Daughters | A Thankfully Imperfect Woman

Sep 3

Father and Daughter, Off to School

This is my favorite ‘First Day of School’ picture.

I actually didn’t plan this shot at all. I said my ‘Have a good day(s)!!!’, they left via the back of the house, and I headed out the front to put a card in the mailbox. I looked up as I turned to go back in and there they were.

{Sigh}

Doesn’t this tug at your heart?

It’s especially sweet when you consider the fact that Gabi is 13. I love the fact that she still likes walking to school with her Dad. Well…most days. Once winter comes, she’s not as inclined to head out as early as Tim does (when it’s -20). I think she holds out hope that either we’ll have a heatwave in that 1/2 an hour that she waits, or that Mom will feel sorry for her and give her a ride.

Right.

We only live 3 blocks from the school.

Not happening.

There are moments that I do give her a ride. The days that are colder than -20. Like -30…-40, or if it’s pouring rain outside.

I know…I’m up for Mother-of-the-Year.

Hmmm…

Maybe that’s part of the reason she likes walking with her Dad. Well…that and I’m sure they talk math and athletics on the way to school. She is his Mini-Me after all.

{Sigh}

I sure love those two.

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I had planned on ending my blog there, however, Gabi just sent me a text from her CC Running practice…here’s the conversation:

Gabi…Mum?

Me…Yessssss?

Gabi…Can you pick me up when we’re done?

Me…Why? (I know, I’m such a loving mother aren’t I?)

Gabi…Cause I don’t want to walk home in the rain and cause you are an amazing mother.

Me…Hahahahaha! (That was for the buttering up.) It’s not raining now!

Gabi…Yeah, but I will call you when we are done and then we can decide

Me…Ok

…..guess who’ll be walking home if it’s not raining! 😉

Patty O

ps…for those of you who are new to my blog…my husband is an advanced math teacher and athletic director at our high school.

Aug 19

Rewind to Day One: 219 Blog Posts and 410 Followers Ago

Just for fun…and, well, because Gabi wanted to see it, I pulled up my first blog post.

As I re-read it I laughed at myself and thought maybe I should re-post it for those of you that started following recently. Read more

Mar 25

1 Comment

Our Microwave Has a Cell Phone

No, we don’t have a new-fangled microwave that actually lets you talk to someone via phone. But our microwave’s cell phone has become quite the joke in our house.

It all started with one very stubborn husband who refused to carry HIS cell phone with him! Well, actually, this phone used to be the house phone. You see we replaced our land line with an extra cell phone, just in case someone (namely Tim or our youngest) were home alone and needed to get in contact with someone, or vice versa.

But then Gabi grew up, as children do…and she started playing high school sports. Late games meant late phone calls for late car rides home. And so, she got her own phone.

This, of course, meant the only person without one in this family of 5 was my dear, loving, stubborn husband.

Now mind you, I do understand that he talks all day to his students and he’s on the phone quite a bit when he’s doing his Athletic Director job. (Some of those phone calls are not the most pleasant. Him being the rule enforcer that he has to be…rules made by the School Board and the State High School Leaque. A few people aren’t happy with these rules and of course he being the messenger, gets to enjoy all the complaints.)

So, again, I do understand why it’s not always a bad thing to be phoneless.

HOWEVER,

There are times I wish I could get ahold of him without having to track him down through someone else or a few someone elses!

But alas, he keeps fighting it.

And so, ‘his’ phone stays on top of the microwave.

Last night it got SO ridiculous that when his phone rang, he asked Gabi to answer the microwave phone!

One more call on his phone last night and we all yelled “The microwave is ringing!”

By this time we were all laughing. OK, I was shaking my head, rolling my eyes and laughing.

Someday my husband will carry HIS phone.

Someday.

It may be years from now, when everyone else has switched over to some new phone replacing invention…

In the meantime, our microwave has a cell phone.

Patty O

Mar 24

3 Comments

A Clear Head and a Good Heart

My daughter Sam is in the Studio Arts program in college and this is one of her recent creations. Isn’t it AMAZING!?!

Little did she know that when she gave it to me it was incredibly significant to what I was going through.

I’d been having some health issues and the doctors had decided that I needed a stress-echocardiogram to look for heart damage and a brain/inner ear MRI to look for a tumor. Needless to say we didn’t want to tell the kids until we had definite answers…positive or negative.

I was scared to death.

I cried as I showed my husband the print and he nodded, knowing just what I was thinking.

He accompanied me to the tests and the doctor visits after, thank God, because I was a mess. I’d always been the caregiver – dealing with doctors on behalf of parents, kids, other loved ones, and friends. But this…this was about me, and I knew I couldn’t do it alone.

Once we received the news that everything was good, we felt like a huge weight was lifted. We didn’t have all the answers we needed, but we sure had some fantastic negative results!

We did receive one answer (to the loud hum, aka tinnitus, and hearing and off-balance issues I was having): Meniere’s Syndrome in my left ear. It’s a health issue diagnosed by elimination…meaning there’s no one test that can diagnose it. It brings with it random episodes of Vertigo, a feeling of being off-balance, and sometimes permanent hearing loss. My hearing loss is permanent, but only moderate/severe to mild (I can’t hear low sounds but I can hear high-pitched sounds). It can be progressive but doesn’t cause full hearing loss, and it doesn’t usually affect the other ear. A hearing aid should help, which I hope to get this week. So if you see me walking around a store and I’m wobbly, remember I’m not drunk, it’s just the Meniere’s!

I’ve learned one thing from all this: if you have tinnitus in just one ear – get to an ENT or Audiologist right away! I’d been having the loud hum off and on for probably a year, but just figured ‘everyone gets tinnitus, don’t they?’. Wrong answer.

My other health issues will have to wait until April when we go to the Mayo Clinic for some specialized testing. In the meantime I’m just hanging out…writing a little, getting myself a new look (see the new profile photo), and reading a lot of books…and once in a while watching those crazy babies who sit and snuggle with me!

Life is good…I don’t have heart disease or a brain tumor!

Patty O

ps…Back to Sam’s art…now we can relax and have her print as a reminder of just how blessed we are. It will soon be framed and in a place of honor on our wall.

pps…Notice I didn’t say an empty head. I have too many friends that would have far too much fun with that. 🙂