Life Stories

"Mom, what time was I born?"
It was Hillary's birthday, and she wanted to know if she'd passed the actual hour and minute of her birth already.  I had to stop and think.  It's been 20 years.  I remember the scent of her baby head.  The weight of her as they lay her on my arm for just a moment before whisking her away from me.  But the "time of birth"?  I wasn't sure.
And then I realized that I had it written down.
I had started a journal for Hillary while she was still in the womb.  I wanted her to know what I was thinking and how I was feeling as I prepared for her.  I wanted her to have her own life story.  And I would record it for her until she was old enough to write it herself.
I dug through the closet and found the pink journal with yellowed pages.  There it was...the whole story of her birth.

I smiled and kept reading.
The language was stilted and unfamiliar as I tried to describe to this new little human...a stranger to me...the events happening around her, the family members who loved her, her favorite toy, her first steps, her quirky habits.  I think I was trying to convince her (and myself) that we were all going to be okay.

The years passed and I continued writing in her journal, and started one for Parker as soon as we knew he was coming.
And then I started this blog and continued recording their lives, including pictures and music.
And I'm SO glad I did.
I look back through these journals and blog entries and I smile at the sweet things I've forgotten.  Stories are important.  And I won't be here forever, but these stories can be.
I read a quote from a book today, "Are you living a life worth telling stories about?"
Our answer is YES!
What's yours?

Free Lunch

"Mom, I need lunch money," Parker said to me as we were getting ready to leave for school.
"I just GAVE you lunch money." I complained.  "Are you spending it all on a la carte?"
"No."
"What are you doing then, buying lunch for the entire lunchroom?"
He rolled his eyes and said, "Of course not.  Just for me and Eli."
Just to be clear, I do not have a child named Eli.  Yet apparently I have been buying him lunch for a while now.  This is not the first time Parker has been generous with my money.  He often gets me to make a fast food run before sporting events, returning with enough food for a whole passel of half-grown kids.  And he swipes my extra packs of gum from the kitchen drawer and passes it out like Santa Clause on a mission.
I guess it could be worse.  He could be stingy and selfish.  Or be the kid who mooches off everyone else.  So I just pretend to be irritated, and I write him out another lunch money check.
You know what they say...there is no free lunch.
Unless you happen to be friends with my kid.

Hilarity

hi·lar·i·tyNoun/həˈle(ə)ritē/

1. Extreme amusement, esp. when expressed by laughter.

2. Boisterous merriment.

There has been much discussion over the years about Hillary's name.  When I was pregnant with her, I wanted to name a girl "Harmony".  But others thought that was the kind of name that would cause people to make fun of a child.  And I was a teenager...easily swayed.  So I chose "Hillary" instead.  Now that it's apparent what kind of person our girl is, everyone agrees that "Harmony" would have been perfect.  She's musical AND she brings peace and unity to whatever group she is a part of.  

But "Hillary" fits just as well.

It means "cheerful".  And she is.  But the name also has the same root as "hilarity".  And if there is anything that brings hilarity to our family, it's our Hillary.

Case in point...

Today we were sitting at the table, finishing our Sunday lunch...an event that is becoming rare around our growing up family, when the conversation turned to tasting.

..."Maybe I'm a Supertaster," I said.

My family just looked around at each other as if to say "Here she goes..."

"Seriously," I protested.  "It's a real thing.  Some people have more taste buds than others and react more strongly to taste.  You can get a little test disc to disolve on your tongue.  Some people don't even taste it, some kind of taste it.  And some taste it so strongly they are gagging and looking for a drink."

This led to wondering where one could score such a neat product...which led to the question of whether one could see this with the naked eye and do their own testing by counting the taste buds on various tongues...which led, of course, to all of us sticking out our tongues.

Hillary erupted in laughter.  "Mom!  Stick out your tongue again."  hahahaha "Why do you make that face?" hahahaha!

"What face?"

"Look at Parker.  When he sticks out his tongue, he looks normal.  But when you do it, your entire face changes!" hahahaha

By this point her mirth was contagious.  Parker was laughing.  Even Hubby was chuckling.  Hillary was squeaking her words by now and wiping tears from her eyes.  Which made me laugh too.  

I don't know anyone else who could turn something so simple into something that engulfs a family in shared belly laughter.  

This kind of stuff happens all the time when Hillary is around.  She laughs easily and with no holds barred.  And thank goodness...since the rest of us tend to be more reserved and serious.  I think God knew this little family would need regular bursts of Harmony AND Hilarity.