Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Standing Alone with No Signs of a Flash Mob

This isn't really a post about being a long distance grandmom or even anything to do with the Webbman, so STOP reading here if that's what you're looking for :)  

I'm all grown up, so I always thought by this time everything would be all figured out.  The road map of my life would be completely mapped out and there would be no more roller coaster rides on the horizon, but that's not the case.  I believe that the ride is just beginning.  I read a quote this morning and I swear I truly believe the good Lord knows what to guide me to each and every day.  Here it was......just what I needed, right when I needed encouragement and guidance the most:

"One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life, you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive.  No matter who you are or what your position is, you must keep fighting for whatever it is you desire to achieve"    George Allen - American Football Coach

So, here I am, at 55, still fighting and it's OK.  I actually enjoy the challenge.  Being laid off a few years ago was a devastating set back at my point in life and the hunt for employment hasn't proved to be an enjoyable ride but to that note, it's given me time to absorb all the things about "me" that I didn't quite appreciate before.  All the things that I have neglected to pat myself on the back about during the ride to this point in my life, so now, I'm patting:

Let's see:

I'm strong.
I'm passionate about people.
I'm a nurturer.
If I loved you in my life, you know it, for better or worse :), and I will always love you.
If I'm your friend, I'm there for you when you need me.  I will not let work or play stand in the way if you reach out to me.
I will say I'm sorry whether I need to or not.
I'm generous, to a fault and put the needs of others first.

It's also given me time to absorb all the things that I need, so let's see on that front:

I need friends and interaction with people.
I need to feel like I'm making a difference.
I need to have meaningful conversation, even if it's with myself.
I need to feel like I'm helping other people.
I'm not a woman of solitude.
I need to take care of myself and put myself first more often.
I need to be part of a family, a nurturing family or not one at all.
I need interaction with friends, yes, this belongs on the list twice :).

Yes, this 2 and one half years of being in the realms of the unemployed and being in Atlanta has taught me lots of things.  It has taught me that if you want to be happy and healthy, sometimes you just have to do things that aren't easy.  Climb hills, mountains, maneuver things that you never predicted and sometimes you have to do it alone no matter how much you wish you had a flash mob standing right there with you.  So, here goes.  Off, I go to start my own flash mob.  Stay tuned.

P.S.  The Webbman is just fine, gearing up for Easter and making his first visit with the Easter Bunny in Oxford this weekend.  And I'm looking forward to the weekend after Easter when I get to hold that precious little bundle of joy and squeeze his lil cheeks and whisper "Bitsy Loves You" as many times as I like!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

I'm a Big Boy and the Easter Basket Supreme

Do we EVER get too old for an Easter Basket?  This Bitsy doesn't think so.  There's something magical and fun about the idea of a basket of goodies appearing overnight just for you and even more magical when you factor in the whole "delivered by a rabbit" thing!  I've been working on a handmade Easter basket for the Webbman and I'm loving how it's turning out.  I tried something different this year and made his basket liner out of red felt and have hand sewn royal blue, yellow and green bugs around the outside edge of it, with his name sewn on the other side in case some other person decides they are going to abscond it while our lil man isn't looking! 

The Lil Momma and Drew "Precious" aren't much on the Webbman imbibing in candy and other totally useless caloric intake that his Bitsy includes as a staple in her daily regime, so I've had to "shift my way of thinking".  I've had to "think healthy" and I gotta admit, it's hard enough "thinking" but when you add the "healthy" factor in, it has thrown me into quite the tailspin.  So far, all I've come up with that will have the capability to survive the United States Postal Service is yogurt snacks, goldfish and animal crackers but have no fear . . . . . . . . the meager amount of candy has been offset by the "fun" items that are making the cut.  I can't disclose what the Easter Bunny will be bringing yet because I want it to be a surprise for the lil Momma and Drew Precious, but I can say that they will have fun with some of these items also.  I'll give ya'll a hint, though......................think bugs!

This morning as I was talking with the Lil Momma, we talked about how much he would change over the next few months and she began to tell me about how much he LOVES the back yard.  Their new home has a lovely fenced in back yard area with thick plush grass so I can understand him wanting to be back there.  She continued on by saying that since it's warming up and daylight longer, he really would stay outside for hours and be perfectly content, so much so that when it's time to come inside . . . . . . the lil fella doesn't want to "give it up".  I reminded her of the many times her Dad and I would call her to come inside and she would take off like a flash down the street at a rapid rate of speed.  It was not a pretty picture with her in the lead and her short chubby momma coming in at dead last!  She also began to tell me about how he no longer wants to be "carried in her arms" into Mothers Day Out.  The Webbman wants to walk, alone, independently . . . so down she puts him and stays in close range.  She noted that not only does he WANT to walk, and he DOES, that WHEN he walks, IF he falls,, he picks himself up, wipes off his OWN knees and keeps on going and wants NO assistance on her part!

Yep, He's a Big Boy . . . . . . .

Yep, our lil Webbman is all boy and we're so glad he is just that . . . . . . . "our lil Webbman".  Thank you itty bitty sweet baby Jesus, all the Angels and Saints for the small miracle you have placed in our life and yep, thank you for the divine vision you gave his Bitsy for his Easter basket!  I'm awful proud of it.  Pictures coming soon!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The BIG BOY Haircut

In a little less than 12 days, something will happen  . . . .  Our lil Webbman will be 17 months old!  This feat,  in itself,  is something special, however when I reflect on the last year and a half, I can hardly remember what our lives were like BW (before Webb).  Isn't it funny how children do that (make us feel like they've always been part of our lives)?  They are born and immediately our hearts are consumed with immense feelings of warmth for them.  God knew what he was doing when he brought these precious lil pip squeaks into our lives.  Somewhere between the end of January and now, our lil man went from having that itty bitty baby look to the handsome lil man look.  I think it happened with his last hair cut.  It's a real live "big boy haircut" !  It just happens when you're least expecting it! Whammo, the "baby" vanished and the "big boy" made his debut!

