The View From Here

This post has been taking shape in my heart over the last several weeks but I had a feeling all along that it would culminate today.  Why, you ask?  Because the thing I hear most loudly at this moment is a peaceful, yet unsettling silence.  I am alone in my house, and up until now, this has been a rare occurrence.  Fair warning to my readers, this post is determined to be transparent and I'm unable to keep it from being so.

I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about our view of life.  What do we see in our everyday lives?  What images do we take mental pictures of yet never stop to fully appreciate their impact on our ordinary day-to-day existence.  Our lives change and grow over time and what we did and where we went Sunday through Saturday 20 years ago, or 10 years ago, or 3 years ago, or one month ago might be completely different than what we do and where we go now.  I realized recently that since we have now lived in our current house almost nine years I have lived in this home longer than I have lived anywhere else.  Growing up, I didn't live in any house longer than six years and then I left for college, lived in Tulsa after college, married Lindy and we moved three times in the first six years of marriage.  We have lived in our now-yellow-previously white house for almost nine years.  I have worked in the same office for almost 15 years so you could say I've come to experience some real stability in my life.  But do I take time to appreciate the view?  I started capturing a few images, both mentally and photographically, to share in this post.

This is the view outside my garden window in my bathroom when it's 6:30 in the morning in mid-August.  This view changes throughout the year, but this is my view first thing in the morning.

This is the view outside the same window about 45 minutes after the first one.

Here is my view on my drive to our Washington office at around 7:30 in the morning.  I drive the back roads through Missouri wine country to get there.  Isn't it beautiful?  My drive to work at my main office isn't near as breathtaking.  I took my life in my hands to capture this shot while driving.  You're welcome.

This is the view from my hammock on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Definitely one of my favorite views.

This is the wonderful view that my husband envisioned and created in our backyard.  I get to see it from this vantage point a lot more often now that I actually go into the yard to take the dog outside.  That's a story for another day.

This is a different perspective on the same view.  My husband is the one with the green thumb and an
eye for the beautiful.

This is my view from our patio table overlooking the backyard.  I take in this view quite often as this is our favorite place to sit to when the weather is the least big cooperative.

This is the nighttime view looking in our back door.  I love this view most when I can see my family inside just doing what they do, being content and at peace in our haven of calm and safety.

This is my view of my oldest and youngest as  they warm my heart with their closeness.

This was my view of Gavin as I left him in his kindergarten classroom on the first day of school yesterday.  He's the one in the red shirt facing the door.

This is my view of my middle and youngest as Ethan gently guided Gavin on to the
school bus for the first time this morning.  He did this without being told and my boys warmed my heart once again.

This was my last view of Gavin as he waved to me through the Emergency Exit window this morning.

So, this post has brought me to today and my view from here.  I sent my littlest one off to school yesterday and today is the first day (as I am off on Thursdays) of spending a full day without children after 12 years.  It's been almost exactly 12 years because I went back to work four days a week at the end of August the year Jac was born.  You may read this post and only see the comparative insignificance to other events in our lives that require much more thought and insight.  But for me, I'm allowing myself a little latitude in acknowledging this event.  If you're my friend in real-life or a months-long reader of my blog then you know that I experienced a miscarriage back in April.  So this event holds extra significance as there isn't another baby coming to take Gavin's place in November as I send him off into the world of adventure that awaits him.  If you weren't aware of this, I wrote about it back in April but not since then.  

So, again, what is my view from here?  Well, having worked in hospice nearly all of my nursing career I have come to appreciate the value of perspective in our lives.  It is important to capture and appreciate the views that we see every day and possibly take for granted, but it's even more important to have a different view, or perspective when we look back over our lives.  For me, I feel like there is a new chapter opening itself up up in my life.  I don't know what it is but I believe it has something to do with writing.  More than anything, I want to encourage and uplift others, especially women, to be all that God wants them to be.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made, there is not one of us who was ever an accident, and we live way below the potential that God wants to reveal in our lives.  I don't know what it to come, but I my view from here is focusing on the wonderful things I'm anticipating and accepting the loss I experienced as just part of the view that shapes who God wants me to be.

