HOT OR COLD?

This was the beginning of the week! We are now in a heat wave!!!

It was after dinner and Alex and I wanted to get in a walk before it got too dark.

“I have my keys.” I opened the front door. “Do you have your phone?”

“Got it.” he said walking out of his room zipping up his heavy hooded sweatshirt. He stepped outside and was ready to close the door.

“Do you really think it's that cold out?” I said second guessing my light jacket.

“I think so.” He held the door open. “Do you want to go back in and get something heavier?”

“Naw.” I said heading down the front steps. “They say you burn more calories when you're cold.”

“Who's they?” Alex asked catching up to me.

“You know, experts.” I said rubbing my arms to keep warm.

“I think you might be wrong about that.” Alex put his hands in his pockets to keep them warm.

“No, I'm not.” I argued. “I can feel myself burning more calories as we speak!”

“Okay, you can believe what you want.” I could hear the doubt in his voice.

“I can prove it!” I stopped and held out my hand. “Give me your phone, we'll Google it!”

“Are you sure you want to do this right now?” Alex asked handing me his phone.

“Why wouldn't I?” I found the Google app and tapped on it.

“Because, right now you don't mind being cold because you think you're burning more calories but when you find out it's not true then you're just cold.”

“I'm not wrong.” I began tapping on the keys. “I'll just type, 'Do you burn more calories when it's cold'.” I hit send, waiting for the right links to come up. It didn't take long. “Oh, Damn!”

Alex started to laugh. “I told you not to look it up right now.”

“It says you may feel like your body is working harder to keep you warm but you don't start burning extra calories until you start to shiver.” I clicked off his phone and handed it back to him. “That's just great.” I sighed and began walking faster rubbing my arms, trying to get warm.

“Sorry.” Alex was walking next to me.

We were walking on the shady side of the street. “Maybe if we walk in the sun I'll feel better.”

We crossed the street and walked a little further. “Nope, not any better.” I complained. Now I was sorry I'd put my hair up in a ponytail because my ears were starting to get cold. “Well, it did say if I start to shiver then the extra calories start to burn.”

Alex looked over at me. “It's 52 degrees out, I'm pretty sure you're not going to start to shiver anytime soon.”

I marched on, feeling cold.

A few moment later Alex began to unzip his heavy sweatshirt. “Wow, maybe I did over dress.” I looked over and could see the sweat on his shirt.

“You're sweating!” I cried.

“Hey, this sweatshirt's really heavy.” he complained.

“I hate Google.” I grumbled.

Alex started to laugh. “You love Google!”

“Fine.” I huffed. “I hate Google today!”

MOTHER'S DAY MAGIC

I didn't feel like cooking dinner, and it was only going to be Alex and me eating. So I picked up a sub sandwich on my way home from work.

I came into the house and dropped the sub shop bag on the dining room table. Alex came over with two plates and some napkins.

“You're the best.” I said as he put a plate in front of me.

Alex laughed. “I'm the best because I gave you a plate?”

I had to laugh. “I guess that's was a little over the top.” I handed him his half of the sub. “So I'll say thanks instead.”

We both sat down and began eating in happy silence, both unwinding from a long day. After a few bites I put my sub down. “Do you have any plans for this weekend?” I asked as I shook a few potato chips from the bag and passed it to him.

He looked confused for a moment. “Isn't Mother's Day this weekend?”

I smiled. “It is!”

I have to say, ever since I've had kids I've loved Mother's Day. It's the one day I don't feel guilty not cooking, cleaning, doing laundry or running errands for everyone. I can sit on the couch reading a book or watching television and no one is going to say a word about it. Believe me, the only other time that happens, guilt free, is when I have the flu. Not a cold, mind you, because technically I can still function with a cold. It has to be the flu, where no one wants me around them so I can hide in my room and read my book or watch television. But sadly it's the flu, so it's not like I'm having fun.

But Mother's Day, yeah!

“So what do you want to do?” Alex asked.

“Well I'm hoping the weather's good and we can do our usual picnic in the park.” I said.

Alex got up and went over to the cabinet. “You want a water while I'm up?” he asked.

“Oh, you're the best!” I had to smile. “Yes, please!”

He just shook his head and laughed as he handed me a bottle. “Wow, I'm the best again.”

“Hey,” I shrugged my shoulders. “What can I say, I'm just excited about Sunday where I'm not going to have to do anything but relax.” I looked down at my plate and pointed to the rest of my sub. “I don't think I can finish the other half of this.”

Alex looked at his. “Me either.” He got up and got two zip lock bags and handed me one. “Aren't you going to say, 'Who's the best?' or your other favorite 'Who's the man?” He laughed as he put his leftovers in his bag.

