The dangers of working on Christmas

Most of my family members work on holidays - myself included (when I worked outside the home).  My mother (who works at a hospital) was scheduled to work today as well.

At 5:45 this morning she was walking from her car to the hospital to start her shift.  The guy running the snowplow didn't see her in time, and backed up into her, striking her right side.  The impact lifted her off the ground and she landed hard on her left side, skidding several feet across the pavement.  The landing broke the upper bone in her left arm.

My mother being who she is, her recitation of the accident was full of humorous observations and macabre jokes.  But I could still hear the pain in her voice, and I knew she had taken meds that just weren't making a dent in the pain.  Her Christmas this year isn't going to be very joyous.

After I got off the phone, I realized that I could have very easily lost my mother today.  If that guy had been driving the plow slower, the impact wouldn't have sent her flying - rather, it would have knocked her down, right in front of the tires - and probably killed her.

I know the driver is probably a good guy - Mom said he was very concerned and helpful - but why didn't he have the beeper on when he was backing up?  Mom heard no noise to let her know the plow was backing up in her direction - just a split second where she saw it coming before it struck her.

But as Mom pointed out, he probably feels horrible for not turning on the beeper - and even worse that he struck her in the first place.  On top of that, he's probably terrified that he's going to be fired - and in this economy, wouldn't be able to find another job right away.  Trust my mother to think about this guy, and worry more about him than about herself!  But that's the kind of woman my mother is.

This is one of those times when I sincerely wish I lived closer to my family.  I don't work, and normally would be in the perfect position to come over and help her out.  But my hometown is a five hour drive away, and I don't own a car...and even if I did, I don't have the money for such a trip.

My only wish this Christmas is that I could go see my mother with my own eyes, and know that she is truly okay.

Eggnog

Got a new foster animal today.  This time it's a little puppy, just eight weeks old.  He's been given the name "Eggnog" (which I honestly think is a horrible name for a pet, but that's just me).  His mother was a German Shepherd.  His papers say that he is a Shepherd/terrier mix, but he looks more like he has some hound in him to me.  Sean thinks he has some golden Labrador as well (he's got that color coat).

I managed to get a couple pics...the flash on our camera sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, so some of the pictures are bright and others are dark.

Now, this is interesting for me, as I haven't trained a dog in over 20 years!  So if anyone has words of wisdom or just advice, I'll take all I can get!  Thanks for any and all help.

The weather has been bad all weekend.  It started out raining on Friday, which froze when the sun went down.  Saturday started with more rain, which turned to sleet and then snow by evening.  Temps began to fall Sunday night, and I warned the boys that they would have to dress warmly for school the next day.

Monday morning arrives, and Jacob comes to the table in shorts and a tank top.  And James had a tee-shirt on.

Seriously?

I made them march back into their room to put on appropriate clothing for the weather.  It ended up being one of the few days I had to pick out the younger kids clothing.  I stilled their complaints by explaining how cold it was outside, but they didn't really comprehend how cold it was until I opened the window.  One blast of arctic air and they changed their minds in a hurry!

As they dressed, I explained to them that the school has been closed all weekend and that the heater was off.  The school is going to be VERY chilly this morning, and they are going to want to have layers on.  As I explained this, I remembered my mother explaining the very same thing to me as a child.  I also remembered how grateful I was to her when I got to school and discovered she was right - the school was only about 40 degrees inside.  It warmed up over the day, but thanks to her dressing me in layers, I remained comfortable the whole day through.

Great...now I feel like I'm turning into my mother.

The Mysterious Ticking Noise

I've heard a lot about "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" and decided to look it up on youtube.  The video was so funny, I called the kids out to see it.  They were laughing so hard I'm suprised they could actually hear the song!  They asked to watch it twice more...and now they are in their room singing:

James:  "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape"

Jacob:  "Dumbledore!"

And they insist on singing the ending line with Voldemort together.  It's too cute!

Click here to see the video that started it all.