Stick your tongue out and hop on one foot!

Lately my Vivian has been amusing herself by hopping on one leg and sticking her tongue out.  Sometimes while she does this Viv half-grunts and half-laughs, like some kind of playful epileptic seizure. 

A few days ago she hopped and hopped proudly across the bathroom floor until she fell against the mirror and onto the scale in the corner where she fell over and landed on her butt.  Then it was my turn to laugh.  I know, I know but I couldn't help myself.  It was funny. 

After her fall, my "mom mode" took over in its nanny-nanny-boo-boo sort of way like "I told you so."  "I told you that jumping around like a fool would lead to harm."  Being the dramatic diva that Vivian is, she sobbed into me for several minutes perhaps buying into my words and harmful thoughts for two minutes.  Then she finally pulled herself together and moved to the living room.  There she presumed to hop on her one leg again and stick her tongue even further out, as if to say, "I'll show you mom!"

She sure did too.  It is truly impossible to be in a bad mood or feel sad while hopping on one foot and sticking your tongue out.  Seriously!  Try it.  You'll feel a bit stupid perhaps but I bet you find a smile creeping into your lips.


How I love that about her deep down - how silly she can be in a world of seriousness.  How she makes me laugh with these goofy things she does.  My precious four year old laughs so much and smiles so much in one day, in one hour that I think the whole world just needs a good dose of "Vivian Rose" and perhaps the visits to counselors and the prescriptions to depression medication might just go down.

As I worry a little over a job interview that I have coming up, I think wouldn't it be crazy to walk into the room or leave the room hopping on one foot and sticking my tongue out?  Wouldn't it be funny to do that down an entire grocery aisle the next time we do food shopping?  Should I do that to the next person who utters a negative or idiotic comment to me in passing? 

I wish I had a photo of Vivian doing this art form, an image that captured her silly yet insightful attitude toward life.  But I suppose even a video of her would only showcase a few moments or minutes of silliness.  No, what she has is a state of mind - an assurance that she can laugh in life and laugh at herself. She can pick up herself after a fall and keep jumping and sticking out her tongue once again! I admire that in her.

It's amazing how much Viv teaches me when I'm supposed to be the one teaching her!?  Now with her baby sister Lana Jane on the way in just two months (my due date is April 27, I'm in the home stretch!), I can only imagine all the laughing we three girls will be doing.  Maybe Kirk will have to video all three of us hopping on one foot and sticking out our tongues as we showcase our ridiculous manners around town.   Oh I hope we don't drive dad into the bar or the insane asylum with all our future girly tricks and slumber parties  :-)

Here's to you Vivian.....  Even though this is a more refined photo of you (below) showing off your winter style clothing,  I can still see that gleam in your eye - that moment of crazy about to unfold and fill my world with joy....

I Love You!
Mom

Drifting (a poem)

Drifting

Pull away from the safety net
Swim into the unknown

Slow down your breath
Feel your pulse
You'll find the still truth

Away from the chaos
Apart from the openness
I find myself drifting

Although the island invites me back
I avert my eyes to the lonely sea

Assuring within that this is my place
Floating my way to resolution

I have hardly moved
Yet, I've truly leaped
Into where I must be.


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I haven't written a poem in a long time.  But sleepless nights, a bit of reflection and some introspection will sometimes cause thoughts and words to flow together.   The above lines came to me recently in less than five minutes. 

There's No Use Crying Over Spilled Urine

The title of this blog post is not incorrect.  I'm not referring to milk.  I'm talking about actual urine, my own pee-pee.  Here, let me explain.

I had a doctor's visit with my OBGYN this week.  I've hit the last trimester of this pregnancy.  I'm right at 28 weeks.  Can I get a woot-woot?  Amen!  I have just three months (or less) to go, thankfully. 

Like any visit to the gynecologist, you have to give a urine sample to the doctor so they can examine it for any causes of concern.  No big deal.  I'm over six months pregnant; therefore I always have to pee.   What I had forgotten though since my last pregnancy was how hard it is to pee into a small cup when you look down and can't see your own waistline anymore!  When your belly is bulging so big that you don't clearly see or focus on much of anything down there.  Enter my problem and the reason for this post.

I'm in the potty room (aka urination factory) at the doctor's assuming the position with my cup in hand.  I lean over trying to "aim" as best as I can.  (Is this how men feel?)  To my surprise, my aim isn't very good.  In fact, I appear to have multiple streams with minds of their own.  They don't like the target (aka cup).  They'd rather make a bulls-eye for my hand, arm, opposite end of the toilet.  Yeah, I wish I were joking!

Finally I get some into the cup and I'm trying not to gag at the fact that my hand is soaked with my pee.  It is mine after all, not a stranger's.   I set it down on the floor, wowing to wipe my hands first before I wipe down the side of the cup that also is dripping with the yellow stuff.   As I'm leaning over grabbing toilet paper, I lose my balance and then knock over the container with my urine sample....

Oh shit!  I cry out.  Even though it wasn't shit.  That would be much, much worse.  I snatched the sample cup at the last moment where it still had a few droplets of my urine in it.  Nevermind that my nearly clean hand is now covered once again with pee and my urine is now trickling around the entire bathroom floor, inching its way to the door too.  Sigh!    Maybe someone needs to potty train me!

So here I am with my six month pregnant belly, bent over with my underwear at my feet, cleaning up my urine sample and my pee all over the floor.  I'm frantically grabbing at paper towels, trying to wet them and silently thanking the heavens that I'm in a one-person bathroom instead of a three-unit or more parade of people doing their business.   Because it's bad enough that I'm belly on the floor, naked butt in the air cleaning up my urine but thank goodness no others had a chance of walking in on me or seeing me at the very least! 

So yeah, pregnancy.... it's fun times people!  There is no use crying over stuff like this.  You just laugh to get through it, clean up your mess and squeeze out a few more drops to complete that sample. 

Despite this crazy incident, I won't complain too much about my circumstances.  The pregnancy has been going well.  I'm feeling good and the baby is thriving inside me, kicking me and alerting me of her whereabouts on a daily basis. 

When I'm not in need of a mop for my urine, I busy myself with other amusing things.  For example, I wore mismatching shoes one day last week to work.  No one seemed to notice though.  I put one earring on and then forgot the other one not too long ago.  I'm leaving my dog outside for hours because I let him out to do his business then become distracted and forget he's out there patiently waiting by the door.   Who knows what I'm in for next? 

I'll just keep laughing and cleaning up the messes I make, that's for sure!  :-)