Splitting Hairs

I knew I should have fixed it when I had the chance, but I didn’t and now I can’t fix it.  Oh, the shame, the embarrassment of my mistake! Had I known where it would lead I would have made sure to fix things right away.

It all started about two years ago.  One morning, while getting ready for church, there it was. It was only about an inch long, but it stuck up from the middle of my scalp like a beacon…my first white hair. At first, I was thrilled. “It’s a white hair and not a gray hair! I’m going to have beautiful white hair!” I thought excitedly.

Then reality hit. “It’s a white hair! I’m too young for this to happen! I’m only 40-something! No, no, no! This can’t be happening to me!” Without giving it much thought, I pulled open the medicine cabinet door, grabbed the tweezers, and with one quick tug the dreaded hair was gone.

“Phew! That was close!” I sighed and felt triumphant that I had stopped the progression of my hair turning white.

A couple of weeks later, “Whitey” was back. I knew my hair grew fast, but this was ridiculous! Once again, the tweezers quickly brought death to Whitey.

I was born with strawberry blonde hair. (Before the blonde jokes start, I have to remind you that I am more “strawberry” than blonde!) There were days growing up that my hair would look really red and days it would look very blonde. Hairdressers thought I dyed it and when I told them I never had, they made sure to tell me that women would “kill” to have my hair color. Well, they could have it! I was red-head enough that my uncle Glenn would call me “Red,” which I hated, and my dad would call me “Pumpkin head,” which I also hated. I often dreamed of being a brunette with naturally curly hair. Instead I had two toned hair that was straight as a board and as thick as three heads worth of hair.

Now you think it would be a blessing to have really thick hair. It’s not. It’s a curse! I couldn’t wear the “cool” banana clip combs that were popular in the 80’s. I broke five of them trying to get my hair in one before I gave up.  I had to wear super heavy coated rubber bands on my ponytails because the regular kind would break too easily. When I wore my hair up, we had to put so many hairpins in my bun that I felt like I was carrying three extra pounds on my head. Perms were a nightmare!! Because I like to keep my hair fairly long, one perm packet isn’t enough.  Usually, because of the thickness and the length, three perm packets were used, and getting the perm was an all day affair.

Now, here I am, a forty-something strawberry blonde who has never dyed her hair, hasn’t bothered with a perm for 13 years, and has faithfully trimmed dead ends, kept it conditioned and cleaned and how does my hair reward me? It starts to turn white! Ugh!

Well, back to my current dilemma.  About a week ago, I saw that Whitey had returned. I decided to let it go. Besides, it was only about an inch long. I should have known better! Whitey took that opportunity to invite his friends. “Snowball,” “Marshmallow,” and “Cool Whip” have made their appearance and I’m sure their friends are on their way.

Obviously, this is not me, but it is how I imagine my hair will soon look!

Will I condemn them all to death? No. I’m beginning to eye the 50-something years (though I still have a couple of years till then). I may as well embrace my new additions and give them the same love and attention I have given their predecessors.  Besides, this is a sign of maturity, right?

Psalm 71:18 says, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.” So, I guess I’ll embrace these old white hairs.  After all, I still have a lot of teaching to do with my daughter and my grandchildren in the future.   Just because I’m starting to look old doesn’t mean I have to act old either! And, I know that even though I’m growing older, God will still be with me wherever I go.

♥Miriam

Adventures of the Chronically Lost

Dave and I both had off work today. He had a doctor’s appointment in Mechanicsburg to check the leg he had surgery on a year ago, to see if the vein has disappeared. We decided that on the way, we would stop at Community Aid since it was Wednesday and everything is half price on that day. (If you’ve never been to Community Aid, you should go! It’s like going to Goodwill or a thrift store, except that they have everything marked at 1/2 price on Wednesdays and you can get a whole lot more for your buck!)

Community Aid

We’ve been to Community Aid many times before, but one of the last times we went, we got lost. Why? Because I (yes, me) wasn’t paying attention and missed telling the driver (Dave) where to turn. So today, we decided that wasn’t going to happen again.  I had the directions in hand and we were on our way.

