Family Beach Vacation 2008

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! Yes, it's almost here! All the months and months of planning, waiting, anticipating are about to pay off! Thanks to Robbie and Adrienne, we get to stay in this beautiful house by the sea! Every year, they graciously extend invitations to all the family to be together! It's awesome!

Beach week is right over the horizon, just around the corner, a stones throw away (ok, you get it)! On Friday morning, we (myself, my girls, George, and his daughter Kelsey), will be headed to Florida for a week long vacation together with my family! Twenty four hours a day for seven days (not to mention car time!), we'll be together.

We are meeting up with everyone in Tallahassee for 4th of July Fireworks and then it's on the road Saturday morning caravan style to the beach house! Yes, the songs have been chosen for Karaoke! The bathing suits, boogie boards, pails, shovels and sunblock have been bought! We are ready!

We talk about this trip everyday. I do mean EVERYDAY. This morning, I found myself pondering this question, "What are we going to talk about after the beach trip?" Then, I answered it myself!

Why, next years trip, of course!

"Mingoitis"

I've got this uncle. His name is Mingo. That's short for Domingo. He's my moms brother and Grannys oldest son. He's like 60 something years old. Mingo moved in with Granny several years ago. It was supposed to be for a couple of months, but has turned into several years! I don't think Granny minded too much, even though they don't get along all that well. I guess it beats being alone.

Anyway, Mingo is an "entrepreneur" of sorts. He sells things. You name it, he sells it. If he doesn't have it and you want it, he'll find it. Once, Granny asked if I wanted to go with her to the flea market. She said Mingo would be there too. Joy. Well, we find him and there he is, pushing DVD's. Hundreds of them. Only problem was they were all copies, no originals. He had copied them on the VHS/DVD (also for sale) and was selling them for $5 bucks a piece! I guess Mingo's never paid attention to the piracy warnings threatening jail time and fines for doing this very thing! This is so illegal!

Anyway, so that's Mingo. When you visit Granny, you can expect an "MSP" (mingo sales pitch)". I am convinced the most exciting part of his life is when he hears the front door open and company has arrived! I believe this because it's the only time he comes out of his bedroom! Without fail, he enters Granny's living room, never empty handed, with his "latest" video camera or some other electronic device. Promising to "give jew a good deal"! Goes something like this: "Hey, Bikki, jew ever seen one of dees before?" "Not sure, Mingo." He goes on: "Well, I'm gonna give jew a good deal. Jew need one of dees. I'm gonna give it to jew for just $200." I find myself almost saying yes just to help the poor guy out. Problem is, the items usually not worth more than $25 bucks! Then there's my mom, Mingo's sister. She's the yard sale queen. She lives for Saturday mornings to either have one or shop them! Just a few weeks ago, Brenda had a yard sale. Mom was her best customer!

And this week, Brenda listed some items from her house on craigslist.com. She heard about it from a friend. When she called to tell me about her new "business", she was pretty excited! She sold everything within 48 hours! With her profits, she was able to fund a new screen for her pool!
It got me thinking. Is there an incurable disease known as "Mingoitis" making its way through my family? Is it hereditary or contagious?!

I'm keeping my eye on this. If it gets worse, I want a vaccination.

Then again, maybe it's time to clean out my attic!

Sometimes Little Sister Does Know Best!

I had to take Kendra to an urgent care yesterday. After a fever, sore throat and throwing up for 2 days (and our vacation coming up next week!), I am determined to get this kid well! So, Kendra, Kolby and I made the trip to the doctor.

As we waited in the examing room for the doctor to give us the "verdict", Kolby, enthusiastically, said to Kendra, "You know what you need are popsicles! They helped me when I was sick, Kendra! They will make your throat feel better, I promise! You won't get dehydrated and you won't throw them up. I'm telling you, Kendra. That's exactly what you need!" Kendra screamed, "SHUT UP, KOLBY! I don't feel good and you don't know what you're talking about! So, just SHUT UP!"

Kolby looked over at me and rolled her eyes. Not two seconds later, the doctor walked in. Kendra has an infection, tonsilitis. She said to Kendra, "We'll start you on an antibiotic right away. You should start eating popsicles too. They'll help make your throat feel better. They'll also keep you from getting dehydrated. OK?" Kendra thanked the doctor and shook her head in agreement, never looking in her little sister's direction.

Kolby? Well, she just smiled.

"Life For Sale"

I read recently about a guy who's selling his life. Literally. Yeah, that's what I said. He's selling his life! I mean the guy is selling everything! His house, clothes, furniture, car, job, even his friends! Apparently, he was blindsided when the love of his life, after 12 years, asked for a divorce. Now, he says he wants everything from their past erased because the memories are too painful. He hates living in their house, sleeping on their bed, using the same dishes, etc. and he wants it all gone! To the highest bidder, that is. So, it got me thinking. (shut up Brenda!)

Seriously, are there people in the world that would like to sell their life and start over? Apparently. Hmmmm. How would my ad read?

For Sale: Single, mother of four, selling her life to highest bidder. Included, but not limited to: Four daughters, along with two son-in-laws, boyfriend, a Granny, great family, loads of friends, a housetrained Maltipoo (daughters, son-in-laws, boyfriend also housetrained), tastefully decorated home with 4BR, 31/2Baths, high end furniture, Lexus, Playstation (rarely used) Wii, closet filled with stylish clothes (shut up Kendra!), fulfilling job, TimeLife 70's collection of CD's (now THIS will be hard to part with), four televisions, piano, over 100 movies (including "A Star is Born", "Grease", "The Notebook" and "The Goonies!") and more "good stuff"! (My brother says my life should come with a discount!) Seriously, shut up Brenda!

