Problems at the Grocery Store

It took me over a year to tell anyone what happened. I was embarrassed, humiliated and mad. Really mad.
It took place at a Meijers store in Waterford. I had taught an exercise class at church and was taking Mandy home for her mom, Roz. Mandy was around 3 years old. I had some time to kill before Mandy was supposed to be home, so I stopped at Meijers and did some shopping. By the time I got to the check out line, my cart was pretty full. Mandy was sitting in the child seat in the front.
Mandy was an absolutely adorable toddler. My main concern was keeping her happy and safe. I got into line with my full cart. I was probably the third person in line and everyone in front of me had full carts also.
A man got in line behind me. I should have noticed right away that something was wrong. He only had two or three items to buy, but instead of going into the fast lane, he came to the long lane.
He was dressed like a college professor - dress pants, dress shirt and a jacket with patches on the elbows.
He was getting kind of close to me, but I thought he was getting too close to Mandy. I made sure my body was between him and Mandy the whole time. Then I felt a rub on my butt! I spun around and the guy apologized and said he was reaching for a candy bar. I gave him a dirty look but didn't see any reason not to believe him.
The line had moved ahead so we were between two high walls filled with impulse items. I felt something rub on my butt again! Again I spun around and he made some excuse about dropping something. Again the dirty look, but this time I had my doubts he was telling the truth. Brick house doesn't have to drop on me!
The third and last time the guy actually pushed himself against my butt (his private part was seeking company!)! This time I reached out and grabbed the food divider and stared at him. I started to slap the divider up and down in the palm of my hand.
I was finally ready to check out. I still was concerned about the pervert getting to Mandy. It was difficult to keep myself between her and the nut and get food out of the cart.
After I payed for the groceries, I was furious! I looked for the guy, but he was gone! He must have pushed through the line back into the store because I looked all over for the guy - even outside.
I was so angry with myself. Here I was a 2nd degree black belt and some masher molested me in line at Meijers! I should have given the guy a palm heel to his nose! I should have at least screamed at him. But all I did was give dirty looks and slap the divider in my hand.
He will do this to another woman. And I had a chance to stop him for at least a little while. I didn't. I had failed.
There are men out there who get excited just by touching. That's all they want to do - at least at first.
The only thing I felt good about was that Mandy was safe. I did what I could to not let her be aware that something was wrong.

Meniers Disease

In the early 1990's I was having a problem with getting dizzy. Sometimes it would last just a little while, sometimes it lasted for hours. Once it started, I just had to wait it out. Most of the time I would go to bed, wait for the spinning to stop, then try to sleep. There were times when if I moved my head, I had to throw up. I couldn't stand because I was so dizzy, so I had to crawl to the bathroom. Not good!
I went to my Dr. to find out what was wrong with me. He did a CAT scan but found nothing (My husband thought that was great!) to be concerned with. The dizziness didn't happen every day or even every week. I was sent to a specialist.
Dr. Verjabedian came in for an interview. I sat on the exam table while he asked me questions.
"Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Do you drink coffee?"
"No."
"Do you drink alcohol?"
"No."
"Not even at meals?"
"No. It's a religious thing with me."
Finally he got to the question, "Do you eat chocolate?"
"Yes."
"O.k. You need to eliminate that from your diet."
I sat there in shock! Eliminate chocolate? Is this guy un-American? We both just sat there looking at each other. "How about we go back to the question about coffee and I admit that I drink coffee? Then we can keep the chocolate?"
He laughed. I went without chocolate for over a month while being tested.
I went through extensive testing of my ears and hearing with just the conclusion that I have lost substantial hearing. I knew that! Could have saved lots of money and been happy eating chocolate.
Dr. V. put me on anti-vert, a drug for dizziness. It didn't help with the 'attacks'. The only thing the drug did was make me loopier than usual. All I wanted to do was sleep.
Finally, after eliminating everything else (this took months), the verdict came back as Meniers Disease. Why? I think it was used as a catch-all for whatever they couldn't diagnose.
The year we move to Rochester was the worst year for me. Since then, the attacks have pretty much gone away - thank heaven!!!!