Yesterday marked one year of writing my blog, and about 3-4 weeks after I started it I added a counter so that I could monitor the hits.  As of the writing of this post my blog has had 5995 hits in the last twelve months minus 3-4 weeks.  I was hoping to hit 6000 but 5995 is pretty close.  I know my writing is kind of all over the place, but I enjoy writing about what I'm feeling or experiencing or viewing at the moment.  I hope you enjoy reading it.  I get quite a number of hits but not many comments, but I plan to continue regardless.  Thanks to everyone in my real life who is so supportive and encouraging, and to my husband who tries not to give me a hard time when I have to sit down for three hours and type.  Sometimes it just has to come out when it wants to come out.

Love to all.

Swimsuit Fashion

No clever, catchy title for this blog post--it is what it is--a blog post on Swimsuit Fashion.  Before you go scrolling to the bottom of this post to catch glimpses of myself, my friends, or perfect strangers donning their swimwear, save your fingers the trouble.  My clever, catchy writing will have to serve as substitute for  digital images.  Trust me, I have plenty of pictures stored in my hard drive; I just know that unlike the phrase "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" there's another sentiment known as, "Pictures on a Blog Do Not Necessarily Stay Nestled Securely on Said Blog."  I'm protecting you, my dear friends who have posed in pics with swimsuits on; nameless, topless women at the topless beaches of St. Maarten; and dear, old lady who chose to wear a white support bra under her red tank suit.  (More on her later).

All women I know, since I'm not friends with any super models, have a hate-hate relationship with swimsuits.  This is a shared phenomenon in Western culture.  This was clearly illustrated for me earlier on in the summer.  I was swimsuit shopping with Gavin in tow (he's five) and we were in Macy's...or was it Dillard's?  It doesn't really matter.  While I was browsing I was chatting on my cell phone with my Mom who had also been shopping for swimsuits.  (We were going on a beach vacation together, memorialized in my last blog post; and so, obviously, we had to shop for swimsuits).  Even if you have a swimsuit, or two, or three at home; you still have to shop.  You might just come across that one elusive, perfect suit that is better than any other that you currently own.  While I was on the phone Gavin was carrying on about how he didn't want to shop for swimsuits.  What five-year-old boy does?  When I hung up the phone a lady browsing the racks nearby said very astutely, "If he only understood that this is much more painful for us than it is for him."  So true, kind stranger, so true.

I've had many, many swimsuits throughout my years in a plethora of styles, patterns, and cuts.  There's a not-very-clear picture of me in my baby book from when I was about five.  Apparently, I had a bikini that year and had tanned so dark that my Mom took my picture, sans swimsuit, and it appears that I was actually wearing a suit.  I was not.  As a grammar school child my grandmother typically bought my cousin, Ellen, and me matching suits.  We were really cute and we spent lots of time at the long-since-closed water slide in New Iberia, LA.  My friend, Rhonda, and I had matching red and white striped swimsuits one year and we thought it was really cool that we ended up with striped tans.

I don't remember a battle over swimsuits with my mother when I was growing up.  Maybe we did, and I don't remember.  I was never allowed to wear anything too revealing and, now, as a mother of boys, I have compassion for my friends who are mothers of girls and have to do the dreaded swimsuit shopping with them.  Most of my close friends have the type of girls who have very wisely chosen modesty over immodesty.  I'll keep my comments brief regarding this, since I don't have girls, but if you want my true opinion on this, then you can refer back to my blog post on Fashion Advice  and refer to the last tip at the end of the post.  It's just as true for swimsuit fashion as it is for clothing fashion.  Let me just say that as a mother of a pre-teen boy and two others who are close behind, I applaud those Moms who invoke a sense of modesty for their young girls.

I have made some interesting swimsuit choices over time.  Once, when I was in college and traveled with a boyfriend to meet his family, I bought a new suit because we were going to the beach.  Unfortunately, the suit I picked was one where I had to squeeze out the padded top every time I emerged from the water.  Nice, and impressive, I'm sure.  Fortunately, we weren't with his family at the beach.  That was a cute suit.  If I remember right, it was a fruit pattern with a yellow background.  It was so 1993.

