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Showing posts from August 17, 2011

Magical Moment 563, "Matching Badges"

Skype is one way to cope with the long distance that makes me long for my nieces and nephews. Eddie and I made a "Skype date" with my 2 nephews, Ethan and Zach. Eddie just came home from work and I insisted that he stay in his Park Ranger uniform because I was sure the boys would get a kick out of it. Little Zach was joyful as ever, flying off the couch in his Spiderman pajamas and Super Man cape. He giggled when we put our dog Joy in front of the camera, and showed us how he can shoot web out of his wrist. But Ethan, a few years older, was not in such a happy mood. He sat glumly in front of the computer wearing a blue firefighter's jacket, bottom lip out.  "What's wrong Ethan?" I asked. "I'm having a bad day." He replied.  Eddie and I tried our best to cheer him up. We made funny faces, sang goofy songs, I even hit Eddie with a pillow (which did get him to smile a little). Then suddenly I noticed something on his jacket. "Ethan,"

Magical Moment 562, "My Graduate"

Hallelujah! The angels sang when Eddie opened a special package that came in the mail today...his diploma! He jokes that it only took him 13 years and 3 different schools to get his degree. While Eddie is my little genius (like, a for real genius), seven years of active duty Army makes it difficult to finish an academic program. Throw in Eddie's super natural distain for homework, and it all makes a little more sense. There were a few occasions when he and I were so overwhelmed with work, he needed a little bit of help with his homework. Once, I did almost an entire assignment for him and since my sister was visiting at the time, she helped me. We had to make some sort of plasma membrane thingy out of food...I don't even know what most of it was, but we got an A!!! (Kinda reminds me of a science fair project I did in 5th grade, but whatever.) So today's post is dedicated to Eddie, for all his hard work and dedication. He has something that can never be taken away and h

Magical Moment 561, "My Street Corner"

While I was growing up, my dad began his own  construction company . It really started to flourish when I was in elementary school, and I truly believed my dad was famous. After all, we had hats, jackets, even beer coozies with the Daugherty Construction logo on it. And I still remember hearing the catchy jingle from the TV commercial that had me convinced we were celebrities, "Daugherty construction...builders you can depend on." At one point, he developed and built homes for practically an entire neighborhood in Lincoln, Nebraska. And because several new streets were constructed, my dad got to name them. Three of the streets were named after his 3 daughters: Regina, Mary, and Erica (my first name is Mary, though I go by my middle, and 'Elizabeth Street' was already taken). I've always been pretty proud of having my own street name and proud of my dad's company. It's been years since I've driven by "my" street, but my mom took pictures rece

Magical Moment 560, "His Rightful Place"

He was the keeper of the neighborhood. A tall, thin man with white hair who stood watch at his post on the front porch while smoking a cigar. Dan and his wife Helen live in the downstairs apartment and silently tolerate my piano playing, furniture rearranging, and that phase when I attempted to do an aerobic exercise DVD once a day. They never say a word when I turn the radio up late at night and clean house, and don't even mind that my dog barks endlessly with every buzz of the door bell.  Dan lit my stove pilot light when it blew out and I was too afraid and inexperienced with gas ovens to do it myself. I once shattered a heavy, glass cooking pan on the floor and 30 seconds later, Dan knocked on my door to make sure I was okay. He doesn't play with the neighborhood kids, but he's always on guard, looking out for them, ready to tell them to stay back from the street, and keeping track of the strangers that walk by on the sidewalk. He and his wife know all the neighbors, t

Magical Moment 559, "Here's to Your Health"

It's become a habit of mine to begin a prayer almost the exact same way every time..."Dear Lord, thank you for everything you've done for me, and thank you for my family's health and safety." Somehow, my loved ones and I have really hit the health jack pot. The only time I've ever been in the hospital, is when I was born. And while there've been a few minor mishaps over the years, we've been beyond fortunate. So it's easy to become complacent in my true thankfulness when it comes to this matter. But something happened with my niece, Zoey, that made me stop and not just  say  "thank you," but seriously,  seriously  mean it. Her mother, Deb, explained that 4-year old Zoey was drinking from a cup with ice cubes, when suddenly one got lodged in her throat. Deb, a registered nurse, tried everything to help her daughter, but soon felt helpless as no oxygen was getting to her daughter at all. She began to foam at the mouth. And though Deb kne

Magical Moment 558, "Zarkana"

While my little sister was visiting, I took her to see the new  Cirque du Soleil  show at Radio City Music Hall. I had a feeling it would be right up her alley. We tease her that she's the "quirkier" of the 3 sisters.  I had recently watched part of a documentary describing the extraordinary undertaking it takes to put a show together. They audition acts for an entire year, have elaborate costumes and make up, and boast some of the most professional lighting directors, choreographers, and staging equipment in the business. The stage itself is so extravagant, they could not run a complete dress rehearsal until mere days before the opening at Radio City, as only a few stages in the country are able to accommodate the grand scale of equipment, and Radio City's stage was occupied with other acts. Instead, they rehearsed different sections of the show on different stages  around the country , until they were able to piece it all together in New York.  Quirky it was - to

Magical Moment 557, "I Stop to See a Weeping Willow"

And a few other things as well...I've been to this  park in Bernardsville, NJ  once before, but I had to stop again today on my way to work. It's just so lovely. I tried to come up with all captions from classic country songs since I already had the willow stuck in my head. It does get to be a bit of a challenge... "I stop to see a weeping willow, cryin on his pillow. Maybe he's cryin for me."  ( Walkin After Midnight  by Patsy Cline) "Ah, breaker, Big Ben, this here's the Duck." ( Convoy  by C.W. McCall) "Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing." ( Love is Like a Butterfly  by Dolly Parton) "The cattle are prowlin, the coyotes are howlin, way out where the doggies roam." ( Cattle Call  by Eddie Arnold)