The Things A Parent Will Do

Tonight I watched an extraordinary night of television. All during prime time, I laughed, I cried and I did both at the same time. The emotions were running high.

There is a new sitcom on ABC called The Goldberg's and I especially like the originality and writing of the show because it is not the usual run-of-the-mill sitcom with predictable dialogue and boring storyline. Also, the story took place during my childhood years so I can really relate.

The episode called "You Opened The Door" was especially priceless to me because it mixed emotions with experience as both a one-time teen and  now as a parent which culminated in the realization that my own "baby", ( I am the "baby" of my parents' children- and always hated the term "baby" for the youngest child) Daniel, was fast approaching manhood and was probably facing many of the same situations that the cast of the Goldberg teens were experiencing. It seemed like only yesterday that Ryan, now a young man, was going through the "change" from teen to man, and all that that entails. Riley will be 18 this spring and Daniel will soon follow in a couple of years, and then I won't have a "baby" left except in my heart. (Sob)

Next in line was the other new sitcom on ABC called Trophy Wife, in which I find the writing  original and witty, and the show also deals with real-life family blending that occurs so often today with multiple divorces affecting the functionality/dysfunctionality  of many families today. This show effectively deals with the very difficult situation that many new partners find in coping with children of several marriages, combined with the added drama/trauma of the other ex-partners/parents. Even with the imbroglio of the complex subject matter, the writers manage to produce a worth-while and funny show.

Last night's episode entitled "The Tooth Fairy" was an hysterical piece about the lengths that parents will go to sentimentality and the seeing their child do the 'first' whatever. Bert is the adopted son from a previous marriage on the show. But when Bert loses a tooth and then the dad loses the tooth that fell out of Bert, things start to get hairy as Kate, the trophy wife, dabbles in the deep waters as a parent. Kate soon realizes being a parent isn't as easy as it looks.

It reminded me of the time when my three sons went through that definite right of passage of not only loosing their "baby" teeth, but the parents propagating the tale of the Tooth Fairy. You'd think that such an innocent character as a Tooth Fairy would be pretty cut and dry, right? As it turns out, real life can have the worst scenarios that could possibly happen with a child losing part of their body and being rewarded with a monetary figure; it can go horribly wrong in a lot of ways; as Bert finds out when both parents try to make the situation better, and both parents make the situation worse. Funny stuff, if you're not the one living through it.

I remember when Ryan, my oldest son, had lost several teeth already and was well on his way to a toothless grin and he was enjoying the fruits of his labor with dollar bills piling up under his pillow being a powerful motivator to hurry things along ( I remember getting nickels and dimes per tooth, and a quarter for the front ones). One day, Ryan was working on a prospective tooth in the playroom when all of a sudden the tooth popped out on the floor, or in the toys. or... we weren't sure exactly where the errant tooth flew.

A search party was drawn up and given certain sections of the playroom to search, but the tooth was not to be found, and all Ryan had to show the Tooth Fairy was a red hole in his mouth where there had obviously been a tooth not so long ago. The dilemma manifested itself at bedtime when Ryan demanded to know how he was going to get paid by the Tooth Fairy when there was no tooth to be exchanged. I had to think quickly. Okay, how about we write a note of explanation to the Tooth Fairy that the tooth had been lost- after all, surely the Tooth Fairy would think honesty is the best policy, right? Ryan liked this idea, and he set about to write the Tooth Fairy a note of explanation. Whew! Dodged a bullet there.

Not so fast. As it turned out, when it came time to perform her toothy duties, the Tooth Fairy only had a $20 dollar bill in her purse, and forgot to get change earlier in the day. No Tooth Fairy in her right mind would set such a precedent as to give a $20 dollar reward for a tooth, any tooth, let alone  a missing tooth! The Tooth Fairy panicked- but it didn't matter- still no bills but the $20 could be found; so the Tooth Fairy wrote a note of her own. It started out to be an I.O.U., but she couldn't write a loan for a dollar!! Then she came up with another thought- why not dock the recipient for the missing tooth and pay the remainder if the tooth was later found! The Tooth Fairy did have 50 cents!