I tend to hold on to swimsuits and not let go of them until they just completely wear out.  I probably have 8-10 right now, but before your chin drops to the floor, you must know that the oldest of those suits is probably 15 years old.  It's a cute, skirted navy blue one piece that isn't maternity but I owned before I had kids and then wore during pregnancy.  For whatever reason, it's a favorite of Lindy's so I can't bring myself to part with it, even though I haven't worn it in years.  I know--weird, sentimental value in a swimsuit.  Likewise, for my lime green floral one piece suit with matching short sarong cover-up.  It was Nana's (Lindy's late grandmother) favorite and every time I would wear a different suit she would ask why I wasn't wearing the lime green suit.  I honestly don't know if she really liked that suit or if she liked that it was a one-piece and not one of my scandalous tankinis.  I bought that lime green suit in the postpartum phase after Ethan and I wore it to Panama City when Ethan was a mere six weeks old.  Those are beach pics that should never see the light of day.  I pulled out that suit once this summer and wore it to the pool.  It was so saggy that I told myself I should really trash it...but back it went in my closet to see another day.  The sentimental attachment to that swimsuit is akin to the attachment that I have to a bottle of nail polish remover that was Nana's last ever bottle of nail polish remover.  It was hers in the nursing home and it has her name written on it.  My mother-in-law gave it to me, I'm sure thinking that I would use it, but I don't.  It sits patiently next to the bottle that I actually do use, and will continue to stay there--probably long after it's evaporated.  Nana was veeeeeeeery meticulous about her appearance and her nails were always neat and polished.  This is a part of her which I cannot let go.  Once, when she was in the hospital, I went with my nail polishes and let her pick the color she wanted me to paint.  She picked "Devil's Food."  Lindy's family will probably laugh out loud at reading that.  It was an interesting pick for Nana and, later on, I bought her her own bottle of "Devil's Food."  But, I digress.  Back to swimsuits.

I have my own "What Not To Wear" photo illustration that I snapped with my cell phone back in 2007 in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Before you think I'm completely insensitive and tacky you just have to know that this lady's picture was begging to be taken.  I did not catch the elderly woman's face in the pic and I will not show it here to further protect her identity, but it necessitates description.  It was a red tank suit.  For all of my male readers, that just means one piece suit.  But, it had wide shoulder straps and it was cut low and open in the back.  Underneath her blindingly red suit she was wearing an equally blindingly white support bra.  Ladies, you know, the 18-hour kind that are built to be sturdy and supportive and hold the girls in place.  I never saw the front of the suit, the back was really all I needed to see.  My elderly, or well-endowed, friends; if your swimsuit requires a support bra it's time to go shopping for a new swimsuit.  Enough said.

Probably my most interesting swimsuit shopping trip was a couple years ago before my friend, Jenn, and I went to St. Maarten--the tropical island in the West Indies.  Lindy was with me--and we were without the boys--and he insisted on seeing each suit I tried on.  Ladies, I don't recommend this AT ALL unless you've been married for many years and you have an amazing amount of trust in your husband.  My husband learned long ago how to phrase his critique so he doesn't end up with a black eye or a bawling, squalling wife but it's still a very intimidating endeavor.  The swimsuits that actually look decent have to be 10%, at best.  He also somehow convinced me to let him take pictures of me in the swimsuits with his iPhone.  Yes, I'm not yanking your chain on this one.  How he convinced me I do not know, but he's been charming me now for more than half my life, so I guess he said all the right words.  Believe it or not, it ended up being a good thing.  I purchased four suits, with the intention of returning the two that didn't cut the muster once I got them home; and he made the decision much easier for me.  When we got home he loaded the pics on his Mac and then photoshopped a tan on me.  I immediately knew which suits would be traveling with me to the island.  Good idea, honey, even if you did have an ulterior motive.