Always Sharp

My father is almost 88 years old. He's close to being deaf, he's unsteady on his feet and he has limited use of his right arm. However, his mind is as sharp as ever. He is a total blast to talk to. We all had lunch before Christmas. Before we parted and while giving me a hug he said, "Remember the good times."
Maybe ten or so years ago, my mom and dad, Bruce and I were returning from somewhere - maybe Battle Creek. I was driving, Bruce was in the passenger seat and Mom and Daddy were in the backseat. We were on a freeway near Lansing. It was pretty crowded. In my rear view mirror I saw a car loaded with young girls speeding in and out of traffic. They were having a great time cutting off traffic.
People like that are dangerous and, frankly, make me mad. So when these little chickies tried to cut me off, I sped up a little. When they tried to get in back of me so they could zoom around on the other side, I would slow up a bit. After a few minutes, the girls were screaming and making hand gestures that were not very nice. This went on for about five minutes. I was having a bit of fun all by myself while everyone else was involved in conversation.
"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?" It was my dad. No one else noticed what was going on, but my dad is extremely observant. I smiled and said, "Yep." NOTHING gets by my dad. Nothing!
I had to explain to everyone else what was going on. The girls finally turned off and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Play-off Pain

It was 1989. We attended the Clarkston Ward. I was Laurel advisor at the time. We had missionaries from Utah and California. The Pistons were in the play-offs against the Lakers.
Between my boys, myself and the two missionaries a fun rivalry had developed.
After a particularly good game that the Pistons had won, I decided to have some fun. I only had 1 Laurel show up that day, so Vicky (YW president), Becca (the 1 Laurel) and I went out to the missionaries car with soap we had pilfered from the restroom. We were singing the praises of our basketball team with adoration in the form of soap messages on the windows of their car.
Vicky had never done anything like this before, so she didn't know what to write. I told her anything that praised the Pistons. When done, we went back inside and attended our meeting like the good Christians that we are.
My family left pretty soon after meetings were over. When we got home the phone rang. It was Elder Vi (He was from Tonga originally and his last name was almost impossible for us to pronounce, so he called himself Elder Vi.). Elder Vi had been in a gang in L.A. before he found the gospel, so he could get a 'rough' sound to his voice. I tried to play innocent, but asked why he was so upset.
"Because I had to ride home with my window down."
"Why?"
"I will not ride around with "I love Bill" written on my window!"
I almost fell over laughing. Vicky couldn't think of anything to say and she didn't follow sports. She did like Bill Lambier, however. (He was over 7 foot tall and she was 4'11".) So she wrote 'I love Bill' on the passenger window.
Let them 'dis' our Pistons!

Chris's Kids and Pics

Chris's 3 kids came over today to stay with us for the weekend. I have wonderful pics of my other grandchildren, but only older ones of his kids. I took them to the studio today to get some professional pics taken.
Ashley will miss her calling if she doesn't become a model. The camera loves her. The photographer would tilt Ashley's head up and Ashley would do it without moving. Ashley was like a doll that you could position. Her photo's were incredible!
Brandon did great, too. He did everything he was told to do. I really liked the photo of him in front of an old brick building with a hat on his head.
And Josh. He is SO handsome. My fave of him is with him laying on his stomach with a soft smile on his face.
They were all so good for the hour we were there. We'll get the pics at the end of the month.

Small Acts

I went to Target to pick up a few things today. Among the items I needed to pick up was a bag of hard candy for my diabetic husband. The Dr. added a new medication to his regimen and his sugar has been going pretty low at times. He gets very shaky until he can get some sugar in him. I found some Werther's butterscotch candy - his fave.
I bought my items and got to my car to put them in. I emptied out my cart and saw the bag of candy laying in the cart. I hadn't paid for them. I didn't even see them in the cart when I went to the check out. O.K., the right thing to do is to take the candy back into the store and pay for them. Another walk in the cold half a parking lot away. I'm sure I had been over-charged for some item in all the years I had shopped at Target. BUT that was Target's problem, not mine. I had to go and either put the candy back or pay for it.
I walked back to Target with the candy in one hand and two dollars in the other. As I walked in the door I glanced down at the candy - it was sugar-free!!!!! Not any good at all for what it was intended for.
Nobody even glanced my way as I walked back in with the candy in my hand and walked to the candy aisle. I put the Werther's back and found another hard candy to get for Bruce. I really paid for this candy.
It's strange how things work out. If I had not been honest, I would have brought home the wrong candy. If Bruce had needed the sugar...well, I'm happy that I let my conscience be my guide.

