Woulda-Shoulda-Not-Now!

It's April 15, the day that struck fear in the hearts of many men and women.

Some celebrated it as the last day to file the paperwork asking the IRS to return the money you so kindly lent them.

Some saw it as the last day to file paperwork to accompany the money that you were keeping for the  IRS.

I've been on both sides of the fence...

In fact, back in the day when we expected a decent sized refund, I'd file a last minute extention so that the refund would arrive closer to our planned summer vacation.

It was a big deal:  every April 15, about 11:30 PM, I'd head to the small town (population 15,000)  post office to have my return postmarked on the 15th.  The post office was closed but the lobby was open and a post office employee was there to postmark your return.

They had punch and cookies, twice they had an Elvis impersonator,

once they had a juggler.

Funny thing is it was a lot of the same people. 

We'd drink our punch, eat our cookies and head out saying that we'd see each other next year.

Now, with our social distancing, our shelter at home rules, the taxes aren't due for another 

90 days, which brings us to July 15.  

The day before my birthday.

Ugh.

Okay, now you stay home, stay safe, stay healthy.

The story of Izzy Boyant

When Andy was 14, he saved his money to buy a

15 foot sailboat.

Andy and his Dad spent months restoring it.

When they brought it home, it seemed to be a white boat

But buffing proved it was bright yellow!

They named it Izzy Boyant because they didn't know if it was floatable.

It was!

A few years later, Andy sold her because he wanted a much larger boat.

A few years after that, we saw it for sale in someone's front yard...

Then we lost track of it.

Last week, Andy sent me this...

Yes, Andy got in touch with the seller.  

And yes, it's Izzy!

They spent their honeymoon on her.

Glad to see she is still making memories!

No, we are not going to buy her back.

Two motor boats, 

4 kayaks

a pedal boat

and various floating things...

No room at the dock!

The Face of Pure Joy...

Ashley sent me this photo on Saturday...

Tegan eating an Oreo...

This is how I feel when I open an Oreo and scoop out the icing...

Don't you?

I Wasn't Going to Talk About This

I was going to pretend that today was just like any other...

But I can't.

This afternoon, about 1 o'clock will mark the 8th anniversary of the day our lives changed dramatically.

The day my boys lost their best friend as well as their dad.

The day I lost the husband that I was finally getting used to

(after 27 years)

It happened so fast, so unexpectedly...

We still talk about him as though he was in another room.

We still laugh at some of his antics.

Once, when we were cracking up about something he did,

Mr. K piped up with, "I miss him too!"

I know we'll see each other again...

One of these days.

RIP, Mark

View from the room

Yesterday, Teagan and Locklan spent the day with us.

At some point, I excused myself and headed for the powder room.

Sitting on the throne, this is what I saw...

Which quickly became this...

And those memories, the ones when you never went to the bathroom alone...

came flooding back!

~sigh~

Seems like only yesterday!

My 500th post/Happy Father's Day

Can you believe it?

I've been here, at Red Sock Mama for 4742 days but it's only my 500th post.

As much as I talk in real life, I think I could have 

done better than that.

If you think that, keep it to yourself.  

I'm rather sensitive

How strange that not only is it my 500th, but it's father's day...

Humor me while I show you a few of my favorite photos of fathers being fathers...

.

I couldn't dig up any photos of Mr. K being a human dad in my files...

but he IS Shirley's dad too...

Happy Father's Day!

It's a Great Day...

It's a great day for Hockey!

I was not a hockey person until I met Mark (my late husband).

He was born in upstate New York where they are born with skates on...

I soon learned to  love the sport and Andy and Tony didn't know any other way.

We were determined to give them the opportunity to learn to play.  

Dek Hockey and then roller hockey  seemed to be the best way.  

They each started Dek Hockey when they were four.  Guess who is four now?

You got that right, it's Locklan.  

This summer he attended a learn-to-play session at the Y.

Monday was his first realistic game...

Of course, we all went to cheer him on!

First they got a refresher and reviewed their equipment...

Then they did drills...

Locklan is in the orange shorts...

And then...

The scrimmage!

What a hoot!

When your legs are that short and the rink that big...

Someone tired out!

Brought back memories, for sure!

Oh...and it was a tie game!

Memories...like this one?

The countdown begins...

One day last week, I spent the afternoon going through photos...

 

Of this guy...

 

 

You know him...

 

 

Yes, it's Tony!

 

Mindy asked me to dig out his photo box

(I was a photographer, not a scrapbooker.

We had a million photos, just no organization)

 

What fun to take that trip down memory lane!

 

The countdown to the wedding (I think it's ten days now) starts NOW!

 

 

 

 

It runs in the family?

Remember a few posts back when I shared this photo...

 

I said, "I forgot what it was like to have a boy or better yet, a boy who climbs."