My most recent memorable swimsuit shopping experience was earlier this summer with my mother.  She was swimsuit shopping, I was maxi-dress and halter dress shopping for vacation.  I was in an adjacent fitting room and we stepped out to show each other our respective choices.  Keep in mind that my mother is 70ish and has lost quite a bit of weight the last couple years.  While I have some HOT old black and white pics of my mother in swimsuits when she was in high school and college, she's not 20ish anymore, she's 70ish.  I'm known for having a way with words in that I can spin anything around and turn it into something positive.  However, this was the quickest thing I could come up with in the heat of the moment, "Mom, every part that the swimsuit covers looks great."  Now, that's not necessarily the kind of encouraging comment that a mother is looking for from her daughter, or vice-versa, or a friend is looking for from a friend.  She made it abundantly clear that this was not the sort of feedback for which she was hoping.  Honest, Mom, you are still hot for 70ish, but that's the best I could come up with on short notice.  She ended up leaving with two suits and she was very cute and stylish on the beach in her swimsuits, sarongs, and multiple beach hats.

Earlier this summer a high school friend of mine posted on Facebook that she felt like she was underdressed, or in the minority, for not having any tattoos to sport with her swimsuit.  I also fit into that category and I will stay that way.  I have noticed that in certain areas of the country, tattoos are almost required attire.  Take Branson, MO for example.  Go to White Water and you'll feel naked without permanent markings on your body.  I am fickle enough with my hair that I can barely handle wearing the same style for more than two days in a row.  Having something painfully imprinted on my body that will remain forever?  Forget about it.

If you're looking for the fashion advice part of this post on swimsuits here it is:  Wear a suit that is suitable for your body type.  There is a suit out there for everyone, but not every suit is for you.  If you wore a bikini when you were in college it doesn't mean that you can pull off that look now.  Everyone has different taste, so I don't plan on telling anyone what kind of suit they should buy, but I advise you to try it on at home before taking the tags off.  Most stores will let you return swimsuits if you have a receipt and the tags still attached.

My husband's swimsuit advice would be, at least for me, "Don't wear a 'Mom' suit."  What's a Mom suit?  From what I can tell that is a suit that has a skirt and is in some sort of displeasing pattern.  I have skirted suits that he likes, and one in particular, that he abhors.  It's black with white polka dots, and also white with black polka dots, and I have three different tops that coordinate with one pair of bottoms.  I love this tankini suit, and he can't stand to see me in it.  So, we compromise, just as we do with other things in marriage.  We buy both Miracle Whip and mayonnaise because I can't stand Miracle Whip and he can't stand mayo.  We buy two different kinds of toothpaste because he has to have a "paste" and I prefer the "gel."  Likewise, I wear the suit when he's not around (and tell my friends and acquaintances who compliment the suit that my husband says it's my "Mom" suit); and I wear my other suits when he is around.  See?  Compromise.  We are having our cake and eating it too.  That's what marriage is all about.

The bottom line, pun intended, on Swimsuit Fashion is to wear a suit that suits you, and wear a suit that suits you and your husband when he's around.  You should be getting pretty good deals on swimsuits around this time of year, if they aren't picked through.  Technically, the best time to buy a swimsuit for the best selection and the best deal is around 4th of July.  Happy shopping and happy swimming...or lounging...or relaxing in the pool trying not to get your hair wet.  I'll be handing out compliments when I see a suit I like.

Robin Interviews Robin about Her Trip to Destin

Well, it's not good enough to just tell the story of our vacation to Destin, Florida.  Of course, there has to be an interesting angle for communicating a vacation story.  I've chosen to interview myself so join me as I tell me about my trip.

