The Rockin Ricks: June 2009

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I am officially getting old

There are many signs that I'm getting old. Like the gray hair (that I've actually had since I was 25 due to STRESS) or the plethora of wrinkles and age spots on my face. And let's not forget my complete lack of mental sharpness. These days my I'm quite happy when I can remember the names and birthdays of my children - and consider being "sharp as a butter knife" a good thing. Those days of being "sharp as a tack" are long, long gone.

One of the signs of my ever aging mind and body is the fact that I am currently planning my 20th high school reunion. It has consumed me for a while now. The selling of tickets, planning of events and finding the right entertainment have caused me a few sleepless nights. No one tells you when you are 17 years old and running for Senior Class Office (because you WANT to plan your High School reunions) how incredibly busy you will be in your future life, and the obstacles & yes even stomach ulcers that may come along with it.

At the same time however, they don't tell you how amazingly fun it will be either. Working with people you haven't seen in 20 years, and even some who you never even knew when you were in high school. After nearly every time we meet together, I find myself contemplating how just down right cool these people are. All the "high school" crap has been peeled away throughout these last 20 years, leaving the hearts and minds of some pretty strong people completely exposed. I've grown to love some of them for the first time, and the rest of them I've grown to love all over again.

It's teaching me that I really don't mind getting old. Okay, so I really don't appreciate how difficult it can be to get back up again after I've been sitting on the ground for a while, but other than that sort of stuff - getting older has been much more fun than I ever thought it would be. I've been wondering why God doesn't let our bodies, hearts & minds be at their absolute prime at exactly the same time. I guess it could be dangerous. I'm beginning to understand what they mean when they say "beauty is wasted on the young". But then again, with age I'm gaining an internal peace & confidence that physical appearance simply cannot create. Why does it take 38 years to figure that one out?

Cute things my kids say & do

Kaitlyn and her best friend had an "Olympics Day" at gymnastics. They all received cute medals on ribbons at the end of class. While we were driving home Kaitlyn's friend looked at the back of the medal and asked in a frustrated voice, "Why is EVERYTHING made in China?". Kaitlyn quickly replied, "We weren't. We were made by Jesus!"

I put gel in Caleb's hair before school to make it all spikey. When I was all done I told him, "You look nice dude." Kaitlyn was sitting right next to him, so she looked over at him and exclaimed, "Yeah! You look freakin nice!". It was the first time I'd ever heard my 5 year old use the word "freakin".

We had just finished reading together and were getting ready to have family prayer on Sunday night. Caleb was stretched out on the ground when Mike asked him to say the prayer. Caleb sat right up and said, "I didn't see that one comin'!" but immediately began to pray. Mike and I couldn't stop laughing, I mean how many 7 year old's actually say that?

Forgive me, but this one is about the mom not the kids. It was my turn to drive carpool tonight to acting class. I planned to hit the grocery store while the girls were acting their little hearts out. I got out of the car to go into Albertson's and just happened to look down at my feet. I was wearing my slippers! Not even cute little ones either, but my BIG, HUGE, FUZZY, BRIGHT BLUE slippers. Needless to say, I got lots of stares.

Today in church our whole family was sitting quietly (imagine that!) while they passed the sacrament. Caleb leaned over to Mike and asked, "What if I get called to Beijing?" meaning called on a mission. (It totally cracks me up when my kids spit out words like Beijing & Mesopotamia). Mike replied, "That would be cool son." Then Caleb leaned over to ask Mike another question. "In the Princess Bride, why do they call them Rodents of Unusual Size?" is what he asked. I looked at Mike at almost burst out laughing. From a mission in Beijing to ROUSes in 2 seconds flat. The kid cracks me up.

Kassidy came in from working in the garage with her dad to grab a pair of scissors. I asked her what they were for. She explained that all of their kites had really tangled strings so they were going to cut out the tangled part, and then reattach them to the kites. She headed back to the garage but then turned around to face me, put her hands out to emphasize the importance of her next comment, and said, "but don't tell the kids okay mom." The kids? Isn't she one of the kids? What in the world made her think she could grow up so darn fast without asking for my permission?

I was driving Kaitlyn home from dance today and we were listening to the radio. A commercial came on that ended with the song, "It takes two baby". Kaitlyn listened and then didn't miss a beat as she said with TOTAL Kaitlyn attitude, "no it doesn't, it just takes one". She's my real go-getter - so true to form she thinks she can do everything on her own.

The other day, Kassidy was eating a scone with honey butter on it. Caleb asked her "What is honey butter". Kassidy explained that it is honey mixed into butter. Caleb then fell down and exclaimed, "I think I'm in heaven! Honey & Butter at the same time!"

We have sayings in our house about the things that "Rickses do", such as, "Rickses keep their word" and "Rickses watch out for each other". The other day Kaitlyn didn't want to carry her laundry basket upstairs and put her clothes away in her drawers because she thought it was too hard. I looked at her and said, "Kaitlyn, Rickses can do hard things." She immediately yelled back at me, "NO THEY CAN'T!!!"

We were practicing the primary songs and the kids speaking parts for their primary program this coming Sunday. We were singing along to a CD with all of the songs on it. When the song "Called to Serve" came on I said "Ok, everyone stand up because this is one of mommy's favorites!" We were all standing and singing when I turned to look at Kassidy to see how she was doing with the words. She was singing the words perfectly as she did the "Macarana" dance to the "Called to Serve" music. It was quite hilarious!

I unlocked our bathroom door while Mike was showering, to get stuff to do Kaitlyn's hair. I told her to wait outside the bathroom in our room and give her daddy some privacy, 'cause little girls shouldn't see their daddies naked. After I had shut the bathroom door, she hollered at me from the other side in her cute squeaky voice, "But why do you get to see daddy naked mommy?"

I opened the door to welcome home the kids from school. I was wearing a t-shirt that I got from a Journey concert a few years ago with the words "Don't stop believing" written acrossed it. Kassidy read my shirt aloud and then looked at me with a sly grin and said, "That's just wonderful mom - don't you stop believing".

While watching the opening ceremonies to the 2008 Olympics
Caleb: Grandma, why are those men wearing dresses?
Grandma: 'cause it's the culture & custom of the country.
Caleb: Do you think they feel ridiculous?

Kaitlyn: Is there a bug on my back? (said to anyone around, about 20 times a day.)

Grandma: Caleb do you want a hamburger or chicken nuggets?
Caleb: Hamburger, 'cause some people call their private parts nuggets.

The Rockin Ricks

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I am officially getting old

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