This Tooth Fairy has the most decorous handwriting that you ever did see! Ryan thought it was written in some Tooth Fairy language-but there did seem to be something familiar about it. Oh, well, it seemed fair to Ryan to only get half since the tooth was lost. But it sure made future teeth a lot more valuable to keep hold of until it was safely under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy to exchange for money. Ryan never lost another tooth again! He never found the lost tooth, either.

Until about 10 years later, after all the boys had grown out of the Tooth Fairy phase, that Ryan was helping me clean out a drawer upstairs in my room. There were baby pictures and baby clothes and other mementos when Ryan came upon all the envelopes and box of expelled baby teeth-including the "note" for the missing tooth. Oops! I guess the Tooth Fairy must have left her prizes in this particular drawer- because really, what would  a Tooth Fairy do with all the millions of baby teeth from all the boys and girls?? Parents like to keep some gross things-like teeth, locks of hair, etc.

One more quick "tooth" story- getting long here- no pun. When my cousin had her daughter Chelsea before I had any children, Chelsea lost her first tooth while were down at the farm for Thanksgiving. Her dad was a bit of a cheapskate, so I had the opportunity to inform Chelsea of the Tooth Fairy custom and told her that I had received $5 per tooth, and she should expect at least that much from her Tooth Fairy. This, of course, infuriated her frugal father. It sure brought a bright smile to my face.

The "Writing" Helmet

The summer of 2013 I spent exploring different kinds of writing and preparing for several different kinds of story writing ( although not very productive!) employing varying modes of research. One story that I decided to research involved horseback riding. Being an accomplished horsemen myself, I had some gear  that I have saved when I took riding lessons at Hans Post Riding Stables in my early teens. I took years of English riding lessons as well as also being able to ride bareback and Western. As most young women in her teens, I loved all things horses -  even the Marlboro horse! Some of the gear that I kept as mementos were jodhpurs, breeches, a crop (little stick whip) and an English riding/jumper helmet with black velvet covering. Of all the horseback riding that I did, I absolutely  loved jumping horses! I still get tingles of excitement today when I think of the thrill of having a good mount under me and the power of this animal to jump with me over a 4' barrier. There is really nothing quite like that feeling to compare it to, except maybe going down the first highest and steepest roller coaster hill- maybe.

While I began gathering information and formulating what type of story it would be, I thought to myself that I needed something tangible to really bring the old passion back to me. Since I could hardly go out in the front yard to pet a (non-existent) horse, I searched my memory for a similar catalyst and exclaimed out loud "riding helmet"! I was sitting at the computer and writing when I exclaimed this. Soon, I was asking my son Ryan to go upstairs in the back of my closet to get my riding helmet. Now Ryan had heard stories of my horseback riding, but wasn't privy to the gear I had kept at the back of my closets as I moved around for the past 30 years or so. So his ears heard "writing helmet" instead of "riding helmet", after all, I was sitting at the computer writing as usual.

At first, I missed the strange looks I was receiving from Ryan because I was busy researching the story. I kept repeating to him when I saw him walk by to "go get my riding helmet out of the back of the closet". As he was going upstairs, I heard him say to me "Writing helmet"? 'You've never needed one to write before! Why do you need one now?" I wasn't catching his confusion at first because I knew what I was talking about! I meant "riding helmet". But now Ryan's confused look was turning to concern about my mental health as he questioned what did the "writing helmet" do for me? I told him that touching it and putting it on would make me write a better story. To which Ryan replied "Why? Does the "writing helmet" keep bad thoughts out of your head?"

I heard the concerned tone in Ryan's voice and turned around to see his perplexed look on his face and then realized that we were not  on the same page. I realized Ryan's confusion over the spoken word "riding" and the word I meant  was not "writing", and burst out laughing. When I explained to Ryan what I was talking about, we had a good laugh for the better part of an hour. He was relieved to know I wasn't talking about a "writing helmet" to keep bad thoughts out of my head!