How do the Carnetts entertain themselves on long road trips?
     Lindy and I don't have a great capacity for staying awake while driving on long trips, even when we don't leave early in the morning or late at night.  We're kind of light weights in that way.  So we left the house around 8:30 a.m. or so and by 10:30 a.m. Lindy was nodding off and needed me to keep him awake.  That's right, two hours on the road, and he's ready for a nap.  I was reading a book so I wasn't really feeling the pain.  Back in the day, when it was just Lindy and me; and waaaaaaaay before smart phones and navigation systems I used to keep him awake by using our old school travel atlas and asking him geography questions.  I know, we're nerds.  He's really good with geography and I can kill it on state capitols.  Now that we live in the 21st century I have him and the boys play "Name That Tune."  Specifically, they played Petra (I told you we're old school) and TobyMac "Name That Tune" on Lindy's iPhone with our Toothpik.  Lindy's a little better than Jac with Petra, depending on the particular album, and Ethan can kick both their patooties on TobyMac.  If you ask Ethan, there is no other recording artist.  I often catch him in our garage with his music blaring, dancing and singing with a broomstick as his mic stand.  (Don't tell him I said that.  It would really cut into the coolness factor of this kid):

   

I heard that you were going to see an old friend in Nashville.  Who did you see?
     I'm so glad you asked.  We saw my friend Kimmie.  Most mature adults probably just call her Kim and her students call her Mrs. Henderson, I'm sure, but college nicknames stick.  She still calls me Robbie.  I hadn't seen Kimmie since college so it's been a long time.  We are now both married and have five boys between us.  She has the most beautiful Bermuda grass, the kind that doesn't grow in Missouri--at least not in our yard--and her front lawn is like a golf course.  Her husband is as particular as mine about his yard.  Speaking of her husband, and I don't think she'll mind if I give a shout-out about him to my tens of readers, but his name is Jon Henderson and he is a songwriter in Nashville.  His office is on Music Row.  Way cool.  Whether you're a country music fan or not, I have to tell you that he has written some great songs.  The songwriting business is extremely competitive and tough to break through to the top, but he has a fabulous song on Brad Paisley's new album:  "This is Country."  If you don't buy the album at least buy his song, "Toothbrush."  It's a sweet little story and Kimmie said the first time he played it for her it brought tears to her eyes.  It did the same for me and he's not my husband!!  Anyway, buy the song "Toothbrush" and pray that it gets picked as the next single from Brad's album.  That's where the big money comes in--when your song gets picked as a single.  (See, I can call Brad by his first name and share all this cool information with you because I know about all this music business stuff since my friend Kimmie's husband is in the biz).  Of course, you know my husband had to contribute something to this discourse between Kimmie and me and he let Kimmie know that he comes up with all kinds of one-liners all the time that Jon could use in his songs.  Apparently, there's a phrase that her brother says that goes like this:  "Write a word, get a third."  So, Lindy was motivated to give as many one-liners as possible.  I told Kimmie that she had created a monster, but she said I could text her the lines and she would give them to Jon.  Hopefully, she's filtering them.  I texted her several times while we were in Florida.  Lindy's gone back to preaching now, instead of songwriting; although he has written a couple pretty good songs in the past.  Here's picture of me and my dear friend:

Here's a picture of us in college:

We haven't changed a bit, have we?  Sorry it's such poor quality.  I'm on the far left with the wild spiral perm.  Kimmie is second from the right with the mass of brunette hair.  I don't know exactly what we were doing, but I have a feeling it had something to do with dressing up for Monday night hall meeting in our dorm.  I've cropped the picture for public consumption.  I happen to know that at least one of the other girls in this pic reads my blog and all five of us are friends on Facebook, so we'll see how long it takes for them to comment...or send me hate mail.

What was the most exasperating part of your trip?
     Definitely, it was the traffic getting there.  Can I just say that driving south through Alabama to the Gulf coast on the Saturday of 4th of July weekend is extremely exasperating??  More exasperating than the traffic was listening to Lindy complain about the traffic.  The only real entertainment we had was in having fun joking about a lady in front of us on the Bay Bridge who didn't want her husband to let us in.  There was nowhere else to go, lady!  I was texting back and forth with Cayla, and being Lindy's sister she is well acquainted with Lindy's traffic impatience issues.  She told me to tell him to kill the time by looking for a traffic app on his iPhone.  She said there wasn't one but it would at least distract him and keep him busy looking for one.  Good tip, Cayla.  It worked for a little while.