The Farmhouse

We left our beautiful house in Detroit in 1970, after race riots disturbed every one's peace of mind and security. This is when my dad and uncle were going into partnership to build houses. We were to live in Grandma Guile's small farm house.
Mom and I had all kinds of ideas on how to decorate and make the farm house our home. I guess we didn't remember how horrible this house was. The room I was assigned was too small to put a twin bed and a dresser in. I moved upstairs and my parents converted the 'parlor' into their bedroom.
I took my savings and bought wallpaper for the ceiling (yes, the ceiling) and the walls. I bought paint for the trim and curtains for the window. When I was done, it was the prettiest room in the house.
The furnace was coal fed. We would wake up in the morning with black rings around our noses. Our clothes were filthy with coal dust. The only way we could keep things clean was to hang our clothes in the bathroom where there was no heating vent.
The furnace would always go out before morning. Mom was always the first one up so she had to start the furnace. She would get June and I up for school, then Daddy to work on the house and take care of Ted. Mom held us all together.
That house was haunted, too. Every morning at two a.m., my desk would start to shake. It was a metal desk held in place by tension poles running from the floor to the ceiling. The first night it happened, I just rolled over and said,"Squirrels.". The next night I thought the same thing, but wasn't as convinced. The third night when my desk started to shake at two a. m. on the dot, I grabbed my blanket and pillow and slept downstairs. My parents traded rooms with me. My parents never had any strange experiences, but my brother, Dan and his wife Kathy, swears the house was haunted also.
And snakes. There were lots of garden snakes around there. I HATE snakes. And the pitch black of the night. I had a street light in front of my bedroom window in Detroit. I felt that I had entered the black hole. And the party line on the telephone. You couldn't talk for more than 5 minutes without someone else clicking in. I know one of the neighbors listened in on conversations because we could hear the click on, but not the click off. And I couldn't get to any stores. I didn't drive and EVERYTHING was too far to walk to. We went to 'town' once a week.
There were only a couple of cupboards in the kitchen. Everything was old.
On the whole, it was a miserable time living there. But we were together, and Daddy had promised us a new home.

House in Detroit

I went with my parents one time to look at a house they considered buying. I wanted this house so bad my teeth hurt! It was a split level, modern house with a BUILT IN POOL!!!! My folks weren't impressed with this house, though and bought another one.
This house was on the street that was the emergency entrance for Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital. It was huge. There were three bedrooms upstairs, a formal dining room, breakfast nook, walk-in coat closet and a full apartment in the basement. A bonus was the house came with furniture. This furniture was very nice. I still have the china cabinet that was part of the set. This will be passed down to my daughter-in-law.
For me, living in Detroit was wonderful. In the summer I got to see my father every day (he worked afternoons) and go places with him. We would walk to the barber shop together and I would sit in a chair across the room from my dad while he got his hair cut. We would play games with our fingers, Daddy would hold his hand out and separate his fingers and I would copy him. It was not easy, but I got quite adept. Then he'd wink at me and I'd wink back, then the other eye, then twice with one eye and once with the other eye. And I would copy him. My Daddy was the most powerful and wonderful person in my life.
I remember hearing the chop, chop, chop of the push mower and smelling the fragrance of fresh cut grass. I remember sitting on my porch step with my mom's red transistor radio listening to the baseball game. I remember drawing chalk spaceships in the driveway with my friends. I remember playing 7-Up on the side of my house - sometimes with a friend, sometimes by myself.
When I was 16, the girls in my MIA class invited their boyfriends and the boys in MIA invited their girlfriends to my home and we had a formal dinner that the girls cooked. Then we all drove to the stake center for a formal danced. It was great! (Except for the baked Alaska.)

