Exquisite

For some reason the TV was still on. For some reason, I sat down as Jairus was watching Sesame Street. Some actress, that I should probably recognize, was teaching Elmo the word “exquisite.” They wanted the viewers to say the word with them. So, I obliged and encouraged Jairus to do the same. He told me “I know Mommy.” He then ran off to the bookshelf and came back with this:

The squid card from a matching game from Sonic.

Hahahahahah  

Barf Bag

I wish I would have kept that simple airplane barf bag.

Was it used?

Yeah, kinda. Not exactly, but somewhat.

And you still want to keep it?

Yes, I wish I would have kept it. Here is why:

Written on it was a simple note. It was handed back to me from the lady sitting in front of us on our plane ride from Denver to DFW. I don’t know the lady..never talked to her. She was traveling with her daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandsons. We had all been in the waiting area for awhile since we were delayed boarding. We were probably over half way through our 2 hour flight, but already we had been on the plane a long time since we sat 45 min just waiting to take off. Jairus had looked out the window quite a bit. We had looked at the pictures in the airline magazine. We had a shared a snack of Ginger Ale and some Vanilla Wafers. Really, Jairus was doing great being confined to our little area for so long. I told him how proud I was of him and that I loved to go on trips with him. We were taking turns coloring in a special pre-school book. We were minding our own business and looking forward to being home. Then it came. The barf bag handed back over the seat to me. Written on it was a note that said “You are a great mommy.” I smiled and with my green crayon, I wrote “thanks” and passed it back up.

But as we sat there I had two reasons why I wished I would have kept the bag (and even kinda schemed how I could get it back as we got off the plane). One was just for plain old fashioned encouragement. True, this lady doesn’t know me. She didn’t see me get frustrated or worn out or not feed Jairus enough vegetables. She just saw me for one window of time. But at least for one window of time I did something right. Hopefully over Jairus’ lifetime those windows of time will outweigh the many many times that I don’t.


Second reason I wanted to keep that bag was as a reminder. I also need to look for ways to encourage others with random acts of kindness like this. She handed me a barf bag for crying out loud! Yet, on it was a message that brought me encouragement and even now, a couple weeks later it still has an impact on me. I want to look for ways to make someone else’s day brighter. Maybe make sure the manager knows when our waiter has done a great job. Maybe have kind words for the checker at Wal-mart. Maybe encourage a young mother someday. I don’t know. But I want my eyes to be open to see those opportunities.


As we deplaned it didn’t work out for me to try to find that barf bag in that seat in front of me. So, I write this blog as a reminder. Somehow, I doubt I will ever forget that airplane barf bag.

A long, long day

For as long as I can remember, if Jairus was telling a story or explaining something that was “a long time ago” he would say “a long long day.” Well, we knew what he meant. We would be diligent to correct him. Although, I admit that lately I haven’t….just because I thought it was so cute.

But, it finally happened. For the last couple of weeks he has been saying it correctly. It is now “a long time ago” in his stories and explanations. But, I will remember that a long time ago, it was a long long day. :)

Grandma's coming

Written last week (Tuesday, June 22). Posted today because it was a busy week with Grandma here.

As I was helping Jairus get dressed this morning, he told me we needed to hurry because Grandma was coming today! I explained that she wouldn’t be here until after lunch. Then 20 minutes later I hear the front door open.

Me: Jairus, don’t open the door unless Mommy or Daddy are with you! Did you hear something?

Jairus: No, I was looking for Grandma.

We have to go pick her up at the airport

She is too heavy to pick up.

No, I mean we have to go get her at the airport.

Let’s go NOW.

But her plane isn't here yet.

I have planes here.

Oh Jairus…trust me. We will go get her after lunch! *hug*

Finally -- she is here!

An Alarm System

I am copying an email Joe sent to me yesterday while I was at school for an in-service class. It made me laugh. Let me preface it with a brief explanation. For the last couple of years, we have used the alarms on our cell phones to help Jairus with transitions. For example: When the alarm goes off, it is time to leave the park. When the alarm goes off, it is time for bed. When the alarm goes off, your rest time is over. He tends to respond well to this. Now onto yesterdays interaction with Joe.

Jairus: “Daddy can you remind me while you are in the kitchen and I am on the computer?”

Joe: "What?" (not understanding)

Jairus repeated himself a couple of times.

Joe: "When?"

Jairus: (looking at the clock and using both hands to show 10) "10 min."

When the alarm rang, he didn’t stop using the computer, he changed activities on the computer!

Hide-N-Seek

Recently Jairus has decided he wants to play the game Hide-n-Seek. He has the basic concept down...someone hides and someone else seeks.

But the fine skills of the game he has yet to master.
* He basically hides in the same spot -- time and time again. (usually under his bed)
* When hiding he responds to the person seeking
* He doesn't look for the hiding person very hard. But he sure does have fun!

Here is a video (can you tell I like my new toy?) of me playing with him.

The proof

We stayed at a hotel this weekend. I wish I would have video taped his initial reaction. But this is still cute. And you can hear him say "hotel."