“You're just lucky I'm so easy to please.” I said as I put the rest of my sub in my bag.

“Are you?” he took the bag from me and went to put them both in the refrigerator. “So if I just made you a macaroni card for Mother's Day you'd be fine with that?”

“Oh my gosh, I would!” I cried. “It would remind me of all the little handmade things you made me when you were younger!” I began thinking of all the little trinkets I had in a box in the closet. “Remember the puzzle piece pin you made me and the clay heart necklace?” I had to smile just thinking about them.

I looked back at Alex who was leaning in front of the refrigerator, his arms crossed looking at me. “So you're saying you'd really be okay if I just made you macaroni card?”

I thought about it for a second. “No, probably not.” I admitted as I got up to put our plates in the dishwasher.

“That's what I thought.” he smiled as he headed back to his room.

“But that doesn't mean I'm still not really easy to please!” I called after him.

I'm not sure but I think I heard a faint laugh coming from his room.

THE GRATEFUL TRIP

I was going down the hall to my bedroom when Alex walked out of his bathroom holding a towel around his waist and an armload of dirty laundry.

“Great,” I said as I passed him. “You're out of the shower. I'm going in next.”

Alex stopped. “You're taking a shower now?” he looked concerned.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, I just got out.”

“So?”

“I might have used up all the hot water.” he admitted.

“Oh, come on! How long were you in there?”

Alex tossed his dirty clothes on the floor of his room and grabbed the towel tighter around his waist. “Well, if I'd known you wanted to take a shower I wouldn't have stayed in as long as I did.”

I just shook my head as I headed to my room. “I have to go out soon, so I guess I'll be speed showering again.” I complained.

“Sorry.” Alex called down the hall after me.

I was in and out of the shower in a flash feeling like I'd just participated in a rodeo event, only instead of rope tying a cow I was shutting off the water and holding up my hand to stop the clock, screaming “TIME!”

I was dressed and ready to go out when Alex came into the kitchen. “Sorry about the shower thing.” he said. “If you'd just let me know you wanted to take one I wouldn't have been in there so long.”

“You know when I was growing up we only had two bathrooms with nine people and a very small hot water tank.” I reminded him. “My Dad used to bathe my two sisters and I together in one tub just to save water.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I know, you've told me this story before.”

“Well, obviously it hasn't made much of an impression.” I shot back. “The house your Dad was raised in had one bathroom and five people sharing it!”

“I know, I know.”

“Does your Dad need to take you on the Grateful Trip again?”

“No.” Alex started to laugh. “I've been on that trip twice!”

When the boys were younger he'd take them around his old neighborhoods showing them the small houses he was raised in and the route he had to walk to school when he was only in kindergarten.

“Well, try to remember that the next time you're lollygagging in the shower. Our hot water isn't endless.”

Alex started to laugh, “Lollygag? Is that even a word?”

That caught me off guard. “Yes, it's a word.”

“Who says that...lollygagging?” he was still laughing.

“Obviously I do.” I leaned against the counter and tried to think about it for a moment. “Come to think of it.” I finally said. “I think I remember my Dad using that word when we were kids.”

“Well, it's a good one.” Alex began walking back to his room shaking his head. “Lollygagging.” he repeated with a chuckle.

“Hey!” I called after him. “Nice job distracting me from being mad at you for hogging all the hot water!”

“Your welcome!”

LITTLE LEAGUE LEGENDS

I came home from running errands and Steven met me at the door. “Everything okay?” he asked. “You've been gone a long time.”

“I got side-tracked.” I admitted as I draped the dry cleaning bags over a dining room chair. “I was going by the community center and there was a baseball game on the field Alex always played on.” I looked at Steven and smiled. “I had to stop for old times sake.”

Steven nodded his head and smiled. “Those were the best years, weren't they?”

“I have to say today's game was pretty disappointing.” I shook my head. “They were really awful!”

“Oh, come on!” Steven said. “They're little kids!”

“Well, I just remember Alex's teams being a lot better, at that age.” I went into the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water. “You want one?” I asked as I held mine up.

“Sure.” I grabbed another one, handed it to him, then leaned against the counter and took a sip. “There was one kid in the outfield who couldn't catch anything! The ball was dropping in front of him, behind him, it didn't matter. He never moved!”

It was then that Alex walked into the kitchen. “Hey, what are you guys up to?” he reached into the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of water for himself.

“Your Mom stopped to watch a little league game and now she's making fun of the kids who were playing.” Steven answered.

“Hey!” I cried. “I'm wasn't making fun of them!” I looked over at Alex. “I just remember your teams being so much better!”

