Frozen Veggies

I didn’t post anything yesterday because I really struggled with what to write. I found myself at a rare loss for words. The only other time that happens is when I stand on the scale.

September 11th is a hard day for everyone, and I dread it all year. This will sound incredibly contrite, but I love our country so much that those attacks felt like an attack on my family. On a normal day, I get choked up watching kids say the Pledge of Allegiance and anytime I hear the Star Spangled Banner played, so when I see images of our country in peril it hits me in the gut. You should have seen me when we visited Pearl Harbor. It wasn’t pretty and I was so thankful for my oversized sunglasses.

It’s also a hard day because it marks the anniversary of the death of my beloved Grandpa Rogers. The last thing he would want is for us to be sad. He went through most of his life laughing, unless of course he was talking about “draft-dodgers” or a certain U.S. Senator, or a combination of both. When I really miss him I don’t have too look far because Meredith is a miniature, female version of him. The personality, the zest for life, the love of dance, and yes, the feisty temper.

My melancholy mood was extinguished the minute I turned on the Today Show. Evidently, they are tired of covering politics and they are marking anniversaries of certain movies. Last week was The Big Chill, which Jennifer and I watched a little obsessively in our early 20’s. Today though, it was Footloose! I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Footloose, but I do know I watched it so many times the tape it was on literally disintegrated. Either that, or my dad purposely cut it. My dad had Showtime, a VCR, a label maker, and a daughter who was easily entertained. I wanted to grow up, go to prom, and have a daughter named Ariel. That was waaaaaay before the Little Mermaid.

I also had a good laugh while coming home from the bus stop. Alex rides his scooter to the bus stop every day. Meredith rides her bike. I can either carry the scooter home, or risk early knee replacement and ride it home. Usually, I ride it home. It’s too heavy to carry. Meredith LOVES to race me home. I goad her on and she giggles so hard she can barely pedal. It makes my morning and I wish I could freeze her.

Speaking of the freezer…I was packing Meredith’s lunch yesterday and couldn’t find the baby carrots I bought at the store. I thought maybe I left a bag in the cart and drove away; which I’ve been known to do. I found them this morning in, you guessed it, the freezer!