It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

My children do not enjoy “Wheel of Fortune.” And yet – it was how they learned the alphabet! I loved the show and it was entertainment as I prepared dinner and plopped them in front of the television. Thus, the end of the Pat Sajak era made me reminisce about those early days.

I didn’t see the final episode as I don’t DVR it – that honor is reserved for Jeopardy. However, the recaps on the news were heartfelt. That was a long run for anyone in a career. And I’m just as old!

I’ll try to tune in occasionally, but it really won’t be the same without that Sajak wit and charm. I did make the Jeopardy switch though when Alex left, so I guess it’s possible to teach an old dog? Which reminds me, I have about ten Jeopardy’s in the queue!

That big box in the basement may come in useful. The twins are climbing the stairs.

The good news is that we now have our morning exercise program in play – learning to descend. It becomes a necessary skill as I do not have a good way to put up a baby gate. Thus, we work on the descent.

It’s also good exercise for me. All I need to do is secure some good knee pads!

The Childcraft Encyclopedia had an entire volume entitled, “Make and Do.” This fantastic book in the series nudged me to create and experiment with resources at hand in my formative years. Often the resource was a simple box.

Currently there is a huge cardboard box in my basement awaiting inspiration. Years ago I channeled that early CC volume and created submarines for my own children out of boxes. Do they remember that? I don’t know, but we had fun doing it and they had hours of enjoyment until I couldn’t stand to trip over them anymore. (The boxes, not the kids.) My daughter uses boxes to contain little ones while they paint, use markers, crawl, or sticker-ize them. (The current art medium of choice.) And with the dawn of Amazon shipping everything everywhere there is no lack for creative resources!

While it’s tempting to dissect that monster in the basement it did come in useful as a table for a child’s baby monitor this past weekend. Thus, it’s going nowhere at present and awaiting its reincarnation.

Let’s play Scrabble. It’s an amazing game of engineering and math – really. Some might consider it necessary to have an extended vocabulary, but logistically you just need to be able to do math in some very geometric ways. And draw good letters.

My son deigned to play with me last night. He is a word whiz so to beat him was really quite exciting. He ended up with all of the vowels, which is a statistical downfall, yet he challenged me. I will live off of this game for months. (Until someone else wants to play?)

I do have three Scrabble editions…

We were chatting about new rides last night. I want a Lincoln Navigator. I’ve never driven one, but I like the looks. It’s a dream for another day as my little green Escape is a happy transport for now and easy on the gas. And I like the color.

So, what would be important in a test drive of a new vehicle? Any car I would consider must be driven on the road leading to my house and my daughter’s. Awful streets. The expansion joints are nasty bumps and the potholes patched up so poorly it wasn’t worth the time or effort. The second necessary test – putting on lipstick while driving. It’s a consistent habit I have acquired, usually beginning the process at the bottom of our road.

If a motor vehicle can pass these two exams, it will be in the running!

Let’s keep it simple today…eating healthy and getting in those steps or exercise routine, whichever works best on a dreary, grey day.

Off to chalk up some time pulling weeds in the great outdoor gymnasium of Nature.

Because it was on the “wear once again” pile, my best white blouse was in operation during the serving of baby food carrots. Puréed carrots have quite a lot of color as I was reminded.

Since my morning is now dedicated to stain obliteration, I shall endeavor to remove a few more in terms of dirty windows and carpet mishaps. I’m sure my guests won’t notice a thing but it seems the polite thing to do in terms of keeping up with the dust, pollen, and food crumbs. Sigh.

One of the best gifts my parents gave me for Christmas was the Presto Salad Shooter, probably advertised and sold by Ronco! That thing is so old and so darn useful – it still slices and dices my potatoes perfectly. I know for a fact it’s given me over 35 years of use.

I’m hard-pressed to think of any other practical and handy tool that has lasted that long around here. Oh – maybe the plunge router my father-in-law gave me as a wedding gift? That is another “vintage” claim to fame.

My children will be so fortunate to inherit such lovely devices, won’t they?

Speaking of vacations of yore and travel in the summer, a question came to mind. “What do we do with old maps?”

Once upon a time I was considering wallpapering my basement with them in the guest room. Maps would be a nice travel theme there as I already have maps framed from ocean adventures. Another idea was to use them as wrapping paper, encouraging travel to the gift recipient. Perhaps just pulling them out occasionally and reminiscing or exploring? Heaven knows I could pull out the thousands of photos cataloged in scrapbooks along with them!

Map reading was actually a skill we were taught in school. On road trips we would pick up the free map at the rest stops. It was probably to give the parents a sanity break, but it was always entertaining when Dad would ask us how far something was and we had to figure it out. I doubt he really cared but it was a good teachable moment.

Oh, maybe a road trip is in my future? A GPS-less, map-riddled journey. Maybe in a foreign country for fun? Now that would be an adventure!

(With a nod to “Pindy” and her wisdom, and my father for not calling me out when I nearly sawed off my finger.)

Bumps and bruises, fevers, sprains
Broken bones and other pains,
Listening to parents’ chatter,
Deciphering, “What’s the matter?”
Raising kids is always fraught
With wondering, “What have they got?”

We all arrive in later years with stories often shared,
Of injuries and scars attained when living as we dared.

Who remembers non-events? Regular, same-old days?
Mishaps mark our memories in oh so many ways!

I count the years and mark the time by “When I got this scar…”
A history lesson on display of my life thus far.

We continue on this journey as it takes some of its tolls,
But we can share our stories! And thus we share our souls.