Things people say

So sorry about the delay in posting. Life has a way of getting in the way of me and this blog sometimes. We had a few weeks of friends and family come to visit and work picked up a bit, which means that if I am at my computer I am working and if not I am cleaning and/or playing and/or prepping a meal and/or putting my wife hat on for a few minutes. Then we went to FloydFest, our big anticipated music festival, which deserves it's own post. I had to delay my journey into the homemade, so I focused instead on the many uses of good old vinegar, come to find out it's great for laundry, deodorizing, dishes, diapers and more (http://www.almanac.com/content/household-uses-vinegar)! Love this stuff!

In the month since I last posted, I have been storing up a cache of things people say. See, I have an invisible sign on my head that says 'say weird stuff to me, or tell me how you really feel, I don't mind and would like to talk to you about it'. Here are the things that people have said to me in the past month that I thought you'd find interesting:

1. While backing out of the driveway, my elderly, Chihuahua walking, sweet neighbor with mild dementia stopped Lane and I in the street. said she didn't want to be nosey, but asked me where I was going. We talk fairly often so I didn't think anything of it and responded that we were headed to the grocery store. She responded 'they let you take her in there?' and pointed at the baby in the back seat. 'yes' I responded.....while trying to think of something to add and coming up empty. 'They don't let me take Cha (the Chihuahua) in' she said, I believe insinuating that taking a baby into the store is the same as a dog. 'no kidding' I said and smiled blankly. 'What I do is just leave her in the car with the window cracked - unless it's too hot' she advised, clearly thinking that I should do the same with Lane. 'Nice talking to you, don't get to far from home' I responded as she walked away smiling. I hope that when I am old, nice young people will not judge me for the crazy things I say and will smile blankly at me as I yadder on.

2. In line at the grocery store a couple weeks after this incident, a grandmotherly woman in a lark pulled into the aisle behind Lane and I. Lane started engaging her as I unloaded the basket, and the woman asked me the standard questions, her age, her name, etc. I was pleasant and answered as Lane screeched and showed her the bag of soy nuts I had given her to shake. 'Sweet baby' she declared, and I thanked her. Then, in a hissing loudish whisper she added 'that's why I just can't understand abortion'. I did a double take and thought about how I should respond. It crossed my mind to tell her that abortion rights probably isn't an appropriate grocery store conversation, but instead I responded that 'abortion is a very personal subject, but right or wrong, I don't want the government telling me what to do with my body'. 'I agree with that, but I don't want the government paying for it either - you know how much government money goes to abortion clinics, don't you'. It was here that I stopped the conversation. Clearly this person and I were not on the same page and definitely not the same news/radio stations, nor did it matter. I checked out, returned the understanding glance that the cashier gave me, and left. I hope that when I am old, nice young people will not judge me imposing my personal beliefs on them in the checkout aisle at the grocery store.

3. Leaving Sam's (an embodiment of all things excess only one step above Wal-Mart) a couple weeks ago, I was walking beside an elderly gentleman wearing one of those sun hats that covers not only your head but your neck and shoulders making you look like a desert nomad. Savannah heat can be pretty rough, even just going to your car from the store, so the crazy hat alone was not enough of an indication that I should be wary of this person, and he smiled at Lane as we crossed the parking lot. 'Happy baby' he said. I said thank you. 'You're brave to have a baby these days'. I remained silent, pondering meaning and response.... and he went on 'I made a mistake and had four, now I worry about them and my Grandchildren and their future'. All I could say was 'I agree'. Yes, it was a weird thing to say to a mother with a young child and yes, this person was probably in Sam's stocking up on canned goods for the zombie apocalypse dungeon he's building in his back yard, but I cannot help agreeing that I worry about Lane's future with the direction that our planet seems to be headed in. We're using up our natural resources, our planet is getting warmer, water levels are rising and we're headed for more wars that I believe are based more on keeping the military machine running than on morality....and the worst part...no one seems to care. I hope that when I am old, I hesitate before depressing young mothers outside stores.

Lane took her first real steps on Father's Day, right before turning 13 months. She did a quick one-two-three from the coffee table to her play table. She just turned 14 months, and now she doesn't crawl anymore. Just like that, the crawling stage is over. Like so many things from this past year, I blink and there is another change. She's getting her molars right now so she is a pile of drool, but she doesn't seem to be affected too much other than the constantly wet shirt. She is a happy little thing, going up to strangers to be picked up, dancing, hugging and giving big, wet, open mouthed kisses. I am so lucky to be her mommy.

On a business front, I scored a couple more good jobs that I have been working on as well and had a couple of 'conceptualization' meetings on the jobs that I already have. Last month was a lot of front end time so it was a pretty poor billing month. Handling July billing now, hoping that it will come up better.

I have some 'official' 13 and 14 month pictures of Lane to put on here, but the photographer who took them needs to email them to me :-). So until then, here are a few from my phone, which always seems to be handy instead of the good camera.