A picture, a word, a memory.
Memories Captured
Stop it!
Ok, I normally wouldn’t even waste my breath on this, because I feel like it’s been beaten like a dead horse, but seriously, the child sexual abuse needs to end. Well, all forms of child abuse need to end, but especially that of a sexual nature, since that is what’s been making all these disgusting headlines lately.
Let’s see, we’ve had Catholic priests molesting altar boys for, well, ever I guess. Then of course the Jerry Sandusky Penn State bullshit that just makes me want to vomit more each time I hear new details come forth, and now the scandal involving former Red Sox clubhouse manager Donald Fitzpatrick, who’s been dead for 6 years? And there are obviously countless other attacks in between all those that have never and may never come to light, but which are no less horrifying and damaging.
Well I have a surprise for you all – I have the answer! And it’s this simple:
STOP HAVING SEX WITH CHILDREN!!!!!!
Period.
The end. I will now step off my soapbox and get back to more entertaining fare.
Home?
The house I never lived in, but it always felt like mine.
The land, the courts, the Pine Forest.
Heaven for a kid.
Home?
The skyline to which I never gave a second thought while I was there.
But now each time I see it coming in I get a warm sense of belonging.
I never realized how pretty that water tower is.
Home?
The road upon which I traveled more times than I can count.
The restaurant, the farms, the hills we passed each time which comprised our over the river and through the woods.
Can it really have been 15 years ago? It feels like yesterday.
Home?
The houses of those so dear who are still there, even though mine was gone years ago.
The houses that will always welcome, no matter how far I go or how long I stay away between visits.
The houses of my family, from where I came.
Home?
A new house where I now rock my own babe.
One new face with one the same.
The next generation to be raised.
Home?
Home.
Help for Delaney
You guys, I know I’ve asked for your help before (like here and here), but I’m asking again. My friend Kelli over at Momma Needs a Beer has a beautiful little niece who is struggling for her life. I can’t even type out all the details because the keys are too blurry through tears. Whenever I hear stories like this I just can’t help putting myself in their shoes if the same were to happen to D, and I selfishly pray that it never does.
But please go read Delaney’s story here and see if you can help. She is on home-care hospice, and her little family could use any and all bits of assistance. You can straight up donate to The Delaney Rose Fund through PayPal, Kelli is hosting a Thirty-One fundraiser (i just bought an awesome scarf), or if you live in their area you can sign up to take them a meal (last name: Flatter, password: delaney). And if you can’t do any of the above, that’s ok – just please send them your thoughts and prayers.
This holiday season will probably be pretty tough for the Flatters, so I thank you for anything you can do. And even though I don’t know them personally, I think I can speak for them in saying they do too.
16 month stats
Happy 16 month birthday, Squeaker! And Happy December to the rest of you. December, though? Wow, how did that happen? This whole year up until the fall seemed to go by at just the right pace – neither too fast nor too slow – but these past couple months, man. They’ve FLOWN by. And I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that Christmas will be here in just weeks, since this year I’ll be focused more on getting us all packed and ready to fly across a good chunk of the planet before Santa makes his rounds. It feels kind of weird.
But anyway, back to the star of the show, D. Fortunately we haven’t had to go to the doctor since last month’s well-baby visit, so I would estimate her stats as about 33″ tall and weighing between 23-24 lbs. I read back through her 15 months stats, and honestly, not much has changed at all. These are really about the only 2 things different for this month:
- She now has 16 teeth. The top left cuspid is in (it was just starting to poke through in last month’s entry), and the top left first molar is now poking through as well. Fortunately the main symptom of teething for these 2 was just a lot of chewing on her fingers. Totally manageable.
- The little booty is growing. She now wears size 4 diapers during the days and size 5s overnight. Thank heavens people told me about the 1-size-bigger-at-night trick, for the morning pee lakes in her crib are now much fewer and farther between than they were for awhile there this summer.
It’s so fun watching D grow into this awesome little kid. For there isn’t much baby left to her anymore – she really is a little girl. Aww…
p.s. I ran again last night for the 1st time in a month. OUTSIDE. I decided to break my no-running-outside-unless-it’s-above-50-degrees rule, because I’ve been feeling like my twice weekly early morning workouts just aren’t cutting it. Plus I figured I’d take advantage of what may have been the last “mild” day of the year (it was 42 degrees when i drove home from work). I ran 2.86 miles in 26:45, for a 9:21 pace. Not very fast, but I knew it wouldn’t be after taking such a long break. It felt pretty good though overall – comfortable pace, my abs didn’t feel as jiggly as they usually do when I run, my lungs didn’t burn from the cold too much (although my hands were pretty cold), and I felt like I could’ve even gone further. Let’s not get crazy, though. It was getting darker and colder by the minute, and I much prefer running in the sunlight than in the moonlight.
p.p.s. I’m taking D down to Peoria to visit my dad and his side of the family tomorrow for a long weekend, so I’ll see you in a few days. Have a great weekend!