We traveled down Route 81 just like we were supposed to. We turned off Exit 59….just according to plan. I was busy chatting with Dave about this and that….something I don’t get to do much when Katie is along. Well….we did it again. We missed Exit 3 after we got off the first exit. “Here we go again!” exclaimed Dave. Ugh!! It was my fault again!! I was running my mouth and not paying attention and we missed it again! We tried to correct ourselves to no avail. Neither Dave or I have a “smart phone” (ours are pretty dumb!) nor do we use GPS. We rely on MapQuest directions (which usually don’t fail us if we’re paying attention!). We turned left, and turned left, and turned left again. We thought for sure this would get us back toward the direction we were going. Nope!!! Next thing we’re seeing is the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg….several miles away from where we needed to be!

Harrisburg, PA as seen from the Susquehanna River

At this point, we figured we were lost long enough. After all, we’d wasted a good hour. It was getting closer to Dave’s doctor’s appointment time and we had some time to make up. We started looking for Route 81 signs and finally found our way back to the highway. This time we were going south, as we had gone too far north!

Dave’s appointment went well, and he was told he didn’t need to come back unless he had a problem! Woohoo! We set out once more after his appointment (actually 15 minutes before Dave’s actual appointment time!) with a goal of getting to Community Aid.

Exit 59 (Again!)

We made it!! We didn’t miss the turn this time!! We did well at Community Aid. After all it was 1/2 price day! How often can you say that you only spent $34 and got a dress, 3 skirts, 2 pairs of kid’s jeans, 2 girls sized shirts, 3 women’s tops, 5 mens shirts and 2 teacups with saucers??? Not often, I’d say! We decided to try going home Route 11 for a change of scenery.

MISTAKE!!!

We were doing fine until we got to Carlisle. We missed the sign for Route 11 and continued “straight” when we should have turned right. We ended up on Route 34 and realized quickly that we weren’t on Route 11 any longer, nor were we going to get to Route 11 from the route we were on!  We decided that we would just see where this road would take us! Soon we came to the town of Mount Holly Springs. We then discovered we weren’t far from Gettysburg. Now Gettysburg was a place we knew and we also knew how to get home from there!! The gas gauge started to show signs that we needed to fill up with gas and so we found a gas station and stopped in. “It’s pee pay,” says Dave.

“What!! That’s riduculous!” I said, immediately catching his mistake.

Dave realized at that moment what he’d said. His face turned red as he laughed one of those laughs where no sound comes out but your whole body is shaking and your face disappears in one big squinty grin. Tears squirted out of his eyes. We were “rolling” at the gas pump….we were in hysterics! Dave finally regains his composure and says, “I’ll go PRE-pay for the gas. Do you want a drink or anything?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I could use a Pepsi or something.”

“Let’s go in and pay for the gas and pick up some Poke or Pepsi,” Dave says.

“Dave, really? Poke?”

“Oh what is the matter with my tongue today?” questioned Dave again starting to laugh! We finally got ourselves calmed down and went inside.  It felt good to stretch and get a drink. However, “pee paying” became the joke for the rest of the day!

Finally, Gettysburg came into view. Route 30 was in sight and home not too far away. It had been a long day, but a fun day as we wandered around and around.

I love making memories with this man!!  Lost or not, there’s no one else I’d rather be with on an adventure!

♥Miriam

 

 

 

Say What??

I debated about whether or not I would post this memorable moment. After all, some could view it as a bit risque’.  But after recently talking with my friend, Becca and finding out that you can actually print your blog in a book form, decided that’s something I’d like to do at some point. And so, I’m including this “Katie moment” here. Besides, it IS hysterical and it’s something I’ve neglected to put in her baby book. So, I figure if I post it here, it’ll become part of a book at some point.

This “Katie moment” is actually a “Katie/Katrina moment”. Katrina is one of Katie’s best friends. Now keep in mind, they were only 6 and 5 at the time, but this story is just classic!  It’s one of those “pick-me-up-off-the-floor-I’m-laughing-so-hard” moments! Enjoy…..

Two best friends-Katie (age 6) and Katrina (age 5). Now they’re 4 years older, but still just as silly as they were then! 🙂

The other week, Katie’s little friend Katrina was here for the evening.  They were having a blast playing dress up and house.  Dave & I were relaxing; I was in the living room reading and Dave was just coming in from the kitchen when he & I heard the following conversation….

