In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Happy Happy Joy Joy.”
Four and a half weeks ago, Beej was born. Although we became grandparents when Michael married Jasmine, adding CJ to our family, Baby Beej was the first baby to join our family since Andrew was born 19 years ago. When I walked into the Special Care Nursery and saw my firstborn son standing next to the bassinet, his newborn baby clutching his finger looking so much like he had when was born, I cried. And then when my son spoke and little Beej turned his head in the direction of his father’s voice, the tears came again. Day after day, I would see my new little grandchild and my eyes would fill.
I thought that I was done with those happy tears until last night when I was over at their apartment. Michael was talking and Beej was straining to see his dad. Michael picked him up, cradling him in his arms but outstretched so that the baby could see him. Baby Beej stared intently at his father, his eyes never straying. Michael returned his steady gaze and said, “Yes, it’s me, the most interesting man in the room.” Beej was totally entranced in a way he did not show with anyone else.
And I cried again.
Month: December 2014
2014- Oh, What a Year it Was!
2014 was a very busy year for my family. It held the MOST milestones. It began on January 4, 2014 with Michael and Jasmine’s wedding and it will end on January 4, 2015 with Michael’s graduation party. It seems fitting that it begins and ends with Michael, like coming full circle.
Here are the top 10:
1. Michael and Jasmine’s wedding- What an incredible way to begin the year! It was a beautiful (although freezing cold) day. The wedding was small with just close family and best friends included.
2. Kris left for the Disney College Program. Leaving him Orlando with major anxiety and depression issues was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life!
3. Auditions, auditions, auditions. For a month, I spent more time on the east coast than I did here in Illinois while accompanying Andrew on his college auditions.
4. I finally found the nerve to begin my blog and Dandelion Fuzz was created.
5. After a spring of last performances, Andrew graduated from high school.
6. The highlight of the summer was when our family was reunited on a vacation to Disney World.
7. Comings and goings- Kris came home from Orlando, Andrew left for New York.
8. Michael began Fire Academy.
9. Baby BJ (aka Beej) was born!
10. Michael graduated and began his career as a firefighter.
A Wedding!
Kris leaves for his internship
Auditions
Lots of bonding time with Andrew in the car
NYC with Andrew
Dandelion Fuzz begins
So many last performances!
Graduation
Disney
Disney
Disney
Ari welcomes Kris home
Ari says goodbye to Andy
Moving Andy into his dorm
Firefighter in training
Baby Beej is born!
An official firefighter
What were the most memorable moments of your year?
Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne- Millennium Mix by Kenny G
Have you heard this version? When it first came out, I immediately bought the CD and stuck in the CD player. The CD only contains 3 songs- all versions of the song. We have a multi-disc CD player- it holds 6 CDs. Every year it’s a challenge to decide which holiday CDs make the cut. In these days of Pandora, iTunes and iPods you would think we would have done away with the stereo and CD player but nope. I like my CDs. Usually I like to listen to CDs from beginning to end but at Christmas time, I mix it up and put it on shuffle. (It’s okay as long as I know which CDs are in there- a bit anal of me, I know- it’s just me.)
That first year the CD held the #1 spot. Although the CD was on shuffle this song seemed to play a lot. The next year we moved the CD to the last place. It seemed to play even more that year, despite the shuffle status.
It has become a tradition of sorts. Kenny G gets moved to a different place holder every year and although the songs are still set to play randomly, we continue to hear this song more than any other. In fact, we’ve noted that sometimes there are CDs that never get played at all but that one always does.
I’m sure my children would like to see this CD lose a spot in the rotation but I do love it. And I’m always curious to see if it will continue to monopolize the CD player. It occurred to me recently that maybe it’s the work of the spirit who sometimes visits us in that room. I’ve mentioned our ghost friend, haven’t I? Hmmm well, that’s a story for another day.
2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,200 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.
Kat Got Your Tongue- Resolutions vs. Goals
Yes, it’s that time of year again. New Year’s Resolutions. Either you love ’em, hate ’em or really don’t care. Where do you fall in the mix?
I gave up on making resolutions so many years ago I can’t remember when the last time was that I did it. The word tended to make me cringe. Was I a slacker because I didn’t make resolutions? Did it imply that I was so secure with my life that I needed to make no changes? I can tell you that I’m no slacker and my life is a mess.
I have wanted to get more organization in my life. In the past crazy year, I felt like I was a pinball being bounced and skyrocketed from one thing to the next. While it appears that there was a lot accomplished in this year, I felt frazzled, overwhelmed and scattered for most of it. I decided that regardless of how I proceed, there needed to be more planning involved.
As I thought about this, I googled “resolutions vs. goals” and I read a lot of different thoughts on the topic. I found this- The Daily Echo: Resolutions vs Goals-Wanna vs Gonna on Vimeo. I like how simple and straightforward it is.
I was catching up on reading the blogs I follow, which is quite easy right now because everyone is very quiet, when I came upon a post from one of my new favorite bloggers. Seraireland writes on Living Intentionally Simple (can I interject here that it was the name of the blog that attracted me- this is something I’m working on doing in my own life). Her latest post addresses the topic of resolutions and goals. She shares a process for goal setting that she has used for the past three years based on oneword365, a concept where you choose one word as your focus for the year and create goals geared toward that word.
I really like that idea. I think it’s attainable. My plan is to come up with my word, goals and well… a plan.
Welcome to Kat Got Your Tongue Challenge- Resolutions vs. Goals- Do you do either, both or none? Would you like to share them? I would love to hear from you! To learn more about the challenge, please read below-
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Dandelion Fuzz 