Second House

I don't remember too much about the house on North Princeton Ave. I was only 6 when we moved to Warren. My father had gotten a tool and die job in Detroit, so before they purchased a house, they had to rent one we could live in.
The house we moved into was a two story fake brick house. My mother says it was not a good place, but it was temporary. I remember my sister and I shared a room with a dormer window and it had a play house in the backyard.
I was the new kid on the block. I had a couple of friends, but I remember one fat boy who hated me. He had some friends with him who started to chase me one day. I was pretty fast, though, and the leader was the slow fat kid. I sped home before any of them could catch me.
I went to first grade in Warren. I had attended kindergarten and a little bit of first grade at a very small school. Now here I was at a school with lots of kids - that I didn't know. My teacher was a tall woman who had no sense of humor. Her name was something like Karziki. My dad - bless his wicked soul - talked me into telling my teacher a joke, "When I ride in the car, I get car-sicky." Teacher was not pleased. As a matter of fact, she called my mom in for a conference. Mom was told that I was immature (Thanks, Daddy!) and needed a lot of work or she would have no choice but to fail me. My mom worked with me and I went from one of the worst readers (according to the teacher) to one of the best.
We didn't live there even one year. None of us liked the area. But while we were there, my parents found a wonderful home in Detroit that they bought.

My Homes

My parents lived in a small house on North Princeton when I was born. When I was 6 we moved to Warren, MI. We lived there less than a year (it was a rental) then moved to Lesure St. in Detroit. When I was 16 we moved to Eckford, MI - into my grandmothers old farmhouse (it was haunted, I swear). My dad finished the house he built by himself (with help from my mom and Uncle Ronnie) and we moved there. Bruce and I got married at the end of 1971 and moved to our first apartment in Union City, MI. We lived there around 8 months and moved to an apartment in Athens, MI which was above a hardware store. We were in that apartment for only a few months when we moved across the hall to a larger apartment. We bought a house in Union City, MI after that. We lived there around 2 years when Bruce had a break down from allergies from work. He knew he couldn't work in the factory any more, so we moved to Utah so he could attend BYU. The housing market was extremely depressed so we signed the house back to the creditors. At that time in that contract we could not rent the property out.
We moved to an apartment in Springville, UT. After that, Bruce wanted to attend another school because BYU didn't have what he wanted to study. We moved to Salt Lake City, Ut. for another 2 years. We moved to West Valley City after that for around 6 months. The owner of the house was renting illegally, so we had to move. We decided that it was time to go back home to Michigan to family and friends.
We stayed with my parents in their basement for about 5 months until we rented a small house in Athens, MI from Bruce's dad. Bruce got a job in his field in Madison Heights, MI so we moved to Taylor, MI. I moved back to the Marshall area for a while, then the family moved to White Lake, MI. We lived there for almost 2 years. I moved back to Marshall again, then the family moved to a huge farmhouse in White Lake again. We lived there for 6 years. After that, we lived in Rochester, MI for 12 years.
We bought our little dream house 5 years ago. This is the perfect house for us. We plan on living here for the rest of our lives. It's a wonderful neighborhood in Macomb, MI.

Baseball Hero

For my sixteenth birthday, the people I babysat for gave me a wonderful surprise; box seats at a Tiger's baseball game. They picked me up early - with the two kids I babysat for - and we got to the game with more than enough time to see the players warm up. I LOVED baseball and in particular the Tigers.
We got to our seats after buying food, souvenirs and a line-up book. We sat down (I know I had a smile on my face the whole time!) and saw some players still on the team. Then I saw my hero, Detroit's hero, Denny McLane winner of 31 and 30 consecutive seasons. My eyes went wide. The father of the kids told me to go over and get an autograph. At first I said no, I couldn't do that. He talked me into it.
I walked over to where Denny was having his photo taken. I waited until the session was finished before I called out to him (I'll never forget this part.). "Mr. McLane! Mr. McLane!" He started to walk away without even turning in my direction. I called even louder, "Mr. McLane!" He continued to walk away. I finally yelled, "Denny!" He turned around and glared at me. "Could I get your autograph?"
He stomped over to me, snatched the line-up book out of my hand, scribbled his name on it and almost threw it back at me. "I could get fined for this!" He snarled. Then he walked away.
I was crushed. My hero was a total jerk.
However, I had his autograph. And the game was wonderful. We won 10 to 1. I soon came to realize that Mickey Lolich was a nicer person and just as gifted a pitcher as Denny McLane.