So far the puns keep coming. This story grew legs and now when sanity is questioned on either part, we ask the other if they need a "writing helmet"!

By the way, I now only write with my "writing helmet" on - I am so glad it still fits :)

Family Matters

Ah. I feel good today. I just unfriended my sister on Facebook. Yay! She may be my sister but she is not my friend. I have to get some things off my chest. Recently, my brother was hospitalized to have some colon cancer removed. This is his second bout with cancer. His first cancer was stage 4 non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He is also afflicted with adolescent-onset of Diabetes, which in later life has caused him to lose more than half of his right foot.

While he was in the hospital, my siblings and I were there to visit him. My older brother from North Carolina flew in to see him and to visit my oldest brother, who was also hospitalized with some serious ailments. My oldest sister and her husband came from Omaha, as well as the sister non-Grata, who lives in Des Moines.

The family had to leave the hospital room while the hospital staff moved my brother around and  helped him use the bathroom, etc.

While my brother from North Carolina and my two sisters were out in the hallway, we all started to get caught up on information from our lives. My oldest son, Ryan, was there with me to visit his uncle in the hospital as well. We had good news to share as Ryan had just completed his first full year of college at my old Alma-mater, Grand View. We had just been notified that Ryan made the Dean's list and had been awarded $3,000 in tuition grants. As soon as Pat (sister non-Grata) heard the good news, she starts telling my son what he should do in school, and  what occupation he should pursue. Wow. First of all, I politely reminded her that I am his mother and that Ryan and I discuss his college plans, and that doesn't include her input. Ryan chimed in with basically the same information, to which she exclaimed how she had gotten much more money when she was getting her degree.

Pat began by telling this stupid story about when she received her diploma, there was a 'funny sticker on it that read "Sum ma Cum Lade" on it.' She laughed and laughed because that meant she was going to get much more money, like $5,000.

Let me just say to anyone who has ever had to work, and work hard, that achieving "Sum ma Cum Lauder" does not come with little to no effort. Anyone who actually worked for straight A's would be well aware of it before they received their diploma. Pat never did her own homework, struggled through papers with dull and unintelligent writing (her teacher told her that), and she is just not the sharpest knife in the drawer, if you know what I mean. Besides the fact that you don't get awarded tuition money after you 'graduate'.

All that aside, I asked Pat what her degree was in. Her eyes shot red daggers at me, as she feigned she did not hear me. So I asked her again what her degree was in that she had just gotten "Sum ma Cum Laude", you know, "highest honors". You see, Pat and my sister from Omaha, Mary, had just declared war on my brother from North Carolina. Pat and Mary think they are in charge of what family is allowed to come visit other family members when they are sick or dying. Like when my own mother and father were dying, Mary told me not to come to the hospital until they had both died. So I never got closure or got to say good bye to my Mom and Dad. Later I found out from a cousin of mine, in a Christmas newsletter no less, that  Mary had been present when both of my parents had died (different years), and none of the other 'children' (my brothers and I) were concerned enough to show up. I learned from that bullshit that nobody can decide for me whether or not I can see family members in the hospital. Mary and Pat have even gone so far as to not disclose what hospital my brother was in when he had stage 4 cancer previously. So I had to call around to see where he was. He was glad to see me then, too.

Back to the New World War that Pat and Mary were planning with my brother that flew in from North Carolina, I declared that I was Switzerland, which angered both of my older sisters. Too bad. Life is too short to be warring. I'm not interested in being a party to their pettiness.

When Pat finally answered what degree she had received with "highest honors" she revealed that it was in "Psychology", to every one's shock. I'm no Psych major but when I took several classes in college, every Psych professor informed the class that the only reason 98% of Psych majors go into the profession is to find out what is mentally wrong with themselves. With that knowledge in mind, it's easy to see why Pat had chosen that field; she is bat shit crazy. Her pretending to be knowledgeable  about Psychology could only be described as pouring gasoline on her hair and lighting it on fire- dangerous.

