Dirty Dog

Sorry Taco! Or as Solon calls her..Caco! You have really needed a bath. After a quick wash, she is looking much better.

Check Out This Mouth

Got loads of teeth on top! And still only the little two on bottom.

Dentist Again

I was convinced I was going to need a root canal.

I went to the dentist Wednesday after feeling some pain in one of my molars. I was just there 3 weeks ago, so my dentist was a little confused when I walked in the door. He sat me down in one of the chairs and looked over my chart. He asked what was the problem, and then told me to open wide. He looked at the tooth that was bothering me and then sat back and crossed his arms. All was fine and my tooth was cavity-free.

He was quiet for a minute, and then he asked me if I had something stressful or traumatic happen to me recently. The tears started pouring down my face out of nowhere. Yes. Something did happen. It took me a full minute of sitting there before I could tell him that I had recently lost my dad. He handed me a box of kleenex, and told me to not be embarrassed to cry. He said that my body was responding to my grief, and that this was translating itself into me grinding my teeth. He said he also noticed I have a slight twitch under my right eye. I said yeah..this started happening about 3 weeks ago. Then he started talking. He had tears in his eyes as he told me that he lost his father 28 years ago, and how still to this day it is hard to think about him and not be sad. He told me his father was a well respected pediatrician and that he died suddenly of a heart attack. He told me that it was two full years before the grief lessened, but eventually good memories filled its place. We talked about grieving and he stressed to me how important it is to go through the process. And if I didn't deal with it properly then my body was going to start telling me.

He left me there to clear my head and said that he would check on me in a bit. About 20 minutes later, I came out and walked towards the reception desk. And this song came on. Alicia Keys "No One." I love that song, but I turn the channel every time it comes on now. Because I have this image in my head. Jay, Jason, Sally, Janie and I were in the car. It was late at night, and we were leaving my dad's house in Perdido. We had just finished with the Sparkman Christmas where Janie had gotten the Alicia Keys CD, and we were driving back to Jason & Sally's house. We all loved the song, and had it turned up crazy loud. The windows were rolled down and it was freezing outside, but we were all singing. That song just makes me think of how things change so quickly, and how they will never be the same.

So as I was walking towards my dentist, this song comes on and I am crying all over again. He gave me a hug and said that no father would ever want to see his children sad, and that I need to just keep in my heart that my dad lives in me and in Solon. He gave me another hug and handed me a handful of dark chocolate Hershey kisses for the road. And told me that if I ever need to talk to just show up in his office. Such a strange experience. My dentist prescribing me chocolate and telling me to come in if I needed to talk. And I honestly felt a bit better when I pulled out of the parking lot.

Repost

I am reposting something my sister, Sally, put on her blog last night.

It is a story so similar to her cardinal story...It made me cry. Check it out.

http://thisamericanlife.com/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=369

Click on full episode (under the bird) and the story is 15 minutes into the segment. So fast foward to it.

Best Seat in the House

I found Solon sitting here watching some of the Olympics on TV.

Hello Gnome

This little gnome used to sit at my dad's front door. He is pretty cute but is missing part of his hat due to an accident somewhere along his existence.

Sitting High

It is going to be great having this little picnic table when it warms up.

Setting Stones

We have had these flagstones out in the yard for a few months but hadn't properly set them. Jay and Solon took the lead on this task, and they turned out good. We now have a nice little path from the back gate to the concrete slab.

Been A While

Taco says hello! She had fun with us in the backyard today. Chasing after balls and sunbathing.

Update On The Neighbor

I posted photos a few weeks back of all the work going on next door. Well, they cleaned up the jungle of a yard all in one day. So much better to look at when out on the deck.

Adding To The Yard

We hung up our new bird feeders in backyard, so I think we now have a total of five. It is fun watching them all chirp and eat.

