And then...

A neighbor called to tell me they found this:

Momentarily....

The day looked like this:


and This:

And then it didn't anymore.

Needed a laugh...

My son and I were watching an episode of Stargate Friday night. It started off with these four people walking along talking about kids. One man is talking about nuclear diapers, projectile vomiting, screaming, etc. Another says "don't you have four kids?". The first says yes, then adds "Why do you think I like my JOB so much?" :-) My son and I both rolled on the floor laughing. I had to pause it. He went on to say that you have one, but you want the child to have a brother or a sister, so you have another, but you have another boy. Your spouse wants a girl so you try again. Then you say what the heck, you have three, but you think one more can't be that bad, but your brain is fried from lack of sleep, etc.

Sunday...

I had to go into work Sunday afternoon this weekend. I wasn't too happy about it. Once I got in the car, rolled down the windows, and opened the sunroof that changed a little. I still wasn't happy about going to work, but I was happy driving along on a not too chilly autumn afternoon. The sun was beating down about as much as it can this time of year and my skin reveled in its lingering touch. There weren't many people on the road and at points I had it all to myself. I just enjoyed the moment.

It reminded me of another moment almost exactly seven years ago to the day. Just a few days before my separation and unceremonious launch into single parenthood. I had just spent a day in Richmond. I had, like I always did, the best time with everyone there. On the drive home the trees along the Interstate were hitting their peak colors. The sun was unseasonably warm. It was luxurious. The leaves were literally pouring off the trees. It was honestly raining leaves. I thought they were going to fall into the sunroof and fill up the truck. It was not a happy time. My mom had died in February of that year. My marriage was essentially disintegrated. But this moment, this hour and a half drive, I was happy. Brilliantly happy. Hopeful. C.S. Lewis would have said "Surprised by Joy". I wanted to capture it, so I did. I wrote out the poem below in my head and memorized it on the way.


Traveling in Fall

It was a warm Indian summer day,
As I traveled along my lonely way,
The many splendorous autumn leaves,
Were spilling from their parent trees.

Earlier and Earlier sinks the afternoon sun,
Shadows lengthen one by one,
And the Eternal Ethereal Bell,
Of the changing seasons knells.

As I watched this, I began to think,
What have I done this day, this week,
For surely I can not go back again,
For surely one day, this all will end.

The coolest thing I saw this Halloween:

Was not a costume or display.

Trick or Treating was nearly over. My son and I were done. I was sitting with my neighbors around their table top fire pit enjoying the conversation with an excellent cup of coffee. Their mother noticed a rather odd light in the sky. It didn't look like a plane or a helicopter, but it was too far away to be clear. There are a few people over in this area with personal helicopters and I thought it may be one of them. We couldn't hear it though, which is not surprising because the neighbor's enterprising 14 year old had downloaded a halloween noise track to his iPod and was scaring the little ghouls with it.

About 10 minutes later, about 20 more came floating by. Balloons. Lit balloons floating in the cold and dark evening autumn sky. Somewhat orange in color. It gave the night a very Harry Potter type of feeling. As eerie and amazing as I thought it looked, I was concerned about the trash/littering aspect of the flying light display. I was wondering if they were rubber balloons or some other more environmentally friendly type of contraption.

Halloween Preps...

Tonight we ran some errands. Brandon needed a few things and we needed Halloween gear.

At Target we got socks and jeans.

Halloween store to get a costume.

Stoney's market to get a pumpkin.

Kroger's to get candy (way on sale), onions, peppers, salmon, and milk.

The salmon is for me. Onions and peppers for cheese steaks. Milk just cause we needed it.

Brandon carved out his pumpkin without incident. Well, mostly. I wish he would talk to me about his designs first. He had to redo it.

So we are set. Last year I went as Robert Smith from The Cure. This year I think I'll be back to the duster and cowboy hat. Plus I have a beard. :-)

I think the beard will be going away though. Some brown hair, some blond, some GRAY. I'm not ready for gray.

The TRUTH is....

A friend of mine walked into a meeting she had called with several other high ranking government peers and said, "There are no virgins here right?" Her point was it was a meeting to get down to business and stop squabbling.

Another friend of mine recently sent me an email from some out-laws of hers. They were all up in arms because they found some information that said Snopes.com doesn't always do very thorough checking of their facts. They made the point that Snopes.com was slanted towards liberal views.

Ok, there are no virgins here right?