After the initial shock wore off a bit later about Pat's new found 'occupation', I queried her about whether she was working in her 'field'. She answered that she worked with little kids in elementary school. So I repeated my question, and she answered "No, not in my field,". Thank God for small miracles!!! I can't think of anything more damaging to a young psyche than having Pat's loony business going in and scrambling their poor young brains.

To my knowledge, this is Pat's second degree- the first one is for a social worker- again, dangerous territory for destroying perfectly normal lives. Pat claimed it was "very inappropriate" for my son to buy me perfume for a Christmas present because she didn't like the name of the fragrance! Even though I had asked Ryan for the perfume. I could go on and on about all the mean and hurtful things that Pat has done to me over the years...and I probably will go into some of them.

On this particular day, Pat was bragging about her "Sum ma Cum Laude" made-up status on her 'degree' in Psychology when she really just wanted to brag without anybody finding out what her degree was in. This angered Pat so that her eyes turned red that I had made her reveal what she was bragging about so openly, because of all the people she could fool with a Psych degree, it was not her family. We knew about all her mental breakdowns and psycho babble and lies.

Seeing my sister on the ropes and being so easily rattled by the subject she brought up, I pushed her a little farther, just for fun. I asked Pat what she learned from Psychology. Furious and with a little spittle forming on the side of her mouth, she leaned into me, nose to nose, and screamed  "I know you're crazy!!" To which I replied not missing a beat "Look in the mirror". So goes her 'professionalism' in Psych on the hospital floor with staff walking by. LOL

Then it was time to go in to visit my brother with colon cancer. The surgeon, Dr. Page, removed all the cancer from his colon and hopefully he won't have any more cancers spring up. He's had enough.

An Overview

It may seem that I have been neglecting my blogger duties, but trust me, their are reasons for my absence. Suffice it to say to say that I will be highlighting major events that occurred since February of 2012. Some may be revisited in detail as need be.

Many changes happened to my three sons as their teenage hormones kicked into high gear. I distinctly remember my dear mother laughing uncontrollably as she sputtered "They will all be teenagers at the same time". I did not fully grasp her humor at the time the boys were toddlers, but am beginning to find out what she meant now when adolescence continues to plague our family life.

Let me start off with Danny, my youngest. He's in middle school and was having a hard time of it. When I had to go to court with him for "too many absences" and was fighting to keep him from becoming a dropout before eighth grade, I had my work cut out for me. Being a single mom has its drawbacks. But we worked through it together and he made it to eighth grade with flying colors. Now he is Honor Roll worthy and hasn't missed a day in the eighth grade. I don't like the middle school where he goes to school because it doesn't have the best reputation; I swore for years that I would never let him attend that school. But mainly because of the three long years of fighting foreclosure that Bradex put us through, I had no other choice. Daniel remains the minority group at his school and the problems with bad behavior there are never ending. It's not the educational/social mix I was looking for, that's for sure. But Danny and I have to make lemonade out of lemons for awhile.  Daniel is one great kid.

I also had to monitor Daniel's activities on facebook because of the crudity of some of his 'friends' on fb. Danny is very impressionable and wants to be accepted, just like every single teenager entering their formative adult lives. Too bad the pickings for friendship at his middle school are so slim. But Danny has kept a friendship with the neighbor boy since his Kindergarten class. He is also beginning to notice the other sex as something more than just being there.

Riley. Riley. Riley. The life I wished for Riley when he was born seems like a distant planet to me now, barely visible to the naked eye. I have been forced to compromise at every turn for Riley, through vicious bureaucracy. His education at 16 years old is non-existent. His social life is also nonexistent, outside of his special school. His family life is not what I want for him. It is so hard. Riley is so loving. I know it must be very frustrating for him to not be able to communicate.

I am so tired of having to constantly fight for every single thing for Riley. So tired. I don't know where to begin because I know there will never be an end to his life-long problems. If I can't get him the help he needs now, how will I ever have the peace of mind to know that he will be taken care of when I'm gone??

