The Little Girl and the Sea

Okay, it was not the sea... it was a reservoir. And it was frozen. I was bundled from head to toe in my snazzy pink jumpsuit ready for a day of ice fishing. Ice fishing is truly boring. You go to a frozen lake... or reservoir. You drill a hole in the ice. You drop your fishing line through that hole. And then you wait. You sit, and stare at the tiny hole and wait for a fish to come along and eat the marshmellow off your hook. All in all it is a wearisome day. But, to a 5 year old, ice fishing is fun. You can scoot around on the ice, you can play with the fish that have already been caught and you can drop things down the hole that you are fishing out of. Unknown to my five year old self, this is a verboten activity. It scares the fish. But it's fun to drop things down the icy hole and watch them sink into the dark waters below, when your father is not watching. Now, as I was closely watching the hole, the fishing pole line started to bob. My father, who was trying to reel a fish in on another hole said, "go ahead, reel your fish in." I was scared. What if the fish pulled me down this hole? I reluctantly took the pole and started to extract my fish from the reservoir. But this fish was HUGE. It was putting up a fight. It was a battle of wills. But... my will was wanting to give up. "Dad the fish is going to drown me!" "That fish won't drown you," my dad said, "just keep reeling it in." My arms were getting tired and the fish was pulling me closer towards the hole. "He's going to kill me dad. He's going to drown me!" Just then up popped the biggest fish I've ever seen. It was the biggest fish I've ever caught. We both fell to the ice in exhaustion. By now, my dad had reeled his tiny fish in and had come over to my fishing hole. He unhooked my magnanimous catch from the hook and said, "Well, that is a big fish." As I posed for my picture, with a fish almost as big as myself I said, "We should get this one mounted on the wall." My dad said, "We only mount the things I catch." Apparently when your five, you've got no authority.

Puppy Headwear

Oscar has a strange obsession with my head. He likes to sit on it. It doesn't matter if it's my face, the top of my head, the back of my head, he just likes to be on my head. He likes my hair, the way it smells, and when I put it up in a pony tail or bun, he thinks that it is his playtoy, and chomps on it with his teeth. Sometimes in the morning I wake up to find him tightly curled around my skull, kind of like earmuffs. For someone who is only about 12" tall I must be the perfect candidate to perch himself upon to see a fantastic view of the world. 62" must be just the right height to see all the wonders of puppydom that could not otherwise be realized without my assistance.

Vomiting Pumpkin

This Halloween the jack-o-lantern I carved ate all of his trick or treat candy in one sitting, got sick, and then threw it up. I felt kind of sorry for him, but I warned him of the dangers of too much sugar. Poor little guy.

Best Friends

Rachel, Holly and Loriann. Three tried and true friends. They've laughed and loved together. Fought and played. Skinny dipped in the canal. And through the end, they will always be there for each other. What is the purpose having such amazing friendships? Eugene Kennedy said "The real test of friendship is: can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple? " The moments of friendship that I remember most are spooning on the couch late at night doing literally nothing. Everyone laying in bed together, or watching movies, or dancing absurdly. That is the purpose of having such amazing friendships. Remembering those moments and loving your friends for a lifetime.