October 24, 2010 - Walkman walks no more

Background – I was driving home from Gettysburg after spending the day touring the battle fields on a Segway (awesome tour…I highly recommend it).  I had with me my son Zack and our French exchange student, Tongi.  The boys were chatting about all kinds of things in their comparison of our two countries and landed on the subject of the Sony Walkman.  I had to chuckle when I realized that the conversation centered on the fact that, while they had heard of a Sony Walkman, they weren't entirely sure what it actually was.  I decided to date myself and explain it to them in the interest of strengthening our international relations with France.  After a few “runs” at trying to get them to see how this thing worked, “cassette tape??”, I ended by telling them that I didn't even know if they make the Sony Walkman anymore.  That was the end of the conversation, but I gave just a few more minutes to thinking about this ancient device and what had happened to it, “are they still making that thing - or can you now only find one in a museum somewhere?!”.

S.C.O.U.T.  – The very next night, as the news ran through its various news articles, my ears pricked and the hair on my neck stiffened as the anchor woman began to profile the next story…apparently there was an announcement from electronics giant “Sony” today; they will no longer be making the “Sony Walkman”….

Asked and answered…coincidence?  YGTBKM!!  Seriously, YGTBKM if you believe that.

October 22, 2010 - Siddartha you sly old dog

Background – I was substituting for half a day today so I had the morning to putts around the house.  The hubby is also working from home today and we got talking about one of our kids and a mistake he made.  The conversations grew to encompass mistakes that all of our kids have made and then finally about kids and mistakes in general.  We concluded, in all our parenting wisdom, that you have to let kids make their mistakes and take the consequences, even if it means that they end up failing in certain areas.  We agreed that this is one of the hardest parts of parenting; but sheltering, rescuing and heading off all the pain that bad decisions have to offer only puts them at a disadvantage as they grow.  It was a good discussion, and we consoled each other about all the pain that was sure to come if we chose to live by this creed.  It’s so difficult to watch your child suffer, especially when you know they did it to themselves!  My husband and I were finished talking and silently turned back to our work, the hint of doubt that we would actually be able to stick to our guns and watch our kids fail hanging in the air.

S.C.O.U.T. – One hour later I plopped down to read the book my son - the one who had made the mistake and spurred the conversation with my husband - had given me.  The book is “Siddartha” by Herman Hesse.  In the first few pages I learn that Siddartha has a son.  I thought absolutely nothing of this fact until a few pages later when Siddartha’s friend begins to give him parenting advice…

“Who protected Siddartha the Samana from Samsara, from sin, greed and folly?  Could his father’s piety, his teacher’s exhortations, his own knowledge, his own seeking, protect him?  Which father, which teacher could prevent him from living his own life, from soiling himself with life, from loading himself with sin, from swallowing the bitter drink himself, from finding his own path?  Do you think, my dear friend, that anybody is spared this path?  Perhaps your little son, because you would like to see him spared sorrow and pain and disillusionment?  But if you were to die ten times for him, you would not alter his destiny in the slightest.”

…a complete repeat of my conversation with my husband - although I have to give Herman Hesse a few extra credit points for the fancy-smancy language.    Oh, how I would love to be able to ask Siddartha a few questions myself.  Where o’where would I begin?

Simply uncanny.

September 23, 2010 - This is nothing to "yolk" about

Background – My son Matt and I were baking a cake for my father-in-laws 80^th birthday, and Matt tackled the task of separating the eggs.  As he was flopping the yolk from one shell to the other he noticed the white, stringy thing hanging from the yolk.  He calls me over, points it out and asks me if it’s a fetus.  I have a good laugh and then tell him that I don’t know what it’s called, but that it’s definitely NOT a fetus!  In light of my clearly lacking knowledge as to what this thing is called and what its purpose is, he shrugs me off and declares that he’s pretty sure it’s a fetus.  I have little else to add except “It’s NOT a fetus” and we move on to finish the cake.

