Questions

"Is there going to be a hole in heaven when you get there mom, so you can come back to me?"

Rather serious, huh? In fact, this evening has been rather different. Seth went from being upbeat and perky, to almost crying in the blink of an eye. He became suddenly concerned about me dying and was literally sniffing and teary-eyed. He has just recently started asking questions about death (I'm not sure why because nobody we know has recently passed away and I'm unaware of the subject being in any books or computer games), so it took some time trying to calm him down.

He wanted me to ask Jesus when I would die. I tried to explain to him that Jesus wasn't going to tell me, so he wanted to know why. Then asked me if I would die in a car accident.

"I have no idea how or when I'm going to die, Seth," I explained. "I may live to be great-grandma's age. She is 89, remember?" I said.

"You mean, great grandma GOT INTO A CAR ACCIDENT?" he asked.

Huh?.......(which proves the theory that boys have hearing defects..)

And my favourite question of the evening? A much lighter one (after the tears and sniffing).......it's one in a million......

"Do bugs eat mini wheats, mom?"

And I think: If I ever compile my stories into a book like I long to, I have found the perfect title.

DO BUGS EAT MINI WHEATS?

And other stories of my kidlets....

by

Darla Hude

I can always dream, can't I?

My Brilliant Husband

I have a brilliant husband. Truly. I am convinced that there isn't a subject that, even previously ignorant about, he cannot master.

The key to his success is that he has learned the true art of studying.

He recently finished his fifth (of a total of eight) correspondence course through the City of Saskatoon. These courses take anywhere from 4-6 months of study, minimally four evenings per week. His ultimate goal is to be well prepared in the next few years when all the "higher paid supervisor positions" become available because of several people due to retire. Having a better position means one job (that means no night work for me as well), home every evening with his family, and a little more breathing space in terms of the future. I truly appreciate his hard work and dedication in this regard.

He got 99% on his latest exam. He has had no less than 95% on any of his previous courses, and I believe averages around 98% with all five.

He has told me that it was a smart college professor who taught him the art studying, and it has obviously paid off.

I am the primary home educator in the family (dedicating much of my time as well to research on homeschooling in general) AND am very outspoken (big shock......) about home education. However, I am convinced that it will be my husband's superior study habits and fantastic teaching ability that will help the kids most in the years to come. Any success they may have with their schooling will most likely be because they have a dad who taught them proper study habits and patiently found ways to help them understand a concept. He excels at both.

And I am more than okay with that. In fact, I'm grateful.

Mini-Copters

Look at the size of this dragonfly, taken outside my window. I love them because they protect me from the beastly mosquitos - which they are having a marvelous feast on this year, judging by the size.

I've extended a personal invitation to this one to stay and bring all of its extended family as well.

Tickle Bug

I spent some time this morning wrestling with my son. His wrestling with his dad is true man-to-man-type, but with me it's tickle-'til-you-puke. Nothing short of that makes him happy. I could tickle that kid for a solid hour and he would still come back for more. I have yet to hear him say, "okay, that's enough now, mom. I'm done tickling". Ever. For six full years (even as a baby it was evident he loved being tickled) I have had to keep his tickle-cup full.

What is even funnier is the places he likes being tickled.

Under the chin.

On the back of the neck. He will literally drop what he's doing if I start "scratching" him there and stand as still as a statue. I've learned it's a wonderful way to get him to calm down a bit.

Behind his ear. He pulls back his ears when that part of his anatomy has been neglected.

Under his arm (which he calls "shoulder" pits). He actually lifts up his arms and waits.

In his "knee pit" (his terminology).

On the bottom of his feet - he'll even put his foot in my face if I've ignored that area too long.

I realize that some of these areas are the more common tickle areas (in the shoulder-pit, for example), but I reckon most of them are not. And I've become convinced of one more thing.

My son really is part canine.

Daddy The Hero

Just returning home tonight from a quick trip to Edmonton yesterday, my son, being very over-tired, did not want to sleep. He didn't go to sleep last night until 11:00 p.m. and was up at 7:00 this morning. This is a boy who requires at least 10-11 hours of sleep per night, and even asks to go to bed when he's tired.

He called me to his room at 10:00 (he was in bed by 9:00).

"Mom, I'm lonely," he stated.

Hard-hearted (and extremely tired myself), I was not moved. I told him to go to sleep. Lest anyone think I am totally without compassion, this is a boy who on a daily basis wants me with him in every room of the house because he's lonely. He's the last one eating - EVERY DAY - so I leave him at the table (or I might as well set up a tent and camp, and get nothing done) - EVERY DAY. And EVERY DAY he tells me to come back because he's lonely. This is a boy who has a stay-at-home mom and is homeschooled on top of that and he's STILL LONELY.

I tell ya, this is a boy who has been lonely FOR YEARS.

In my hard state, I left him there.

So, he decided to let his dad (who was already in bed) know that he was lonely.

And his dad, who does not stay at home with him all day (because he supports his family like good dads do), and who does not do 99 percent of his schooling (because he supports his family like good dads do), and who NEVER has compassion at mealtime and is the first to leave the table (because he eats the fastest like good dads do), was moved by the pleas of his son. He told me he was going in to lay beside Seth for a little bit. I smiled secretly, glad that someone in this family had a heart, but feeling not-at-all guilty that it wasn't me.