Robin, what do you view as the "must have" items when going on a beach vacation?
     Well, most normal people would list things like sunscreen, beach towels, etc.  Not this girl.  Here are the two items I think you have to take to the beach.  Ready?  Bobby pins and tinted moisturizer with SPF.  That's right, hair and beauty products.  I do not like wet hair hanging on my shoulders so my preferred beach or pool 'do is a side bun.  Exhibit A:

I didn't capture it too well in this shot.  You can see my little messy side bun to the right, but you can see my two little ones and the gorgeous white sand in the background.  My friend, Dawn, reminded me after I published my last post about our staff retreat that my side bun lasted the whole day on the lake.  She said I am a walking advertisement for whatever hair products I use.  Dawn, it's really more about the strategically placed bobby pins than the product, although I am an advocate for using the appropriate product for your hair.  I use four bobby pins to be exact.

Since I know you all just can't get enough of my silly preoccupation with all things beauty, you must understand that you can't go to the beach without tinted moisturizer.  The one I have is by Mary Kay and it's fabulous.  No makeup needed.  Just put on your tinted moisturizer, a little lip gloss and you're good to go.  Just try not to get your face wet unless you carry your tinted moisturizer with you.  I can actually feel my face start to burn if I get it wet.  Not good.

What was the funniest part of your trip?
     That had to be snorkeling with my crazy 70ish mother.  She thought she was crazy for trying it, but I know she's glad she did.  She's a lot like her Mom in that way--trying things just to prove you still got it. I accidentally threw away the photo that was taken of Lindy, me, the boys and their Mimi in the water with all of our snorkel gear on.  I haven't had a chance to make a copy of hers yet.

I heard you went with your family.  Who went and where did you stay?
     We stayed in a beach house for ten and it was my family; my brother, Rob; his wife, Lisa; their daughter, Alex; and my parents.  The beach house was nice and we had a wonderful time together.  Here are some random photos of us enjoying our trip.  They are raw photos.  Lindy, the photographer, requires a disclaimer and they might not be the ones he would pick:

My Dad and Lisa

My Mom and Dad

Me and my boys

The pastor and his not-so-average wife

Our three stair steps

My sweet E--who I wish I could just keep the same age no matter what age he happens to be

My biggest handsome blue-eyed boy who is about an inch away from passing me up

A rare shot of my brother and me--and him smiling.  I get him to smile by repeatedly telling him not to smile.

Crazy boys

I told Lindy when he snapped this one that it was the "money shot."  Big blue eyed almost kindergartener.

Rob and his beautiful girls--Lisa and Alex.

Weren't you also seeing some of your extended family while you were there?
     Yes, we got to see my Aunt Elaine--my mom's sister; my cousin, Gerayne, and her family; and my cousin Lana and her son, Dylan.  Here are a few pics of them:

The Gav and Aunt Elaine

Me and Aunt Elaine

I wish you could see my aunt's eyes in these pics.  She has the most gorgeous tiger eyes--gorgeous green with brown flecks.  For my co-workers who see me wear my aunt's hand-me-down shoes--this is the aunt.  She is stylin'--always--and the one thing she had to make sure to do while in Destin was to go to a particular shoe store.  Lindy was the two Miss Daisies' chauffeur and he was a big hit with Aunt Elaine.  He's very charming and is great company.  Old ladies eat him up--no offense meant to my 70ish mother and her sister.

We didn't get any shots of Gerayne, but she was the first nurse in the family and she's gorgeous.  We did get a quick shot of my beautiful cousin, Lana, and me--aka Lana Banana.  Cousin nicknames don't go away easily either.  Here's Lana and me:

