Mardi Gras

Today was the first Mardi Gras parade with my son.  It was perfect weather and we had a blast!  It makes me realize how much has changed since the last time I attended a parade.  It was all about the kids.  It wasn't about how much fun I could have or the party.  As a matter of fact, I made sure the party was as far away from us as possible.  My wonderful friends made sure he got all the beads and things he could. We got to spend time together just him and I and also spend time with my friends.  The floats were very creative and decorated to the extreme.  I hope everyone has had a good weekend!

So little time

There are not enough hours in the day!  As if I am not busy everyday; the weekends my son is with his dad, I try to get as much possible accomplished.  I never want him to think he is not top priority, so I don't do homework or housework while he is here and awake.  I was buying groceries at one o'clock this morning!  If I could have a clone, I think I would invest in one.  I am going to have gray hairs before I am thirty.  It's a beautiful weekend and I am stuck doing homework and chores.  I wonder why God only made twenty-four hours in the day?

What is love?

Today, I wonder if anyone really knows what "love" is.  The word is thrown around like it is a period in a sentence.  You hear about so many divorces these days in our nation.  Valentine's Day is in two days and I caught myself this week listening to friends and customers in various stores as they shopped.  It is sad that some of us need a holiday to show the people we love how much we care.  Shouldn't we do that everyday?  Does a dozen roses or a stuffed animal one day out of the year really prove anything?  I want the people I love to know that all year long and not ever doubt it.  Not because of how much money I spend on them, but because I am always there to listen or talk or because of the little sacrifices I make for them.  There are different levels of love I believe.  There is the love we have for our family and our children: the "blood is thicker than water" type.  Then, there is the unconditional love we have for our spouses or mates. 

Thankful

Sometimes tragedy can make you wake up and smell the roses.  It is terrible that it takes bad things in our life to make us realize what we have and appreciate the people in our life.  My grandfather has always been a very important role model of mine and special to me as well.  Sometimes I just get wrapped up in the busyness of my single mom life and forget to breathe and take a moment.  My grandfather went to the heart hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, to have an arteriogram last Wednesday.  They found his main artery was 100% blocked, but then the surgeon was uncertain if he could perform the surgery.  Because of his age, they thought it would be too risky.  For days, we worried and waited patiently for a decision.  Finally on Friday morning, they decided they would perform the surgery on Monday morning. Later that evening, they found his carotid artery was also blocked and they would do that surgery at the same time. 

Sunday morning came, we loaded up and headed North.  As I walked in the hospital, I see this old man that I did not recognize.  Even though I see this man physically, all I can see is the memories of the strong, hard working, caring, and loving grandfather.  My heart ached to see him that way and I knew that he had to come out of this for all of us and himself.  Monday morning, the surgery got rescheduled for lunch.  Lunch came, and then it was that afternoon.  At 4:45, they wheeled him down the hallway for all of us to tell him goodbye and tell him we loved him.  Tears streamed down my face as I watched our family hold on to the hopes of him making it through the surgery.  My little boy looks up at me and says, "mommy, why are you crying?  Does Papaw make you sad?"  I picked him up and held back my tears as I realized how much I had to be thankful for.  Three hours later, the surgeon came out to inform us that the surgery was successful.