In 2012 alone, there has been a parade of bureaucratic barrages designed to make Riley's life miserable. I know they (the powers that be) have succeeded to make MY life miserable trying to fix what they have undone. From the simple task of changing Riley's SSI bank deposit to the absurdity of the Social Security office charging that Riley owed $12, 000, I have had it! I physically went to the Social Security office every single month of 2012 for the entire year to get "it straightened out" and without fail, the Social Security office made everything worse. A truly remarkable feat if you ask me. Yet, the nightmare that is bureaucracy continues to hurt those it is designed to help. Sad.

Ryan truly transformed from a young teenager leaving high school into a young man entering college. Although now it seems like it was a seamless transformation, there were several bumps along the way. Nothing that we couldn't work out together.

Ryan graduated from Dowling Catholic High School, which is a AAAA rated high school, and is the best high school in Iowa. That's pretty darn good, considering he maintained the Honor Roll status for the most part since third grade. I'm so proud of Ryan. He also completed all his own graduation invites and all his own Thank-yous, which is really something for a teenage boy! He's a great kid, so it's not that surprising :)

After some minor help from me, he did some research for colleges to apply to and then decided on going to Grand View University in Des Moines. I also attended Grand View, but it was only a college back then...ouch, dating myself!

Ryan got quite the package from Grand View in scholarships and opportunities. He received a basketball scholarship along with several other scholarships, including a minor scholarship because I went there, also. The best part of choosing Grand View for Ryan is that he is close to campus life and yet doesn't have to pay to live in a dorm. He's five minutes away from class-which is convenient. He is studying to become an educator so far. Ryan likes his classes, and it keeps him close to his girlfriend of 3 years, Mittzi. She attends Drake University on a music scholarship. Mittzi is a talented and friendly young woman. They are good for each other.

Ryan keeps a very busy schedule, working at Dahl's grocery store. He's worked there several years as well, and Mittzi works there, too. That's where they met ;) Sometimes Ryan takes his job too seriously, though. He likes to try to stop thieves from stealing things from his store. A couple of women shoplifters tried to take off with some stolen property. One girl stopped in the store when she was caught. But the girl she was with took off running from Dahl's. Ryan took off after her, enjoying the chase. After a romp through backyards and side streets, Ryan finally caught up with the perp. He grabbed her purse after pleading with her to just give him the stolen goods and he would let her go. She resisted, and proceeded to bite Ryan's hands that were clutching her purse.

Finally, another employee came to Ryan's aid, and tackled her, while she maintained a grip on her purse. But Ryan yanked it when she fell to the ground. Ryan got her purse in the end, with the stolen property in the purse, along with the perp's ID. Stupid criminals. Meanwhile, Ryan's hands resembled hamburger, and Dahl's tended to his wounds as best they could. But he still had to have a doctor treat his human bites.

I pleaded with Ryan to make better decisions at work. I know he wants to be the good guy- but she  only stole about $5 bucks worth of crap. My thought that scared me to death was what if the perp had a gun? Ryan can't outrun a bullet...

My problems keep getting better and worse. I'm so tired of fighting for every nickel and dime when Bradex has the life of luxury. It seems that his mission to make his family suffer at every turn has become reality, marked by his entire family ignoring Ryan's high school graduation. But really, what should we expect? The nut doesn't fall far from the tree.

Funny Valentines

In a nostalgic mood lately, I've been thinking a lot about my parents. They are both gone now by years, which is sad because I miss them both. Makes me think about my own mortality more than I want to, but as my oldest son, Ryan, reaches his first adult age milestone of 18, it makes time more pressing that you cannot turn the clock back.

Traveling down memory lane, I remembered a cookie that my Mom used to make called "Mrs. Field's Cookies". The cookie itself has a peculiar story associated with it.