Still rockin' the side bun

Did any momentous events occur while you were in Destin?
     If you would count the last ever, supposedly, shuttle launch and the Casey Anthony verdict; then yes.  We happened to be in Whataburger eating lunch after our snorkel trip when I noticed what looked liked the verdict being read on the wall-mounted television.  I was on my way to our table when I looked at the TV, dropped my tray on the floor like a hot potato, waved my arms around and shouted to the whole restaurant, "Quiet people!!!  It's the Casey Anthony verdict!!"  Just kidding, I basically had little to nothing invested in this trial so I watched with only the slightest interest.  She's definitely guilty of being a neglectful mother who made really stupid choices in raising her child, but at the end of the day the prosecution didn't prove their case.  Just my opinion.  Even still, I figured since it was such a big deal in the media I needed to take note of where I was when the Casey Anthony verdict was read.  For the record, I was working at St. John in Tulsa on the oncology/neurology floor when the OJ verdict was read.  Most of us gathered in an empty patient room to watch together.

Were there any heart-touching moments on your trip?
     One of my favorite moments was watching Jac teach Gavin how to go all the way down to the bottom of the 8 foot pool and touch his feet.  He taught me too, by the way.  Apparently, the best way to accomplish this is to actually let out all of the air in your lungs before you try to descend.  If you try it while holding a full breath then you are too buoyant and you can't get to the bottom.  This nurse learns something new from her children every day.  Imagine that.

Any exciting moments?
     Well, I have to tell a little bit about my girlfriends' trip to Chicago last December for this one to make sense.  Deanna, Jenn,and I went to Chicago for a few days before Christmas.  While there, we spent four hours in a Starbucks one evening just chatting the night away.  During our time there, a homeless man came in and started asking us for money.  He homed in on me, maybe he saw weakness there, and Deanna had to be the firm one to get him to leave us alone.  (Don't mistake her firmness for a lack of compassion.  It was a slightly uncomfortable experience in a private business).  He was pretty insistent and didn't want to leave Starbucks.  After he left, I made the statement that, "Sometimes politeness gets in the way for me." I have a hard time forgoing politeness even while being harassed.

I remembered that statement one afternoon while Gavin and I were at the pool.  I was laying out and reading a book while keeping an eye on him.  I watched him let go of his raft and it got too far away for him to swim to it.  (His grandmother has taught him to swim from a very young age, but he can't swim far distances).  When he realized he couldn't make it to the raft he turned around to try to swim to the side.  He couldn't make it that far either.  I was watching him but wanted to give him the opportunity to solve the problem himself.  When I saw it wasn't going to happen I took off running across the concrete, yelled "Watch out!!" and jumped over some people in the pool to get to my baby.  I yanked him up out of the water, pulled off his mask, and he was screaming.  Some men in the pool tried to help me get him to calm down but there was nothin' doin'.  I was determined not to let him get out of the pool--you know, the whole getting-back-on-the-horse thing--but I eventually let him get out.  Within half an hour he was back in the pool, with his mask on, swimming all over the place.  Later on, when I was reflecting on this event I realized that I did not let politeness get in the way!!  Robin-in-her-right-mind would have certainly yelled, "Excuse me!!" before jumping over the people.  Robin-rescuing-her-child-from-drowning had no qualms about yelling "Watch out!!"  I was proud, but mostly just glad that Gavin had agreed to get back on the horse so soon.

OK, one more story, then I've got to close out this post that's taken me 3 hours to write and a good portion of that time for you to read.  I had planned to do a section on swimsuit fashion but that will have to be a post for another day.

Anything memorable happen on the way home?
     I bought a pair of cowboy boots.  I know that's shocking to most of you; but my husband, his friend, and a few other people get it.  I don't have the finger power to explain my reasoning at the moment.

I will tell you one last cute, memorable thing that Gavin did.  While we were driving back he asked if he could sing a Christmas Carol.  Lindy said no.  He asked, "Well, can I sing a Spring Carol?"  Lindy said, "Sure, sing a Spring Carol."  So, Gav breaks out into a lively rendition of "Joy to the World!!"  Good try, Gav.  Call it what you want.  It's still a Christmas Carol and Dad wasn't buying it.



That's all for now.  Hope you enjoyed me interviewing me.  I'll have a post on swimsuit fashion at some point, The View From Here, and my feelings about my little Gav Gav starting kindergarten.

Love to all.