Old Friends

Facebook has become a driving force in my life - in a few areas. I have reconnected with lots of old friends. My favorite surprise was finding my friend, Mary.
Mary and I were best friends in the 11th and 12th grades at Tekonsha High School. One of our teachers called Mary my shadow; wherever I was, Mary was beside me.
Mary lived about a mile from my house. She had a younger brother who had a friend and together they loved to torture us. One day they decided we could play football with them. HA! I learned what the term "trash canned" meant. Mary was our quarterback which meant that I had to catch the ball and try to run it to the goal. Both Richard and Don would converge on me -one from my left and one from my right, scream, "Trash can!" then ram me from both sides. I would collapse and they would grab the football and run it back for a goal. They did this to Mary also. We played this 'fun' game one time only.
The Christmas after my 17th birthday I was allowed to get my ears pierced. Back then you had to go to a Dr's office and you had to have 14 carat gold earrings. I was so excited! I had been begging for years for pierced earrings. Uncle Ronnie gave me the earrings for Christmas and I made an appointment ASAP. The day I got my ears pierced, I went to Mary's house. We were sitting on the floor in their living room watching T.V. when Richard and Don snuck up behind us and threw a blanket over our heads. We gave them the appropriate screaming and yelling until they took the blanket off our heads. My newly pierced ear was missing my new earring!
I was SO mad!!! I made them help us find the earring. When it was finally found, I couldn't get the earring in the hole. I got so mad that Richard came over and put the earring in for me - backwards!
Mary decided to get her ears pierced also, so when she went to the Dr. for her piercing, I went with her. The Dr. chewed me out for roughhousing when I had just gotten the earrings put in. I tried to explain to him that Mary and I were completely innocent. He asked me if I were present? If I hadn't been there, my earring would have stayed put and I wouldn't be there bothering him. He did reverse my earring - muttering all the way.
I have so many stories about Mary and me. They were great days.

We had a weekend filled with laughter! A surprise phone call came from Sara on Friday morning. She asked us if we were busy this weekend. Of course we weren't, so she wanted to know if we'd like company.

They arrived around 5 p.m. and the fun began. They are the sweetest children! Rob and Sara were happy and the kids were an absolute delight. We didn't do anything special, but the three days we had together was a great ending to a nice holiday.

Little Kaylee is growing up so fast. She and I looked for a blanket to snuggle with, then she laid on my lap. She insisted I sing to her the whole time she laid there. I don't think it's possible to be any happier than I was right at that moment.

When we went to the store, Raef insisted he hold my hand the whole time. And Brady stayed close so he could play jokes and giggle.

They left on Sunday after Chris got home from work. Our house got SO quiet. But the echoes of laughter stayed on.

2010

Is it over yet? Can I come out from under my bed? Is 2009 finally, finally gone? YAY!
And now to prepare for the new year, the new decade. What can I do to make things different? What can I do to bring about necessary changes so I can find peace and happiness?
I need to start with me. I need to find out what are my most important priorities. I need to not even bother with the things that I cannot change. As a matter of fact, I can only change myself - my outlook. I must not dwell on what will never be. I must make better what I can touch.
I am looking forward to the new baby in our family. I can't wait to hold this new little spirit from heaven. To feel the warmth of the tiny body in my arms. To look into his/her eyes and see myself, my husband, my parents.
I need to make a more concerted effort to stay in touch with Rob and his family. He has the most amazing children. And I truly love Sarah.
I need to help Steve through his tough times - his flashbacks of war, his family back in Germany.
I need to help Chris and Dana as they prepare for their new family while blending with his present family.
I need to work on my relationship with my sweetheart. We've been together over 38 years - through bad and good. We've grown into adults together, created children together, shared the amazement of grandchildren. Now we can relax in the sure knowledge that we have unconditional love. I sleep well knowing my husband is next to me - in bed and in life.
I have been blessed.
And to still have my parents with us. My father, patriarch of the family, whose mind is still just as quick as ever. My mother, matriarch of the family, who still has the energy to love her family - no matter what.
Come on in 2010.