A Force to Reckon With

Featured in today's local paper: 12U Fastpitch Softball

This team of girls won the gold in their last two tournaments of the season!

Sweet 16! Elijah, Marc, and Joseph's serenade


Celebrating with friends and family

Sweet 16

In just four days my first child turns 16 years old! I recall the months that lead up to the day I found out I was pregnant.

My father had died unexpectedly on a crisp October morning and for the next few months there wasn't one day in which I didn't cry. Whenever I was alone for more than 10 minutes, I would cry--in the shower, on the way to work. I cried myself to sleep almost every night. Every day I prayed that I could see my dad in my dreams; just to talk to him. Around the end of December my prayer was answered. I dreamed that I was in high school and playing softball. My father parked on a hill overlooking the softball field and waited for my practice to end. I remember running up the hill, bat in one hand and glove in the other. I jumped in the truck and immediately began to rattle of the events of my day. My dad sat silently, listening. When I complained that my stomach hurt, my father reached over and unsnapped my jeans--his solution for my stomach ache. My stomach instantly grew to the dash and then I woke up. On January 6, 1992 (my husband's birthday), I found out that I was pregnant. The dream I had of my father suddenly made sense--this was God's way of letting me see my father and involving him in a special moment in my life. From that point on, my life had a renewed sense of purpose. I was able to pull myself together and look forward a different chapter in my life.

We Are the 'Campions', My Friend!

My children and I have just returned from two nights of camping and I must say that no matter how much 'stuff' we take, it's never quite enough--except for lighter fluid--we had plenty of lighter fluid. It's a good thing, too, because I had to stand over the fire and revive it with a squirt of fluid about every 40 seconds. Eventually, we had a roaring fire (well roaring may not be the appropriate terminology) but it was enough to roast marshmallows over.

Speaking of marshmallows...this was an introduction to camping for my friend and two of her children, who have NEVER had s'mores or even roasted marshmallows! These delicacies were such a hit that not only were they dessert Thursday night but they were breakfast Friday morning. Two bags of marshmallows and 12 Hersey bars were gone less than 18 hours into the trip.

Tent life was a different story. My daughter, Morgan, painstakingly guarded the tent against anyone entering with dirty feet or, more importantly, stepping across her air mattress, much to her chagrin. You see, this is an impossible feat with a three-year-old in the picture, especially if that three-year-old knows the teenager disapproves of dirt! By the time we packed up our tent at the end of our stay, we were sleeping in sand, candy wrappers, spilled soda, wet blankets, rabbit food (that's a story for another time), and a set of lost keys. It might be funny the first time the vehicle alarm goes off and nobody can find the keys to turn it off, but by the fourth time I believe neighboring campers were conspiring to have our noisy group removed from the premises. So, needless to say, we were a little relieved when the drunken brawl across the way broke out and secured the 'Most Obnoxious Campers' award, making our stint with the title a short one.

Although the weather was not always cooperative, our last few days have definitely been adventurous. It was interesting to see people experience sleeping in a tent and roasting over a fire for the first time. This weekend was also a learning experience for me, too. Time without the fella's made me appreciate my husband even more. I've never had to bother with getting a fire going or packing up the tent. I guess I've taken my hubby for granted when it comes to the grunt work of outdoor living!

About 20 minutes into sleep on the first night, I awoke to a flat air mattress. I tossed and turned, arranged pillow and blanket, all to no avail. I would have been more comfortable sleeping on the hood of the truck and, believe me, that crossed my mind quite a few times. The following night, I gave ample warning that when the mattress went flat, I was blowing it back up. I was afraid that the pump would wake everyone up but I think by that time we were so exhausted that a bear could have run through our tent and they would have slept through it. Actually, when we woke up on Saturday it looked as though a herd of elephants did trample through. Anyway, I ended up blowing it up four times during the night.

Now, I close, hearing the beckoning calls of my soft, warm critter-free bed. My only hope for the weekend is that we didn't turn my friend off from camping forever!

Oh, yeah--the book fair rocks!

Green Valley Book Fair

One of Virginia's best kept secrets is the Green Valley Book Fair in Harrisonburg! This event happens six times a year (two weeks each time) in an enormous warehouse right in the middle of cornfields and cow pastures. When I first heard about it I imagined these used beat-up paperbacks on sale for a dime but it's quite the contrary. The books are all new and range from any topic under the sun. For example, I bought books on CD for young elementary school students for $3 each (regularly $10). I bought paperback novels for $2 (regularly $7-15). Now, with gas prices the way they are, you certainly wouldn't want to make the trip for one or two books. This is a fun day trip--load up the car with several people and make a day of it. They accept charge cards, checks, and cash. The next fair begins August 16th and runs through September 1st. I've gone at the beginning of the fair and at the end of the fair and didn't notice a difference in inventory. In other words, the books never seemed picked over. To find out more about it go to www.gvbookfair.com.

