottery." dated September 20. This post is pretty funny.

2. Go to www.kellehampton.com and scroll down to the post entitled "Fitting It All In" dated September 20. I love it, so I naturally assume you will, too.

3. When you finish reading that post, scroll UP to "66 Minutes to Save the World" dated September 21. I'm actually using this idea for our date today. It is an excellent date.

4. Go to eighteen25 under My Blog List and scroll down to the post entitled "Special Guest - Somewhat Simple" dated September 21. Back in the day, I would have done this in a heartbeat. Maybe you and yours can have a craft day and make this cute, cute decoration.

Why are you still here? You have some reading to do!

Sixty Minute Fun Date

As I said above, I read the post entitled "66 Minutes to Save the World" and thought about what a great date it would be. This is what Kelle (the writer) said...

"One hour. One hour that extended six minutes past. I took my girls and buckled them into their seats. And, in the span of sixty-six short minutes, I gave them my all. I was funny. I was attentive. I poured out motherly love from a gushing hose.

"We played I Spy in the car and I purposely didn't say "the sky" for my first guess on Lainey's "I spy something blue," even though I knew it was the sky. I wanted her to have the satisfaction of stumping me.

"We went to the beach. A short drive and a very short trip to the shore just to sink our feet in, grab a few shells, chase a few seagulls.

"Our pants got wet, and sand stuck to Nella's sticky palms, but that was okay.

"We didn't stay long. It didn't matter. Lainey can't tell time yet, and she only measures anything by how much fun she has anyway.

"We decided to cross off a quick swings and slides from our adventure scavenger hunt and mad-dashed through puddles to make it to a soggy playground while time was a-tickin'.

"Butts got wet, clothes got soaked, kids smiled.

"And then it got really fun. Lainey caught on to this how-much-fun-can-we-have-in-one-hour game, and we were flying. Laughing, running back to the car, checking the clock to see what else we could cram into our Hour of Power.

"Fifteen minutes to spare. We hit a Whole Foods on the way home. The juice bar was perfect for our grand finale smoothie treat.

"We pulled in as it was getting dark, and I snapped a picture of my dashboard clock to say we did it in an hour, even though we intended to take our time inside.

"And we did. We slowly rolled our cart through aisles, taking time to sniff sandalwood soaps, roll on essential oils, browse the colorful produce display. I forgot what time it was and brought two happy kids home ready for bed.

"Lainey asked if we could play our game again tomorrow. Because she had more fun in 66 minutes than she had in a while."

It goes without saying, "Make it your own!"

Favorite park, favorite snack, favorite picnic place, favorite picture-taking place, favorite knick-knack store, etc., etc.

Set your clock. Get ready, set, GO!

Have a joyous Thursday. I know I will... with it being my favorite day, and all. I'll be back in the morning with our Weekend Happenings. I have three words for you to think about... BIRTHDAY, VOLLEYBALL and FOOTBALL. Not necessarily in that order, but definitely those THREE words.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda