Thursday, May 15, 2014

Backseat Conversations.

Today while going about my daily business with my little Rosebushes I overheard a conversation that warmed my heart and made me cry at the same time.   Today Emma's BFF Macie came home from school with us.  The girls played for awhile at the house and then decided they wanted to go to Orange Leaf.   They had been good so I agreed to take them along with Jaxon.  As I drove the girls sat in the backseat and chattered. They have the funniest conversations.  Today was the best one I've ever heard. I only picked up part of the conversation so I don't know how it started but this is where I really started listening:

Macie:  "I'm gonna meet Jesus one day."

Emma: "Me too, but we have to get to heaven first. "

Macie: "Yeah,  I wonder what it looks like there? "

Emma: "I don't know but I can't wait to get there and see my sister again.  I miss her."

Macie: "Oh that would be awesome.  Can I meet her too?"

Emma: "Ummmm....Yeah....you're my best friend and she'd love you.  She didn't walk or talk here, but mom says she can in heaven.  I really want to see that. I bet she likes walking and probably dancing.  I really miss her. Sometimes I forget what she looks like and I get sad"

Macie: "She could play with us and that would be fun. If she likes to dance we could all dance....In princess dresses. "

Emma: "I hope she remembers me.   I was littler when she died so I probably look different.  I'll have to introduce Jax because she never met him."

Macie: "He's kind of crazy I hope she likes him. "

Emma: "She probably won't but he is her brother so she'll have to.  Maybe he'll be better in heaven."

Unfortunately we arrived at Orange Leaf and the conversation ended. Luckily I had on sunglasses and neither girl could see the tears in my eyes.  I really wanted to hear more because it was a conversation filled with such innocence and hope.  Emma rarely talks to me about Maddie and I often wonder exactly how much she remembers about her.  I've wondered if she would remember her at all as she grew up.   I think today's conversation cleared some of that up for me.  Emma will always remember she has a sister.  The memories of her sister will likely always be trapped in a three year old state because that's how old she was when Maddie died. At just 5 years old I think Emma understand life, death, and heaven better than most adults.  I love that she shares these little snippets about her sister with her friends.  It's good to hear her talk about Maddie and even better to hear that she obviously talks so frequently about Maddie to her friends that they feel like they know her too.    
I needed that conversation today for so many reasons.  It meant a lot to me.  I didn't mention the conversation to Emma because secretly I hope to catch more conversations like that in the future.



Sunday, May 11, 2014

The Pool Man

Many people who read this have been my Facebook friends for awhile and because of that they know that every summer the pool is a source of aggravation for me and comic relief for my friends.   This summer is shaping up to be like the summers prior.  Mr. Fix It, AKA Frederick,  seems to lack a lot of motivation this year and is moving at turtle speed.
The pool saga truly started about a month ago when Fred realized that the harsh winter had caused some damage to the pump and skimmer.   The extreme cold cracked the skimmer,  I suspect that was due to improper closing by Mr. Fix It but we're just going to leave that alone for now.  The skimmer and part of the pump needed to be replaced so Mr. Fix It spent hours over the course of weeks searching all over the internet for the correct parts.  Instead of jusr ordering them he wrote down part numbers and said he was going to check local pool stores.  I suggested that it might be a smarter use of time if he simply called the two pool stores nearest us and see if they carried what we needed.  Since efficency isn't really one of his strengths he scoffed at my suggestion.  He decided to wait until 4:00PM last Sunday and head out to the pool stores .  Shockingly when he arrived at one store they were closed because he didn't bother to check the hours.  When he arrived at the other they didn't even sell the brand of pool and pump that we own so naturally they couldn't help with parts.  So basically that was a complete waste of time that could have all been avoided if he had simply made a phone call but I'm not one to say "I told you so!"  Ok so maybe I am but he wouldn't listen anyway.  The next logical step would be to just ignore the pool while the temperature soared to near 90° last week.   That plan of action didn't really work for me so on Monday I drove him to the pool store myself and refused to leave until he went inside and purchased the things we needed.  He complied and we now had the $300 worth of parts to fix the pool.  Hooray!  I was thinking he could get right to work because he assured me that both pieces where easy to install.   Wishful thinking.  He waited until Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 in the afternoon to get started.  That is exactly 2.5 hours before he needed to leave for work and that time needed to include a shower.  Needless to say not much got accomplished that day because as I suspected neither piece was "easy to install".  I gently reminded him that rain was forecasted for the weekend so he needed to get the cover off before it filled back up with water.  Wednesday  afternoon was a little more productive and Mr. Fix It actually got the pump back in working order (This is still unproven however because it hasn't been turned on yet.  I'm just trying to be positive.)  Thursday came a and I was excited because I thought that finally the cover was coming off.  NOPE!   I was wrong.  He milled about outside near the pool for a bit but nothing seemed to be happening.   Again, I gently reminded him that they were pretty good at forecasting the weather these days and it was supposed to rain this weekend.  My words of warning were once again completely ignored and as predicted it rained on Friday,  Saturday,  and again today!  So now I have a swimming pool that is full of water that has a fully functional pump and filter, and still has a cover on it.  A cover that is now full of standing water AGAIN and cannot be removed until it's drained of its contents.   I can't be certain but I'm sure draining the cover will likely take another week of Mr. Fix It's time.  The pool may be open by June 1st.  MAY BE.  .  . Let's see how next week goes.