I will be at the book fair this Saturday. I'm taking a friend, two of her children, and my two daughters camping tomorrow through Saturday near Harrisonburg. We'll pack up Saturday and shop for books.

What can I say? After last weekend I have the camping bug. I have a brand new tent and I want to get a little use out of it before school starts. So, look for my blog entry this weekend regarding our camping adventures. I'm by no means a camping connoisseur but I will be the most experienced in the bunch which should make for an interesting outing, to say the least! If you never hear from me again, donations can be made to "Save the Children" in lieu of flowers.

Why POS?

I've had a few people ask about the name of my blog spot--Parent Over Shoulder (POS). I took it from the acronym that teens use to warn fellow IMers that a parent is standing over their shoulder and not to type anything incriminating. Well, I thought about this and I believe that we all should conduct ourselves as if a parent were standing over our shoulder. In other words, don't act in such a way that we wouldn't want our Parent looking over our shoulder. Now, you might think that this leads to a restricting lifestyle, always worrying about what others think--quite the contrary! It's liberating to know that our behavior doesn't have to adjust according to the people around us if we have a standard that we uphold all the time, even when we think no one is looking. So, I look at the phrase Parent Over Shoulder not as a warning, but as a reminder.

Less Than a Mile

Yesterday afternoon I stood along the banks of the James River, ready to "rough it" for the next 24 hours. We unloaded our three boats, two canoes, and one kayak from the backs of four trucks. Once the tents, coolers, fishing rods, tackle boxes, grill, camp stove, chairs, tubs of food, toiletry items, portable tables, bedding, air mattresses, clothing, and towels were loaded, we had everything necessary for an evening of primitive camping (everything, that is, except coffee).

We set up camp about half a mile down the river (I'm guessing half a mile since my sense of distance traveled is usually inflated) on a small island surrounded by scatterings of large rocks. The sky was beautiful and I found myself drawn to taking pictures of the clouds set against a bright blue sky.

Entertainment over the course of the journey consisted of Rachel and Morgan arguing over shoes (I'll explain later), photoshoots around the compound, pets splashing in the water, Kalsin maneuvering in the kayak as he pulled Cookie on the innertube, watching the "Titanic" (also known as the Hillbilly Yacht) float down the river, and Mike and Doug's usual references to beans and flatulence.

The dilemma: Rachel brought a pair of Morgan's old shoes to wear in the river(without Morgan's permission). Morgan brought flip-flops because she couldn't find any shoes to bring. Once she discovered that Rachel had her shoes (which functioned much better in the water), Morgan wanted her shoes back and wanted Rachel to wear the flip-flops.

Rachel's argument: Morgan didn't think about bringing the shoes. Rachel did. Plus, Morgan borrows things from Rachel all the time without permission. Now Morgan can see how it feels.

Morgan's argument: The shoes are hers and Rachel took them without permission.

Mom's suggestion: Each girl wears one of each shoe.

Resolution: Rachel kept the shoes and Morgan stole mine!

All in all, this was a wonderful, relaxing weekend but, most importantly, we were able to create wonderful family memories and add to stories we'll reference for years to come!

Back to Shannon

Here I sit at 7:00 a.m. in the church office, thinking of all of the things I need to cram into today in order to relax with my family this afternoon. Well, I'm not sure if relax is the appropriate word. You see, we're headed to the James River for a camping extravaganza--with any luck, there'll be another family brawl to keep it interesting. Just kidding! But it is fun to reenact those moments from get-togethers goneby. This camping trip is a send-off for my neice, Shannon, who leaves her home, bound for Iraq, in 10 days.

I'm actually multi-tasking as I type, downloading video to edit for tomorrow's church service.

Back to Shannon.
I thought about getting sappy, reminiscing about the days when this skinny freckled-face girl would scoot off the bus, burst into my house, and say what she said everyday: "I'm hungry. Can I have a piece of bread?"

Video is still recording. I have to finish it quickly so I can take my mother shoe shopping before we leave for the James River.

Back to Shannon.
Last year she married the love of her life, David, on a breathtakingly beautiful (and smoldering hot) day alongside a pond nestled between rolling green acres of earth. It was a rushed wedding, little preparation involved. There was an overwhelming sense of urgency because at that time it was David's turn to go to Iraq. I must say it was probably the sweetest and most sincere exchange of vows I had ever witnessed. OK--just a little sap!

Checked the video. It's ready. I have to get on it so that Beth can create music to accompany it before I, yes, take my mother shoe shopping.

Back to Shannon.
I love you, Shannon, and I'm very proud of you. Be safe. Go with God.


Video