Welcome to LOTS OF LITTLES ... a little blog about this and that.

Monday, October 25, 2010

a little bravado

One day last week ~ I can't remember which day anymore ~ was a busy and full day. Like most days. And the sun ... it set hours before I prefer it too. And so it was evening ... and it was dark ... and I was still hoping to cram a walk into my day. I announced I was going for a walk and Foofie said she wanted to bike along. Then Buddy ... trying to practice his male role of protector ... informed us that he was coming too. He didn't really want to go ... but he wanted to keep me safe. What a son I have!!!

So ... we bundled up a bit and set out. Not long into our jaunt, Buddy spied something and remarked, "Mama, I see a figure."

Now most kids would have said person ... instead of "figure" ... but if you are an eight-year-old who reads lots of mysteries and obsesses about legos ... then you say "figure". The correct term for lego people, by the way, is "mini-figure".


"No, you don't. It's probably a sign." I disagreed.
"No, it is a figure. I know the difference between a sign and a figure! It even has the form of ... legs and a body and a head and stuff." Buddy continued.
"I don't see any figure. You're just imagining things," I insisted.
"There is a figure, Mama. And it's moving now. And ... it's ... watching ... us," he said.
One might think he was trying to frighten his little five-year-old sister ... but he wasn't. He was definitely convinced he saw a figure ... and he ~ our protector ~ was just a wee bit scared.

Next, Foofie piped up ... with rather impeccable timing ... "I had a nightdream the other night. We were on a walk and a bear was coming at us!"
"Don't talk about that! You're giving me the creeps," Buddy ~ our protector ~ said.
"What color was the bear?" I asked ... wishing to hear more of her nightdream.
"Seriously! Don't talk about bears right now! I'm cold and I'm ready to go home!" Buddy stated.

Needless to say, our walk wasn't terribly long. Lord willing, Buddy will have a greater supply of bravado in a few years ... and we will be able to go on evening autumn walks with more confidence :)

Friday, October 22, 2010

a little mist

So ... back to facebook :) A couple weeks ago ... I was on facebook and this guy I knew from my junior year of high school ~ this was the only year I attended a private school ~ had posted an album with old ... er vintage ... pictures. We aren't "friends" ... but the reason I could see his album was because he "tagged" {facebook lingo} a gal in one of the pictures that I am "friends" with. As I was clicking my way through the album ... to my surprise, I came across a picture of myself!!! It was of me and the guy I went to prom with ... almost half a lifetime ago... AT PROM! Kinda funny. So ... I thought ... I wonder what he {prom date} is up to these days ... I wonder if he ever got married ... stuff like that. He was one of those charismatic whirlwind types ... full of energy and big ideas ... a disarming smile ... always fun to be around.

So ... I tried to look him up on facebook ... and from what I found, I was guessing he and his wife maybe shared their facebook. Then, I was looking at their friends ... and I could see someone had posted on their own facebook to pray for the wife of their friend from a certain college. It sounded drastic or serious or something. I can't remember the exact wording ... but this guy {prom date} went to that college and I got this funny feeling in my gut. So ... next, I googled ~ what an age we live in ~ his name to try and figure out something more. And I did.

He died. Back in May. Pretty shocking. I couldn't find out any cause of death online. I contacted a friend and she had heard that he perhaps had an unknown heart issue.

Why am I writing this? I don't know exactly. I think to remind all of us not to get hung up on the little things. Our life is but a mist. It was just so weird ... when I saw our picture from prom and began looking him up ... I assumed he was still alive. You know??? He was thirty-four and one just assumes that thirty-four year-olds are usually still living.

The next day, a friend of mine told me a story. I can't remember it too clearly anymore ... but here is the gist. A friend of my friend realized she had never really had any family photographs taken. So ... she arranged a portrait sitting for her family to remedy that. One of her children, a son, happened to be engaged ... and his betrothed, however, was not invited to be in the photo. When his betrothed found out about this, she was really mad ... outraged ... and the future mother-in-law was in the doghouse for a long, long time. Seriously??? Waging war over a family portrait??? Our life is but a mist ...