Do you honestly expect to get the "TRUTH" {cue Angelic "ahhhhh"} from a website, news channel, or news paper?

Do you honestly believe everything you read just because it came from someone that says they investigated it?

Mythbusters gets it wrong sometimes. Stephen Hawking gets it wrong sometimes. Einstein wasn't always right either.

Do YOU tell the truth all the time? Are you right all the time?

The X-Files got this right "Trust No One", but the Truth is not out there.

If you are a conservative then you listen to news sources that take the conservative side. Liberals vice versa. Do you want to hear the Truth? Of course not. You WANT to hear that what you believe is Truth. No one wants to be told that what they think or believe is wrong. That would be absurd.

There aren't as many absolutes as we sometimes think there are. When you read something, hear something, or see something, do not disengage your brain. You are no lemming. Avoid the mob mentality and weigh the facts and information for yourself.

Fears...another milestone...

My son is currently participating in a program called AVID. He is in Sixth Grade. Friday they scheduled a field trip to Christopher Newport University. They got to tour the campus including dining facilities, dorms, classrooms, library, and gym. A freshman gave them the tour and was very patient with the crazy questions the sixth graders asked him. We learned about the tree everyone climbs on campus, we learned about the hippy area, we learned about the academic buildings and programs, we learned about campus safety, and so much more. On the bus, I learned a few things too. It is somewhat fun to just sit and listen to what these kids talk about, what they find important, how they manipulate their parents, etc. One kid said "So you pulled the old 'I don't have money for food' trick to get your dad to meet you at Busch Gardens, sweet." These kids have cell phones galore. They take lots of pictures and videos. One such video taken at the end of the night, if I can get it I'll post it here, is of my son battling a host of upper classmen with a light saber on the steps of the Globe Theater. On the bus it became legendary and was reverently referred to as the "Brandon Video."

The fear I refer to is of letting my son ride a roller coaster by himself. This roller coaster was Appollo's Chariot. 210' high with parabolic curves to induce weightlessness. My son was talking the whole time about how he wanted to hold his hands up. He didn't want to ride with me because he knew I would hold them down. He is right. With six people we couldn't all ride together, and he took advantage of that to jump in another line. I let him, though I was nervous the whole time. They ended up two trains behind my group so I got to ride, and then watch him get on by himself, and disappear 210' up into night. He was just fine. It is very hard letting go.

When we got there we ate. The six of us were very hungry. We went to Italy. Delicious. We rode Appollo's first, then the Big Bad Wolf, Dark Castle, Dragon Land (for little kids but they wanted it), and the Loch Ness Monster last. I got them all snacks after the last one because it was nearly time to go. The ended the visit with the light saber duels at the Globe, and then had a raucous ride home, fueled by the sugar I gave them I am sure.

It appears....

That my son's iPod Nano has recovered from the event we will now call "The Washing". It is syncing, updating, charging, playing, and displaying. He is very excited. One less item on the Christmas list.

Fears....

It was dark. It was cold. It was windy.

I was strapped down. So was my son. I could just barely reach him to reassure him I was still there. I couldn't see his face. Normally he is so chatty and loud, but now he was quiet.

The day had started off with promise, but rain and cold quenched that. After some deliberations we set off to do exactly what we had wanted to do first thing. I found myself now wishing we hadn't.

I was scared. Afraid. My mind racing through all the ways this could end, all of them bad. I was afraid for me. I was afraid for my son, for I had encouraged him to come along. I told him it would be fine. He believed me. Now I couldn't see him.

We were up high. 205' high, looking down at the ground with nothing underneath us. I knew that if anything happened to my son I would never forgive myself. Then we fell.

Riding the Griffon at Busch Gardens is always exhilarating. Hanging at the top I always feel like I've made a foolish mistake. At the end of the ride I can't wait to go again.

Riding with my son was a whole different experience. I was afraid for him. Was he buckled in right? Was he really big enough? Was he really afraid like I was afraid for him? There was nothing I could do about any of it. I hated that feeling. All the way down the drop I was ready try and snag him if he came loose.

This wasn't his first time on this roller coaster. He had been with his mom at the end of summer. He wouldn't ride it last year, even with me trying to bribe the sense out of him. Now I am thankful.

At the end of the ride, just as we stopped, he said with confidence and youthful vigor, "That is my favorite ride." All was well, and my fears eased...

...until next time.