Tales of the Ordinary Days

Day 6 | 30 Days of Writing My tenth birthday 51 collective birthdays leaves one with lots of fun memories. Growing up I didn't have oversized yard signs greeting me when I woke up in the morning nor did I have extravagant friend parties that included limos or any type of purchased party favors. We just had good old-fashioned fun that can't be bought, but is equally priceless. In my golden years of birthdays through the 70's and 80's, I got to choose the dinner menu and cake variety. That was our family celebration. My choice was typically spaghetti for the meal and either banana bread or angel food for the cake. Mom would also allow me to have a group of friends spend the night. We always had lots of fun but reversely got little to no sleep. If Rocky was involved, we would set up a seance once it was dark and try to connect with spirits. Beth would come with a yellow Tupperware filled with her mom Kay's chocolate chip cookies. We played truth or dare and w...

Day 5 | 30 Days of Writing My middle son, Ben, FaceTimed me today. He wanted to find out what I was doing for my birthday and when he could join in. Very sweet. It never crossed my mind that Ben would drive to Omaha on a busy weekday. It also reminded me that he is the only one of my three kids with a driving distance day-trip option. I reminded him of this fact shortly after Grant moved to join brother, Zach, in Colorado. "Ben, you do know that you are kind of like the only child now. And I'm a little vulnerable. If I were you, I would totally milk the situation." I was trying to be funny, yet there was a bit of seriousness. It did sound appealing to have a child to dote on again. Not the right way to feel, but feelings aren't always right or wrong. They're just feelings. Ben laughed it off and never gave in to my wicked temptation. The reality is that even if he wanted to, he couldn't. He has his own life and is very busy. But he has made a...

Day 3 | 30 Days of Writing Believe there is good in the world. Be the good. I love this sign. And I especially love the goodness of the people who surround me. With this week being my birthday week and second year in my fifties, I am reminded of all the great people I have met along the way. Blessings come in many forms, but the joy of friendship is one I appreciate more and more with each passing year. I marvel at the length of so many of my relationships and equally how the new ones seem to come out of nowhere but always at the right time. Often my many worlds collide unexpectedly. The connectedness in these relationships goes far beyond the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Tonight was a prime example. Four women. One common tie but an unlikely friendship of varying ages and stages of life. A young widow with children just starting school, a second marriage empty-nester, a career woman with kids in high school, and a mom right in the middle of all these stages. We all shared...

Some B-day flowers and balloons for good measure :) "You say it's your birthday. It's my birthday too, yeah...." My birthday is was technically yesterday. Birthday Weekend. And I love having my birthday. I love everything about. I'm grateful for my parents birthing me mid-September. A glorious time to celebrate being born. My memories are filled with sunny, but cooling, transitional days from summer into fall. As an adult, this annual celebration has most times been in the enjoyment of the outdoors with much anticipated first-of-fall weather. Last year's milestone was exceptional as I watched my son collect a football win under an orange moon sky. Friends gathered before and after this high school event as I donned my gift of a pink tiara. Birthdays of days past have included Husker football tailgates and wine with friends on the restaurant patios. A 40th b-day golf celebration was filled with a dozen friends on an otherwise tranquil Thursday nig...

Salute! I love my husband. A lot. My better half. Today he turned 49 and tonight we celebrated with our friends. My heart warms for the cheers we had and the smiles we shared. I have been known to sugar-coat things. And today was no exception. Daily life comes with adversity, but it really is so much better when you forge forward through the not-so-great with those you love. And a cup half full is always superior to the half empty counterpart. So my better half and I forged forward as a team. One in combination. A great duo. We survived our hectic day to a little surprise party for Garrett's b-day to close the night. As suspected, he wasn't as surprised as I would have liked, but the end result was just as good. Tables full of friends. Cheers. A good life. And then we went home to what we thought would be a childless home. Instead Ben and his girlfriend, Lauren, were busy making Ben's sack lunch for his next day at work. Ben started Garrett's day with an...

Grandma Gib is the quilter to the right Grandma Gib would have been 96 years old yesterday. With our age spread of exactly fifty years, I have always remembered her age with ease. We lost Grandma three years ago. But her loved ones felt her loss long before her death. The horrible disease of Alzheimer's afflicted our Grandma. We slowly watched her lose her memory. By her death, Grandma had lost recognition of the family she loved so dearly. From a health standpoint, she was relatively comfortable in her final years. It was Grandma's family who were left to feel the pain. An strange twist happened as the illness overtook her mind. She became incredibly witty. Although Grandma had a sense of humor pre-Alzheimer's, she had become down right funny. As her mind forgot, her quick tongue picked up the slack. Her comic tone made us laugh out loud while we mourned inside. Grandma had us crying in laughter on many occasions with her funny comments an...

When Ben was born, I bought a book "On the Day You Were Born". As friends and relatives visited Baby Grant for the first time, I asked that they write in the book; explaining what they were doing on Ben's birthday. This is now a cherished book. There are notes from Ben's now adult cousins writing in their small child handwriting what they had for school lunch and how excited they were when they heard about the arrival of their baby cousin. The handwritten loving thoughts from my now deceased grandparents are cherished as well. Although I don't have a book like this, I am fortunate to have a mother who is a great historian and often shares these wonderful details. Below are her notes on my birth. My keepsake will be held in this blog. _____________________________________________________________________ Note 1: Sandy was 46 years old last Friday, the 13th.  After getting home from the hospital on the 16th I laid Sandy on the sofa & called Matt ...

Outside of Chiefs stadium People say bad luck comes in threes. My football weekend of threes was not the case. One was bad and two were good. Being the mother of boys spares me of dance recitals and visits to the American Girl store. Instead, most trips and outings are centered around sports. This weekend was a case in point. My birthday weekend was a celebration of all things football. My birthday itself was capped by a Skutt win with Ben on the field (I'm still smiling). Saturday was the Huskers. I won't belabor the outcome, but will say the weather was exceptional. The road trip and company of boys to and from Lincoln was equally as good. The game itself; well....that would be the bad one I was referring to above. Sunday was all football for us from sun up to sun down. A short trip to Kansas City brought my kids to their first NFL game. And it didn't disappoint. I have been to several NFL games over the years, but didn't include my children. This wrong was ...

My 46th birthday went off with a bang. No Friday the 13th fears were going to sideline my once-a-year special day. Although a couple of bumpy moments; Sandy: 10, Bad Luck: 0. A win. Garrett was here when I awoke in the morning. First score. A fresh cup of coffee greeted me bedside. And the night prior I was treated to a surprise party gathering of friends at Kobe steakhouse. I hadn't expected it. Garrett pulled off a surprise and the company was outstanding. Sandy scores 2. With a Friday birthday, some work did need to be involved. Since I love what I'm doing, not a bad gig. Garrett and I headed downtown for a full morning and then off to the airport. Back to Denver for GB. My celebration in Omaha continued. After a a final business meeting, I was greeted with more gifts and a lovely tiara from three mini-princesses. I wore it in their honor for (most of) the rest of the night. Sandy: 3. Friday night lights awaited; along with some other surprises. I walked in the doo...