There was a chain letter that went out in the late 1980's to people all over claiming that a woman that  had been shopping at Neiman Marcus had stopped to have a bite to eat at their cafe. She ordered a Coke and one of the famous Mrs. Field's Cookies. She thought the cookies were so delicious that she asked the waitress for the recipe as she put the snack on her tab. The waitress returned with the recipe and the woman put it in her purse and left.

A month went by and the woman received her bill from Neiman Marcus. As she looked over her purchases, her eyes lit up in surprise. There on the bill for her purchases was a charge of $250 dollars for the famous cookie recipe!

However the recipe was a fake and the story that accompanied it was adapted from an urban legend attached to recipes for cookies from Neiman Marcus and Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake.^[2]
In response to the chain letter Debbi Fields posted this sign in all of her stores:

Mrs. Fields recipe has never been sold. There is a rumor circulating that the Mrs. Fields Cookie recipe was sold to a woman at a cost of $250. A chocolate-chip cookie recipe was attached to the story. I would like to tell all my customers that this story is not true, this is not my recipe and I have not sold the recipe to anyone. Mrs. Fields recipe is a delicious trade secret.

The author of the chain letter remains a mystery.

So back to my memories of my Mom- she acquired a recipe for Mrs. Field's Cookies and guarded it with her life. It took her a long time to make these cookies, and sometimes she would let me help her make them. They were delicious chocolate chip cookies, but I never thought to ask her for her "recipe".

 I began a search on the web to find the recipe closest to my Mom's Mrs. Field's Cookie. I knew the basic ingredients that I had helped her with, so I kept searching until I found one suitable. I made the batch of cookies with as much fanfare as I remember my Mom going through. They turned out delicious, so I bagged them, marked them as "Mrs. Field's Cookies" and placed them carefully in the freezer for a special occasion.

Several days later, Ryan came up to me to ask if the cookies that were in the freezer were to be given to someone because he had been munching on the bag and nearly eaten all of them before he noticed the marking "Mrs. Field's Cookies"! Then he asked "Who's Mrs. Field's?"

I laughed so hard! But I have to admit that those cookies received the kid's Good Seal of Approval because they are delicious!

A New Baby For Our Family :)

We have a new member of our family. He has black and silver-grey hair, he's about 3 1/2 feet tall, walks on all fours, and wags his tail. Yes, we got a puppy. Ryan paid for the dog on his 17th birthday in July. He's an Animal Rescue League (or shelter) dog. They claim he is half black Lab, and half Blue Heeler (Australian Shepherd), but we just think he is cute.

His name is Buddy. When we got Buddy, he was all skin and bones and big paws. They barely fed him- just enough to keep him alive. With a little lovin' and a lot of food, he has grown into a handsome young doggie. Actually, he is big as a horse and never stops eating - or chewing! He has eaten enough rawhide and doggie jerky to make several full length leather coats, shoes - you name it.

Buddy has some major strength. He has broken about 7 collars, and 3 of those were choker collar chains! He just runs and nothing stops him! We had to tie him to a tree- he hasn't pulled the tree out yet! Then I got him a snare (safe) collar that was super strong, hunter orange,  etc. He ate through that collar in less than 2 weeks. Ugh!

I like Buddy's shiny black and silver - grey coat. It doesn't shed terribly and looks great without a lot of grooming. His winter coat is getting a little wavy, which adds to its beauty. His legs have a rustic brown tint to his fur, which makes him a unique three-colored dog.

Ryan and Danny just adore their new puppy. And they are pretty good about taking care of their new charge. They walk Buddy, feed and water him, and sometimes clean up after him in the yard. Ryan loves to wrestle him and they get into many take downs.

The cats. Not so much. The living room usually starts growling whenever Buddy walks into it. Bark (the cat) is slowly getting used to Buddy, but not really loving it yet. Greybey will have nothing to do with the dog and feels betrayed most of the time because he was the Alpha Male until Buddy showed up. But we are working on anger management and controlling Buddy's boisterous nature with the cats.

