News and Stuff

Hey all. A few new developments. My big bro is talking about joining the Coast Guard. Don't know where he got the idea, except that he's always wanted to fly. I think it's pretty cool, and Mom likes it a whole lot better than if he was to join another branch where deployment to the sandbox would be guaranteed. Hey, she's his mom, and he's her only son.

Other than that, my schedule is completely wacky this week. I babysat yesterday and Monday, (but yesterday was more like a fun day with an 8-year-old) I'm off today, and I have to work tomorrow and Friday. Tomorrow I don't have to be there until 2 pm. Friday is regular time. Go figure. We were going to go watch "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", but the matinee didn't start until 1, wouldn't have been over until 3, and then we wouldn't have made it home in time for her to go to karate class. Long day. Went and dropped a car full of stuff off at Goodwill, went to Wal-Mart, went to McDonald's, went to the high school to visit a few teachers I’ll miss when I'm off at college, saw my old counselor, then went down to the middle school to drop my charge off with her mom. Now, mind you, these things were in two different towns, about a 30 minute drive apart with a stop at my house, which is right in the middle, on the way back. We stopped at my house and watched "Chicken Run" and ate pizza and candy from Wal-Mart.

Then I went to Mema's for a visit and to see a dress she had ordered but didn't like. She wanted to know if I wanted it before she sent it back. It was too short for my taste and a little unflattering, but it was a cute dress in a very pretty green. I was almost sorry to let it go, but I knew I would never wear it. A friend of mine saw my car and brought her baby by to see me and visit. The baby as SOO cute! He's 7 months old and only weighs about 20 lbs. He drools like a leaky faucet, but he's still precious.

As I sit here typing this, (I typed this a day before I actually posted it, so I'm typing in future tense) my brother and father are wrestling on the floor. Very interesting. Derek is bright red and Dad is calmly overpowering him by sheer mass. This is what we do in the boondocks. Wrestle while trying to dodge dogs and chairs and breakable things after Mom goes to bed. Anybody know where I'm coming from on this one?

All of my childhood Derek and I have wrestled with Dad and each other and his friends. In fact, about half of his friends are still a little scared of me because I never hesitated to haul off and punch 'em when they deserved it. That makes for a rather difficult situation to change. No boyfriends from that particular group of his buddies. But the memories are rather priceless. Hangin out with his buddies was always more fun than hanging out by myself. In fact, I often found that I preferred doing stuff with them over stuff with girls my age. Most of the guys were only a year older than me, so the age difference wasn't a barrier. Derek didn't exactly welcome my presence, but playing guy games like Fort and War and Hunters and all of the other nameless creations of our imaginations was the highlight of my summers.

I never really lived up to my tomboy potential unless I was spurred by the presence of a boy/guy/man who is interested in gross guy things like frogs and bugs or a really girly-girl who found such things absolutely disgusting. I don't do the bug thing when I'm alone or with my best friends, and I had never in my life picked up a frog on my own until about a month ago at my uncle's house. Heh. I'm kinda weird. I know. My best friends are an interesting combination of fear and courage, wisdom and stupidity, and girlishness and tom-boyishness. But that's why we get along so well. I guess my friendships are, as everything else acquired of my own volition, eclectic.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I tend to have sudden bursts of self-discovery and I just happen to share them here. So bear with me and feel free to comment and suggest as always. Love and hugs! (Is that better Heathykins?)