The signs are everywhere

While walking around downtown for a sunset stroll...my son and I found this advertisement. My son was SO EXCITED to see a family friend being used as a model for TCC that he demanded we take a picture!

We thought about climbing up the pole to take the banner so we could mail it to our friend (after all, she deserves to have one of her very own, don't you think?!) but I voted against that plan since I don't want to set a bad example for my son.

As we drove away he said "well at least I know where I get my rebellious spirit from!"

blessing and a curse...

The other day I was wandering around the local grocery store unencumbered by the little man. This is no small feat as he has been feeling so poorly for weeks now and wants nothing more than ALL of his momma's attention.

So I was enjoying being alone...even though I would hardly call a trip to Publix "quality grown up time".

But I do try to find joy in the mundane...and was taking my time sweet walking up and down each aisle...fantasizing about delicious dinners I would make if only my little man wasn't Mr. Nauseous.

I found a cute water bottle with a cartoon platypus that I thought my son might like. It was made in the USA, BPA free, brightly colored, and featured the face of one Perry the Platypus - the funny super hero of a TV show my son watches from time to time.

I decided to splurge and get it as a treat for my son, hoping it would brighten his spirits.

Walking in the door, hands full of groceries, I announced that I had gotten my kiddo a treat from the grocery store. Immediately he burst out, "Is it a brightly colored platypus?!?!"

OK folks. There is no way he could have known what I had in the bag, nor would any 11 year old guess such a thing when it was about a million times more likely that I had bought him a pack of gum or a infrequently purchased but often coveted "lunchable". But my little man, too intuitive for his own good, blurted out exactly what was hidden in the canvas bag.

He giggled when he saw he had been spot on. And his grandmother (who had been watching him in my absence) stood there with her mouth hanging open at the ESP prowess or dumb luck that she had just witnessed.

And I wonder what he will make of his life...my little man with such a big heart. I can hardly comprehend what he capable of - and I am, for all practical purposes, an adult...so I can't imagine how he takes it all in stride.

I am grateful to have him...each and every day of my life. So maybe I should just buy him a lunchable once in awhile and enjoy the journey :)

starcraft...

is my latest obsession.

It is a video game played mostly by teenage boys and older computer geeks. Of which I am neither. But I do love the game and it manages to keep my mind busy for 30 minute chunks of time.

I play against the computer - in what really is a game of automated chess. Tiny, seemingly insignificant moves culminating in an inescapable checkmate that you swear you never saw coming.

Most often I lose. Probably 90% of the time, in fact.

Interesting...isn't it? That I would be so involved in a game I so rarely win. Ahhh but metaphors abound (as always).

Television isn't entertaining enough to keep my mind focused. Housecleaning, grocery shopping, dinner out with friends, I am still going through the motions...but playing Starcraft actually suspends the endless loop in my brain of love so close and so far. Kelly Clarkson and Starcraft.

Oxymoron?