Katie: “Wanna play restaurant?”
Katrina: “Sure!”
Katie: “Okay, I’ll go first at being the waitress and cook and all, and you’ll be the customer and then we’ll switch.”

Katrina goes back the hall and grabs a doll and comes back to Katie’s “kitchen”.

Katie: “Welcome to Katie’s dinner.  Here’s a nice table for you.”
Katrina: “Thank you.”
Katie: “I’ll get a highchair for your baby.” (Proceeds to get a doll highchair and drags it to the table.) “Here’s your menu, let me know when you’re ready to order.”

Katie then goes to the “kitchen” and begins to “cook”.

Katrina: “I’m ready to order.”
Katie: (With tablet in hand) “What will you have?”
Katrina: “I’ll have the pizza.”
Katie: “And what would your baby like to eat.”
Katrina: “Oh, she doesn’t eat.  She drinks from my nipples!”

Now Dave is just about in the living room when he hears this, comes in and whispers “Did I just hear what I think I heard?”  Yes, Dave, you did!

Without missing a beat Katie continues on…. “I’ll be right back with your pizza.”

Talk about hilarious!  There is Dave and I tears streaming down our faces because we’re trying not to laugh out loud and Katie and Katrina continue on playing restaurant as though nothing was ever said!

Kids do say the strangest things! 🙂

♥Miriam

Katie the Bear! (Grrrrrrrrrrrr!)

Here’s another memory I found and it’s a real “Katie classic”! This is one of my all-time favorite “duh moments” she’s ever admitted to! At least this whole incident taught her a lesson…she’s not a bear!  Enjoy…..

Well, my daughter did it again! She never ceases to amaze me!  The other day, when Katie got out of bed, she told me her back was itchy and would I scratch it.  I scratched it and the day moved on.

When I got home from work that evening, Katie once again asked for her back to be scratched.  Thinking nothing of it, I obliged and scratched her back.  She proceeds to tell me that at school that day, her back had itched but her friend, Sushmita, didn’t know how to scratch it like I did and she was glad I was home so her back could be scratched.  I started to wonder why she was so itchy all of a sudden.  I went to the kitchen and made supper, and forgot all about her itchiness.

Then came bath time for Katie.  As she began to climb in the tub I noticed something terrible on her back!  It looked raw, totally brush-burned and scabby!  How could I have not known about this?  Of course, I immediately questioned her–“What happened here?!!!!!”  Katie proceeds to tell me. “Oh, I was really itchy at recess today, and since Sushmita didn’t know how to scratch my back, I used a tree.”

“You what?”

“I used a tree.”

“How?”

“I lifted my shirt, leaned against the tree and started rubbing up and down until it stopped itching.”

“Like a bear?”

“I guess you could say that,” she says.

“Did you ever think this was a stupid idea?” I asked.

“No.”

“Do you have any idea what your back looks like?  Do you realize you could have given yourself splinters?  Do you know you aren’t a bear?” I questioned.

“Yeah, Mommy.  But I don’t itch anymore!”

“Ooooo, a little more to the left!”

Well, her itchiness had ended after her encounter with the tree, but now it’s back full force since the scabs that formed are starting to come off!  When will she ever use her head?  I guess she was–she was thinking like a bear!  🙂

One of my favorite pics of Katie! She was about 22 months old here.

♥Miriam

Ready for Anything (A memory from 2009) ☺

Here’s another oldie but goodie! ☺

The other week, we had to have our septic tank pumped.  This meant that Dave would need to dig a hole and find the top of the tank so that when the pumper people came, they could do their thing.  Dave went out and started to dig.  Katie announced, “I’m gonna help Daddy!” and out the door she went.

Next thing you know, in comes Dave and he heads for the basement.  He came back up the steps with Katie’s toy garden tools so that she really could help him!

Katie and Dave are out there digging away, when suddenly, Katie makes a beeline for the house.  I didn’t think much of it, just figured she had to go to the bathroom.  She comes flying in the door all out of breath and says to me, “I’ll be right back!  I need to do something!”

