THE MOTOR OIL INCIDENT…

Episode 499:  Once when Zach was just walking, and Autumn was maybe three years old, their grandpa, Alfred, stopped by to visit after running an errand here in White County.  He visited for a while and played with the babies some. When it came time to leave, we walked outside with him and were talking out in the front yard. Mike, my husband, had changed his oil and left the drain pan with dirty oil in it out by the driveway.  Distracted with talking to Alfred, I turned around just in time to see Autumn pick up the used oil and pour it right over Zach’s head!  LOL   It’s funny now, but at the time I didn’t really think so.  Alfred laughed and laughed and then he went on his way.  I was left with two oily kids. After picking Zach up, I was oily too.  I just took them both inside and we all showered together. Twice.  Mmmmm. Fun times.  LOL

THE CRAZIEST THINGS HAPPEN TO ME….

Several years ago, we were on vacation at my brother’s in Florida.  Mike, my sister in law Judy, and myself had taken an excursion, shopping in the Jacksonville area which is about an hour or hour and a half from their home. On our way home, my car started acting funny and Mike took the next exit and we ended up in a shopping mall with a Publix in it.  He parked in the shade, thankfully, because it was 96 that day.  He immediately knew it was a battery issue and Judy said she was a AAA member and called for a battery.  About 30 minutes later, a guy shows up and it turns out it is the alternator and he offers to call AAA for a tow and he does that right in front of us.  An hour goes by, and Judy calls AAA to see what the problem is.  They say the guy is stuck in traffic and will be there soon.  Meanwhile, Mike goes to get us something to drink and comes back with several cokes.  Not really my favorite, I’m a diabetic and they have a tendency to gas me up.  But, it was hot so I drank it anyway.  Another hour goes by and Judy calls again.  Still giving traffic as the excuse.  Meanwhile, my daughter calls and I’m complaining to her and I say that the only way this day could be any worse would be if I s#@t myself in public. Finally, after a four hour wait on a 96 degree day, the truck shows up, they load the car up and we pile into the truck.  The back ‘seat’ is about 8 inches wide (seriously) and as hard as a board.  I think we were about 45 minutes from my brother’s house.  Judy had had surgery 4 weeks prior and was feeling good, but not completely  herself.  The back seat was like riding in a log truck.  It jostled and shook us up.  This caused Judy to clutch her abdomen the whole way home, and it caused all that coke I drank to fizz and fester until I became very nervous that I was going to actually s#^t myself in public!  VERY NERVOUS!  We are about a mile from their house, when I start relaxing a little, when suddenly the tow truck sputters.  The driver says, “I forgot to get gas”.  LOL We are in the middle of nowhere, I need to urgently use the bathroom, and we are stranded.  Luckily, we call my brother, Bill for a rescue and he takes me and Judy to the house, (I made it), and he and Mike go back to rescue the tow truck driver.  LOL (Ran out of gas in a tow truck…check that one off the old bucket list!)

A STORY TOLD TO ME….

I’ve heard this story so many times and I never tire of it.  It is one of Connor’s favorites too.  My husband, Mike, is the youngest of three brothers.  One day, they decided to dig a tunnel under the county road they live on.  They spent all day digging this big hole, and once it was pretty deep, his older brothers, Allen and Steve, grabbed him and stripped all of his clothes off, and threw him in the hole.  They then proceeded to bury him up to his neck, and then they ran home.  Mike wasn’t too concerned, until he realized, he can’t get his arms out.  A few cars drive by, apparently not noticing the head looking at them from the ditch. LOL He finally manages to wiggle enough to get free.  Brothers….LOL

Blessings…

Last year, I started a blessings jar.  I wrote my blessings on a small sheet of paper and folded it and put it in the jar.  Now at the end of last year, I would have told you that it was a horrible  year, until I read the blessings.  So many good things happened to us last year.  Some were very small things. Some were amazing things.  John proposed to Autumn.  Zach and Sarah started seeing each other. New children entered my life.  Connor kissed me on the lips (this never happens–he’s not a kisser).  Too many things to recount here.  Just saying that we have a tendency to forget the small things and some of the big things too.  Maybe we should all start a blessings jar!

WHY WE HAVE KIDS…

Episode 9972:  Yesterday, I asked Autumn to get the toilet paper out of my car. (It didn’t make it in when Mike carried in groceries the other day).  The reason I asked her to get it is because I didn’t want to get cold, but I didn’t tell her that.  LOL  She said she would in a little while when she got off the phone.  She finished her call, we ate supper, and then I reminded her about the toilet paper.  She said she didn’t want to get cold, (LOL) and told Connor to go get it.  He immediatedly said, “Grandma told YOU to get it.” We both died laughing of course, and then she made him do it.  LOL

MEMORY MONDAY

In March, 1985, Mike asked me to marry him.  When he proposed, he first started talking about building a house, having kids, etc.  ( I totally panicked inside!) I thought he was trying to break up with me.  LOL  (he had been living with someone a couple of months before we met, and it wasn’t far enough in the past for me to be very secure about it.  We had only been dating about six months at this point.)I even tried several times to change the subject.  Finally, he quit beating around the bush, and asked me to marry him.  I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. The last thing I expected him to say…..As you all know, I said, “Yes”.  We were talking about it later, and we laughed about it.  He had been wondering why I was trying to change the subject! We were married two months later, no shotguns needed. I’ll have to say, our first date was the only blind date I don’t regret going on.