Doodle

  • The holiday of the turkey

    About two weeks ago, Caroline and I were leaving Mimi and Bop’s house. Our usual routine is to turn around in their driveway and then roll down the back window so that Caroline can yell “Ciao Ciao! Ciao Ciao! Adios Cha-Chas!”

    She is so multicultural.

    But on this particular day she motioned for Mimi and Bops to come closer to the car and said, “I want to spend the night at your house after the holiday of the turkey!”

    And lo, Thanksgiving for me will henceforth be known as The Holiday of the Turkey.

    I have so much to be thankful for this year. It’s been a year of changes and adjustments, but God has been faithful. We are healthy, we are happy, we are blessed.

    And I am grateful.

    Here’s praying that y’all have a blessed, happy Holiday of the Turkey surrounded by the people and the food that you love.

  • This kind of advice will take her far

    To be filed under the list of things I never dreamed I’d say before I had a child.

    “Don’t eat anything that you’ve picked off your face.”

    Just the memory of that statement and why I had to say it makes me feel a little queasy.

  • I’ve always suspected God appreciates a good cheetah print

    Last week I was driving over to Gulley’s house to keep her youngest son, Will, while she went to watch Jackson compete in the bike rodeo.

    I had no idea there was any such thing as a bike rodeo. Oh the things that I have to look forward to when Caroline enters the dog eat dog world of Kindergarten next year.

    Anyway, Caroline was talking to me from the backseat of the car and told me that Jackson had told her a scary story about a little boy who went to the bathroom without his mama or daddy and a stranger tried to get him.

    Apparently, they had just finished “Stranger Danger” week in Kindergarten.

    I said, “Well sweetie, you don’t need to worry. Mama and Daddy are always watching out for you. And you know what else? God is always watching over you.”

    “God is always watching me?”

    “Yes, God sees everything. He even knows how many hairs are on your head.”

    “Does He know I’m growing out my bangs?”

    That apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Oh the times I have prayed for deliverance from my bangs.

    “Yes, He knows you’re growing out your bangs.”

    “Does He see my cute cheetah pants I’m wearing?”

    “Yep. He sees your cheetah pants.”

    “OH, I BET HE THINKS I AM REAL CUTE!”

    Yes. I can say with all certainty that He does.

  • Caroline’s guide to style

    Caroline got herself dressed for church this morning.

    Clearly, she has inherited her father’s sense of style.

    One in which a baseball cap makes every outfit better.

    And I will just go ahead and confess that I let her go to church in that exact outfit.

    Y’all have to admit, the mardi gras beads are a nice touch.

  • Imagine if it had been a Reeses peanut butter cup

    Caroline just walked through the kitchen and asked if she could have a piece of candy from her never-ending supply of Halloween candy.

    I told her she could pick one thing.

    She began rummaging through her Disney Princess bucket as if her life depended on it. She rejected Nerds, Sweet-tarts, and some Skittles.

    Finally, she pulled out a giant Tootsie Roll and said, “OH YEAH, BABY!”

    That’s my girl.

  • The law of gravity and albuterol syrup

    There aren’t really words to describe the level of hyperactivity that the albuterol has caused in Caroline.

    Except to say at one point this afternoon I thought the sheer perpetual motion of her body might propel her off the face of the earth.

    But you know what they say, what goes up, must come down.

    That’s the bathroom scale she’s using as a pillow.