but it's more sad in Frankfort, Indiana for my dad.

The Cubs have lost again ... in a season when they won 97 regular season games- they couldn't manage one win in post-season. I don't know if it's the curse of the goat or an idiot  fan who leans into the field of play ... but it is a monumental loss. For the first time in many, many years ... I think my dad really thought this would be the year.  After 68 years of listening, taking vacation days to go see them at Wrigley Field ... I wasn't just hoping this was the year - I was praying.

Silly? Maybe, but he's my dad.

And so we'll wait 'til next year.

Again.

I heard a slight change in attitude ... I'm reserving judgement on said change, well, because it means a decrease in the amount of AXE being  used in my house! I believe this can only be a good thing ...

Last week ... "Mom, could you buy me some body wash. Not Axe, it dries out my skin. And, maybe something that smells good but not too much good smell."

Yesterday at Wal-mart I checked out a multitude of Body Wash for Men stuff ... since the job was left to me, I thought I'd search for one that would do body and hair ... after all, some of the toxicity comes from the mixing of one body wash scent, one hair scent, one deoderant scent, one body spray scent ... and for a brief period of time (until I hid it) cologne. His room was like migraine trigger central. I came home with Dial for Men ... HYDRATING formula.

This morning ... "Mom, the new stuff is awesome. It smells good, it feels good, it washes and conditions my hair ... you know (serious teenage voice) I have to keep up my reputation of  having the softest  hair of all."

Tonight, after everyone goes to sleep ... I'm changing everything back to Johnson's Baby Shampoo ... I've seen those girls rubbin' on his head ... now I know why and I won't contribute to that!!!

Oh my!

BooMama has a list of things that make her happy ... Loved that this morning as I try to re-focus on finding the Joy of the Lord in every day.

So ...

Things that make me happy ...

1. the moment that the sun breaks over the mountains (literally or figuratively)

2. when a sleepy boy still wants a back scratch

3. making my husband a lunch that I know will fill his stomach, reduce the stress on his wallet and contains something he wasn't expecting

4. phone calls that stretch across states and connect hearts (even if face to face would make me happier)

5. that feeling following prayer when you've purged your heart and a weight  has been lifted

6. dinner and coffee with friends

7. FALL ... finally, my gray sweatshirt is able to make an appearance

8. a cup of tea with my son

9. friends who share laughter and tears

10. laundry that is done, folded and put away

11. cold sheets occupied by warm hearts

12. the promise of a date with my husband

13. music that leads me into worship, even if I'm cleaning the toilet

14. "light bulb moments" when we're trying to learn a new skill

15. people who want to be known

16. basketball season (actually ... pre-season, season, post-season, off-season ... it's an illness)

17. hot soup and warm bread

18. the feeling when my favorite house guests are about to arrive come home- it's the same feeling that I used to get when I was young and trying to go to sleep before Christmas morning ... I had no idea what was going to happen, but I knew it was going to be great.

19. knowing that I've helped a kid work through an issue

20. AJ and his friends in my Jeep

21. camping in the fall or spring ... winter isn't bad either

22. knowing my husband is coming home

23. completing a project (why don't I do this more if Iike it so much ...  hmmm)

24. did I mention my gray sweatshirt???

25. the memory of the ocean crashing against the beach ...

26. baked sweet potatoes

27. babies who are just learning to talk

28. new tennis shoes (New Balance please)

29. books that captivate me for a time

30. biscotti ... I think it's about time for a batch!

Party of Five is joining her other parties already in progress...over at blogspot... you can find me at :

www.partyoffivetn.blogspot.com...

Thanks, HSB for getting me blogging....

The Cab Ride

by Kent Nerburn

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pick up at a building that was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.

"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.

"Nothing," I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers."

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware—beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

So, the good news is....last night I spent the evening with my friend Tamara, whose husband is in Uganda on a mission trip...and she is here with her two young kids....

Anyway, after much talking, I was out past midnight, so when I went to wash my face last night it was about 12:15...and what happens then....the stupid alarm. So, I am washing my face and hear the stinking thing right next to me.  So, I look through soapy eyes and see my ipod (not the original ipod culprit, the other one) is lit up.  And that was it....I hit menu and see someone has set an alarm to go off at 12:22 am (ipod time, not mine :) )  Mike claims his innocence, but I think he is waiting to see if I do indeed, go crazy...just kidding honey...but sounds like a controversy to me...

So, for the bad news...Bekah started coughing last week and wheezing on Sunday.  I keep waiting for the day they tell me she has asthma because of the RSV she had as a newborn.  So, I take her in today, and she has walking pneumonia...again....and she hasn't slowed down this time either...and has worn me out today.

But at least I will sleep all the way through 12:15 tonight...

After months of cajoling, we capitulated and decided to build the boys a treehouse in the woods.  Their  current swingset/fort seems to no longer be sufficient.  I shouldn't really complain too much, because the new fort is about 1/4 mile up the mountain, which will give me more time to clean up their messes.  We have spent the afternoon dragging up wood and various supplies and they don't understand why this multi-weekend project is not yet complete.

This guy is by far the hardest worker in the family.  He already has dibs on an acre or so of the land, in a flat area that he has claimed as his future home site.  I asked him if I could come up for coffee in the mornings, and he said, "No Mom.  I hate coffee.  We'll drink a "boar." "  I said, "What's a boar?"  And he replied, "You know, a cold boar."   When I finally got it- that he meant "beer,"  I asked, "Why beer?"  And he said, "Because coffee tastes like mud!"  He just makes me giggle, ya'll.

He also found this awesome caterpillar the other day.  It was in the chicken coop and he rescued it from being eaten.  We had a little science lesson on the spot, measuring (almost 4 inches) and fllipping through field guides until we found it- a Pandorus Sphinx.  Very cool.

Joseph and Sophie

Awhile ago, I woke up to a sound of six dings, for lack of a better word.  I thought it was coming from my bathroom, so I got up to check it out and saw the ipod, so I figured it had an alarm on it.  I went back to bed. 

For the last week, it has happened every night.  No ipod in my bathroom, and I don't even know where it is coming from. The first night I heard it again I woke up Mike, who was sick and really not happy that I asked him to check out the house.  Our house is like Fort Knox, thanks to the previous owners.  It has an alarm that sounds when all windows, doors, and garages are opened.  It has stoppers on the back of all doors, so that even if someone picked a lock, they couldn't open the door.  (my imagination runs a little wild with possible intruders) Anyway, Mike, in his not feeling so good state, walks around the house and finds nothing. 

The next night, I am on the couch because Mike is hacking up a lung in our room, and again...this stupid alarm.  So, I check out the house...nothing...and the next night and the next...and I realized the last two nights it goes off at 12:15 a.m.  What is this sound?  I have had both our cell phones next to me, to see if it the have an alarm...nope...I don't think it is the ipod, though it will stay close to me tonight...

Ahhhh....have you seen the Friends episode with the smoke alarm?  Just call me Phoebe....at this point, I just want to go to sleep without being jolted awake by this annoying, irritating, bothersome alarm...make it stop.....