I have another secret.  Country music has grown on me.  I actually listen to it regularly (shut-up Mike!) and I’m not sure country music is going to have the same ring to it where we’ll be going as it does down here where, yes, good looking men still wear cowboy hats and wranglers in public during the daytime.  In fact, they come into our library all the time.  I had to kick one guy out once because he was “dippin’ chew” and spittin’ it into his soda bottle.  It was really quite quaint.

Then of course there’s friends. Game Night.  Halloween parties.  Group gatherings at Movies 6 for openings.  I admitt, our social life has always been limited due to shyness and general busyness but there’s some really special people we’re going to be leaving and that really sucks.  I know we’ll always be in touch but it’s hard when you realize that things won’t ever be the same.  Now that your time is limited you start kicking yourself for not getting together with people more often.  I have a general disability when it comes to friendships.  It’s always been hard for me to get too close to people when you’ve had a childhood like mine.  If I wasn’t moving then my best friend probably would be soon so with all that bouncing around you just sort of learn to disconnect and be content with close aquaintances instead of long life friendships.  But you get together with the same people on a regular basis every week for four years and you get close whether you like it or not.

So, it’s not a sure thing yet but it still has my head spinning.  Moving was a little better when I was younger.  All I needed was a suitcase and a plane ticket.  Now we have to sell a house, move a two year old, two dogs, a truck full of belongings, then buy another house, possibly a four wheel drive…phew.  Luckily, we have two sets of parents and a lot of emotional support from good buddies.  It won’t be a piece a cake but it will be fine.  Stress is temporary.  Change is mandatory.

If you care to venture out of your rss readers you’ll note the change in template. Wordpress has been upgraded. I subsequently spent most of Tuesday night trying to master the widget feature…my twitter and shared items are available for view, as are the headings for Mike’s most recent post to his campaign blog, and the headings for my most recent posts on my library blog and brand spankin’ new yoga blog which is pretty much nothing but inspiring quotes, since I don’t really have time for anything else.

I will also soon be starting another blog that will chronicle my effort to teach my son Norwegian. This is going to be quite the task given that I am not actually fluent in the language myself. Who knows, he may end up speaking Dutch by the time I’m done with him at which point I’ll just send him down to live with Ellen and her family at their “compound” in steamy hot Texas land.

Work has been fun but busy these past months. We’re into the second month of our My Favorite Book Display. I also hosted a poetry night which was a total blast. I was also recently asked to help build a bookshelf out of books, a project meant to be a kind of collaborative out-reach thingy with the Price Tower Arts Center (they’re doing an exhibit on upcycling in August). So, I have about two months to figure out how to do this. Any ideas? (Please?) Step-by-step instructions will be very much appreciated.

Other than that, I am dazzled every day by my son who continues to suprise me with his curious and always adorable personality. Mike and I have been keeping note of his milestones on our wall calendar. Will post them at some point. Sigh. I have a few vacation days coming up at the end of May. Can’t freakin’ wait!

And yeah, I was there too:

Since having Liam, I’ve been more worried when flu season comes around. It’s easy to catch stuff working a service desk at a public library. People come in sneezing, coughing, blowing their noses. Then they touch our books, use our computers, type on our keyboards. I have a bottle of Germ-X on my desk and have been particularly OCD about using it lately.

However, by last week I started to get the feeling I wasn’t going to be able to avoid the flu much longer. I had already been getting these random symptoms, that head fever headache feel but it would just never quite develop into anything. In the end, it happened so often that I put it down to allergies even though I’m not usually prone to allergies. But last week several staff members were out with the flu, and Wednesday night a teenager puked next to one of the public computers while I was at work. Then on Saturday, I played a volleyball tournament in Ochelata where someone’s kid puked in the gym. Here we were, in a contained building, with everyone sweating and passing around the same ball. At that point, I knew it was only a matter of time. Sure enough, early Monday morning, the Norovirus made it’s first appearance in my toilet bowl. I ran into the bedroom, woke Mike up to tell him that I was heading over to Mom and Dads for “quarantine”…and here is where I’ve been. I haven’t seen my baby in two days. I don’t think I’ve ever been away from him this long. I’m going nuts.