S.C.O.U.T. – A little over an hour later – yes, just ONE HOUR later - cake cooling, I settle into my reading chair with my UJBR “Supremely Satisfying” edition of random trivia and pop the book open to pg. 61 where I had left off the last time I read.  The title of the next section is “Test Your Egg I.Q.”.  That familiar tingle begins to creep down my spine as I read the blurb about the stringy white thing attached to the yolk of an egg.  It’s called the “chalazae” and its primary function is to hold the yolk in place. 

I sit for a moment – stunned - and contemplate the over-whelming feeling that my world is nowhere near as solid as it appears and that there are moving parts and energy that we humans have only just begun to become aware of.  If I live for 100 years you will never convince me that this was just a mere coincidence.   My son asks me a question that I don’t have the answer to, and one hour later the answer randomly appears.... I use the word “randomly” very loosely here.  Uncanny, simply uncanny.

Reader contribution - Step back, slow down, and...meet me in the toy aisle!!

Background – My dear friend Adrianne has a dear friend Glennon.  I’ve never met Glennon, but know for a fact that she is a dear.  If you doubt me, just check out her FB page (Momastery) where you can access her blog “Momastery”.  She is all about peace, honesty, acceptance and “love wins”!  Anyway, this story is about how dear friends find each other, no matter what. 

Glennon and Adrianne have been friends since 2005; you can find the story of their meeting, written touchingly by Adrianne, in the December 2009 archives of the Momastery blog titled “Adrianne – Thanks and Praise”.  They have remained close friends even through the storms that life has pitched their way resulting in less and less time to see each other.  Glennon was in Adrianne’s part of town last weekend and decided to swing by her house for a catch up.  Adrianne had had a wicked bad weekend and Glennon must have been thinking about her.  She phoned Adrianne in order to track her down, hoping she was at home.

Adrianne answered her phone happy to hear from her dear friend, but sadly had to tell her she was not at home….

Glennon “Well, where are you?”

Adrianne “I’m at Wal-Mart”

Glennon “YOU’RE AT WAL-MART??”

S.C.O.U.T. – Adrianne “Yeah, I’m at Wal-Mart!  Why?”

Glennon “I’M AT WAL-MART!!  Meet me in the toy aisle” 

Adrianne and Glennon did indeed get their catch-up, and I have to believe that they were both happier for it; dear friends find each other, no matter what.  Do you honestly believe that this was just a coincidence?  Just mere happenstance that these two dear friends, both needing a dose of the soul-nourishment the other provides, just happened to be at Wal-Mart at the very same time in order to make that chat possible?  Ok if you do, but you’re wrong ;)  I find it simply uncanny. 

On two separate occasions I was thinking of a dear friend of mine, Laurie, who had moved to Wisconsin.  On both occasions I hadn’t heard from her in a long while - the first being months and the second time spanned years –and then received a letter in the mail from here within days.  On the second occasion I had been walking to the mailbox thinking of her and actually hesitated before opening the box with the thought “I wonder if Laurie wrote me a letter?”  I just had that funny feeling.  There was indeed a letter from her in the box - I had to stand for a moment to catch my balance as the power of the moment swayed me on my feet. 

Coincidence?  You know how I feel on the subject.  Love does indeed win.

Reader contribution - Nothing like a "Monster Bug War" to bring a family together

Background – My sister Alison sent me and my brother an email about a new show she was sure we would love called “Monster Bug Wars” on the Discovery channel.  My brother had never heard of this show and decided he would wait to respond to the email until he had checked it out; knowing my brother this could easily mean weeks, months, years and even never…but the universe had other plans. 

S.C.O.U.T. - That evening my brother’s fiance took her son’s phone from him as a punishment without knowing that that the alarm was set to ring at 5am (I'm thinking said son was exacting his revenge by keeping quiet!).  The phone rang right on cue the next morning, waking my now very grumpy brother and his fiancé.  She told my brother to tune the TV to channel 122 and see if the schools were delayed due to the bad weather the night before.  She thought that channel 122 was the local school channel and would be running the closings.

Not only was channel 122 the Discovery channel and not the local school channel, but the show that was playing was….you guessed it!  “Monster Bug Wars”!!  My stunned brother chuckled and vowed to email my sister that day.  He knows all too well that you ignore an order from the Universe at your own peril!!  Simply uncanny!!

September 19, 2010 - Goooooooooooooooal!!!! Simply Uncanny!

Background – I had to leave my son Jake’s game early last Sunday to go pick up my other boy.  I didn’t think it was any big deal though as Jake had just been pulled out of the game, and I’m one of those selfish shallow parents who really only cares what’s going on when my kid is on the field, sad but true.  As I was heading out, I commented to one of the parents on our team that I was still hoping for one more “Xtreme” goal, preferably from my son!  I had a brief moment of deep wishing for this highly unlikely event as the parent I had commented to worked on hiding his snicker at the thought of my boy scoring the goal. 

Unbeknownst to me, my husband, who was staying to watch, was practicing some “visualization” by imagining our son scoring the winning goal for the team as well.  This was a silly exercise because not only was Jake sitting on the bench, but he is a defender and is rarely in position to even get near our goal, let alone score.  Still, we were both having nearly the same thought, at the same time.

S.C.O.U.T. - I had just left the parking lot when Jake was substituted in at midfield to give another player a much needed break.  It took less than two minutes for him to make his way down the field and score the game winning goal.  The first goal he had ever scored for this team… not just the first winning goal, the very first goal ever!!  My phone lit up with the message from my husband “Jake just scored the goal!!!!  UFB!!!”

Now this may all seem like just a coincidence, I mean don’t all parents spend most of their thoughts during a game visualizing their kid scoring the game winning goal?  Maybe some, but not me.  Like I said, Jake is a defender and scoring goals isn’t part of his “job” on the field.  I have actually never had the thought that Jake would be scoring “a” goal, let alone “the” goal!  After talking with my husband, we agreed that this wasn’t one of our usual thoughts during Jake’s games, and we both had that tingle run down our spine as we put the events together. 

The question I have, and one you’re probably batting around right now as well is “if we had a chance the very next day to repeat these events, and we focused on Jake scoring the goal, we focused until our eyes ached and the veins on our temples bulged, would Jake once again score the goal?”  I feel the answer is “no”, which make all this seem even more like a coincidence.  The problem is…I know somewhere deep inside me, and I know from carefully observing the world around me, that this was no coincidence, and then I move on to the next question… so then “what is it”?

September 12, 2010 - "Clone worthy" is now a real phrase...soon to follow is "S.C.O.U.T. worthy"

Background – Matthew, my youngest, livened up our dinner conversation tonight by asking the question “Hey mom, should we clone Scout?”  It turned into a fun discussion about what it would be like to clone our beloved family fur ball and have a slew of wacky puppies just like him running all over the place.  I finally brought everyone back to reality, i.e. rained on the parade, by informing them that I was pretty darn sure that cloning wasn't a thing yet, but that it was fun to think about.  I knew that it had been done somewhere in the world, but had never heard of anything being cloned on a regular basis.   Conversation over, mom is - as always - right.

The dinner dishes were cleared, homework was finished and we all headed off to bed.

S.C.O.U.T. – It was an Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader night and I slipped in between the cool sheets to enjoy some mindless random trivia.  The second bottom crawling fact presented in my reading read as follows:

          

  “Trakr, a 9/11 rescue dog was cloned five times after he won a “most clone worthy dog” contest”

O.K., so they are definitely cloning dogs, and cloning them often enough to have a contest for a “free cloning” Who knew?!!  Could this also be telling me that I should think about cloning Scout?  After all, this little blurb about cloning is a S.C.O.U.T.   How strange that I should come across a fact about cloning (to be clear - the only cloning related fact that I’ve ever come across) only hours after having a fully blown conversation on this very subject.  Simply uncanny.  Now if I could just “clone” this phenomenon, right now it’s way too random and “improvable” for many to accept.  That being said, pay attention, it’s happening to you too – for there’s no doubt you are all “S.C.O.U.T. worthy”!!