Why is it that things that taste so good are so bad for you? Donuts, brownies, cheesecake…….  I had cheesecake last night and today it was donuts that got me. Did you know that donuts have almost no nutritional value and are considered to be in the top ten worst foods you can eat? Saturday is the Pumpkin Festival so I’ll probably have a fried pie (or two). Well….. I’m supposed to have a couple of servings of fruit a day so I’ll make sure I get “apple” fried pies.

I absolutely love sweets. My mom was an expert baker and I developed a taste for anything with sugar on it or in it. When I was young I was tall and thin and I could pretty much eat anything I wanted. I’m still tall but the thin part is a memory. I have lumps and bumps in places that once were smooth. I look for pants with the stretchy waistband and material that has some “give” to it.

A friend was moaning about how much weight she’d gain and we agreed that it is much more fun gaining weight than it is trying to lose it.  Over the years the pounds have a way of sneaking up on you. Before you know it the needle on the bathroom scales doesn’t even slow down on the number where it once stopped.

There are mornings when I get up and put on a pair of pants that once fit and now won’t zip, that cause me momentary concern. Ususally I blame it on the drier shrinking things (hey, it really does shrink some things) and move on to worrying about something else. Most of the time I just thankful I’m healthy. Sure, I’d love to have the figure I had thirty years ago but I wasn’t satisfied with it then, so I probably would still find something to complain about.

Besides, I’m not much of a milk drinker and I need calcium. If I eat a couple of donuts then I’ll drink a glass of milk. Do you like the way I rationalize?

There are certain events in our lives that we never forget. Some good. Some bad. This week I have been reminded of one of the bad ones. As most of you know I am a teacher and one of the problems public schools face is dealing with lice. They are pesky, persistant little bugs and once you get them they don’t want to leave you. (Is your head itching yet?) Anyway our school is no different than other schools and several children have had to go home this week because of lice. All week long my head has itched. I couldn’t decide if I was imagining it (why is it just hearing the word “lice” can make itching begin) or if it was real. So I talked to the principal who said if I was worried I should get the nurse to check me. You are probably wondering why I just didn’t get my husband to check my hair and keep my mouth shut. There are two reasons. First, even if I did have lice Bill couldn’t see them. He’s had lasik surgery and his vision is better, but it isn’t that good. Second, I can’t keep my mouth shut. I’m a writer. If I feel the need to say something I say it. I felt like one reason we have so many cases at school is because kids don’t understand how to get rid of them and so I suggested to the principal that we have a “lice lesson”.  Sometimes treating a child’s head isn’t enough. If the child has had them awhile then the home has to be treated as well or they will come back. How do I know this?

The year was 1990 and it was one of the worst years of my life. My mother had terminal cancer. My husband was in graduate school and working full time and I had three young children to take care of. I had just started teaching and I was trying to juggle kids, job, and caring for my mom. I was beyond stressed and way into “disstressed.” For weeks my little girl had been saying her head itched. I’d bought different kinds of shampoos thinking that she was allergic to what we were using. If my life had been normal I think I would have caught on sooner, but like I said I was very distracted and I missed all the signs. By the time my sister-in-law discovered the problem (she was an elementary teacher and an expert lice patrol person) there is no telling how long my daughter had had them.

I don’t know why there is a stigma about having lice, but there is. Supposedly “good families” don’t have lice. Hog wash! Anyone can get it. All it takes is getting close to someone who has it and those little bugs see “vacancy” signs all over your head and jump in your hair. I think my daughter got it because of a coat closet where all the children put their coats and hats in the winter time, but I never knew for sure. By the time we discovered it on my daughter’s head— we all had it. Yes, even my sick mother had to be treated. We’d all used the same hair brushes. My cousins from Florida had been visiting and I had to call them and tell them to get checked. They had it too! What a thing to take home from a family vacation.

It took at least a week of treating everyone’s head. Getting new brushes (I was told I could boil the old ones and kill the little devils that way but I didn’t want to take a chance). I threw away all my daughter’s hairbows and put her stuffed animals in garbage bags, sprayed them and left them tied up for weeks. Then I did the same thing with couch cushions. I stripped all the beds and washed everything in hot water, twice.  Every hat and cap was placed in garbage bags, sprayed and left tied for weeks. It was an expensive, exhausting, unpleasant experience. And so this week when my head itched, I remembered what it was like to go through this and went straight to the nurse.

Years after our Lice-capades (we’ve had mouse-capades too) one of our boys decorated a plastic plate for me for Mother’s Day. He handpainted a little poem on it and drew bugs around it. It said, “Dear mom, you are so nice. You loved us even when we had lice.”  I still treasure the plate…and I still hate lice.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. I went to the school nurse and she declared me “bug free.” So I went to the principal and sang him a little song. It’s the song the big fluffy dog sings on television for a flea shampoo, “Ain’t no bugs on me, on me. Ain’t no bugs on me!” And that’s what I’m thankful for this week!

