Gymkhana

This past Saturday, I went to Gymkhana with my daughter and her two sons. My grandson, Will, was taking a gymnastic class in a group of 3 and 4 years old.

I looked around and saw all the young parents that were there and I thought that it was really cool to see as many dads as mothers. There were at least 14 little girls in colorful leotards and then there was Will, dressed in his t-shirt and sweatpants. Will was the only boy in the class.

At first, Will, didn’t want to go into the gym area but one of the young volunteers said something, picked up a laughing Will, and carried him inside. No adults were allowed to accompany the children into the gym. They could watch their young gymnasts through the glass doors, or through the large glass window, or on the television monitor, which was divided into four parts: the mat, rings, balance beams, and the trampoline. I watched Will on the television monitor.

Will might have had to be carried into the gym but I watched him progress from a timid little guy to bouncing on the equipment and enjoying everything that he tried.

Contact Miscues

I started to wear glasses in high school so that I could see the chalkboard from a distance, and of course, see faces more clearly. I hated glasses, despite that they helped me to see better.

Years later, after I had a few kids, I got tired of the babies grabbing my glasses off of my face and twisting them out of shape. After a few times, I decided that I had enough and wanted to try contacts. I wanted to wear then so badly that when I first started, I wore them all day long, instead of the few hours prescribed.

To me, contacts were way better and cooler than glasses. Looking back at some old photos and seeing all those goofy styles, small and then oversized frames, my decision was the right one for me. Besides that, my kids could no longer pull my glasses off, throw them on the floor or just pull them apart.

I figured, what could happen to my contacts with nine kids? Well, I was wrong…lots of things can go wrong with contacts.

·         Along the years that I have worn contacts, my 2-year-old son actually opened the contact cases and drank the liquid, as well as the contacts. When my spouse suggested I strain the diaper for the lenses, I called up and ordered a new pair.

·         Then there were a few times that a lens would fall on the floor and dry out, or get stepped on.

·         I have actually slept with them on, only to wake up not realizing it and trying to put another pair in my eyes.

·         One time, I ended up in my Eye Doctor’s office and found out that I had put the lenses in the wrong eyes.

·         Right now, I’m waiting for a new pair of contact lenses. I ordered a year supply from 1-800-Contacts because of the cost. The first six months supply was fine. The second box was wrong and I had to go to the eye doctor to find this out. At first I thought I was going blind and the doctor thought my eye sight had deteriorated until he figured out that I had the wrong prescription because of some sort of mix up.

Now I am waiting for the right prescription. I ordered them through my eye doctor. Quite frankly, I don’t care how much it costs. I know the contact lenses will be correct and I will be able to see again. No offense to eye glass wearers, but I can’t wait to put my glasses away and wear my new contacts!

Chef

I never worked with Mario,

or Emeril or  Ramsey or White.

But I’ve worked with a Chef.

She is like those chefs with

qualities of fouled temperament,

bullying, maniacal tactics.

Chefs know what they want.

Their kitchen is their realm,

their domain. They own it. To be

in a kitchen with a chef is to

serve them. Do your work quickly,

quietly, precisely, correctly.

Stay out of their way.

Keep your mouth shut. Do your

job right the first time. For your

sake – keep your apron clean!

Lessons Learned in the Catering Kitchen

Don’t open the dishwasher until all cycles are completed.

Read all directions first.

Wipe off the prep table.

Always sharpen the knives.

Get everything that needs to be used out on the prep table.

Put a cloth under the cutting board.

Move quickly.

Listen and don’t argue.

Clean up and put things away.

Try to keep your apron clean.

Tuesday Mornings at Matt's House

Every Tuesday I go to my oldest son’s house to make sure that his kids get up for school because he and his wife are working. I feed my grandkids breakfast and walk them across the street to the bus stop. Sometimes I have to be there early and other times; I need to be there by 6:45. When I unlock the door, I am greeted by two Labs…Coco and Harper. I squeeze by them and go into the kitchen where I sit and listen to the silence before the ‘storm.’

After about 14 minutes of writing or reading, I make sure that Michael, Bella, Anna, Chloe, and Ava are up and dressed. They make their way down to the kitchen. The silence is broken with a round of Hi’s and what do you want for breakfast. Breakfast ranges from cold cereal to cinnamon buttered toast. One of the kids usually doesn’t want to eat and finds a snack bar and that is breakfast.

Sometimes, I might bring over an afternoon snack like cookies and a tootsie roll suckers that they can have after school. I must admit that I annoy them just like I used to annoy my own kids by singing or asking questions, making jokes, or just talking.

When it is 7:50…I make them get on  their coats, backpacks and lunch and we leave the house. Usually my grandson complains because it is too early because the bus comes at 7:55.

No matter how early we are at the bus stop or how annoying I have been…when the bus comes, everyone hugs me and they tell me they love me. So does my grandson!