Thankfully, the worst of it is over although I do feel incredibly weak and woozy when standing. I’m also glad to report that Mike and Liam are still symptom free but just to be sure, I’m spending another night at my parents. By tomorrow, it will have been more than 48 hours since I’ve had contact with Liam. I miss him like crazy. I know I’ve already said that but I’m saying it again for emphasis.

Here’s a video of Liam rolling dice during Mike’s gaming session yesterday.

Liam is turning into the most curious little kid. Now that he’s walking, Mike and I take him for walks a lot to the park just up the street. What should be a five minute walk usually ends up being more like fifteen since he wants to stop and investigate pretty much everything. Acorns, leaves, dirt, dog poop, street lights. He’s also fascinating with curbs, walking on them, then walking back down. Anything new has to be experienced to its fullest potential.

My new nickname for Liam is Loki. Lord knows I’ve gone through many since he was born but I think this is the one that’s going to stick. Loki is the name of a Norse God (fire, trickster, he has many descriptions). Liam is cheeky in a very cunning way sometimes. I think the cheekyness is just a result of the fact that he’s getting smarter everyday. He’s learned to tease you and trick you. Like yesterday, Mike was crawling around the island in the kitchen playing a kind of peekaboo game with him. After two or three go’s of this, Liam figured out what he was doing and turned around, crawled back in the other direction and crept up behind Mike.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I just can’t believe it’s December already. I’m hoping to actually get xmas cards out this year. I’m kind of excited about this since I’ve been able to get back in touch with some old friends through Facebook.

Here’s a turkey shot. I’ve uploaded the rest to flickr. Mike made the turkey again this year, and again it was amazingly scrumptious.

We had a wonderful full day. Started out at my dads. He walked Liam to the park while I ran the route and met them there so we could feed the ducks. Then we headed to the pumpkin patch to pick up some pumpkins and mums. Liam had a blast crawling through the fields and hugging pumpkins. Then my dad and I drove down to my uncles in Tulsa where Liam got to meet some of his cousins for the first time. Good times.

I often think about my childhood and compare it to what I imagine Liam’s will be like. Like all parents, I want Liam to have a childhood filled with happy memories similar to the ones that I have of my own. But having said that, I can not imagine every letting him roam as far away as we were allowed to roam when we were kids. All I can think about is all the sex offenders and nut jobs out there. I get so upset when I see all the young kids who come to the library after school, just waiting around for their parents to get off work. If you’re fourteen or fifteen, ok, maybe. But we had a kid who was ten at the library the other night. He was there until closing time. He had ridden his bike there. We close at nine. It’s dark outside. This kid was going to bike home. At the age of ten. Downtown. In the dark. Am I wrong to think that’s insane? I’ll get Liam a bike. Bikes are good, exercise, fresh air. Good. But until he’s about fifteen, I’m biking everywhere with him. What about all the crazy drivers out there, what if he gets hit by a car? I’m going with him, that’s all there is too it. That’s not crazy, is it?

Ok, it is crazy. In fact, there are plenty of studies out there indicating that “hyperprotective parenting” could leave children at risk for more anxiety. I mean, Liam will never want to go outside or go anywhere on his own if I’m constantly scaring him about the potential “boogy man” lingering on the street corner or all the crazed drivers behind the wheel. I really have no idea how I’m going to balance this because there are so many legitimate reasons to be scared to let my son out of my sight yet, I’m going to have to eventually. Then there’s the whole nature thing. Part of the reason I don’t like living in suburban neighborhoods is the whole “pretty garden” stuff. I mean, I like pretty gardens. I want some prettyness to my garden but I also want a yard where my child can play without having to worry about accidently trampling the petunias. I want a garden of potted plants. The rest just needs to be open space with green grass and trees. With a rocking chair on the front porch and a picket fence in front. Wait a minute, nevermind. I’m thinking of that country song.

Here’s Grandma Pat holding her. I love this picture. She looks so peaceful…and you can see her cute little nose.