Another Great Tom Story

Well one more year of Heritage has come and gone and Tom and I managed to survive. This is the 6th year we've been managing the commissary for the concession booths and we still are in awe of what an amazing week it is. It is so much work (much more now with two kids in the mix) but when we are sitting in our golf cart on the 18th hole over-looking the calibouge sound watching the PGA pros walk past us, we know it's definitely a privilege to be part of such a cool event. If the subject of moving away from the area is ever brought up, we quickly squelch the thought knowing wherever we move or whatever job we took - it most likely wouldn't include spending a week being paid to hang out on a golf course. Each year we've done this we seem to get a little smarter about our job at the commissary, but there are always the "fires" that need to be put out - and there's always a good story to be told. So here's this year's "good story". I must preface this with saying that If Tom had a say in what I wrote on this blog this would be a completely different story.

It was Thursday of the tournament and it had already been a long week. It's hard for me to leave the kids in someone else's constant care, the normal "guilty" feelings that are a part of the normal make-up of any mom take over. I know I need to be at the commissary but the questions "are my in-laws tired of the kids?" and "am I taking advantage of my sister being here on vacation?" kept creeping into my thoughts...even with the few beers I had. The busiest part of the week was still ahead of us and I already felt I hadn't seen the kids enough. So when Tom wanted to go to the "19th hole" (a golf term for BAR) I reluctantly said o.k. I figured another hour would be okay. I should have known better. Needless to say an hour quickly turned to two and I was getting very cranky and ready to go. Just as I finally got Tom in the golf cart a small cute blond woman (who I had noticed was paying a lot of attention to Tom earlier) bounced up to Tom asking him to drive her to the club house - which by the way was about 50 yards away - max. I quickly stepped in and said we needed to get home to OUR kids. Tom looked at me- almost annoyed that I wanted to go home - and said "come on, we can take her" Just when I was thinking - okay this chick can sit in the back, it is a maintenance cart, but I've sat in the back before - Tom was saying "you stay here - I'll be right back". I don't really remember what I was thinking at that point or why I decided to comply with this idea, but next thing I knew I was left standing there while my husband drove off with a cute blond who was acting 1/2 her age and was obviously in the mood for some more partying. Tom came back about 20 minutes later and we left together and that was the end of it. I teased him about it a bit...I really wasn't mad, kind of amused by the whole thing actually. But by the next day the story had gotten out to the all the vendors and booths (thanks to the Barry the Bud guy who witnessed the whole thing). It was classic. By the end of the week, he had "thrown" me out of the cart and went home with another woman. Of course this was all in fun....the more people teased him, the more defensive he got, which of course just made it more funny. He's actually standing behind me now exclaiming how "everything was blown out of proportion" and "totally exaggerated". HAAHAA!!!! It's my blog...I'll tell the story how I want! :) He won't live this one down for a looonnnnngggg time!

How I know I'm raising a boy

TJ and I were driving home from work yesterday and it was low tide. As we came over the bridge you could easily see al the oyster beds. So I gave a brief science lesson and told him all about oysters and even explained how sometimes a piece of sand can get inside an oyster to make a pearl. He looked thoughtfully out the window for a moment then said "mom, I think there are actually bombs inside the oysters and they are all gonna go BOOOOM! Wouldn't that be cool mom?" Ahhhh Boys, they are not happy unless something is being demolished or destroyed.

FYI

Hey everyone! I just changed my settings so anyone should be able to post a comment now. Not just registered users of blogspot! So start writing me back!

Time to reboot

I'm sure some of you thought I was never going to post again, for those of you who check in regularly, I'm sorry...I hope you didn't loose faith that I would be back. I just realized that Febuary is gone. Just like that a whole month of my life was gone in a blink. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but it sure did feel like that. Somewhere along the line a few months ago I decided it would be a good idea to take a second job at the church working 2 nights a week in the nursery. I know what posessed me to do this...it was the extra money, of course. But I sure have learned a lesson about over-doing it. In my former life - B.C., "Before Children" when I needed extra money, I got an extra job. No big deal, I had all this time between 5pm and 11pm that would otherwise be spent getting into trouble or spending money. Now, however, I have two very young boys who's whole sanity relies on me sticking to a routine and schedule. So the 2 nights a week activities are out, and I'm going to stick to this for a while. I know as the boys get into sports and afterschool activities only one night a week will be impossible - but I hope as they get older maybe they'll adjust better.
I have to say that the job wasn't the only reason February was a crazy month. The whole family, me , Tom, TJ and Chris all got really sick. For three weeks we were all fighting cold, flu, sinus infections etc. Mom and Dad were in town thank goodness...because they helped a lot. But of course they were sick too. Then there was the vesectomy that went very wrong. I won't go into too much detail, mostly because I still couldn't explain to you exactly what went wrong. Let's just say what started out as a simple in-office procedure turned into a two-day ordeal that ended with Tom in the operating room. If that wasn't enough Tom has been suffering from a headache that won't go away. The month ended with a MRI of tom's brain. We were happy to know it was "clear"..... I asked if that meant there was no activity at all??? All is fine but we're still trying to pin-point the cause of the headache. I'll keep you updated.
The last few weeks have made me feel like my computer when I have too many windows open. My life is a series of windows, each with it's own program agenda it is trying to accomplish and with each task I ask it to do it runs slower and slower. I had so many thoughts and worries going through my brain I felt like I had "SYSTEM FAILURE" written acrossed my forehead flashing in neon. I have no other choice but to shut down and reboot. I will go to sleep tonight and wake in the morning to the first Monday of a brand new month with a new hope and attitude. March is going to be a great month! I need to start taking my walks again, stick to routine I have set for the kids whenever I can and find time to spend with Tom. The system will run fine until I start running too many programs again (as I always do) and then I'll reboot again. But for now...Good Night!

