Haircuts, Caleb and license and registration.

This morning, Caleb's first day of preschool after Christmas break was cancelled. He was a little confused, and I think a little bummed. But, we salvaged the morning by sitting in front of our christmas tree (yes, it is still up!), with the lights on, reading books on blankets and pillows. At one point, he leaned over to me and gave me a hug and said, "I wuv you, Mommy." It almost made me cry. :)

Tonight, he was talking to us from his bed, as he usually does, after he's been put to bed. We heard him say, "Man hurt me!" so we ran in there, not knowing what he was talking about (most of his pleas for water, juice, milk, whatever, we ignore.. but this one, we did not!). I picked him up out of bed, groggy, as if he'd fallen asleep, and he said, "Man hurt me right here!", pointing to behind his left ear. "Man hurt me at doctor's office right here!" We were a little confused, but prayed for him and let him know that we were here, and there was no man in the house (besides John)...

When we left the room, we realized that back in July of last year (2008), he got a mole removed from behind his left ear, and that's what he was talking about!!!!! But all that was done before he had the verbal skills to talk about it--and now he can! So, needless to say, we rushed back in his room to let him know that we understood what he was talking about, and that nobody would be hurting him behind his ear anymore. He smiled really, really big and rolled over peacefully.

And, today, I was having a frustrating day. I was trying to get our license renewal done in person, but inevitably needed John's signature, checks not cash, blah blah blah. I HATE doing that sort of stuff. Anyway, in the middle of all this, I decided to go for a haircut (it's therapeutic for me!). The only available stylist at the random Great Clips that I walked into had a few missing teeth... I was like, "Oh great. She can't even care for her teeth; how is she supposed to cut my hair?" But, I thought, "You know what? Go with it. It's just hair for crying out loud.." She ended up cutting my hair super cute (if I do say so myself!) and went to great lengths to do it the way I like it, not the way she wanted it. At one point, I giggled about something (I was in a black mood due to the above mentioned task!), and she said, "See! At least I got you to laugh about something!" :) Very dear. She blew it dry, and made sure I liked it before I left the chair. She made me smile. I misjudged her, but she took great care of me. I was humbled.

And, happy 2009. I had a few drafts for a christmas letter/New Years letter written, but I deleted all of them because they all sounded too schmaltzy and wonderful. This year has been great (lots of laughter, fun times with family and friends, good health, two wonderful boys, celebrating five years of marriage, two jobs..), but it's not without difficult moments, too (marriage and grad school and jobs with two small kids makes for some serious discussions..). :)

But, on second thought-- I really do feel blessed; I could be sitting here memorializing my brother. But instead, he's alive and well. I am very, very thankful for that, and acutely aware of how close I came to losing my big brother over Labor Day.

Yep, for that reason, and many, many others, I am very, very blessed. Even if I did have to renew our license and registration today! :)

On that note, I am going to bed.
Sleep well, and happy new year!
kak