My Cardinal

I am not sure how many people have heard about Sally's cardinal story, but I will give a brief summary. Soon after my dad passed away, Sally came home from running errands and found a cardinal inside her house. Sitting on her pillow on her bed. She had no idea how it got inside. But she sat there and chased it around trying to get it outside, and it flew into Luke's room and landed on the rocking chair. The rocking chair my dad bought Sally for Christmas years ago. She got goosebumps and ran and grabbed her camera, and she just knew it was my dad giving her a sign that everything was going to be okay. I think she even called the bird Daddy as she was ushering it out safely. She called and told me about it and said that she also looked up the meaning of cardinal and it said something to the effect that "in the gray times a cardinal is a sign of hope."

Anyway, I have had a few peculiar cardinal experiences of my own. One just happened last week. I walked out on the deck to feed Taco, and looked out on the yard and my thoughts turned to my dad. The sun was setting and there were no squirrels or birds and not a split second later a red cardinal landed on the fence. It didn't hop down to get any of the bird seed, but it just sat there for about 30 seconds and then flew away. My thoughts went from sad to peaceful. I texted Sally about it, and she felt the same thing I felt. It was Daddy telling us to smile.

I have yet to catch my cardinal on camera, so I am not sure if anyone has quite believed me about him. But today, Jay and I spent a couple of hours in the backyard raking leaves and hanging up additional bird feeders and such. And all of a sudden he appeared. Sitting once again on the fence. My dad helped us build our fence and deck, so I always think of him most when I am looking out on it or working in the yard. And this cardinal just sat there while we worked. The only bird brave enough to venture near all the noise we were making and Taco running around the yard.

I know it sounds ridiculous to some people, but my Aunt Penny told me that our dad would show himself to us in one way or another. And us girls think the cardinal is our sign.

Quick Errand

On the way home from our walk, we stopped off at Home Depot to pick up some gear for working in the yard.

Sunday Morning Walk

We were all up and out the door super early on Sunday morning, and we decided to go take a long walk up at Chastain Park. They have a nice path that circles the golf course. It was a little colder than we expected, so I am glad we brought a hat and blanket for Solon. He was pretty relaxed towards the end. He had his feet propped up and his hat pulled down low.

What Does This Keep Away?

I can never remember correctly. In The Parent Trap, Susan and Sharon tell their evil soon-to-be stepmother that if you hit two sticks together it keeps the lions away. Is it lions? Or is it bears? Well, Solo had his two sticks and were banging them away while walking around the park. And I didn't spot tigers or bears.

Piedmont Playground

There were a crazy amount of children out on the playground, and it had Solon's head spinning! He was running every which a way trying to figure out what he wanted to do first. He went down some pretty steep slides and played the drums & bells.

Piedmont Park

Snow last weekend and gorgeous 60 degree weather this weekend. I can't tell you how great it was to see the sun and some warm temps! So we spent the entire weekend outside. Saturday, we hit the YMCA and then spent the afternoon out at Piedmont Park. The place was packed with people walking their dogs, throwing the frisbee and sleeping on blankets. We found a nice open spot and kicked the ball around with Solon. He thought that was fun, but he was much more interested in running off to find the nearest dog to pet.

Electric Youth

Sally dyed a big purple/pink streak in her hair when she was in high school, and my parents weren't too pleased. My dad said something along the lines of "You are too pretty to be doing stuff like that to yourself." We all three had our small stylistic rebellions, and our parents didn't say much because we made good grades and in general behaved ourselves:) But I was always jealous of that streak in Sally's hair and have talked for years about getting one done. Losing my dad has made me sit back and look at my life, and I have decided that I am not going to be a big-talker as Sally would say. If I have dreamed about doing something...then I am going to do it. Piano lessons. Fine woodworking classes. And even electric pink streaks in my hair.

Ball Looks Lonely

We all three took a long walk around the neighborhood, and Solon spied this ball in someone's backyard and ran over there and was saying 'ball.' His vocabulary now consists of about 3 words. Kitty Cat. Baby. and Ball.