Date Night

Tom and I went up to Charleston last night for a food show and the kids stayed with mom. I think I'm in shock from having a whole 24 hours of just Tom and I to ourselves. We left yesterday (yes we took the bud Light truck) and checked in the Hilton Garden in North Charleston. We were supposed to go a reception for Sysco customers that night - free dinner, drinks and dancing - which of course meant that Tom and I decided not to go. Free or not, neither of us were in any mood to go dancing. So instead we headed to the hotel's pool and spa for a dip and then out to dinner. I honestly think that was the first time since Chris was born that we had anything resembling a date. The food show was fun too, but the hightlight was definately getting some one-on-one time with Tom. We reminisced about the old days B.C (Before Children) and talked of plans for our future. There is not doubt that we are going to put a monthly "date night" at the top of priorities. It's so hard to do, especially since baby-sitters are so darn expensive. But I think I will make it a challenge to find things for us to do that don't cost a small fourtune outside of the sitter....going to the beach for a night-time picnic, window shopping through of the little shopping malls or checking out a highschool play (tickets are cheaper than theater). We'll find something to do...we just need to do somehthing!

Tom, Tom, Tom....

I remeber some advice my mother gave me a long time ago. She said this long before i got married, in fact I think she told me this before I even started dating. she said 'Don't ever date or marry man thinking you are going to change him....it never works.". Oh how right she was. Of course I went through several years of dating the wrong guy and was absolutely sure that with enough perserverence he would change to the"man I knew he could be" Blah Blah Blah. Mom was right it absolutley doesn't work. So when I met Tom I made a decision to love him for who he is, The good things: his incredible love for me and his kids, his ability to make anything fun, always being the life of the party, and his never-ending generosity. The things I had to accept: His ex-wife and the child-support payment that comes with her, always being the life of the party (yes both good and bad) and his unbeliveable stubborness. When Tom puts his mind to something there is no stopping him. So when he came home and had done this to his truck, there wasn't much I could say. There it is in all its glory: Tom's Bud Light Mobile. I think he did it just so I wouldn't drive his baby....cuz I sure ain't driving the kids around in that thing!

Gotta Love the South

I think there is a misunderstanding between southerners and northerners I feel obligated to explain. First I should say (so I can prove my expertise on the subject) I still consider my self a northerner who has now lived in the South 10 long years. I was thinking about the term "southern hospitality" the other day and how so many people - especially northerners -misunderstand exactly what this entails. This came about because I had bought a necklace for my sister Shari for Christmas through Walmart.com. The clasp broke within 2 weeks and she tried to return it to the store. They told her she had to return it through the mail because it was bought online. She, of course, was not happy with this and asked to speak to the manager. In the end, they replaced the clasp with one from another necklace. As she told me the story and retold her frustrations with the girl at the counter, I tried to imagine that same scenario in my local walmart. The story would tell more like this ......"I went to the store and waited 20 minutes for anyone to notice I was at the jewelry counter, once they did come to the counter and stopped talking to their co-worker I was told "No" and they looked at me with a complete look of indifference and walked away." This is what got me thinking about how different the customer service is here vs. what I experience when I head back up north for a visit and how so many visitors to our Island are flabbergasted by the lack of "good customer service" here in the South. I think too many people associate that good 'ol boy friendly southern hospitality with a willingness to work. I have often said that I am born of the "Midwest mentality". You grow up - go to work everyday - work hard and don't rock and boats - have a family - retire - and die. It's the working hard part that is different for those south of the Mason/Dixon line. Webster defines the term hospitable as "given to generous and cordial reception of guests." This is important to note because I have witnessed countless times southerners opening their homes for huge feasts. But this friendly sit-around-all-day sipping iced tea and eating shrimp tends not to follow these folk into the workplace. It is not uncommon to have to wait for a customer service rep at a store to finish a conversation about Bubba's new girlfriend before they look at you. I know most people take this as extremely rude - but to southerners, there is nothing so urgent that needs to be done before the thing they are currently doing. You may be wondering why I stay here if I'm complaining so much about the people I've lived among for 10 years - but I'm not complaining! I have completely accepted the fact that I may not get all my questions answered or will have to wait a little longer in line. I know that 'Southern Hospitality" does not extend as far as the Walmart on 278 in Hardeeville - it's stops at their front door.