 

Mindy asked me to get out Tony's photos so she could display some of them at the wedding reception.

 

I found this...

 

 

Yes, that's Tony.  Yes, that is our fridge.  Yes, there is a belt around it.

 

We had to belt the fridge to keep Tony from opening it and feeding all the food inside to the dogs...

 

It worked! 

 

BUT it enabled him to climb up the fridge.  That's where I kept the really good stuff...

 

I wonder why I started to go gray so early...

Remember Shirley?

Remember this adorable pup?

 

 

 

 

She's still around, still has Mr. K wrapped around her (not so) little paw...

 

And wow!  How she's grown!

 

 

She is a "Croce Girl"

 

Meaner than a junkyard dog!

 

Love you, Shirley!

Grandma!

"Grandma, I told you to move that bucket!"

 

 

 

~Sigh~

 

We quickly realize how easily we have been trained!

Rest in Peace, Linda Lou

Yesterday I lost my best friend, my care taker, my therapist...

 

My dog, Linda Lou.

 

She took with her a huge piece of my heart. 

 

We had a beautiful love story which lasted the entire 8½  years we had together. 

 

I'll share it in a few days.

 

For now, I'll just sit back with my memories and my tears.

 

Rest in peace, my precious friend.  I'll find you again one day!

 

Linda Lou Manfred

 

11/26/2005 - 4/5/2015

We interrupt the baby show...

To show you where I've been hiding for a few weeks.

 

Remember, I told you I was behind this door...

 

 

and that I was working with this...

 

 

And I'm sure you thought I'd taken leave of my senses...

 

Work with me here...

 

For those who just got here, a brief lesson in family history.

 

My late husband, Mark (Andy and Tony's father), passed away suddenly

three years ago. 

 

Mark loved plaid cotton shirts.  Every day during warm weather, he would come home and change his business clothes into something plaid.

 

There were even times when he (purposely, to drive us crazy) overdid it...

 

 

After Mark died, I gave away all of his business clothes, but I saved every one of those shirts.  I knew that one day, I would use them to help the boys remember him.

 

The year after he died, I made Christmas ornaments for his siblings and the boys...

 

 

 

I kept every scrap.

 

When Andy and Ashley said that airplanes would be the theme of Locklan's nursery,

I had to search...and search...

for a way to use my precious stash...

 

I searched and searched for a pattern I could use.

 

Finally!

 

 

 

Airplanes!  The wings are made of the plaid shirt fabric!

 

It was a top secret project.  Very few people knew about this...

 

I wanted a special way to give this quilt to Andy.

 

We had often joked about designer diaper bags, so when I found the Craftsman tool bag,

it was perfect and sooooo Andy,

 

I wrapped the quilt in tissue paper,  put it in the tool bag and took it to the hospital...

 

 

 

 

please forgive the blurry photos...Mr. K is a wonderful husband

but he sucks at photography!!

 

I think Andy was overwhelmed...

 

 

I think all of us were overwhelmed...

 

there was even a tiny scrap in there from a shirt that belonged to Mark's dad...

 

How fitting that Mark should be the one to give him wings.

 

God bless baby Locklan!

 

God bless you!

Love,

Jan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But first...

 

Ten years ago, I held my dad's hand and said good bye. He left behind many to miss him, but also some wonderful memories...like this one...

Me, my sister Carol, who died in 1999, and my dad, who has been gone for ten years now.  I have wonderful memories, but I miss them something fierce! 

I'll see you both again, before too long.  In the mean time, I know Daddy is repairing those pearly gates with duct tape and staples.

 

Memories...

 

Ever see/hear/smell something that brings back some silly snippet of a memory?

 

The other day, Tony and I were walking through a dollar store and I saw this:

 

 Masking tape!

 

When Andy and Tony were young, we'd give them each a roll of masking tape and let them go to town.  They would tape toys to the wall, the dining room chairs to the table, the kitchen cabinets closed and the doors open.   It kept them busy for hours, took a while to clean it up, but they had a ball and the tape didn't hurt anything. 

 

I remember the look on the baby sitter's face when we were leaving on a rare night out and handed each boy a roll of tape as we walked out the door...

 

What fun!

If you could see me now...


Sitting here on my bed, my cat, Race Car, snuggled up beside me.  I'm wearing flannel PJ's, a robe and the biggest smile I've had in a long time.


I'm thinking about yesterday...


Riding to church in the middle of the bench seat in the pick up, flanked by two of my most favorite men:  Andy and Tony.


Standing in church with Andy, Tony, Morgan, Vicky and her friend Bonnie, singing with all my heart, tears flowing.  I remembered something the pastor of my late father-in-law said at his memorial service.  He talked about all the weeks after my mother-in-law died, how Dad would come to church, sit in his customary right-front seat, listen to every word Pastor Tim said and cry.  Every week.  I didn't understand then and now I do.  The tears are not bad things, they are simply a statement.  Your eyes translating what your heart is saying.

