20 Things You Said You Would Never Do

Be honest with me.  How many of you have said "I'll never be like that when I get old?"  All of us have fallen short in some form or another by doing the things we swore we would never do.

Most of us, who have children, made some hard and fast rules when we became parents.

"I will never yell at my children."  Come on, tell us, have you ever yelled at your kids?

"I will never allow my children to talk back to me."  Did you figure out a way to make them stop?

"I will be completely aware of where my child is at all times."  You own a leash?  Well, GPS is a good one.

"I will never allow my child to eat sugar."  So, what do you do, eat that candy bar while they watch?

Christmas - Sometimes the Best Laid Plans Take a Twist

It was Christmas 1979.  My husband, Paul, and I were headed to his family's home in northern Alberta, Canada. Coming from the West coast of the U S, I had not prepared for the brutal winter weather of the North. I didn't own a heavy winter jacket or gloves.  In the Northwest, we don't have a need for four distinct seasons in our wardrobes.  

We decided to drive straight through the night and arrive two days before Christmas.  That was the plan.  It would be nice to spend Christmas with family -- my family was on the other side of the country and traveling there was not feasible.

Paul preferred to drive at night with fewer cars on the road.  I could curl up in the passenger seat and sleep.  His secret was to eat salted sunflower seeds to keep awake. Paul has been a maniac behind the wheel as long as I have known him - some 45 years. He is an excellent driver, but Speeding is his middle name.  Although we hoped the roads would be fine, we never expected to run into a blizzard or......car trouble.  But we did - both.  We were driving through the Rocky Mountains; it was bitter cold and snowing hard.

I woke up the sound of the tires on gravel as Paul pulled onto the shoulder of the highway. "I have no idea what is wrong but I have to go get help or we will freeze to death."  This was the days before cell phones and at 2 A.M. you couldn't stick your thumb out and hitchhike.  

Moptop Mania -- Were You There?

As a teenager in the early 1960s, I was not allowed to listen to the trending Rock and Roll songs on the radio.  The songs were deemed as evil music so I had to hide from my parents if I wanted to listen to them. 

I would lie low in my clothes closet with my transistor radio glued to my ear.  Beatle mania was alive and well on the radio.  I loved every song, but my favorites were "Hey Jude," "All You Need is Love," "She Loves You," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Come Together," and "Yesterday."   Although I dreamed about it, I knew there was not a chance to ever see the Beatles live in concert.  

I continue to love their music and each song triggers a memory  -- most of them were memories of dating or breaking up with a boy. All these years later, the memories remain vivid.

Every Christmas, my daughter searches for concert tickets to give her dad and me as a gift. As lovers of classic Rock and Roll, we are thrilled.  In addition, she gifts us with dinner and a hotel room.  It is always an evening to remember.  

THE one concert that stands out above the rest was seeing the Beatles Tribute Band, Rain. I had no idea it would be as authentic as it turned out to be.  My hubby, who had been in a Rock and Roll band a hundred years ago, was astonished at how much they sounded like the original group.  In fact, in some ways they were better (please don't tell anyone I said that!) because the sound equipment was superior.