Twenty - First Grandchild

Welcome to the newest member of the Gauntner Family – Daniel Jude, who made his presence heard on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. Daniel weighed in at 8 pounds and 12 ounces, and measured 21-1/2 inches in length.

It’s hard to believe another grandchild is here. Daniel is my 21^st grandchild and just as special as all the other 20 grandchildren. I look forward to holding him.

Congratulations to my son, Brian and my daughter-in-law, Jen!!!

The Life of a Cop

These days, I fear a lot of people think that Cops are evil people. Some believe that they holster their guns and go out looking for trouble. But, that police man or woman is the one who much like you, gets up in the morning and helps to get his/her children off to school. Then they get ready for their shift, don on their blue uniforms with their badge in place, adjust their belts, which are laden with a holster, gun, Taser, handcuffs, night baton, and a small compartment which has latex gloves inside. Half the time the police officer doesn’t have time to eat lunch or is interrupted when he/she is trying to eat.

A Cop’s typical day is working an 8 hour shift. A lot of Cops work extra details for more income. Cops are trained and follow procedures, regardless of what the public thinks. Not all cops are perfect. There are some good and bad police much like, doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, or the average human being.

I know a lot about Cops because my oldest son is one. He is a wonderful husband and a great dad. He spends his days with his kids, helping his wife and working an extra detail. He also manages to come over and help me out when I need it. He is always willing to help his siblings whenever they need him. I know underneath his gruff exterior, he is a real softy.

Cops do not start their day thinking whose life can I make miserable and arrest. Before their shift ends, they don’t want to get into any unnecessary altercation, where they will have to spend hours answering questions, doing paper work, and seeing themselves tried on the evening news, along with giving out their name and all the rest of their private information. They just want to go home and see their family. They want to be just like everyone else. But they are not like everyone else – they are the first line of defense. They are the ones who stop a traffic violator and might get shot and killed for doing their business. Or they make those routine domestic calls where they are the ones on the defense. Or they find when they do the right thing…the news media or some of the so called witnesses lie or distort the facts. Protecting citizens is what a police offer does. They are here to help and answer all those dangerous calls. That is a job that I would never want, no matter how much money it pays. Is it worth it…I can’t answer that. Just go and ask one of those men and women who wear that blue uniform.

Maybe it is time to show the police some support instead of throwing them under the bus and making them the sacrificial lambs for inept policies and loud mouths. For whatever the reason, the cops are not the cause for looting or robbery or for rising catch phrases that are not even truthful, or for agitators, politicians, or the news media who use dead bodies and the police as stepping stones for their own lime light.

All I know is that I worry about my son and all the other police; men and woman out there. My prayers are with you. I do support you.

Erasers

These days, I seem to be in a writing slump. I decided I needed a change and that was when I pulled out a few pencils, sharpened them, and then decided to work on my stories. I was hoping this change would jump start my writing and get my creative juices flowing. When I write, I either use a yellow pencil or the computer. Since I am using pencils…I wanted more than just the natural ones or the yellow colored pencils. I grabbed my box and pulled out ones with designs on them, like flowers, geometric designs, glittery ones (my favorite), ones with footballs, baseballs or soccer balls, or Christmas and Halloween designs. The yellow or natural looking pencils have started to bore me and maybe that is why I haven’t been writing much, lately.

But, whatever pencil I use, I definitely choose pencils with a gray or white eraser on top. I like how they remove my mistakes and they don’t leave a smudge mark on the paper. No one would ever be aware that I have made a mistake because that gray/white eraser removes all the evidence.

The red eraser or the pink ones, seems to leave an unsightly mess like a big black smudge. Now, everyone knows I made a mistake and can even see what the mistake was because it’s still lightly there on the paper.

Anyway, who would have ever though those erasers would make a difference? I didn’t but I do now.

You Really Don't Know a Person

Someone once told me, “You don’t really know a person.” I have thought about that a lot. Once I didn’t believe that statement but circumstances and life changes have made me realize that my friend was right.

I truly believe everyone hides a part of what makes them who they are. I think people carry and hide certain feelings, beliefs, and secrets deep down inside of them.

People don’t always express their true feelings. To be honest, I don’t. I try not to. I have kept certain secrets and thoughts private. On the outside I am a nice person and will do anything that I can to help my family and friends, even when it is hard or inconvenient. Even in my conversations, I don’t express totally how and what I really feel. I keep those thoughts in my journal and eventually, I throw that journal away. So, when people say – “I know the real you,” I just smile and think - No you don’t.

It’s okay not to reveal everything about yourself. There are some things a person keeps private and they don’t want to share. I know that is how I feel and what I do.

Shopping for a Prom Dress

It’s April…and that means proms and prom dress shopping!

I remember going prom dress shopping with my daughters. With my oldest daughter, it would be a trip to the mall to look for dresses. I also thought that it would be a nice bonding experience but it never turned out that way. We would go to the mall and look in every store, at every dress, at least twice. One can never be too picky. Add bridal shops as well. The dress was either too big, too little, not the right shade or color, too cheap or whatever. But it was never too expensive! The oddity of it all is that it would always be the first dress or second dress that we would see and eventually buy, but only after two or three times around the mall. I don’t remember if we bought the accessories as well because I was too tired and traumatized by this bonding experience. Oh, I had to be careful not to like the dress because if I did, my daughter wouldn’t. I just was verbal if it was too revealing.

I don’t remember if I had the same experience with my two younger daughters but I am leaning toward the fact that I didn’t or I am in the beginning of dementia.

But this Friday, my granddaughter called and said that instead of Sunday, she and her mother and my youngest daughter were headed to the Mall to look for prom dresses. The prom was next week and she needed that dress.

There wasn’t that many stores but we started at Penney’s (they didn’t have any prom dresses), then it was Sears, Cache, Macy’s and Nordstrom’s. My granddaughter found her dress at the second store, where she tried on a few dresses and set aside the one she liked. Then we went to the other three stores. Let’s just say, she was easy to shop with but I did have a de ja vu moment. It was a flash back to the old days with my daughter. I guess she was right…you have to look at every store and every dress before you make that decision. This time, I found that it was more fun without the drama and stress.

We ended the evening at Mad Mex. I have to say that frozen Margarita hit the spot! But I can’t wait to see my granddaughter when she dresses up to go to her prom next week!