A Sidewalk Chalk Story

It's 4:20 am and like any respectable empty nest parent, I am WIDE awake and looking for things to do.  Yes, unfortunately I have fallen back into the 3-5 am wake up pattern my body seems to love so much.  So, tonight, I have stumbled into one of my children empty rooms to organize............there's always a corner or closet that needs help.  Laura's room is no exception. 

The corner behind her guest day bed is a treasure trove worth of items to organize........I discover a new purse she's never, ever going to use.......I will take it to Goodwill.  There are Christmas balls left over from when she decorated her room from last Christmas...............I will move them into the garage with all the other holiday decorations.  And then I see an odd looking white plastic bag.  It holds  a collection of sidewalk chalk.  The bag is tattered from all the years she would drag the bag out to the driveway to create her masterpieces.  Her sidewalk chalk was probably her favorite playtime activity from ages 4-8.  She's now 21, so who knows why this bag is sitting lodged in the corner of her room now.  I open it up and discover there are at least 12 different pieces in a variety of colors and lengths.  I can see that blue was her favorite because they are the most worn.  She loved the ocean even back then and many a night I would come home from work only to find waves and a beach welcoming me.

I was fortunate enough to have a fantastic nanny who was artistically talented.  Being artistically challenged (remind me to tell you about this weekend's craft project and the kitchen chairs.....), I really appreciated Darcy covering me in the arts projects!  The sidewalk chalk was used to create whole villages or beach scenes and once I arrived home to find the whole Phoenix Suns team laying on my driveway. But my most favorite sidewalk chalk story came on a weekend some 16 years ago......................

I was dating Bill #2....(now husband) and he was extremely helpful around my house.  I lived in a wonderful neighborhood called Arcadia and I had a charming house.  And when I say charming, I mean falling apart.  The windows needed to be replaced.  The carpet was getting dingy and the cedar roof was leaking and would soon need replacing....(hence, the move to North Scottsdale).  It was a beautiful Fall day, and we were all busy doing projects outside around the house.  The boys were playing next door as was often the case when work outdoors was being done.  But Laura was tagging along "helping" us with the weekend chores.  I had decided to tackle the gigantic oleander bush along the side of the house and along the street.  I suggested that during this task it would be best if Laura followed Bill around for awhile.  Bill decided that he needed to do some work on the roof along the edges.  It was a one story home but the roof was filled with branches and debris from the large trees on the property.  Laura followed him along the grass and talked to him as he worked....sidewalk chalk in hand. 

Now, as the story goes, somehow Bill managed to fall off the roof and knocked the wind out of himself.  He landed about 3 feet from where Laura was playing.  She ran over to him and said, "Hey, Bill, what are you doing"......no answer......"are you okay?"........no answer..........."are you dead?".......Bill attempt to muster an answer, but he is in pain and cannot seem to speak........."because if you are dead, I will write your name on the wall with my sidewalk chalk!"  She proceeds to get up and start writing 'BILL' on the brick siding of the house.  Bill looks up and with a grin on his face, says, "I'm not dead Laura, come help me up!"

If you are a parent of young children, I highly recommend you go get some sidewalk chalk.  Sure your driveway will be a mess 90% of the time, but it is so worth it!  And I am ready to go back to bed now, but I decide I should take this chalk down to our great nephew's house so he can make a mess of his Mom's or Grandmom's driveway.  I also think I will save the largest blue piece of chalk to keep in Laura's room.............

(I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month)

Winning Contest Brings Unexplained Joy

Yesterday was such a fun day for me. In case you did not read it in all the major newspapers or watch CNN this morning, you may have missed that I won the Oy Vey contest that Mary Anne sponsored on her blog, The Stiletto Mom. I should step back to explain.

Last week I attended a training session for a traditional networking group I recently joined and let's just say, it did not go 'as planned'. I came home from that disaster and I read that The Stiletto Mom is hosting a contest for stories about people who have had a bad week or had something horrible happen to them. I thought maybe the incident at the session coupled with my new found 'poundage' could make an interesting post, so I entered.

Monday morning I checked on her blog to see who won the contest. Mary Anne wrote that the winner would be announced soon, so I went on to my business of writing and learning about blogging. Then, 2 hours later, another blogging friend emailed and said, "Hey, just on The Stiletto Mom blog and saw you just won a major award". This made me laugh because her wording reminded me of 'The Christmas Story' when the Father won the sexy leg lamp and was boasting to the neighbors about winning a major award. The really funny thing about it is I felt the same as that Father felt in the movie! I was so excited and wanted to tell everyone I know. Of course, I called my sister first. CNN reporters would have to wait!

Why did winning this contest bring such happiness and joy for me? I am not entirely sure. Perhaps, it is because I admire Mary Anne's blog so much and appreciate her storytelling abilities that to be recognized by her (and her contest judges)was a thrill. Maybe I enjoy competition and have some internal need to be recognized. As an empty nest Mom who sits alone all day at a computer with her puppy at her side, the contest made me really feel like I was a part of this magnificent blogging world. To tell you the truth, the happy spirited feeling is still with me, and for that, I want to thank Mary Anne and whoever thought of contests in the first place. You have brought a little joy into this nutty 50 year old woman's life.