Remember…..

 

I was 19 years old, I was sleeping peacefully in my bed in Tri-Delt, no class that day, only work.

My roommate bursts through our door, breathless and crying. Nothing new….she could be a bit dramatic at time. She is mumbling something about her Dad, about a plane, about a fire.

That gets my attention…..I sit up straight in bed, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

She is not making sense, something has happened….something bad…..something bigger than we could ever imagine. She walks out of the room. I follow her.

I walk to the pledge lounge, it’s one of the only rooms in the sorority that has cable.

There is a huge crowd in there…. I think to myself “why isn’t anyone in class?”

My roommate is still crying, still on her cell phone, people are trying to comfort her.

I look at the t.v. I see a plane crashing into a building, a plane crashing into another building, and the word TERRORISM being said over and over.

“What is going on!” I think to myself

I listen to what is being said: 4 planes, 3 buildings hit, 1 plane crashed into a field, many deaths.

I watch those buildings collapse, over and over, the panic in the reporters voices.

Our world will never be the same.

My roommates Dad worked at the Pentagon, she kept calling him frantically, not knowing if he was ok.

I had to go to work, life had to keep going, I was the assistant manager after all, I had no choice.

I drove to work, looking up to the sky and thinking how odd it was not to see planes up there, not to hear the sound of airplanes that I was so used to hearing every day.

Instead silence, in the air, in the streets, everywhere.

I remember, how can you forget?

It takes on a new meaning now.

I have children.

I have a husband.

What would I do?

What if it was my husband? My child? My loved one?

When you are from Manhattan, Kansas, not Manhattan, New York you can separate yourself.

But can you?

Little Apple; Big Apple; we are still Americans; we are still connected; we are still impacted…….. it could have been us.

Terrorism was a new word to us that day……. now? It’s a word my kids will grow up being familiar with, knowing that it could apply to them at any minute.

My roommates Dad was ok, he survived that fateful day. But I am sure it changed him, just like it changed all of us.

That is why I remember today, I remember every day, and I will never forget.

We may be the land of the free, and the home of the brave, but we are not invincible, bad things happen to us too. So don’t forget that. Love your kids every day. Love your husband every day. Love your family every day.

Today, remember that day, as hard as it may be. It is a true testament to the greatness of our country. To the brave who sacrificed their lives, to the families still dealing with the pain, to the ones we owe our freedom to.

10 years ago they tried to break us…………. Today we can stand up and tell them they never can.

I remember…..do you?

 

I see skies of blue…..

 

“Clouds of white, the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night, and I think to myself what a wonderful world!”

Don’t you think we all need to be reminded of this sometimes? I couldn’t think of a blog title, and I was thinking how easy it is to let life get you down sometimes but you can’t let it……ya gotta keep on keepin on peeps!!!!

It’s hard not to feel happy with the weather we are having, it’s fabuloso, fantastico, magnifico, beautifico, and downright glorious!! I had to run this morning in pants and a jacket (fist pumpin!)

Our labor day weekend was good, nothin too exciting: A short little 10 1/2 mile run Saturday morning (yes Brandi it IS important to throw that 1/2 in there, leave me alone); a little K-State football action Saturday night (Cats, we gotta pull ourselves together, that game wasn’t pretty); a night out with friends Saturday night (holla holla holla); Sunday family grocery shopping trip (H.E.double hockey sticks…just sayin); dinner at a friends house Sunday night (yummo!);and work on Monday for Josh and I (boo, yes you CAN feel sorry for us). That was our weekend in a nutshell.

So I finally remembered to write down funny Paxton sayings this week, so in no specific order, here they are:

At the bank drive-thru:

P: “Mom what would happen if bunnies jumped into our house?”

Me: (looking all around for a picture of a bunny or SOMETHING that would have sparked him saying this, there was nothing) “Uh, then we would have bunnies in our house, why do you ask?”

P: (looking out the window) “Oh just wondering.”

One day while I was working on computer and Pax was playing on the floor:

P: “Mom! Do you think it’s ok to get off the couch and just leave without giving your kids hugs and kisses!”

Me: (Racking my brain, wondering if I had done this lately? I NEVER leave without giving the kids tons of hugs and kisses) “No Pax, why would you say that?”

P: “Just sayin…… it wouldn’t be nice.” (never once did he quit playing during this conversation, odd.)

Note to self: DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT GIVING KIDS HUGS AND KISSES, APPARENTLY PAX WILL BE PISSED.

In the bathroom the other day, I am getting ready and Pax walks in and starts going to the bathroom while CLAPPING his hands!!

Me: “Gah!! Pax do NOT clap while you pee!! Keep it in the toilet!”

I only write this because I NEVER thought those words would ever come out of my mouth. EVER.

I like to pretend my kids are always like this:

“Oh look at us being all B.F.F on the front porch, havin a nice little chat.” (yes this pic was taken through my glass front door and YES those are finger prints all over the glass, don’t judge me.)

Or maybe they could always be like this:

“Here we are posin in our purple getty-up before the K-State and Butler game. We LOVE each other!!”

But……….remember in my last post when I talked about Paxton’s issue with respecting personal space, mainly his sisters? Well let’s just see what happens shall we?:

Here is he is, getting closer, she is eyein him like “boy don’t you even think about it!! Doesn’t this drool all over my shirt deter you at ALL?!?!?”…..

Nope apparently big drool spot does not deter him so he goes in for the kill and………….

“Bam! Sucker punch in the face! I warned you fool!!”

 

“What? I didn’t do anything. I am perfect, I am a princess, don’t you see my sweet smile?” (and more drool, seriously teeth COME IN ALREADY!!)

Oh pity me, this is so my life these days. I really should wear a black & white ref shirt all the time, I bet I could go pro with it. How much do refs make these days? I should look into that.

But sometimes (really stressing the word sometimes here folks) I turn around and catch them doing this:

And I think “ok good, they DO love each other!” Literally I was in the kitchen and they were sitting on the floor watching cartoons and the next thing I know I look over and he is holding her. Awwwwwww.

And 2 more pics of my little “princess”

Ha! Doesn’t she just EXUDE orneryness (is this a word? it is now). She is still getting naked in the morning, and apparently she took her pants off in Kid Zone today……..yup totally lady-like, that’s how she rolls.

Happy Wednesday all!!