Getting Pummeled...

...again

Sitting On My Lap...

To make a long story short, on Sunday morning, Jonathan fainted. Scared the living daylights out of me!

On Saturday, helping us slice potatoes for a "new recipe" he cut the pad of his thumb on the mandolin slicer...and proceeded to "disengage" the flap that remained. So, he was left with a bit of a chunk of thumb missing...not too horrible, and we did not take him for stitches or anything. It's healing nicely. He's fine.

Warren and I went to a dinner party on Saturday night. When we got home, I asked Jonathan what he'd had to eat. He said, "Oh, I just had a couple of granola bars...I didn't feel like fixing anything else." (We had left him with numerous options for easy-to-fix meals. I was a little upset, but sent him to bed. After all, we had a big day as tomorrow was Sunday!

Sunday morning, I woke Jonathan up and told him to get showered and dressed and come on downstairs and get some breakfast. A little while later he came into the kitchen and said, "Mom, my thumb really hurts!" I took a look at it (he'd removed the bandage after showering) and told him to come with me to the bathroom so we could put a fresh bandage on it.

While my head was inside the closet, searching for the perfect bandage, Jonathan was behind me...feeling faint...reaching for the edge of the sink, but thinking he needed to get to the living room and sit down. I heard a scuffling noise and backed out of the closet. To my utter shock, Jonathan was lying in the middle of the floor outside the bathroom. Flat on his back. In his underwear.

I didn't freak out. I could see that he was conscious and okay. He'd bumped his head on the way down, but nothing horrible. First, I called Warren. I was afraid to try to move Jonathan because i didn't know how steady he'd be on his feet. Of course, Warren did not answer his phone! So I dialed the church. Deacon Jane answered, "St. Luke's!" and I said, "This is Mary. Please tell Warren he needs to come home!" Warren was here in a flash...by this time the reality had set in with me and I was a little beside myself. Poor Jonathan was lying on the floor - in his underwear - and a little tear was creeping down the side of his face. He was scared, too. It broke my heart to see him crying.

Warren helped me get him up and into the living room. He sat and held Jonathan for several minutes. Jonathan cried. Warren and I traded seats. Jonathan kept crying. It was obvious that he was okay - he knew his name, the date, etc. Warren fixed him a PBJ and made sure I was okay with him going back to church. I was, and so was Jonathan. 

After Warren left I said to Jonathan, "If crying is what you need to do to feel better, then you just keep crying until you feel better." And he did. And he sat on my lap and let me hold him and catch his tears on my shoulder. And it was so beautiful.

And it reminded me about how wonderful and blessed it is to be a mother. And it reminded me of times when I was perhaps Jonathan's age and scared or sad, but wasn't encouraged to show my emotions. And that made me cry, too. Life is not worth living with feelings unacknowledged. I speak from lots of experience! I'm so happy to have a son who is not afraid of his emotions, even at the age of 15. What a precious boy.

And what a lucky mom I am...that he was willing to sit on my lap and let me snuggle him in blankets and hold him and he never shied away from any comfort I offered. It only took a few minutes, but it was blessed. A long lasting memory. Beautiful.

Jonathan is fine! Everything is back to normal...whatever that is! I am such a lucky mom to have a wonderful family! God is good, and thank God everything is okay and this was just a "fluke" event.

Next time we go to a dinner party, I will be sure to leave dinner in the oven for our boy. As much as I enjoyed holding him on my lap, I'm not anxious for another morning like that for a long time.

Thank you God, for little favors...unexpected...beautiful.

'Snow Fun!

Feels like Saturday...
Looks like...Thursday?
We had 14" of new snow overnight, and I am here to tell you that if you live in the Northeastern United States, you are s.i.c.k. o.f. s.n.o.w.
It was a "definite" snow day for Worcester Public Schools. We tried to dig out a little before the contractor-snowblower-dude showed up around 1 p.m. By then I was thinking, "Am I going to be stuck here forever?"

Warren was insistent on feeding the birds, but getting to the bird feeders proved to be quite a challenge! Luckily, Jonathan could navigate the snow wearing his dad's snow shoes - which, it turned out, weren't a laughable investment two years ago!

He's a good boy, and he had a good time...shoveling, cleaning off our cars, feeding the birds...isn't he handsome? I think this photo looks like it could be in a Lands End catalog!

Tonight Warren and I went on a date! Granted, we were home by 7 p.m., but we went to the opening of Flora In Winter at the Worcester Art Museum! Warren had won free tickets, so it was a no brainer. It was so lovely. I was so taken by each artist's interpretation of the work of art vs. their floral display. Check it out here, but there will probably not be pictures from this year for a few days:  http://www.worcesterart.org/Events/Flora/Flora_11/flora_in_winter_2011.html

We picked up a pizza on our way home, and enjoyed one episode of "Seinfeld" while we had our "dinner." Then we all converged downstairs and read for awhile. I did some of my "Iris Folding Paper" creations, which are really fun and I love. Here's a sample.

 It's so much fun - I've made about 15 different designs this week...hearts and Star of David and flowers...really pushing the edge, once I get to know the pattern. Fun, fun.

 

Watching Icicles Grow

Watching icicles grow is not very exciting to most people. Yet they amaze me. Every day, I take inventory of the icicles - not only growing on our roof edges, but on the edges of roofs all around us. Each one has its own story to tell. I have my own story to tell. Each icicle changes every day. My story changes from day to day. Icicles fall. I fall. New icicles form. My life forms every time I wake up.