There is another aspect that is new to our house since Buddy moved in. His farts could clear a bus!! OMG! He emits a green cloud and then runs for cover to protect himself and breathe the clean air, leaving the rest of us to fend off the lethal fumes and to fight for our last breaths. I have never in my life smelled such horrible smells come from an animal! Then he "bombs" us individually by dropping the fart bomb while sitting next to one of us and then running for cover. By the time you wonder why he's running, the fumes take over all available oxygen, and your eyes burn and sting. And the fart hang time is world record breaking! Fans don't touch these toxic fumes.

So I figured it must be his food. I changed his food to the next more expensive food chain, rather than the second to last dog food I was using. It improved the farting situation and frequency somewhat dramatically after a short period of time. You can hear Buddy fart, and it scares him! Believe me, the noise scares us as well. At least we get a little warning when the bomb is audible.

Next, Buddy quit eating his 'new' food. We had a small bag of his 'old' food around, so I gave him some mixed with his 'new' food. As soon as he was done eating, it was like someone filled the room with stink bombs and  rotten eggs! Phew!  We are still working on a new formula that we can all live with.

All in all, though, I really enjoy Buddy. He keeps me company and makes me feel safe. He is fiercely protective of his family, including the cats. Buddy is very smart and is working on expanding his repertoire of tricks and commands. He is mostly quiet (except when he farts) and he is my biggest fan when I cook :)
The boys love their doggie, especially when he greets them at the door with tail wagging and slobber drooling.

I think we'll keep him :0)

Making A (Small) Difference

The other day, I was swimming at our local watering hole, the public pool, with my three boys. I was lounging on the side, soaking up some rays. I noticed a very pretty teen lifeguard approaching me on the deck. She bent down and waved at me while she said "Hi, Sheila." The sun was in my eyes and I could only see her in silhouette, so I just mumbled "Hi," as she walked away.

Some 30 years ago, I used to work as a lifeguard at this pool. I taught swimming lessons and swam AAU here at this pool. I worked at Birdland Swimming Pool before they put the new pool in the mid '80's. My boys favorite pool is Birdland. Swimming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Back to the future, who was this teen that said 'hi' to me? I looked around at the other lifeguards and didn't recognize any from last year except a few. This mystery girl was new.

Then Ryan, Riley and Danny came back from the water slide and Ryan asked me if that was Michelina that said 'hi' to me. OMG! It was my best friend's daughter- Michelina- that had said hi to me! Ryan muttered that she hadn't said hi to any of them, especially Riley, when she got off duty on the water slide. I was still dumbfounded that it was Michelina working at Birdland Pool.

Flashback about 10 years to Birdland Pool. The boys and I went swimming one day and ran into my best friend, Karolina, who was there swimming with her two kids also. So naturally we began talking, catching up on gossip and other news. Her son is also autistic, so we share a lot of information.

When it came time to jump in the water (shallow) with the kids, she hesitated big time. Her little kids equally shied away from the water. Karolina shared with me that she didn't know how to swim, and she was afraid of the water.

I reassured her that I would take care of her kids and that I would even teach her kids how to swim. I told her about my lengthy past with swimming, and so she agreed. I got her kids started with water acclimation and went on from there. A year or two later, Karolina proudly announced to me that her kids were ready to take swimming lessons with the other  kids in the summer. Great news!

When Michelina started high school, her mother told me that she wanted to be on the swim team, and then she joined! Michelina loved swimming on the swim team, even though her mother confided in me that the workouts were rigorous for her petite daughter. Michelina was a shy little girl.

Now she is a smart-looking young lady that has blossomed into the beauty of youth, while sporting a hot red Lifeguard bikini at a public pool where she once was frightened to enter the water.

I know that I didn't have a lot to do with Michelina becoming who she is today- her Mom gets full credit for that. But I can take credit for planting the seed of swimming in her head. What goes around, comes around- to quote the Bible.

It goes to show that a random act of kindness can have lasting effects on people. It doesn't take much, just reach out a hand and touch some one's life.

Sheila