Wow............  The calendar says I am fifty years old today............  In my head, I'm still 25..............  :-)

Ponytails and Ponderings...

I cut my daughter's hair today.  I know that doesn't sound too momentous, but it was for me.  She has had long hair since she was four years old.  Before I began today, I measured it and it was 33 inches from her crown.  Thirty-three long, shiny, beautiful, light golden brown inches of hair that I have brushed and braided two or more times a day, every day, for many years.  I complained sometimes.  We argued on occasion.   There were even tears at times (mine/hers/ours) as we combed through the tangles that somehow magically appeared in her crowning glory.  But more often than not, we bonded during those hair brushing sessions.  We talked.  She talked.  I listened.  I talked.  She listened.   I told her stories from when I was a little girl.  She told me stories of her hopes and dreams.  Good times.

I understand that she wants to grow up.  That she needs to separate from me.  That she doesn't want me "doing things" for her as much as I used to do.  She wants to do them for herself.   She is twelve now, and I remember how hard it was to be twelve.   I try to give her as much freedom and independence as I can, while making sure she knows how very much I love her and that I am here if she needs me.   Cutting that long, beautiful braid that was such a symbol of her childhood was one of the most difficult things I've done in a long time.  But...

It is her hair.  Her body.  Her decision.  And I am proud of her for giving up something that had actually become part of her identity.  For years, she has been "the girl with the *really* long hair".  Strangers often stopped us and commented on the length of her hair.  For a long time, she did not want to cut it for this very reason - it set her apart, gave her distinction from other little girls her age.  Made her feel special.  But now she has decided that she no longer needs nor desires that particular affirmation.   She is amazingly secure in herself and her decisions, and for that I am so very thankful.   But I am also sad today, because I wish I could keep her little and safe for just a few minutes more, brush the tangles out of that long, beautiful hair just once more while listening to the soft-spoken dreams, hopes, and wishes of my beautiful little girl...  She is growing up...  And I am not ready...

Well, I gave it a month.   A little more than a month, actually.   In early October, I decided to add the CAPTCHA function back to my blog because I was averaging 3 - 5 (sometimes more) attempted spam postings each day.  Since I added it back, I have not received a single one.  I call that successful!   Sure wish spammers would find something better and more productive to do with their time and energy.   But since they won't, at least the CAPTCHA feature ensures that I don't have to see it!

On a more enjoyable note, I have been busy with birthdays - my son's in September, my mother's in October, and my daughter's in November - she just turned 12 and I am still in shock!!! - so we party for three months straight!  Now it is time to plan for Thanksgiving, and I began my Christmas shopping today.  Along with all that, I am steadily working on our little rig, doing the things I can right now, and trying to find a way to do the others (or the money to pay someone to do them!)    :-)   We are praying that we get to hit the road right after the first of the year! 

Word verification

Well...... I tried to post on this blog without having word verification in place.  I understand that many people do not like it, and that many have trouble reading the "words" which are required to comment .   I gave it several months and tried everything I could to block spam.  But I am sick to death of spam messages filling up my inbox and having to go in and manually delete all the junk that shows up on here.  So I am going back to word verification.  It has never bothered me to have to use it to comment on someone else's blog, and since very few people read my blog and even fewer comment, I have decided to make things easier and more agreeable for me.   To anyone who does not wish to comment since I've reinstated it, I apologize for any inconvenience and understand.  But my daughter is often standing beside me and looking over my shoulder when I am on the computer, and I will not expose her to the filth which has been coming into my inbox.    I must do what is best for us.

Yard sales and childbirth...

I've decided that yard sales are a lot like childbirth....... They both take months of planning and thinking and making decisions... a few hours of very VERY hard work... there are dozens of (sometimes very) strange people in your personal space, seeing and critiquing your unmentionables and telling you everything you've done wrong and how you should have done it right... you are completely, absolutely, and totally exhausted and can barely put two coherent words together... you swear it will be your VERY last time and that you will never ever ever do THAT again... but then some time passes, and you find yourself thinking "how difficult can it be?" and there you are....right smack dab back in the middle of it again!   I know I've had my last precious little baby, and I am fairly certain that last weekend was my very last yard sale...... Ehhhh-ver. :-)

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today is my birthday... I am 21 again.  Not sure how that happens every year, but I'll take it!  ;-)  I had planned to be on a road trip this week to Atlanta with the Little One (she has Six Flags tickets that are burning a hole in pocket) but that didn't work out.  Now we will wait until some time after the 4th.  It seems odd that I am on the downhill side of 50 now.   I still *feel* 21.  Wish I looked it!  :-P

I haven't posted yet about Poco... I bought a little Class C RV about 3 months ago.  She is a 1989 Austen Skyline.  She's in very, very good condition - 56K miles, runs great, interior in amazing shape.  I did have a solenoid to go bad, and since it was... well... *me*... trying to diagnose it,  it took me a little while to discover the problem.  But with some help from a friend and some great guys at both Good Old RVs and a Ford forum, I got-er-done. 

We are doing quite a few cosmetic changes -  painted and put up some paintable wall paper.  Adjusted the bed platform to assist with floor space and storage.  Covering up all the (in excellent condition) blue and mauve fabric.   We're having fun with our little projects, although some are more "fun" than others.

We can't wait to hit the road.  Hope that we see you all somewhere soon, so we can say "Benvenuti a la nostra poco casa!"

Thank you!

Thanks to each of you who left a comment to help me see if I got this bloggy change correct - I am actually shocked that I did since I am so technically-disinclined.  ;-)   I have been on Blogger long enough that I don't even REMEMBER if I wanted word verification or not - had not given any thought to it all.  lol... 

@ Sandie... your post is what prompted me to check my settings!  Thank you!   Isn't it wonderful how we help each other out in Blogland? 

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday... we are on the mend - I hope - and looking forward to some nicer weather this week here in NW AL...

Have a great week!  :-)