I creep into Seth's room an hour later. If I could take my camera in to capture the kodak moment (and not wake either up), I would. In the small twin bed, daddy is laying on his side, while his son is laying not beside his daddy, but over top of his daddy (in an arc-shape). Fast asleep. Making double sure that daddy has no way of escape.

And my tired, hard-hearted self, is finally moved.

Moments

Frustrating moment of the day: Getting a job interview to work casually in the criminal record department at the police station (very interesting work to me - great pay and get to choose my own hours when Dave is home with the kids.....perfect scenario) only to find out that I MUST find my diploma from the secretarial college I graduated from 23 years ago BEFORE I get the interview! Stupid, ridiculous rule............perhaps I should beg???.............Like a six month course means more than 14 years experience!!!!

Ear-splitting moment of the day: Listening to my darling children blow their KAZOO's in the car on the way home from an errand this evening. They were given these wonderful toys when we were out and I was ever......so......grateful......for......the.......experience. If you have never heard a kazoo played by children before - in an enclosed space no less - you are truly missing out.

Heart-warming moment of the day: Going with my daughter to the library to find CD's to learn how to speak Spanish. The challenge came yesterday from my pastor in church, encouraging whoever was willing to try to learn a foreign language. The goal is to become a church of many ethnic cultures that is unhindered by the language barrier. My daughter took this to heart and, always being interested in Spanish, is determined to learn the language. I am totally thrilled with this.

Hilarious moment of the day: This evening with my two nieces.....watching them duck and hide beneath blankets in my living room because a MOTH was flying around. To their credit, they restrained their shrieks quite well (they knew their auntie would throttle them if they woke up the kids), but as I stalked the moth, I managed to subdue my mirth. And become a heroine in the process.

Magic moments.

Happy Birthday To Me

Tomorrow is my birthday. I am older than 40 and younger than 45. I normally don't advertise it, but I can't tell my story unless I do.

Taking two vehicles to church tonight, Dave decided to take the kids home. On the way home - all by myself - I clued in as to why he whisked them off so quickly.

"Mom, it's your birthday tomorrow!" my son informed me as I walked through the door.

Smiling because it confirmed my suspicion, I thanked him for reminding me.

A few minutes later, he rushed to see his dad, informing him, not so quietly, that he "let me know it was my birthday but he didn't tell me anything else". Dave and I grinned at each other while he "quietly" reminded Seth not to say anything else.

Then, while praying with the kids at bedtime, Seth leaned to my ear to whisper:

"Mom, dad is gonna wake Hannah and I up early tomorrow for your birthday!"

The little stinker.

Not that any of this is a surprise at all. It did make me grin, and also made me realize he'll probably be 22 before he can keep a secret.

Happy birthday to me tomorrow. I look forward to lunch with my sisters (and friend, whom we call a sister) - a tradition we established a few years ago, and who knows what else. I doubt I'll be surprised, but strangely enough, I am actually looking forward to it.

Which is a miracle when you're over-the-hill.

Sandbagging

This post is entirely Dr. Laura's fault. She expressed something in her blog today that I had never heard stated in the way she stated and I believe it was profound. Here is a portion of what she said:

"Sandbagging" is a term used to describe an awful thing to do to another person where you collect years of grievances of all sizes and dump them on someone all at once. There is nothing they can do about these supposed "slings and arrows" as they are history. The context is gone, the possible provocation is ignored, the amalgam of complaints is impossible to dissect and respond to.

The point is that sandbagging never results in resolution or redress. It just results in the feeling of being disdained or betrayed.

I believe that people sandbag when 1) they simply want to hurt someone else, 2) want to get superiority over another, and/or 3) desire not to take responsibility for their contribution to the problem.

Time for total honesty here. Because of the goodness, mercy, and longsuffering of Jesus, HE brought me out of my sandbagging mentality. In fact, I believe that the direct result of sandbagging was "crashing and burning" within the last year, causing me all sorts of anxiety symptoms.

What I also know, from being a previous sandbagger, is that it is contagious. Sandbaggers always stick together. It is also VERY prevelant amongst our "apostolic ranks".

The bottom line is this: If you feel you have been wronged (real OR imagined....), but DO NOT have the courage to communicate this properly AT THE TIME OF GRIEVANCE, then just LET IT GO! Nobody can properly deal with a complaint against them when the incident happened so long ago they don't even remember it!

Bottom line #2: We ALL hurt people (only we never think what we do unto others is that bad....). And require unending mercy. The sooner we get this revelation, the sooner we can forgive others for just being human.

Bottom line #3: We apostolics tend to forget God's very important principle: We must forgive in order to be forgiven. (The result of having an unforgiving nature is sandbagging.)

I don't know about you, but I need God's mercy every day. I cannot live without it. I cannot make it to heaven without it. By God's grace, He has shown me this. I cannot afford to be unmerciful and unforgiving. I cannot afford not to let it go.

I cannot afford to be a sandbagger.

Five Facts

I have recently discovered these five - deeply profound - facts to be true:

1. We have had more rain this year than in recent memory.

2. We have ten times MORE mosquitos than last year.

3. I do NOT like tornado warnings. (I like actual tornadoes even less.....)

4. I REALLY don't like TRAINS travelling through right in the middle of a tornado warning.

5. It is easier to wet yourself the older you get (particularly when you hear a train on a tornado-warning evening....)