It's Gonna Be a GREAT Day!!

Worked a double shift today and squeezed in a trip to visit Massey at the high school before her dinner break.

It still and always amazes me that my girl LOVES me. There are so many 15 year old girls (she'll be 15 in a few short weeks) that are horrified when their mother is around.

I am one blessed woman.

My daughter LOVES it when I am around her when she is at the school and I love it that she "Loves" me to be there.

What greater blessing can a mom have than having teens that aren't mortified by their appearance when they are with their peers?

I came home from work tonight to find my 18 year old son in the garage with two other hooligans I have never met. He introduced me to them both and I said "Hi."

Zach said "You need to shake their hand and say hello, Mother."

I told Zach I was in a hurry to give his dad gas money so he could go to work but I did pause to look at the boys and say "Hello, Mother."

I got stuck at work because we were busy and another guard mom brought Massey home for me. God bless the guard moms...they are like moms to me, except they are all about 20 years younger than me and sometimes see more of my daughter than I do.

It's a great feeling when you know your kid is watched out for and always taken care of when you can't be there. Massey loves them too...it's a mutual "Lovefest" that I couldn't live without at this point in my life.

My life has been a test the last year...but my siblings, my old friends and my new friends have been the saving salvation in an otherwise excruciating time in my almost half a century on this planet.

"Make new friends but keep the old..."

What a pleasure to know that you have friends...what a relief and what a blessing they all are.

I was talking to my sister tonight telling her about guard camp and how hot it was for the kids. I told her I soaked Massey's bandanna in ice water yesterday to keep her cool and she mentioned that a good friend of hers (once again proving the friend theory) had given her a bandanna that had beads in it...you soak it in water and put it in the freezer and "BAM" you have an ice pack for your forehead. I mentioned to her that I needed to get Massey a "Mr. Magoo" hat...you know, one with a floppy brim. Massey had borrowed one yesterday from one of the wonderful parents that seem to love my daughter like I do.

My sister told me she still had my father's Mr. Magoo hat that he wore when he played tennis or went to the beach with us. That's where the above picture comes in.

My Diddy (that's what we call him) has been gone from this world since 2002.

As the one year anniversary of the twin towers being brought down by terrorists came around I was watching him die from West Nile virus in a hospital with my brother and sister.

We laughed and we cried and we grew closer than we have ever been. What is strange about losing a parent is the fact that it somehow brings you all together. It bonds you in a way that you can never forget and makes you realize...a little late (for your own conscience) that you have been blessed with having been raised by exceptional parents and so many people aren't as fortunate.

I am getting up early to meet my sister before guard camp.

Massey will be wearing her "Grandpa's" hat..she will have a bandanna that holds ice and she will have a Mom there all day to look out for her, encourage her and give her sweaty butt a hug when she needs it.

You know what? It is a great thing to be a parent when your kids still love you in their teens and don't mind showing it.

One of my dear "New" friends wrote me tonight and said "Massey was glowing yesterday that her momma was there."

How can you beat THAT feeling?

Kids..they can kill you but they can make you unbelievably proud at the same time. How in the heck do they do that? You know, I don't really care as long as the proud part wins over the "Kill" part.

Grandpa's hat for luck and my sister's headband for cooling comfort. Me at the school all day and my girl happy that I am there...It is gonna be a GREAT day!