Overheard.

Mom: Yeah, your dad told me that you made your pineapple upside down cake with fresh pinepple that you cored and peeled. I told him that is a great thing, but his is still coming out of a can. He thought he could intimidate and get a fresh pineapple. Hmph.
TJ: LOLOL. Oh well, back to the drawing board for him.

:)

Okay...

This morning, I heard something from my father's lips that made me check the Caller ID on my phone. He said that he was looking forward to RETIREMENT. For my dad, this is something BIG. He works HARD. Any workaholic tendencies that I have ever exhibited (not to mention being a stubborn jackass at times), I have been able to fob off on him and sleep very well at night. He has worked for his same employer for over 40 years. Well before I came onto the scene. LOL. But he was always serious about his work. He took off for our graduations, and major stuff like that, but that was it. He was a good provider for our family, so I can't complain too much, but I have been concerned about the whole lack of balance thing for him. Maybe this chapter with the cancer has really affected him deeply and positively as my mother has told me.

Listen

Sometimes I see so much of myself in my children. The one thing I find myself trying to get my children to do on a regular basis is to think and listen. Slow down long enough to take in as much as possible. They are so blessed to spend half of their year with their grandmother. To hear stories about their father's family in India, especially their grandfather who is no longer with us.

Yesterday Al was trying to decipher some information in his college dictionary and his grandmother was telling him about his grandfather. He just tried to continue speaking, but I had to tell him, "Slow down. Be quiet. Listen. Your grandmother is trying to tell you something." I almost said, "Something for later that you can remember when you are on your own or when your grandmother is just a memory to you, son." Sometimes it all goes by so quickly.

Put out to pasture

Every year, my son's school has Thanksgiving lunch. Last year, he didn't really say anything about it. This year, I asked him if he wanted me to join him since I was doing volunteer work at the school. He said that he wanted to hang with his friends like he did last year. I've gone from, "You're going to be there, right?" to "I'm just going to eat with my friends this year." At least the little kids still want me around. Some days my second oldest, Nat (8) is not sure about me either. Sigh.

And so it begins

My son is only eleven, but as the days go by, I am getting more and more testosterone power and less and less brain power from him. He is a smart boy, but I need him to use his intelligence more wisely. I think that makes sense.