Gotta love the snow.....right?!

"Mason, let's just take the steps," she said.
Mason was eagerly making his way up the
slippery, snowy hill to their house.
She was afraid he may slip and fall over backwards.
Mason ignored what his mother said. He was bound and
determined to make it up the snowy slope.
His mother was close behind following him up the hill
when all of the sudden she lost her footing.
She toppled over into the snow face-first.
The softness and freezing temperatures of the snow
overwhelmed her body as she pushed herself back up
into a standing position.
Mason looked back at his mother with a scared look
on his face.
"Mama, you alright?" he said.
"Yes," said his mother. She looked around, embarrassed,to see if
any of the neighbors had seen her bust her ass.
None in sight. She felt relieved.
"Now, give me your hand and let's just go up the steps."
"No," said Mason as he whirled around, set on finishing
his mountain climbing mission.
As he climbed the hill, he kept repeatedly saying:
"Gotta be careful, gotta be careful, gotta be careful..."
This made his mother smile.
Mason made it up the hill and was now waiting on his mother
to meet him up on the sidewalk.
She made it up the steps and then tried luring him up onto the
porch and out of the cold.
Her coat was covered in snow and she was getting colder by the
minute.
"Come on Mason, Mama is cold," she said.
After he finishes lollygagging in the snow, he makes it up onto
the porch.
She puts the key in the door and turns the lock.
The warm breeze from the heater greets their faces.
Mason walks into the entry way and....BAM.
His feet come out from under him and he lands on his
back.
He begins crying hysterically.
She sweeps him and up and gives him hugs and kisses,
and she holds him on her lap on the couch.
"Where does it hurt sweetheart?" she said.
"My butt, my butt!" he says.
She can't help but laugh.
He had inherited his mother's bad luck and clumsiness.

Morning of a mother

Rush, Rush, Rush
She whips around the house
Struggling to get ready
She doesn't want to be late for class
He eats his toast and watches Cars
"Want more chocolate milk," he says.
She grabs his cup and heads to the fridge
She pours him a half glass of chocolate milk
and gives it to him
She sprints upstairs and brushes her teeth
Heads back down to find chocolate milk sloshed
all over the tile floor
"Mason!" she said with a sigh.
"Accident," he said.
She runs to the kitchen and grabs a towel
Quickly wiping it up, for they are both school bound.
She puts his coat on for him and they get out the door
He wants to walk down every step by himself
"No Mama, don't need your help."
"Mason, mama is in a hurry, let's go please."
They make it miracously down the steps and out to the car.
Beads of sweat form on her forehead, what a workout!
She drops him off and heads to class
Driving MacVicar Street like a bat out of hell.
She makes it to class 10 minutes late...
Ah well, it's the typical morning of a mother.

I wonder...

She looks elegant,
standing onstage in a fiery red evening gown.
Her short blond hair swept back
She now resembles a woman
And not the ditzy country girl
people once knew
As she sings, an emotional story unfolds
She wonders if her mother, who was never there, ever thinks of her.

"I think about how it aint fair
That you weren't there to braid my hair
Like mothers do
You weren't around to cheer me on
Help me dress for my high school prom
Like mothers do
Did you think I didn't need you here
To hold my hand
To dry my tears
Did you even miss me through the years at all"

Her performance is so moving that she can barely
finish the song without tears streaming down her face.
She chokes out the last verse:
"I'm in Tennesse!"
The audience roars with cheers
jumping to their feet for a well deserved
standing ovation.
She finds herself viewing the performance
with tears streaming down her cheeks
It was as if the singer reached thru the television
and yanked on her heartstrings.
She thinks, "Noone should ever have to go through that."
A powerful performance, that neither the singer nor the viewer
will ever forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z95fC8NKWos

Slice of life....

Tall, colorful trees line the sidewalks on Washburn University's campus
The Carole Chapel gleams among these trees
With its' carefully crafted peaks and stainglass windows
An archituctural beauty tucked away near the heart of campus
Shadows from the trees play on the sturdy stone walls
Swaying left and right,trickling leaves here and there
Brillant shades of orange and red leaves fill the courtyard
They scatter across campus sidewalks in a whirling motion
meeting the next person's shoe with a crisp "crunch"
Black iron gates surrounding the church seem to
protect it from any unwanted intruders.
A piviotal place, sometimes forgotten in the mix.

What happens in Vegas...

She is about to experience what sin is all about.
That's right, she's Vegas bound
Anxious and excited not knowing what to expect.
Casinos, bright billboards and
a nightlife that never ends.
A city buzzing with action, never stopping to blink
She hopes to keep up with this crazy scene.
Maybe she'll get lucky and take home a few million.
Or go out and shake her booty until the sun's a'shinin'.
She doesn't know what will happen or what to expect
However, one thing is for certain...
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

The thief in the blue sweatsuit

As she approaches the store,
A man comes bolting out the entrance door.
He's tall and wears a dark blue sweatsuit with
yellow stripes accenting the sides.
A baseball cap atop his head casts a shadow over his eyes.
He is carrying a huge television box in his hands
He is running towards her when she sees a lady
chasing after him yelling "Thief, thief!"
The man almost plows her over as he
makes his way to his red, souped up get-a-way car.
Not quite comprehending what's going on....
"Did he just steal that tv!?" she wonders.
She is struck in awe.
She talks to the lady at the entrance door.
"He ran right past me with a 27 inch Magnavox TV!"
Wow, she thought, he had some balls!
She could've tripped him or pulled out her mase
and saved the day.
But instead she was so dumbfounded by what was
going on, she did nothing.