Alex laughed. “I guess we had a few good teams.” He admitted. “But we also had a couple of years where the only thing we were good at was beating the winning team to the pizzeria!”

“Oh...” Steven started to laugh. “Those years were great too!”

“Okay, maybe I forgot about those years.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I just remember how much fun we had sitting on the bleachers cheering you guys on!” I looked over at Steven. “Don't you remember how some of the parents were even talking about college scholarships?”

“Scholarships!” Alex laughed as he leaned against the counter and looked over at me. “You know we were probably ten years old when that happened! We were just hanging out with friends and having fun.” he shrugged his shoulders. “It was no big deal.”

“Well, some of the Mom's on those bleachers would disagree with you.”

Alex laughed as he headed back to his room. “You're suppose to say that. You're Mom's.”

“I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true!” I called after him. I looked back at Steven. “I wouldn't.”

“Yes you would. That's what Mom's do.” Steven said as he shrugged his shoulders. “But you're right, they were pretty good players.”

“See!” I pointed my water bottle in his direction. “I told you!”

“But...” Steven added. “I'm pretty sure every parent at the game you stopped by to watch feels the same way about their kids, too.” He grabbed the dry cleaning from the back of the chair and headed for the bedroom to hang it up.

“Well, they'd be wrong.” I called after him then finished the last of my water and tossed the bottle in the recycling bin.

COLORSTROLOGY

Steven and I were sitting on the couch, channel surfing, when Steven noticed a book on the coffee table. He reached over and held it up, “Colorstrology?”

“A girlfriend gave it to me.” I took the book out of his hand and began flipping through. “There's a different color for each day.” I explained. “You look up your birthday and find out what your color is.” I showed him my color. “Mine's Iris.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Not my favorite color but at least I like my month color!” I showed him the Coral Blush color swatch. “Pretty, right?”

Steven looked confused. “So what are you suppose to do after you find out your color?”

“Well,” I flipped to the front of the book. “It says you need to incorporate your color into your life through art, clothing or décor.” I looked up and smiled at him. “So if I wear something Iris it's going to help me reach my goals!”

Steven looked even more confused. “But you just told me you don't like your color.”

“That's where my month color comes in handy. I already own pink!”

“I thought you said it was Coral Blush.”

I showed him the swatch again. “It's pink.”

Steven just shook his head. “Do you really believe this stuff?”

I was flipping through the book. “Not really, it's just fun.” I stopped at our son, Alex's birthday. “Lyons Blue, wow that's bright!” I flipped to his month color. “That's not much better.” I thought about it for a moment. “Maybe I could work that color in a throw pillow for him.”

“Are you serious?”

“Why not try it? If it doesn't work...” I shrugged my shoulders. “then it doesn't work. But if it helps, why not?”

Steven started to laugh. “So you've given up on following your horoscope and now it's all about the colors?”

“Nope, I still read my horoscope every day.” I smiled. “In fact, today's said I was going to discover new things!” I held up the book to prove my point. “It's amazing how right it was.”

Steven looked surprised. “So you do believe in this stuff!”

“No, it's just for fun.” I repeated, then flipped through the book until I reached his birthday. “Wow, this is one tough color.” I turned the book for him to see. “Muted Clay. That's going to be tough to incorporate in your wardrobe.”

Steven laughed. “I'm not wearing that color.”

“Wait a minute!” I flipped the pages. “We have another chance with your month color!” I smiled as I turned the page for him to see. “Aqua! That's a great color on you!”

“I think I already have a shirt that color.” Steven said.

“See, you've been following the doctrine of Colorstrology all along, you just never knew it!”

Steven shook his head, “Now you're going to tell me my horoscope said I should be open to learning new things.”

“No, I read your horoscope this morning and it actually said that you shouldn't be so quick to judge others.”

Steven seemed doubtful. “Seriously?”

“Naw,” I had to laugh. “I just made that up.” I reached over and picked my phone up from the coffee table. “But I could look yours up for you if you want me to.”

Steven shook his head. “No thanks, I'm good. I'll stick with the aqua shirt I already own to bring me luck.”

DANDELION BOUQUET

Alex had woken up late and came walking into the living room sleepy-eyed but with a smile on his face. “Good morning.” he said rubbing his eyes.

“Morning.” I smiled then looked at the clock, it was almost noon. “You feel like going to the bagel store with me and splitting a bacon, egg and cheese? My treat!” I'd held off eating my breakfast hoping he'd say yes.

Alex stopped rubbing his eyes. “A bagel?” His smile got bigger. “That sounds great!”

Moments later we were in the car headed to one of my favorite weekend treats. A bagel shop only a block away from the beach. I'd run in and grab a sandwich then we'd park by the seawall to eat and watch the waves crashing on the sand. I always looked forward to these quick moments with him, just visiting and finding out what was happening in his world.

