Ha, Ha, Ha

I know this may seem odd, but I've been laughing my butt off since I got here. My dad loves games shows (he always has - hence my love of the newlywed game version used during the girlfriends crop). He spends hours watching those shows and guess what he has access to them from the hospital. One of his all-time favorites is the family feud. Yesterday, we spent the entire day with my dad watching gameshows. We could not believe some of the crazy answers people come up with it. For example, one of the questions yesterday was: name animals that you would find in the desert. What's your answer? Well we rattled off camels, snakes, etc, while the person on the show answered rabbit and guess what 2 other people gave that answer...rabbit???

Everything everyone answered yesterday was just a little off and my dad and I all cracked up about that thinking that when you must be on the show your brain goes into dumb drive.

After we goofed on several people on the shows and had a jolly atmosphere going I got an anxious phone call from my son saying that he just couldn't stay in the car any longer. Anyone that knows my son, knows that spending more than 2 hours in the
car while he is awake would be a challenge and being in a car over 24 hours would be impossible, so I did what any other mother would do in a situation like this - I tried to bribe him. I asked my son to think of something that he really wanted and that if he was good the rest of the way, I would get it for him, thinking a game for his psp, etc. My son being such a smart kid, thinks about it for about a minute and then he tells me his answer "a plane ticket to go back home". He is not a fool, he knows that once he gets up here he is going to have to repeat the process with dad on the way back home. I didn't raise a fool. Of course that's not a plausible solution, but he has been good so far and on the way back it will be the day after christmas so he will be exhausted and will probably sleep through the first 12 hours, so that's half the battle. But, as I told that story to my siblings and my mom and dad, I thought about how different all my children are. It's amazing. But, so are my sisters and I, and my brother is like an alien compared to us.

As the years have gone by we have begun to look more alike but we have such different ideas on so many things... yet when it comes to things like my dad getting sick we are of one mind. We come to the same conclusions and feel the same way, think alike, respond alike, even eat alike. It's weird and funny when you think about it. Weird in the way that I never ever thought we would agree on what's best for my dad and yet we did and funny in that it's like we are reading each other's mind and finishing each others sentences when it's months sometimes between the time we talk to each other.

I've always known that my parents did a great job raising us but it's moments like this that make me love and appreciate them even more. I know that they are the reason I am so strong, and funny (oh yeah baby), and honest, loyal, sensitive and compassionate (I cry at home makeover and romantice movies), they made me crafty (I crochet - is that the one with one needle? - I macramay - I scrapbook, etc), they made me love school and books, well,they made me ME, with all my quirks and crazy notions.

I am hoping to follow in their footsteps and be able to raise 5 children who have common sense, school smarts, are loyal, and honest, hilarious, and so much more.
This is what I wish for them and I plan not to stop until I've achieved that cause they also taught me to be stubborn and headstrong and dedicated. SO, watch out Nikolas because moms on a mission. HA!

Write soon,

Dee