Remember the Banana Seat?

We drive by a location on our way to church or the girl's school several times a week. The owner often has things for sale in the yard near the road. A few months ago, we were driving by and he had some older bikes for sale-old enough that they reminded me of the style of the first bike that I learned to ride. That launched my brain into sharing a story with Tony and any of the girls who might have been listening.

I had been handed down a turquoise metallic finish bike from my sister, Barb. It bore a glittery turquoise seat which was a bit beat up having been through two of us. One day, I carelessly vacated the bike and left it to rest in the part of the yard where my dad and brothers often backed their vehicles. That evening, my brother-in-law, Dan, backed up into the yard, and you guessed it, over my bike! He felt terrible even though it was my fault. My parents did NOT feel sorry for me because they felt like I had been careless.

Not many days passed until the next time I saw Dan and when he arrived, he presented me with a new bike seat...a white banana seat with bright colored flowers all over it. I LOVED it!

End of memory. Back to the present. A few days later, we were passing by again and low and behold, would you believe, out by the road for sale was a turquoise bike. I quickly pointed it out noting that it was very similar to bike I had as a child. And then we got closer and I couldn't believe my eyes...it had the EXACT same kind of seat that my brother-in-law had bought me! I wanted a picture so bad but we were running late and though Tony was willing to turn around, it seemed silly to me for him to make that sacrifice. I figured we would get a picture later. But later it was dark. The next time we drove by, it was gone. I was so bummed and watched and watched. Then one day, I was on my way to pick up the girls from school and there it was. But this time I had no camera. I was delighted to find out when I got to the school that Britnee had her camera with her. So we made a stop on the way home and got these. How cool is it that I now have photos to scrap this memory?!

I'll Worship Only

The Girl that Once Was

I see her every day but she is not as recognizable to me as she once was. Her face has filled out over the years. A few wrinkles crease her brow and her eyes. Her hair has taken on an added dimension of white strands. Her dimples don’t show as much as they used to and her eyes rarely have that youthful sparkle anymore. Maybe it’s because when I see her, she is being critical; searching too hard for the girl that once was. Maybe it’s because she’s had a restless night. Or maybe she is in a hurry and doesn’t have time to really look.

But once in a while she does make an appearance, if just for a moment; a fleeting second. Those moments are getting fewer and farther between. But I saw her the other day. I actually didn’t realize that she had been there until I downloaded the pictures from my birthday party. It surprised me! There she was looking into my camera in the mirror…so youthful. So much like the girl she used to be.

I miss her.

In Honor of My Mother-in-Law

I bet you were expecting a Christmas post from me today, huh? Well, it ain't happenin'. I am in no man's land (northern Michigan) and internet access is sloooooooowww up this way. So since I've been bantering with my in-laws all day (a good kind of fun :), here's a post I'd already had in queue:

It was the evening of Thanksgiving. Tony was lounging on the couch, I was sitting on the floor in front of the couch and my mother-in-law was across from us doing something with her cell phone (probably answering a call from her eldest who was in the same room.) I guess you might conclude that we were bored. But we weren't. Just relaxed and having some down-time. Of course, my camera was in my hand (is it ever anywhere else?) so I was passing the time by taking some portraits of me and my beloved. I finally had one that I thought turned out really neat. My mother-in-law dared to disagree. Upon viewing my masterpiece, she vehemently proclaimed, "This would drive me nuts! I could never decide which way it should be turned." So in honor of my mother-in-law, I present to you, Betty's Fury.

I should mention that my mother-in-law and I get along famously. She did not mean this in a rude way at all. We all had a good laugh over it and in fact, my father-in-law spoke almost the same exact words when he saw the picture later.