As she went down the hall, I hollared out my usual “Don’t forget to flush!”  (Little did I know that she had other things in mind instead of going to the bathroom!)

Next thing you know, here she comes!  She is wearing a play hard hat that she got when she built her own bear at Boyd’s Bear Country, and she is wearing a pair of gloves.  I say, “What are you doing?”

She replies, “If I’m gonna help Daddy, I need to have everything I need.  Now I’m  repaired for anything!” and out the door she goes.

She’s out there digging away in her “workman’s outfit” while I stay inside rolling with laughter over her “repairing” herself for work!  What a kid!

This was taken around the time of this story in 2009. Boy has Katie grown up since then!

♥Miriam

♫Smelly cat, smelly cat…it’s not your fault!♫

Cali the cat….in drier days!

Several weeks ago, our cat, Cali jumped up on my lap and I suddenly smelled a stench.  Oh my word did she smell! We decided to give her bath that day. Katie apparently thought that gave her permission to bathe the cat any time she wanted.

About a week after the much-needed bath, Katie pulled Cali into the tub with her. Such howling from the cat! She quickly escaped and took off running through the house. Even though she was bogged down with wet fur, she was surprisingly fast. Until Dave and I caught her, she had every last room wet in some way! We literally spent a half hour cleaning up little water puddles!  Katie was punished for washing the cat and told to never do it again. We thought she had learned her lesson. (How silly of us for thinking!!)

When I got home from choir practice last night, I went to the bathroom. When I walked in, there was a pile of towels on the floor in front of the tub, one rug was soaked, and there was heavy towel so wet it was on the verge of dripping. “What happened in here?” I yelled.

David said, “Ask Katie!”

So, Katie shared the story and was it ever a tale!! Here’s how she related the saga to me:

Last night, Katie was sent for a bath as I left to go to choir. Dave was getting ready to watch a little TV and relax for the evening. Unbeknownst to him, Katie shut the bathroom door, but not until after she had trapped the cat inside. Katie decided that if she was getting a bath, the cat might as well get one too, and so the cat was put into the tub. She grabbed the shampoo and scrubbed her. Then she grabbed a towel (one of my best thick absorbent towels) and wrapped her up tightly in it. The cat, according to Katie, “waited” for Katie to finish her bath. (Never mind that the cat was unable to move because of how it was wrapped!) Then Katie proceeded to dry the cat.

Well, the cat apparently enjoyed being wet and soon escaped Katie’s clutches. Katie took off after Cali and pinned her down until she got the hairdryer hooked up. (Now this something I would have loved to see!) “Cali didn’t care for the hairdryer much and I couldn’t keep her pinned down. I don’t get it….the hairdryer has warm heat and it would dry her. She should have enjoyed the heat ’cause she was shivering.” (Really? Ya think she was cold? Did ya ever think cats weren’t used to being washed?)

After a failed attempt of totally drying her with the hairdryer, Katie had another brilliant idea. Now Katie is telling me this as she stands there in her fleece footie pajamas and my mind can only imagine where this story is leading!  “She was still shivering, even after trying the hairdryer, so I unzipped my jammies (Oh, I don’t like where this is headed!) and stuck her inside and zipped them back shut.”

“How did that work out for you? ” I asked, trying not to do one of those laughs where it comes out so fast and hard that you spit.

“Oh, not so good. She started to crawl around inside there and meowed ’cause she wanted out.” (Ya, think?)

“So then what did you do?” I questioned.

“I left her in there. It was for her own good. She needed body heat to warm up.” (Note to self….Katie doesn’t get to watch “Deck the Halls” anymore!)  (Check out the very end of this clip and you’ll know what I’m referring to!)

“I finally let her out ’cause she was tickling me….a lot!”

I just had to ask, “So why is everything soaked in the bathroom?”

“I just told you, Mom. I gave Cali a bath, duh! I had to try to get her dry somehow!” (With the entire contents of the bathroom?)

Oh well….the cat survived and so did Katie. This time, Dave was punished for not paying attention to what was going on. Guess who got to clean the bathroom. Poor Dave! You  just can’t trust a 10-year-old not to be stupid sometimes! Guess Dave learned that the hard way!

You do have to admit, she does look good when she’s clean!

♥Miriam