Today is one of the coldest days I can remember since living here in New England. Really, really cold. Bitter. Sunny, but c.o.l.d. Lovely, but c.o.l.d. Life - c.o.l.d.

Today I woke up excited and full of anticipation for what was to be a wonderful experience, as I attended my first drawing class at the Worcester Art Museum. This 10-week course is going to be a life-changing experience for me, and I am so thrilled! Why, oh why, didn't I do something like this years ago? So much to learn, experiment with, challenge myself - why have I let myself believe that I'm too old to learn? Obviously, I so yearn for this type of environment! This morning was one of the most exhilarating events of my life. There will be more on this, trust me!

And then I came home...happy, excited! And then our 15-year-old son came home...happy, excited! And then he proceeded to explain to us why his grades are going down. Nothing but lazy. Nothing but not using the tools he's been given. Nothing but thinking talk gets you everywhere. Well, let me tell you, the mood in this house - even eight hours later - is not one of "HAPPY!" This child of ours has been scolded, lectured, hugged, told what-for, loved, fed, questioned, and lectured again. I am so fatigued right now just from the worry factor.

Outside our house, another batch of icicles is growing. They are beautiful. I love them. They are so much like me. They blossom and melt and grow. When the sun shines on them, they look to be so happy! Then they get hit with a little blood-boiling heat and begin to melt. Sometimes they fall; sometimes they grow. But they are always new. Cold. Different. Me.



To add to it all, this afternoon my car wouldn't start! When my husband tried to help me jump start it, his passenger window quit working! So now we have a car with a new battery that "might" start in the morning, as well as a car with one window covered in painter's drop cloth with duct tape all around it. Did I mention that the dishwasher quit working today?


Apparently, the forecast calls for 'POURING RAIN' because that's what it feels like right now. The freezing weather will warm up; the snow will continue to melt off the roof, and the icicles will come and go. I, however, will be here - hopefully expectant of good news at the end of a school day, and highly excited about the opportunity for me to learn new things. And keeping a close eye on the icicles all around me.

I'm Back!

Sorry for the silence...really, I've been making lots of noise. Some sort of something happened and I was not able to access this site for several days. All is well now. Surely it was an operator error, but I can't figure out how it happened...

So, this is a test of the Mary Hicks Broadcasting System! Will be posting again soon...got to get this noise out of my head!! Hope all are well - Happy New Year, my friends.

Growing Up

Last night, Jonathan "caught me" in the bathroom closet, filling Christmas stockings. He looked at me and said, "So, it's true!" My heart sank. Nobody had ever really TOLD him...and bless his heart, he still held a spark of longing for the wonder. So, my boy grew up a little bit tonight, and I never expected it. As my husband said, "Well, at least now we don't have to eat those cookies and drink that beer he always leaves for Santa!"

And, true, this is the first year that Jonathan has not left a note for Santa, and some carrots for the reindeer, and a beer to quench that fat old man's thirst. And, true, we don't have to write a reply with our left hand, thanking him for his generosity!

Life changes, and things stay the same. It's all so interesting and beautiful and confusing and sad. But mostly it's a lesson in learning, and that's a good thing.

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

I'm a Genius!!

Well, we finally brought the Christmas tree up from the cellar this afternoon! It got put together pretty fast, with help from Warren. And then...

...I worked each branch into a "natural" form. This took quite awhile to finish - it's a 10' tree! I took a bit of a rest, and then went over to the Christmas boxes.

"What are you doing?" Warren asked, a look of fear on his face.
"I'm going to put the lights on the tree!" I replied, hoping for the next question ("Need help?") which did not occur.
"Well, isn't that nice!" he said.

Many years ago, I remember dropping by my parents' home one evening in December. I put my key in the lock and helped myself into the house. My dad was sitting on the couch, reading. "Hi Dad!" He grumbled some response. I noticed that their table-top artificial tree had been put up. I also noticed the lights and thought, "OMG! Those lights are horrible!" I walked into the kitchen, in search of my mother, who I hoped would be happier to see me than my dad was!

Mom was in the kitchen, rinsing some dishes in the sink. I saw her wiping her eyes.

"What's wrong, Mom?" I asked.
"Oh, honey, nothing's wrong. I'm just being stupid about the Christmas tree lights." she replied.
I gave her a kiss and said, "Hang on. I'll take care of it."

I went back into the living room and sat by my dad, making some small talk. Then I said, "The tree sure looks nice! Wow, those lights are really something." And they were. They were very heavily laden on the branches - as if someone had sort of dropped the whole strand and they landed, and they were done. They were horrid.

Thinking to myself that this would be a very bold move, but reminding myself that I no longer lived there so would not have to endure the after-effects of my actions, I stood up and began re-arranging the lights. My dad kept reading. I think he was so mad he didn't care if I had removed all of them. My mom stayed in the kitchen.

I worked and worked. By the time I was finished, that little tree looked all lit up, but there was not one sign of a cord in sight. Somehow, I'd woven them all into the branches. Felling pretty proud of myself, I said "Don't you think that looks a little better?" My dad said, "What do I know? Ask your mother!"

So I did. Mom came out of the kitchen and her face just lit up. "Thank you, Mary! It looks so much better! I tried to tell your dad that's not how you put lights on a tree, but he just got mad at me."

Tonight, I remembered this story as I wove the cords of lights between the branches. It was a lot of work! By the time I finished, I was sweating. Warren came over - right as I was finishing - and said, "Wow! You're a genious!"

I said, "I am?"

"Yes! It looks great!" he insisted.

Who knew? I think I learned how to be a genius from my mom. My temper, I learned from my dad!