In the next few months, he is going to be jibber jabbering words at us and I can tell you, we will all be amazed at his brilliance.  Me, I'm just waiting to hear that lil voice resound one word . . . . . not just any word, but "Bitsy".  I've been drilling him for the past 17 months and I can't help but believe somewhere, in the deep dark crevices of his extremely intelligent, Albert Einstein like lil Webbman brain, out it's going to pop ........ the word I've anticipated . . . . . "BITSY", and I also have a feeling that that one word is going to wrap itself around my heart and squeeze it like a big ole bear hug.   Of course, I can't imagine anything being better than just looking at the lil man smile!

For those of you who don't know just what "Bitsy" means, let me remind you.

Main Entry:  bit-sy
Pronunciation: \'bit-see\
Function: adjective or noun
etymology:  itsy-bitsy
Date: 1905
Meaning: Tiny (adjective);  One excellent, dedicated, adoring, always there when you need her, "kick ass" Granny, Grandmother, Grandmom, Mother of Child's Mother (noun)
Example:  See picture below:

Bitsy:  One Kick Ass Grandmom and Proud Of It


OK, now that we've gotten that important fact taken care of, I thought I'd simply share two pictures of the Webbman from this week and a short video of him enjoying time with the Lil Momma and Drew "Precious".  I love him (Can you tell?) and I love his Momma and Daddy too (Had that one figured out didn't you?).  Enjoy!

The Webbman Checking things OUT!

See, Big Boy Haircut!

Get Ready for your Heart to Be Warmed . . . . . . . . . .

Oh, By the Way, his PawPaw gave him this "kick ass" swing.  He thinks it's pretty awesome!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Michael, the Arch Angel, the Lil Momma & Cinderella's Slippers

I don't know how it happened.
I don't know when it happened.
But it happened.

The Lil Momma and I have come full circle.  She is "mothering me".  She has become my sounding board, my friend, my protector, kind of like Michael the Archangel. 

I remember when I started down this path with my Mom, but it was for different reasons.  My Mom (the lil Momma's Grandma Carol) passed away in my Senior Year of High School.  My nurturing took on a whole different light than what I see transpiring with the Lil Momma.  She had struggled for years with Cancer and the medicines and such were taking their toll on her.  I'd come in from school and ask her how her day had been only to be told "To sit down and relax....that dinner was in the oven" and "How was my school day?".  Of course, she believed "dinner was in the oven ", but truth be told............there was NO DINNER in the oven or anywhere.  The first time it happened, I went to her and said "Mom, I don't see anything in the oven" to which a very indignent proud woman responded, "Well, somebody MUST have eaten it".  After that first time, there was a second time, a third time and many many other times.  It got to where I just didn't ask.  I just knew I had to high tail it to the kitchen after she made the "proverbial statement" and get the dinner that was IN the OVEN, IN the OVEN.  It was no big deal, and now I'd give anything to have the luxury of scurrying about covering up her decline in health to make her still feel whole and effective in her role as a "housewife and beloved mother", a role she didn't have the luxury of enjoying for the majority of our lives since she taught school and nurtured other people's children daily.  What an amazing woman my mom, Carol Teresa Stevenson, was.

In recent years, I seem to have become forgetful, scattered and unfocussed.  Truth be known, I may have always been that way, but as I get older and as I get more like my Mom (Of course, I don't have the excuse of having undergone chemo and radiation, at least not in the last few years).  The Lil Momma does her best not to come across concerned or aggitated but I'm quite certain I get on her last nerve of the day when she tells me something and I say snippily to her "Why didn't you tell me this before?" and she has to say "Mom, I did.  Don't you remember?" OR I break into a rendition of a story that I find particularly enthralling only to be told "Mom, you told me this already"!  It's taken me awhile to put my "daughter shoes" back on these 55 year old feet and remember what it must feel like to her.  Those shoes aren't particularly easy to wear and they sure don't just slide on like Cinderella's glass slippers.  I'm sure she never dreamed she'd have to worry about, nurture, carry concern, etc. for her Mom, or hell perhaps she's always worried about me and I was just not tuned in enough to notice.  All I can say is, I sure love me some "Lil Momma" and yep, some "Drew Precious".  They run circles around any parenting techniques or skills that I ever exhibited.  They're disciplined, organized, loving and just simply amazing in the rearing of our lil Webbman.  They make it look easy, but I know it's not, and I know I add to their plate and I wish I didn't.  It's just flat plain hell to get old.



NOW, the Webbman.  He is just the epitomy of perfect.  He is the definition of handsome.  He is a walking package of cute!  I don't know when this happened either, but it did.  It seems like I looked up and all of a sudden, he went from precious lil baby to adorable lil man.  No more sissy baby outfits for him.  No more lil smocked jon jons or cutesie stuff.  He's all boy and I have to say................I'm lovin' every minute of it.  Not lovin' it MORE than raising the Lil Momma but lovin' it in a different way.  With Easter coming up, I have some Easter basket assessments to be making.........that is "if" I remember.  Funny thing is, so far, I haven't forgotten one detail about the Webbman or what he may need.  Wonder why that is?  All I can say is I hope my Michael, the Archangel looks like John Travolta.
This is one of my all time favorite Movies.  Enjoy the Clip!