According to this dude, it'll work like this. You buy my life. I walk out the front door with my purse and the clothes on my back and start over somewhere. Ok, I admit, it sounds a little appealing. Maybe to some of you, a lot! But, come on, does this guy really think it's that easy? Does he seriously believe you can just walk out, leave memories behind, (good or bad), never to think of them again? He's nuts! Our past helps mold us into who we become. Hopefully, we learn from mistakes and do better next time. But, nevertheless, it does follow. So, maybe what this guy should do is raise money for the counseling and medication he needs to help deal with reality.

After reading my own ad and considering my life, I've decided, good or bad, I'm keeping it! It's not for sale. Not at any price!

Happy Birthday "Sweet Sixteen"

This is the last of them. The May/June Birthdays! I will now have another year to relax before the next swarm of daughter's birthdays begins! This time it's my third daughter I'll be celebrating. Or as we sometimes call her, Sweet Pea. It was work getting this one! Her father and I tried desperately for close to 2 years to get pregnant. We had succeeded once, but suffered a miscarriage.

After trying so long, without success, we decided to see a specialist. I was getting scared something was wrong and I needed reassurances. We had a morning appointment with the doctor and he decided to perform a laparoscopy that afternoon to "explore" my insides. They had a cancellation and would be able to get me in that afternoon!

After some pre-op (blood tests, etc.) during the morning visit, we went home and were told to be back at 1pm. I made the necessary arrangements for Teryn and Tawni to have a sitter and everything was set in motion. But, sometime after lunch, I got a call from the nurse. She said, "Victoria, you aren't going to need to come in today for your laparoscopy." I asked, "Why not? Are you re-scheduling?" She said, "No, sweetie, you don't need to come in. You're already pregnant!" I said, "What!? I was just there this morning!" The nurse replied, "I know. Your blood test just came back. It's positive. You're pregnant." I screamed, "DAMN, you guys really are good!" We were thrilled. We couldn't believe it.

Teryn and Tawni were equally as happy about the new addition on the way. And on June 23, 1992, weighing in at 7lbs 9ozs, at approximately 2:55 a.m., Kendra Taylor was born. She had a head full of black hair (she literally looked like she was wearing a wig!) and little beedy dark eyes. She was absolutely stunning. We couldn't have been happier!

We brought her home and our lives were never the same. She's a wonderful daughter. Kendra is bright, independent, intelligent, funny, witty and a daughter any mother would be proud of. (At her age, I was married! Goes to show how much smarter she is at 16 than I was!)

Look out drivers cause in two weeks, she'll have her license! Happy Birthday, my Sweet Sixteen! My little Sweet Pea. My Kendra Taylor. I love you like crazy!

Four daughter's. Four birthdays. Jeez! Yikes! Whew! I'm tired.

"Operation Save Mary Fika"

A "friend" of mine's daughter was recently "abducted" and taken to a camp far away in the mountains by her ex-husband. This girl's father told her he was taking her to the NC Mountains for a week of father-daughter time. He lied. Typical for him.

The reality was that he took her to the camp, dropped her off with strangers, gave her a speech about her "attitude" determining the kind of week she'd have and then, he was gone. She was quite confused. He left, never telling her the truth that he would not be spending the week with her. She found that out from a camp counselor when she inquired as to where he was. She said, "Oh, your Dad left. He was never intending on staying. He said he was bringing you. He asked us to take your cell phone away, but as long as you won't use it, we'll let you keep it." How nice.

Immediately, she wanted to call her mother. She had to sneak away because she couldn't get caught using it! Since the cell reception was almost non-existent, this proved to be very difficult, but she finally found a spot and got through. Her text messages read like this, "Please come and get me out of here! My dad's not even with me!" This went on until 5am!

The mother wouldn't be able to get to her for two days. This was excruciating for both mother and daughter, but finally, "Operation Save Mary Fika" was underway! Now, she's home with Mom. All is well. And Dad still doesn't know.

When our babies need us, no mountain's big enough to stop us from getting there! Don't mess with Mommies!

Legacy

Legacy. Big word. There's even a song by that name. I sang it at my father's memorial service. The chorus says, "I want to leave a legacy. How will they remember me? Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things? I want to leave an offering. A child of mercy and grace, who blessed Your name, unapologetically. I want to leave a legacy." I love that song. I've been thinking a lot about the legacy I want to leave lately for those that are important to me.

I don't know about you, but I've royally screwed up enough in my 44 years to last a lifetime, but it's good to know that until I stop breathing, I can continue towards the goal of making a difference in my life, as well as one on other's. I'm blessed that the work I do has filled me with a sense of great accomplishment. In the nine years being associated with the Crisis Center, I'd like to think I've made a difference in someone's life. I'd like to believe that the tens of thousands of teenagers that I've spoken in front of over the years have made better choices because of something I may have said.

Just this week, I was an integral part of making history at the center. A few months ago, I presented a program to the Board, believed in it wholeheartedly and "sold" it with passion. And last week, I was given approval to implement it. It is a program that will bring help to homeless families for years to come. This has been a humbling and incredibly fulfilling outcome professionally, but more so, personally.

Yes, these things are truly satisfying, but, in all honesty, the greatest legacy I want to leave is to my children. I long for them to be proud of me. I want to know they're happy with God's decision in allowing me the priviledge of being their mommy. I've let them down many times, but always tried to do my best. By no means have I been perfect. My four daughters are my greatest accomplishments.

Hmmm. Funny. I just realized if I died today, I've already left a great legacy through four of the most amazing females I've ever known. If I do say so myself.

Legacy. Big word.