Those who loved much have much to lose.

The message was about Hope.  Hope!  Hope.  Hope.  I'm not going to start talking about it here and now, this is not the time or place, but HOPE is a wonderful gift.  I reached out and grabbed it with both hands and am hangin' on for dear life. 

Feels good.

After church, Andy, Tony, Morgan and I went to Panera for bagels and coffee.  The bagels were good, but oh my, the new cream cheese, cranberry something???  is to die for (not literally).  Next trip, I'm going to order just the cream cheese and a spoon.  Yum.

Sitting there, we got to talking about the things Mark did.  He was quite a character, you know.  Like when we were standing in front of the White House and he stopped a woman and asked if she knew how to get to the White House.  She kept trying to turn him around to see that it was right behind him and he kept asking what left handed streets he should take.  Finally he turned and pretended to be shocked and she was delighted that she helped this out of town idiot find our president's home.

Or the time he told one of his sisters that Lake Authur in Moraine State Park was the only lake in the state that had unlevel water, that it sloped from south to north!

How about the time, right after they started dating, he sent Morgan out to buy Tony left handed golf balls since he played left handed...

What a character, what a tough act to follow, what precious memories.  Can't imagine being left behind without them.  What a gift!

I got to spend the rest of the day with another one of my favorite and most handsome men....my oldest son, Michael!  We hit up the mall (where we got the last parking place in the state), looked at everything and bought very little, and stopped for a delicious and leisurely dinner on the way home. 

Six hours of walking and talking...what a special time that was for me.  We don't live all that close, he has such a busy schedule, a wife and family (if you can call a dog and cats family - they do), and so we frequently make phone conversations do instead of visits. 

Today's schedule includes a dinner at the church with Vicky.  My friend, Melody will be the speaker.  I can't wait!

I know that I can't leave you without a picture...so here's one of my family taken about two years ago...and shows just how silly we are...

Now I'd like to stay and chat all day, but I have to figure out what a casserole is and then make one!

Have a wonderful day, be a blessing to someone, buckle up when you go out and come back!  I love company.

God bless you,
Jan

PS...according to blogger, this is my 150th post.  Celebrate!

Some things go on, no matter what...

The sun comes up, the sun goes down, ice melts in hot temperatures and my car usually starts...

One other thing happens...Annett's Annual  Ornament Exchange (and food fest).  It's been going on for years and years.  She makes it easy...bring a wrapped ornament...

And some food.  I did not photograph the food because I was afraid to get that close.  Those women are crazy!

I am not sure how many women were there, but lets just say, more than 30, less than 40.  Yes, in her living room! 

Next year if she invites any more, she'll have to rent bleachers!  Every woman gets a chance to choose a 'mystery' ornament in the first round, and can 'steal' an ornament from another in the second round.  There is much laughter, some shouting, lots of kidding and more laughter.

Every year there seems to be a 'theme' to the ornaments, this year it seemed to be snowmen.  There were more snowmen than anything else

Every year there seems to be a favorite.  This year it was a pig. A pink pig that seemed to be the favorite.

I lost count, this was either the fourth or fifth party I've attended.  The past two years, Vicky came too!

I met Annett when she was six or seven.  Her mother, Nancy is my BFF (and my oldest friend). I asked Vicky to take a picture of us together...

Vicky, turn the camera around!  That's what you get when you hand a blonde a camera...

 Okay...now that the spots have disappeared from before her eyes...let's get serious...

Of course my mouth was open...what did you expect?  Let's try again?

There, Jan and Nancy, BFFs!

The three generations of girls...

 Vicky, me, Nancy and Annett.  In front is Larissa, Annett's daughter.  

At a time when traditions are many and some are hard to deal with, a night with my girls was just what I needed..

Some traditions are broken.  I have all my shopping done AND wrapped.  Those who know me know that not only do I insist on shopping until the stores close on Christmas eve, but my Christmas eve late night wrapping sessions are legendary.  There have been many Christmas eve mishaps:  I ran out of tape and used Tupperware freezer labels and staples (not the prettiest packages).  

I have also run out of gift tags and either made my own or label the packages with a sharpie marker...or (and this was the best), trusted my memory to remember which package goes to what kid.  The results of that were many post-unwrapping exchanges...

I remember the year Tony (age 5) declared he would shake every package and if it didn't make noise, he would throw it away, unopened because he KNEW it was clothes.  I remember Mark having to retrieve most of his gifts from the trash can since Mark always got clothes!

Christmas memories...what a good thing!

Remind me to tell you about Rudolph throwing up on the neighbor's porch...

I'm so glad you are here!  

Now that you are done reading, go out and do something great!

Love,

Jan