The all-american boy....

Blonde hair, blue eyes, irresistible smile.
He is a toddler no longer,
but a young boy curious about the world
that surrounds him.
He knows his ABC's and how to count to ten.
He even pees in the potty every now and again.
Silly sentences flow out of his mouth....
"Mama, you handsome!" he says.
He can be shy and hide behind his mama's leg,
or ornery and rambunctious with a devious grin.
He likes to be independent and stubborn
"I can do it myself, Mama," he says.
She stares at him in amazement as each
day passes, for she has felt no love
as great as the one that she has for her son.

She has no motivation.
Procrastination has invaded her body like a virus,
becoming her new identity.
She wants to plant herself in front of the television,
eat chips, drink her Diet Coke and just relax.
Some may also refer to this as senioritis or just plain laziness.
She prefers procrastination, it sounds better.
Fall break is just around the corner, almost within her grasp.
Maybe she can work intoxication into her
schedule, or better yet, some much needed homework.
Or not...

Fall is here.........

Fall in Kansas always seems beautiful.
When I take walks with my son,
I see leaves that are bright orange, red and yellow.
As they fall from trees, the wind scatters them across the sidewalks
and throughout yards in a graceful, whirling motion.
The air is crisp and I find it refreshing to take in deep breaths,
cleansing my body of the humidity that permeated me during the summer.
The relaxation of summer is over, and school has begun.
As I walk, I hear the crunch of leaves underneath my shoes.
Fall is here.

Disarranged.....

She lives in a messy house and drives a disarranged car.
Life seems to be passing her in the left lane, waving as it goes by.
No time to do anything.
Sleep. Work. School. Son. Sleep. Work. School. Son.
She is desperately trying to be studious, organized and keep her life on track.
Work piles up with endless duties, assignments and responsibilities.
Sleep. Work. School. Son. Sleep. Work. School. Son.
The light at the end of the tunnel is flickering and dim.
There's a fork in the road and she is confused where to turn next.
Right or left...she must focus on why she is working and studying so hard.
For her family and her future,
the light will grow brighter as she remembers
through all her struggles and hardships
why she is here to begin with.

Conflict....

Tounge-tied, palms sweat, brain dead,
this is how she feels when she faces conflict.
Lips sewn shut, emotions trapped inside.
Perhaps she's intimidated or is anxious inside.
She wished she wasn't scared....
scared to make the other person angry,
or scared the world would stop turning.
She tries so hard to be perfect,
to make everyone happy,
but she is so quickly learning
what a burden being perfect is.

Checkout lane #15

A mother rolls her cart full of groceries up to the cashier at checkout lane #15.
"Hello, how are you doing today?" said the chipper cashier.
"Fine," said the mother with a sigh.
"Well, I just got off my lunch break...blah, blah, blah," said the cashier.
As the mother tuned out the cashier, she tapped her foot,
anxiously awaiting her total.
All she wanted to do was pay for her groceries and leave.
Forget the small talk, she wasn't in the mood.
As her son sat happily in the front of the cart, munching on Cheetos
the cashier had to ask her another question.
"So, what kind of shows does he like to watch?" said the cashier.
"Uhhh.....Spongebob," said the mother.
"Oh, well I am personally a big Pokemon fan myself," said the cashier.
The mother could not contain her laughter as this grown man was actually admiting he watched Pokemon.
She began thinking, this could get quite funny,
and could be a possible blog entry.
Being devious, she decided to egg him on.
"Oh yah?" said the mother."I did not know that show was still on."
"Oh yah! Ten seasons strong!" said the cashier. "My favorite character is.....blah, blah, blah."
Regretting she had said anything at all, she just stared at him nodding as he droned on and on about Pokemon.
At last, she swiped her card and paid for her groceries.
He still was talking about Pokeman as she wheeled her cart away towards freedom.
"Have a good day," said the mother.
Free at last from checkout lane #15 clutches!

23rd & Gage

Embarrassed.
Cars whiz by as sweat beads form on her forehead.
Her hazard lights flickered consistently, "tick tick, tick tick".
Noone bothered to stop and help her.
Annoyance.
She had only been sitting on the side of the road for 20 minutes
which seemed like 2 hours.
Impatience.
#411 and a tow truck on the way.
What happened this time was a mystery to her.
Perhaps it was the alternater, or maybe the fuel injection..complicated
car terms that seemed like rocket science to her.
A $50 tow bill and 10 hours later, she made the discovery that she ran
out of gas.
Damn, stupidity.

This long journey called college.....

I am finally in my senior year of college and I could not be happier! I have worked so hard to get this far and I am proud of myself. Although, I know I have a whole year ahead of me, and it may be a LONG road, I feel like I can do it.
I have a 2 1/2 year old son who was and is a surprise blessing in my life. Without him, I don't think I may have worked as hard to get where I am right now. Because now I am not only thinking of my future, but a stable and positive future I can provide for him and my husband.
Throughout the past five or six years I have been in college, I have learned(and am still learning) many things about myself and the people around me. One important thing I have learned is who my true friends are. Those who have stuck by my side throughout my journey in college and still are my cheerleaders along the way. And, of course those who told me that I would not or could not complete college because I had my son in the middle of my junior year of college. Well, let's just say I will be rubbing my degree in their faces! But the thing I realize about those pessimistic people is they made me push myself. When someone tells me I can't do something, it only drives me to want to succeed more and prove them wrong.
I realize people like that are not my friends-just pessimestic people who challenged me... and I rose to the challenge and I am soon going to conquer them.