It's a Wonderful Life

Waiting for the clan to arrive this morning - I'm prepared with lox and bagels and scones from Starbucks.

A few highlights from the holiday weekend:

Took mom to the hairdresser to have her hair styled. I advised her not to wash it out until after the weekend. So, when Angie arrived Thursday morning to assist with her shower, mom had 3 pairs of underwear over her head. A polyester turban of sorts...because she didn't have a shower cap.

I continue to refuse to believe the diagnosis for Pierce. He is communicative. He is loving. He is just, well, slow at talking. In February, he turns three and will start attending a pre-school for special kids. Which means he'll be in with others who have cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, et. al. I've lived long enough to learn and appreciate the advantages of knowing these types of kids. But a part of me is scared that this is going to somehow limit him...prevent him from being with kids in public school and learning those social graces. I love him so much, it sometimes feels as though my heart is going to burst.

Last night my sisters and I were lamenting about the fact that our body composition takes after my dad's side of the family...which has a strong heritage of farming women. Mom is tiny - just 5' 3" tall and barely weighs 100lbs. And she's bodacious. And you could drive a volkswagon through her thighs, they're so skinny. My sisters and I are 5' 8" tall and we weigh, well, a lot more than 100lbs. Dad listened intently to our complaints. Then he apologized for not having bigger breasts. And somehow, that statement made sense.

I continue to have a chronic infatuation with the little critters in our backyard. Everyday, the squirrels get peanuts in the shell, peanuts not in the shell, sunflower seeds, corn and fresh water. So when I ran across two very lifelike stuffed-animal squirrels while out shopping yesterday, I had to buy them. I brought them home and mom gave them The Eye. She picked them up and started to pet them. She carried them around the house and sat next to them on the couch. "Hmph," I thought. "Ignore the signals. Ignore the signals." In the end, I couldn't, and mom went home with the squirrels.

Dad and I have played a few games of Canasta. It's just like old times. Which is what this holiday weekend is all about, isn't it?