What about you? Have you ever had a close encounter with pestilence of any kind? How did you deal with it?

As I write this post the only light in my bedroom is my computer screen. So far I’ve fought off a fly and two huge moths. We’ve had our share of pestilence while living in this trailer. First it was mice, then bugs, then mice again. The doors have fallen off the hinges (not all of them, just two or three). The commode has gurgled, the sink has sprayed water, the water heater leaked, but the end is near….moving day is almost here!  Our builder has given us a green light. In two weeks we get to move in our house.

I never thought when we moved into this trailer last fall that we would live here a year. A few months maybe, six at the most, but not a year. In a way it’s gone by quickly, in another way it’s been way too slow. I know that someday our twins will tell their children about the year we lived in the trailer while we built our house. It’s nice to know we’ve provided them with some memorable moments.

My brother and sister-in-law lived in a trailer while they built their house. One night when she was in her bathroom an opposum squeezed in between the bathtub and the floor. She thought it was a gigantic rat and ran from the bathroom semi-dressed and very distressed. So far I haven’t had a possum in the bathroom but I did find two dead moles in the front yard yesterday that one of the dogs drug up.

Open up your windows two weeks from now when we move and listen real closely. You might just hear me shouting “Yee-haw,” as I leave this little blue trailer behind for the last time!

 I love this picture and the verse that goes with it. Doesn’t it look peaceful? Today is Sunday and my prayer today is that God will search my heart and find peace and love. I also am praying for a dear friend of mine, Gaye Shaw and her husband Danny. Danny is in Louisville in the hospital. He spent most of the month there and part of last month. He’s been very ill for sometime and I’m praying God will be with them and help them through this difficult time in their lives. I know they’d appreciate your prayers too!

There’s tired, and there’s REALLY tired.  I reached the second stage of tired today. Monday I taught school all day and then sold concessions for three ballgames. I got home around 8. Tuesday, a repeat of Monday. That’s right—three more games only this time I worked the gate. I think they let me because when they put me back in concessions I sat on the floor, leaned against the wall and promptly fell asleep. At least I got to sit while selling tickets. Wednesday I had to be in Bowling Green after school to meet with the tile lady. After that I took my kids and granddaughter out to eat and got home at 10:30 last night. Today I was one tired puppy. After school I came home and fell across the bed for an hour and a half. I have now had a delicious (not) frozen entree that i zapped in the micro-wave. I’ve washed my face and as soon as I brush my teeth I’m going to bed.

I am definitely Bone Tired!

May God be with you all the way!

Welcome Tyler Dawson Keene. My cousin Martha is a nanna again and loving it. Doesn’t the new mommy look great and aren’t they all so happy looking? I’m so happy for them and so thankful he’s a healthy little baby. I wish you many, many blessings little Tyler! One more piece of advice before I log off for the night, “Always listen to your mama because mama is always right!”

Please read previous posts to see why I am holding my nose and giving thanks for mouse poison today.

I have nothing else to say about this matter-except maybe, the only good mouse is a dead mouse.

I grew up rocking and rolling with the Eagles, Lynard Skynard, Three Dog Night, Black Oak Arkansas and The Stones. My husband is four years older than I am and he grew up in Michigan, not Kentucky. While I only listened to rock and roll, he was actually in a band. Since I didn’t know him during those years it’s extremely hard for me to picture my husband with a ponytail and playing in a band, but he did. He’s still a talented musician even though the ponytail is long gone. I love hearing him play the guitar and the piano. None of our children inherited his musical genes but our granddaughter is showing signs of sharing his love of music.

The other day Bill was trying to get her to take a nap and promised her a song on the guitar if she’d cooperate. He played her a song and put up the guitar. She ran in the bedroom and grabbed his other guitar. “Now play this one, Papa!” she pleaded. And guess what, Papa did!

Before Rachel got married in July we had a surprise Redneck Wedding Shower for her. It was so much fun, but it was one of those events where you had to be there to understand exactly what went on. I promise there were no illegal substances at the party. Just lots of friends, lots of laughter and one mud wrestling cake complete with fighting Barbie dolls on top! One cousin came barefoot and pregnant (her baby is due any day) and another brought her little girl who is just a toddler wearing nothing but her diaper. It was a night we will never forget and most of the pictures will NOT be posted on my blog. The people in the pictures above will remain nameless except for the bride and that’s my daughter Rachel who was very, very surprised. I’m thankful for laughter and good friends to laugh with me!

My twins have been lucky because they’ve grown up with their cousins nearby. My brother and his wife, Kelly, have three boys and we’ve always lived close.  Growing up I was exceptionally close to my first cousin, Martha, but we didn’t live close. She visited every summer and Christmas, but we were still seperated for most of the year. Anyone who has known the joy of growing up with cousins who are near their age knows that life is more fun when you share the adventures. I am so thankful that Martha was there to share growing up with me and I’m just as thankful that my three nephews have shared their childhood with my twins.

Thank you Lord for cousins!