Pictures of our 10 yr old

10 years old!

We had a good weekend. Ted's first basketball game was yesterday at 8 am. His team lost by quite a bit but Ted said that he had fun playing. Nate and I went to the game while Bob and Harrison stayed home. Nate took most of the pictures while we were there. Ted is wearing the yellow jersey and red shorts. They don't match well but it's easy to spot him in the pictures.

Ted's birthday party was at 4 at Kidz Fit. I only took a few pictures--when they were eating cupcakes and the snacks. They ran around most of the time we were there.

Today, we went to Mass and then we let Ted skip religious ed. class. Ted worked on his Pinewood Derby car with Bob (and Nate) while I was teaching Harrison's class. We had a relaxing afternoon. The boys played outside with a friend since it was so nice out and they also worked a little more on their cars. Ted decided to have Chipotle for dinner and then we had cake and ice cream at home tonight.

Practicing riddles

The boys have all been trying to ask a variation of the riddle, "You're stuck in a room with no doors and no windows. You have a mirror and a table. How do you get out?"

Nate has noticed that I'm not very good at figuring out their riddles so he decided to help me. He was asking me riddles today so that I would know the answer the next time he asked me.

Nate: "You're in a room with lots of walls and a plate of bacon. How do you get out?"

Me: "You eat the bacon, get super powers, and bust your way out."

Nate: "No. You eat the bacon, get STRONG powers, and bust your way out." "You were close."

Nate: "You're in a room with a chainsaw. How do you get out?"

Me: "You eat the chainsaw, get strong powers, and bust your way out."

It got the laughs from Nate that I was hoping for. Of course, it will probably mean more time practicing riddles if I can't even get the easy ones right.

How quickly lives can change...

Yesterday started out well. It was going to be a warm and sunny day. I dropped Ted and Harrison off at school and then came home to take care of a couple chores. I dropped Nate off at daycare just before 9 and then went to work. Just as I was going back into the lab after a break, I received a phone call. I don't get many calls at work so it was a concern even before I knew who was calling.

Nate's daycare provider, L, had to leave because there had been an accident and her husband was pinned under a tractor. L's daughter, B, called to ask if I could pick Nate up right away. I hesitated because we were short-staffed this week and I was still trying to process what was happening (and was thankful that Nate was fine). I told her I would call Bob and see if he could get Nate. Bob was closer to the daycare provider so it was the better choice for him to pick him up.

It took me about 25 minutes to get home and my heart was heavy. I prayed for Doug and his family, not knowing how serious the situation was. Bob and I talked when I got home and he said it didn't sound good. We soon found out that Doug died. He was only 53 years old.

I had only seen Doug a few times during drop off or pick up so I didn't know him well. Lana and Doug have always made us feel that our kids are special and that it's a privilege to help care for Nate. I talked to Lana today and I am amazed by her strength. She is still in shock and disbelief, I'm sure, but she will get through this. She has a lot of family support close by so that will help her. I can't imagine the pain she is going through.

There has been a lot of tragedy around us during the last 6 months. It started last August when our neighbor was murdered. I want to tell God that he can stop now, that I think I get it. Life is precious and we need to enjoy each moment with family and friends because you never know when it will be your last time together. God knows me well, though, and knows that I'm thinking that sounds so cliche.

I ran across a blog this morning. "A Jesuit's Journey" had a post from a couple weeks ago that was just what I needed to hear today. He talked about tragedy and how our hearts crack and break during tragedy. Through those cracks, the love in our hearts can shine through and we can be the light in the darkness. We can be the answer to prayer. When families question whether there is love in the world, we can be the love they feel.