Tuesday, July 28, 2009

His first love


When Beau was 18 months old, I bought him a little wind-up Thomas the Tank Engine. I had no idea what I was starting. It wasn't just a stage or a fad but a passion. Every birthday, Christmas or holiday since, he has asked for trains. Most of our outings with Beau have centered around trains. He was obsessed.


Then it happened. He asked for something else. He discovered Transformers. I smiled because he is growing up, but it was a little bittersweet. I thought that soon, the trains would find their way to the garage to be packed away with memories.



But maybe I thought too soon. Last night the news was on and he was lying in his room, supposedly falling asleep. One of the big stories in our part of the country is the hope of high speed rail connecting us to Chicago. In a flash, a little boy was standing in front of the television asking a million questions...

"What about high speed rail?" "Where will it go?" "When can we ride?" "What kind of engine will it have?"

His passion is still there.

Then this morning, on our way to preschool, we passed a trolley bus. Again, he burst with excitement but I really laughed when he said, "Nana, if you go on toytrains.com and click on trolleys, you could buy me one of those for $3!"

Pretty vivid imagination, huh?

He will grow up. He will play with other toys. He will one day leave the toy aisle for bigger and more expensive things, but I have a sneaking suspicion that even when he's a man, a train will elicit a gleam in those gorgeous brown eyes.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Adoption Day




Twenty-three years ago on this day, my Hero and I stood in a courtroom in the Tarrant County Courthouse in Fort Worth and finalized the adoption of our first child. We had brought her home when she was only a day old and on this day she was nine months old and finally, legally ours. She has blossomed into a beautiful young woman and I feel privileged to call her my friend. She is also Beau's mommy and that counts for something!



Happy Adoption Day, Girlie!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Email addresses

Some people really need to rethink their email addresses. Do you really want to send a professional email and have the recipient look at the return email addy and see "fatboy2000"? or "creeperguy"? Seriously?

Some people forget that an Internet identity still leaves an impression that could transfer to "real life".

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Frustrations

The whole getting sick and just general aging thing is really getting to me. God has been so gracious to restore much of my health but I am still not able to do some things I could before I was sick.

I was walking around my house this evening wanting to do some cleaning projects that I just can't do yet. Before 2006/2007 I climbed up in a chair at least three times a year and washed my walls, especially in my kitchen. I can't climb now. Even if I could get up in the chair, I'm afraid I couldn't get down.

So what do I do? I dunno. Does anyone know how to reach up high to clean a wall when you can't climb?