...and then our eyes locked....

A few days ago I was talking to a friend.  I asked how things were going and she giggled a little and announced that she is getting married on July 21st.  

"Wow!" I said. "That's coming up quick!  Where is he from?" 

'Oh," she replied, "He's not from around here.  He travels a lot."

I'm thinking that maybe he's a truck driver.  Or a pilot.  Or a salesman.


She blushed a little as she replied, "He's an acrobat in the circus."

I hope I didn't look too startled.  I did not see that coming.  At all. 

"Really," I gushed!  "I know a woman who used to be a trapeze artist when she was young!"

(I was trying very hard to find some common ground, and this is the first thing that popped into my head.  Pretty lame, huh, although very true.  I do know someone who was a trapeze artist when she was younger.)

We talked about my amazing friend who used to be a trapeze artist when she was younger for a few minutes and then I asked the next question:

"So, where did you meet?"

I'm thinking perhaps they were introduced by a mutual friend.  Or they met at a party.  Or online.

"We met at the circus."

I hope I didn't look too startled.  I mean, it makes sense, but I did not see that coming.  At all.

"I took my two daughters to the circus and we were sitting on the first row.  As he performed our eyes locked.  There was that instant attraction to each other, you know what I mean?"

I nodded my head.  I felt that way toward Ron when I first saw him.

"After the circus was over, I was in the parking lot walking back to my car.  He quickly changed out of his performing clothes and 'accidentally'  bumped into us in the parking lot.  We've been together ever since." 

I think that's the most original "how we met" story I've ever heard!

I hope my friend and her fiance will be very, very happy. 

I"ll Love You Forever

One of my favorite children's books is Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. If you haven't read this wonderful book, it's about a mother who rocks her baby back and forth, back and forth, back and forth while softly singing:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

I always change the third line because I truly believe that family relationships go beyond this life and so when I read this book to my children I say:

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always,
For time and forever
my baby you'll be.


As her baby grows, the mother continues to sneak in her son's bedroom and rock her little boy back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Even when her growing boy became a teenager and later an adult she would crawl across his floor, pick up her great big boy, and rock him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth singing softly:

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always,
For time and forever
my baby you'll be.

Perhaps because of this book, I like to grab my daughters occasionally and ATTEMPT to rock them back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. My lap doesn't hold them very well but it satisfies my mother-longing--to remind them that I will ALWAYS love them and they will ALWAYS be my baby.


Well, Wednesday night after American Idol, (side note: I LOVED Scotty and Lauren's performances) I was flipping through the channels to see if there was something worthwhile watching as I continued working on a top. secret. young. woman. project. (Don't you want to know what it is? Details will follow!)


I came across the Baby Channel. This is not a channel I would typically watch, but the title intrigued me: Sweet Dreams. Don't we all need sweet dreams?

I pushed "Enter" on my remote control and lovely, soothing patterns and swirls moved across the screen with an occasional caterpillar, or bird, or butterfly accompanied by soothing, classical-type music.

I was hooked!

OK, not really, but it sent those mother-longings to my heart and so I attempted to put Emily on my lap so I could rock her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

However, she would not COOPERATE!

She became as stiff as a board. I shimmied her long legs under my lap with great difficulty. As she arched her back we heard a thwunk. Emily hit her barrette clad head on the end table.

"Emily, I NEED to rock you back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. This Sweet Dreams program is calling to my mother heart!"

"I don't want to be rocked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth," she replied with a giggle.

I shimmied her stiff legs a little more over my lap.

Thwunk! She hit her head on the end table again. This was getting a little dangerous.

"Emily, Sweet Dreams is SHOUTING to my mother heart. I MUST rock you back and forth, back and forth, back and forth."

"Oh, Mom!" she laughed.

I shimmied her a little more on my lap. By this time we were laughing so hard that tears were streaming down our face. After one more thwunk, she was finally satisfactorily on my lap and I proceeded to rock her until my legs went numb. Maybe 30 seconds tops. That's all my mother heart and lap could stand. When did she get so big?

Someday, when I'm old and I can no longer hold my four darling daughters, I hope they gather me in their arms and sing:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
For time and for always
my Mommy you'll be

.