Happy Baptism to You

Over the weekend, I went to my first Catholic baptism. A friend from long ago reconnected with me on Facebook. K and I bought her beer once when she was underage and she was just a few years younger than me. Since she was the baby of the bunch one of our friends dubbed her Jail Bait. Horrible, I know, but Kacy is an easy going soul and didn't mind at all or never showed that she did. Hey, we bought her beer so she grinned and beared it. All of my memories of her are fond ones.

So, fast forward to today. Kacy's mom is dying from cancer. Her mom is Catholic and from my understanding Kacy isn't practicing. Kacy's son is in his tweens to early teens and her mom requested he be baptized to give her peace of mind before she passed.

What's Kacy going to say? She, of course, is going to be a good daughter and follow through and her son didn't balk (I don't think) in giving his grandmother this gift.

Kacy and family live in Austin but her parents still live in Nac and she extended an invite to my family to attend the baptism here in town. She confessed to me that (unknown to me) I have been her inspiration to her to get through this with her mom in knowing I recently went through this too.

I'm not a religious person and probably even less so after watching my mom get eaten alive by the big C. That news in itself would deeply sadden my mom, I know. Even though my mom asked the age old question, "Why me, God?" she never lost her faith.

And I'm not here to talk about religion necessarily. I just wanted to say watching that boy being baptized in front of his family and friends was an absolute honor to be included in on. I can appreciate the very large gift he gave his grandmother so she can have peace inside herself and not feel worried what would become of him.

It was a joyous feeling even to me when we sang, "Happy Birthday" to Asher on the evening of his baptism.

My friend has a tough road to go down. Her mom's story isn't done yet. May their hearts and minds be strong to continue their journey.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some people thrive on this day with big smiles and great expectations. Some people are sad, miserable, and perhaps bitter on this day.

I've always thought of it as a Hallmark holiday when it came to couples. Run out to buy cards, candies, flowers, etc. I've always thought what a big waste of money. Maybe, I thought like this because my hubby has always taken pretty good care of me. Perhaps, that's why I can snub my nose at this one big special day out of the year made for lovers. I have a great lover who thinks about me, takes care of me, and spoils me.

Now that I have a kid...Valentine's has become special to me.

My parents had always made Valentine's Day special for me as a kid and up until I was a grown married woman. I would see my dad get my mom a heart shaped box of chocolates and he would get me a special box just for me too. They would always pick out something neat like a heart pendant necklace or some dangling heart earrings. I think my mom stop sending me Valentine's gift when i was in my mid-20s. She basically said, "Do you think it's okay if Mommy stop sending you Valentine's gifts?" I said, "of course." My mom then said, "Tell K that it's all his responsible now. Not Mommy and Daddy's any more."

:)

K ended up getting O a Minnie Mouse doll that she adores. He found her some long spiral lollies too, which she doesn't know about yet. She loved the card he chose too. It was thrilling to watch her get so excited over these things.

I was more excited for her than I was for me.

K did get me some nice thoughtful gifts. I now have a case for my Nexus, chocolates, and a dvd that I've been wanting to see.

My honey got manly things like: men's face care kit, cologne, hair products, etc. Hrm...looking at what I got him I probably should have gotten him a toiletry bag, as well. :)

I have hearts all over my house and all over my office door. Hearts that my kid made at daycare. So with kid now...some of these holidays feel so different now. I guess it's more fun and thrilling to show her all about these holidays that used to just feel like another day to me.

Nana's Garden

While my father was here visiting he created a small garden for my mom. He emptied her ashes into the ground and made a Nana's Garden in my backyard. I love it. It's simple and my dad did it. I'll be adding more to the area. I want it to be bright and pretty. She would like that. Mom would have been impressed with what my dad did.

 

 

Tattoo, Part II

Went in last night to tattoo shop and got color inked into the flowers.




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New Ink

At the shop waiting for artist and art.

Placement of new ink to be placed on outside of my right thigh. Looking at the blank canvas before we get started.

A lovely memorial for my mom. It reads my mom's name, Sun Yong, and Love Always. It has several flowers that remind me of her: stargazer lily, tulips, and african violet. It'll be a couple of weeks before we start on the color.