Laugh A Little

It feels like it's been a while since I've written about things my boys have said. With the chaos of the season, I apparently haven't been very good at keeping track of their thoughts. Usually I have a ton of sayings stored away in my phone, just waiting to be posted, but right now I only have a few. I know that the limited number is not due to lack of humor, because honestly, they say something every day that makes me laugh. I just haven't written them all down.

The daily laughter reminds me of my old job at Allegheny East in Monroeville. That job had times when it was so very stressful, but I can say with full sincerity, that I loved it. I loved it because of the wonderful women I worked with, but also because of the beautiful people I served. They were very much like my children - pure in heart and mind, and always able to bring a smile to my face. No matter how bad my day was, regardless of what kind of stress the position entailed, I was guaranteed to laugh at least once, usually much more, each and every day.

Those were the moments I remember most about the job, too. Sure I can think of a few big problems that I encountered that were less than ideal, but when I reminisce about my times at Allegheny East (now Milestone), I think most often on the good times - good friends, lots of laughs and lots of love.

I need to remind myself of that principal when it comes to my children. There is a quote that I love. "The days are long, but the years are short." How true that statement is! The years seem to fly by, and when I look back, I remember the good things, the times that made me laugh, the joy I have taken in raising my boys. When they are fighting, or throwing tantrums or destroying yet another item in our home, I need to think about the good, the blessings, and the joy that lies in having children. We cannot control what happens to us, after all, but we are always in control of our attitude towards life's events.

So, with that in mind, let me cut to the chase, and give you some examples of times I have smiled over the last month or so!

Today school was canceled because of a two part winter storm in our area. We got a few inches of snow last night, which is mostly cleared, but we are going to be hit later this afternoon into tomorrow with freezing rain. Naturally, Jacob is thrilled about his time off of school. As I stumbled around, making my coffee and getting my bearings this morning, he rattled off all kinds of thoughts about winter, school, storms, you name it. It was all I could do to nod along with him, because I wasn't even partially awake while he was talking a mile a minute. Finally, he asked about going outside. I told him that if he was going to play outside, he should do it in the morning, before the ice comes. He agreed, and then spouted off some theories about sleet and the pain factor if it were to hit his face, and if the Weichel boys would know to go inside when it started sleeting. Again, I was just kind of nodding along. Then he said, "Mom, doesn't hail get to be the size of mini vans?" Uh huh, uh, huh, nod, nod...

Wait? Did he just say "mini van?"

"Um, no. I don't think that usually happens, Jake. That's awfully large. Maybe golf ball sized, or if it's bad, baseball sized. I think it would be very rare for hail to be as large as a vehicle."

"Well, I mean, small mini vans, of course."

"Yes, of course. Small mini vans."
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Later this morning (well, not much later. He hadn't even eaten breakfast yet, but I could swear he drank a whole pot of coffee himself!) he said, "you know, I watched a thing on TV where they showed how to make cartoons. It takes like 8 pieces of paper just to make a character move it's foot a little bit."

"Yeah," I said, "because they have to draw each tiny bit of movement to make it look real."

"You know, Mom. I think that cartoons are bad for the environment. They waste a lot of paper."

"I think they used to use a lot of paper, but now they do it all on the computer, so it's not as bad."

"Um, Mom. Where do you think all that computer paper comes from? Duh, trees!"

I took a breath to say something else, but I decided against it. It was just too early, and he wanted to talk just for the sake of talking. "Yeah. You're right. Paper is paper."

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Then there is our dear Andrew. Andrew is obsessed with music, specifically rock-n-roll. I recently made him a CD of songs that Fred sings with the band. He likes the songs, but he is stuck on a few in particular. He especially loves "Sweet Home Alabama." He calls it "Turn It Up," because that's what they say at the very beginning of the song. Andrew can't say "Alabama," so at the end, when the chorus is singing "ahh, ahh, Alabama, ahh, ahh, Alabama," Andrew says, "Ahhh, ahh...gobble gobble!" He's so soulful when he's singing. It's truly hysterical!
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Greg took Andrew to Home Depot the other day. Andrew looked around and said, "Dad, I wub (love) Hone Deto!"
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I have been talking to Jacob about the importance of a good night's sleep, because he keeps getting up earlier and earlier (like today, he was up at 4 a.m.). One day, he said to me, "Mom, it doesn't matter how early I go to bed, or how much sleep I get. I still have those hoops under my eyes all the time."
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And the last funny thing actually isn't from my kids. It isn't even from a child! It's was something my Aunt Carmen said.

My cousin had a heart attack recently and has been in the hospital. Carmen was telling me the details of Corky's condition and she said, "they seduced her and intubated her...oh wait, not seduced, um..."

"Sedated?"

"Yes! Sedated!"

"What hospital do you go to, to be seduced? I think I'm having chest pain!"