As we drove through the neighborhood I couldn't help but notice how many of the lawns were already dotted with dandelions.

“Remember when you'd come into the house with a bouquet of dandelions for me?”

Alex just laughed. “No.”

“Oh, come on! You have to remember!” I looked over at him. “It was so cute!”

Alex just shook his head. “What was I, about two?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Probably.” I finally said. “But it would make my day seeing that chubby little fist holding a dozen dandelions. I even had a tiny vase I'd put them in.” I looked over at him. “I still have that vase.”

Alex laughed some more. “I'm not picking you a bunch of dandelions.”

“Oh, come on! It would make my day.”

“It would not.” he countered. “The time where it would be cute for me to hand you lawn weeds has passed.”

I knew he was right, it wouldn't be the same as when he was little. So we drove on chit-chatting about our week. I knew it was ridiculous but each time I drove by someones front lawn dotted with those yellow flowers a tiny part of me was sad that those moments were gone for us.

When we arrived at the bagel shop I parked the car then reached in the back seat to grab my wallet out of my purse. When I turned around Alex was holding a twenty dollar bill out to me. “It's my treat today.” he said.

“Aw, really?” I took the twenty out of his hand. “Thank you.” I guess he could see I was getting a little choked up.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“Nothings wrong.” I smiled at him. “It's just that I've always felt that it should be my treat, kind of a bribe to get you to come hang out with me.”

“You don't have to bribe me to hang out with you. I like our beach lunches.” he started to laugh, “Now isn't this better than a bunch of dandelions?”

I looked down at the twenty and smiled. “I have to admit, being treated to lunch is better.” I opened to car door and climbed out, but before I closed the door I turned around and peeked back inside. “But when we get home I'm getting that little vase out and putting some dandelions in it, just for old times sake.”

Alex just shook his head and smiled. “Please, just don't tell anyone I picked them for you!” he called as I closed the car door and went to go get our lunch.

NATURE'S CAR ALARM

It was beautiful spring day and I was enjoying a quiet day puttering around the house. I'd opened some of the windows to let the fresh air in, and was getting ready to think about making dinner, when the raucous call of a Blue Jay caught my attention. Within seconds several more Jays were joining in, their sound so frantic that I went to the window to see who they were yelling at.

I looked around the yard to see if one of the neighborhood cats was visiting. That's always an entertaining sight when the Jays swoop down and gives them a little peck on the butt to get them to move faster. It amazes me how high a cat can jump when it's startled.

But then I saw that the Jays were swooping and diving into the branches of the pine tree in our front yard. Alex joined me at the window. “What's got them so mad?” he asked looking out the window.

I pointed to the pine tree. “I think it's a Cooper Hawk they're dive bombing.”

Alex look up in the sky. “Where's the Hawk?”

“I think I can see him at the very top of the pine tree.”

The tree was so dense Alex was having trouble finding him. “What's he doing?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Just sitting there.” Several more Jays were coming to help, their noise was deafening. We watched as over a dozen Jays were now swarming the tree.

“Is the Hawk even moving?” Alex was squinting, still unable to see which branch the Hawk was perched on.

“Nope, just sitting there like nothing's happening around him.” I had to laugh as I pointed to all the smaller birds headed in the other direction, away from the danger. “It's times like these that I feel bad that Jays are labeled bullies.” I looked over at Alex and saw the surprised look on his face.

“Um, aren't you the first one to call them that?” Alex reminded me.

“I know.” I looked back at the action. “They are kind of jerks when it comes to bird feeders. Always pushing and shoving, scaring everyone off until their done. They're like the obnoxious wedding guests that have to rush the buffet line as soon as the first table is called.” We both watched as the frantic Jays were keeping the Hawk busy so the smaller birds could get away. “But they're like nature's car alarm when they sense danger.”

Just then the Hawk took off, calmly flying further into our neighborhood, the dozen Blue Jays right behind him making sure he'd think twice about coming back this way again.

I closed the window and looked over at Alex. “Maybe I should go top off the feeders for them.”

“For them?”

“I'm sure they're going to be starving when they come back from the Hawk battle.” I went into the refrigerator and reached way in the back of one of the shelves. “I'll put this out as a special treat.” I held out the nicely chilled suet brick.

Alex didn't look thrilled. “You keep the bird food in the refrigerator?”

“Just the suet. It keeps longer and it's easier to put it in the suet feeder.” I began unwrapping it.

Alex opened the refrigerator and began looking around. “What else do you keep in here that isn't for humans to eat?”

I smiled but didn't answer him. Sometimes it's just fun to let him wonder.