Kickball and a P.E. teacher

Last night at church we played kickball. With a P.E. teacher. It was something else. I could tell right away that she is a P.E. teacher. I let a ball go because it was foul and she yelled at me! She said I should have caught it because it still would have been an out. I said, because I honestly didn't know, "Really?" And then she said, "That's all right! You're learning the game!" It was sort of funny because if I have ever played kickball I don't remember. I probably did, but the memory has slipped away sort of like the time I don't remember getting caught doing something I shouldn't have been doing, like skipping school.

My cell phone turned into a hockey puck yesterday afternoon, so before I roll down to the stadium for a day of baseball and hot dogs, I need to run over to Sprint and get a new phone. My boss has been on me to get a new one since the first week I got the one that just died. I'm just too lazy to go to Sprint and stand in line for 45 minutes. Sunny and 65 here today. Is that baseball weather? I'm a little unclear on why this happens in Iowa all the time.

Babysitting and random thoughts

I babysat Aubree last night and we made cupcakes and played at the playground and she took a bath and we watched a show (that’s what she calls t.v.). She has to be the best five-year old in the world. Last night was the first time since her mom died that I had waves of grief hit me as we went through the evening. She saw a boy fall off a bed in one of those funny video shows – you know she only watches television in 3-minute bursts of interest – and she asked me why he fell out of bed. I said he was asleep close to the edge of the bed. She told me her mommy had an asthma attack and fell out of bed. What could I say? I told her that I remembered and that I was there that day. She said she knew I was at her house that morning. But she was at the neighbor’s house by the time I got there. Oh, golly, how did I get onto this topic? I do get asked a lot how she is doing and I would say she is really improving. -30-

Bryan was watching a movie downstairs last night and of course it was turned up loud and he had the surround sound on. Aubree wanted to be sure the noise was coming from the movie rather than from outside, so we invaded Poland, so to speak. He was watching the Transformers movie. I’m so awful at watching movies anymore. I don’t like to think of sitting around doing nothing for hours at a time. Usually when I watch a movie, I have a book or a crossword puzzle in my hand. This drives him NUTS, so that makes it fun, too.

We did actually go to the movies last Friday with friends. We went to see Expelled by Ben Stein. It was fabulous. It’s very well done and he lets both sides of the issue of scientific exploration and Darwinism speak for themselves. In my opinion, it is perhaps the best journalism since Edward R. Murrow allowed Joe McCarthy to hang himself on television. Um, not that I actually was around when it originally aired. Let's get that straight.

Tonight is the last night for kid’s night at church so my Wednesdays will be free the rest of the summer. I’ve spent the last four months in the 4th and 5th grade boys class. What an experience that has been. When I volunteered, they put me in there because the teacher, Steve, was alone. I can’t imagine being alone with that many boys. The majority of them are Liberian, so if you don’t understand what they’re saying things can get a little out of hand. I understand much of it now, but not always everything and they know it. When they deepen the accent, I know they're trying to hide something. Don’t suppose the Liberian boys are always the trouble makers, either. Heh.

Rain/storms never really materialized here in Des Moines and we aren’t supposed to see rain again until Saturday. Tomorrow our whole department is going to the Iowa Cubs game to eat, drink and be obnoxious.

I’m working on (this means “still thinking about doing”) putting photos up, maybe on Flickr or MySpace. We certainly have plenty to choose from! Today I will work on adding some links to web sites that make me laugh.

Running around on a Monday evening

The rain didn't arrive last night. I must have had faulty information. It's warm here this morning and since my office faces east, I get a blast of hot air in my office for the next many months. My plants love it, especially when I remember to leave the blinds open overnight and on the weekends.

Last night I took Aaron to gymnastics. Aaron is in advanced gymnastics and his brothers Prince and Ernest are in the beginning class. Classes end the week before Memorial Day, so I should have Mondays free soon. They'll probably re-enroll for the fall session. This summer Aaron wants to play soccer. Not sure about the other boys since Prince didn't say anything about it last night. We got to the gym early and so Aaron and I sat on the curb and I helped him do his homework. It was math and I conquered third grade math a few years back. Third grade was about the time I decided math was the most difficult subject ever invented to torture small children in school. As I got older, I decided PE was invented by the devil, but math didn't get any easier until I was a sophomore in college. Go figure. For those who do not know, Prince, 12; Aaron, 10; and Ernest, 6 are my boys. Feta, 13, is their older sister. There are three older siblings at home, but I hardly ever meet with them. I do a fair bit with these kids, so prepare yourself to hear about them.

Before I picked up the boys, I stopped by to see Louise. I got her out of bed, which was shocking to me. She is about 33 years older than I am and she is a widow. She has one son and three grandchildren. I've known her for about 10 years and I have never gotten her out of bed before. She says she has the flu. Well she is on oxygen and so of course the flu sounds like a bad idea. Since I couldn't visit with her, I parked my car on 37th street in Des Moines and walked up and down the block three times. Walking South of Grand was my entertainment when I lived in that neighborhood and I miss it like a reformed smoker misses cigarettes. Holy moley. How do I explain that? I actually feel different walking there compared to anywhere else. I think that is mysterious.

Bryan got a Linden tree from a memorial service for his sister, who passed away last fall. It hasn't been planted yet, but it is beginning to bud. We need to do some landscaping, but we continually drag our feet on the decisions. I planted a garden last year and a couple years ago I transplanted/moved all the hostas from the front to the back. That's about it unless you count Bryan chopping down almost everything with leaves rather than needles! And so now we have a Linden tree, which throws great shade. I proposed three places for it, so we'll see what happens. I can't fault him for not moving ahead. Planting a tree is a big commitment for people who can't make up their minds about shrubbery.

Got a call from a dear friend this morning. She is having a baby girl! Congratulations!