Rambling On...

On my to-do list today were many things, one of them being put the training wheels on Little M's bike. I sat down in the driveway with a few tools and the training wheels (oh! and the bike!). There weren't really instructions with it... just a silly diagram that made no sense to me at all. So I sat there and wondered how to get the silly things on. My neighbor came over and started talking to me about the bike. I told her I was just about to give up and call my dad (which I did... he's put on some training wheels in his day...). I asked her how she was doing, and (unlike most people) she answered me honestly! She told me she's really scared because she has a growth on her brain, and they found it because she fainted last week at the gym. I listened to her talk about it a little bit. She told me she worries about everything, so it's been on her mind a lot. We talked some more about a variety of other things... but as she got ready to head back into the house, I let her know that we'd be praying for her, and that if she needed anything (she's not allowed to drive), to let us know. I think the praying thing caught her off guard, but I hope it planted a seed... maybe?

Speaking of seeds... and weeds... that was another thing on my list today. YUCK! I do not like weeding... AT ALL! (Isn't that a "mom job," Jess? Tee hee...) I asked Jeff if we could hire a teenager from church to weed for me. I tried to convince him that my hernias and all my other health issues were hindering me from being able to do the weeding. He told me that I'd feel better if I tried to do what I could and he'd do what I couldn't. Such a sweetheart. He meant well, right? Of course. So... I went out and I weeded... for what it was worth. No, I did not do a good job. And no, I'm not done. But I got those nasty weeds that turn into trees. And I got the big weeds out of the way. It does look better...

So, it's one of those days, I guess. You know, the "eat out of the carton" days. Yep. Here I am, blogging, and eating out of the carton of ice cream. This is now a joke between my sister (Jessica) and me...

Alathea came to our church about a month ago. One of the girls talked about having days where she needs to eat out of the carton of ice cream. Jessica and I could really relate. Ha ha ha ha... and sometimes, just sometimes, it's eating raw cookie dough out of the tub. (Ahhhhh... life is good!)

Alathea is a two girl band from Tennessee. My sisters and I pretty much fell in love with them. They are pure sweethearts, and very talented. The ice cream carton girl told us that when they were performing in California, they were just about to be announced, and the guy quickly asked them "What does Alathea mean?" They replied "It's the Greek word for truth." But either because of all the noise or because of their Tennessee accents, he didn't hear them correctly. He shouted out, to announce them, "Let's welcome Alathea... the Greek word for FRUIT!"

So, we (my sisters and I) decided to start a little band. We wanted to name ourselves the Greek word for fruit... which is Karpos. Not so cool, huh? So maybe we'll just be called Fruit. I don't know. We did get to debut, though, at our Woman's Spring Banquet. (LOL!) Molly played guitar, and Jessica and I played percussion! I'm not kidding, you guys. Why are you laughing? Yes, I played the "shaky things" (eggs and maracas) and Jessica played tambourine and some fancy thing she got in Hawaii... we called it "Ha-why-eeeeeeeeeeeee." It was so fun playing with my sisters. We had a lot of good times laughing about silly things, but also some good worship time together.

So... let me explain "Ha-why-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." My Grandpa (who has Alzheimer's) goes to an Adult Day Service for Alzheimer's patients. There is a woman there that has told Grandpa on numerous occasions that she can fly a private airplane and that she was going to take him to Florida or Hawaii. Grandpa would come home and tell us this. It made him mad that we wouldn't let him go. So we just started playing along. Well, one day, I went to pick Grandpa up, and there he was, talking to the pilot lady. (I didn't realize it was her, since I hadn't met her before... however, I QUICKLY put 2 and 2 together.) So, Grandpa introduced me to her. And she said "Sarah, I'm friends with your... is this your dad or your grandpa?" I told her he was my grandpa. Then she said "I'm friends with your grandpa. And he knew my husband, Woody, before he died. They were great friends. Right Howard?" (Oh my...) "And I remember YOU when you were just a little girl about this high." (Really?) "Yep, we were friends with your... is this your dad our your grandpa?" (Yes, really...) "Howard, you know Woody died, right?" (Oh boy...) Grandpa mumbled something about hearing that, and how he was sorry he missed the funeral. "Well, yeah, he was such a good man. He died in his sleep... very peacefully. So don't worry about it." (Oh that's such a relief!) "So, I told your... is this your dad or your grandpa?" (Mmmhmm... again.) "I told Howard that I am going to fly him in my private airplane. We're going to go to Ha-why-eeeeeeeee." Then, she proceeded to do a little hula dance. (Wow. Am I on candid camera?) She turns to my grandpa. "Howard, you know Woody isn't dead, right? That was just a rumor. Howard, he's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!' (Oh poor Grandpa. He's gonna think he's going nuts.) Then she turns back to me. "So, you have to come with us on my air plane." I told her it sounds like fun. Then she said "Be ready to leave tonight. We're going to Ha-why-eeeeeee!" (Can't wait!) Then I told her I couldn't leave tonight, but maybe another day... she didn't like that answer, so I quickly changed my mind and said I could probably make it work. (Can I fly the plane, though?) So then, after a loooooong time: several times being asked if Howard was my dad or my grandpa, several times being told we were going to Ha-why-eeeeeeee, several time being told Woody was dead, several times being told Woody was really alive, and several times seeing the hula dance, the sweet employees at the center helped me get Grandpa to leave with me. (Whew! That was a close one! I was worried I'd have to go to Ha-why-eeeeeee with an 80 something year old woman as the pilot, and when we got there, not only would we meet Woody (dead or alive), but I'd have to do the hula.)