Where Does the Time Go?!

Happy 24th Birthday,
Darling Daughter!

Image from Asheley's high school scrapbook.

We love you, Sweetie!

Funny Faux Pas Follies #4 - Paying it Back!

Welcome to week four of Funny Faux Pas Follies!

Are you ready to have some fun and enjoy a bit of light-hearted humor?

Great; then let's party!

Okay.  For three straight weeks, I've let you see my blundering side. 

But I thought I would take a different turn, for this party, and show you a side of

myself that doesn't surface very often—

the prankster.   ; )

And once again, this humorous little tale involves my

darling daughter, Asheley.

If you remember from last week, Asheley was a child who was in constant motion.

She really seemed to have only two speeds—high and off.

So traveling in a vehicle with Ashe, when she was young, was quite a challenge at times.

The old familiar, "are we there yet" began forming on her lips, almost

as soon as her seat belt clicked in—and often continued, until we arrived at our destination.

It actually got so bad on one long trip, I silently prayed, "Lord, would it be a sin if I

muzzled my child?" 

Just kidding—sort of!   ; )

Thankfully, it was just a phase, and, happily, one that she outgrew.

JAKE & ASHE THE DAY ASHE GOT HER CAR

Now, fast forward to Ashe's senior year in high school.

She had been invited to spend spring break with the family of one

of her very best friends—Jake.

Jake and Ashe had been friends for a long time, and we had seen so much of him over

the years of their friendship, he was like a member of our family.

  As a matter of fact, he even tagged along with us, when it was time

to purchase a car for Asheley. 

And they even went to each other's separate school dances—as a couple.

Because we knew Jake so well, and were assured that his parents would uphold good

Christian values, we felt peace about sanctioning

this trip to the beach.

On the morning of Asheley's departure, her dad kissed her goodbye

and left for work.  I helped her finish packing and then prepared to take

her to Jake's family's home.

Shortly after arriving there, and after a few minutes of conversation with his parents,

I kissed Ashe, said goodbye, and told her to

call me as soon as she got to the beach cottage.

When I returned home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that hubby

had decided to take the day off, and had come back home,

so he and I could spend time together.

Jester Image & Jester Graphics

I feel it necessary to preface the rest of the story with a disclaimer...

I'm not the prank-playing type. 

I'm actually considered to be the serious one of the bunch—

by my family members.

But this 4 1/2 hour trip of Asheley's was just too tempting to pass up.  So I enlisted

hubby's help for a bit of payback.

It had been about twenty minutes since I had left Ashe off, but it had been hours

 since she had seen her dad.  To make her believe that he was still at work,

I had him use his cell phone to call to ask her if she was there yet—of course,

knowing full well, she was not.

Then about thirty minutes later, I called from home and asked her if she was there yet. 

Thirty minutes after that, hubby called from his cell again, to ask her if she was

there yet.

And so it went, for the entirety of Asheley's trip to the beach.

Well, except for the last 45 minutes or so—when mysteriously, Ashe couldn't be reached

on her cell phone.  lol

But we just patiently waited, until we knew that they had had plenty of time to

arrive at the beach cottage, and we called again.  This time Asheley answered.  Before I

could say a word, she said, "Yes, Mom!  I'm there!!!"

Hearing the intensity of the frustration in her voice, I decided to fill her in on the prank.

It took Ashe and Jake quite awhile before they could see the humor in my

"paying it back," for all those years of, "Are we there yet?"

But Jake's parents thought it was a hoot. 

Imagine that!   ; )

Funny Faux Pas Follies #3 - A Nice Trip

Welcome to week three of Funny Faux Pas Follies!

Let's have a little fun together.  Shall we?

In every family, there seems to be at least one person who keeps everyone else on their toes.

In our family, it was always my darling daughter, Asheley.

I suspected from the start—even while she was still in the womb—that I was going to have my hands full with that child.

From very early on in my pregnancy, she seemed to be in constant motion. 

And it didn't stop, once she was born.

As a matter of fact, the older she got, the more active she became.

I think Cyndi Lauper wrote Girls Just Wanna Have Fun specifically for Ashe.

When the time came to plan for her 18th birthday, we asked her what she would like to do to celebrate.

After all, "18" is one of those major milestone years.

Ashe knew that I had a business trip that was scheduled a few weeks after her birthday and asked if she could tag along, as her present.

I know what you're thinking, "Awww!  How sweet!  She just wanted to celebrate her birthday by being with Mom."

And while we are extremely close, and we've always loved spending time together, the venue of my business meeting was what she was really after.

IMAGE SOURCE

Nope, that's not Paris; it's Las Vegas, Nevada!

To make this occasion even more memorable, I even let her choose the hotel we would stay in. 

IMAGE SOURCE

After spending countless hours on the computer, pouring over numerous hotels, she decided The Aladdin Resort would be the "perfect place" to celebrate her birthday.

"See, Mom.  This would be the perfect place.  I could stay by the pool while you're in meetings," she reasoned.

Yeah, right!  Like I would let my gorgeous 18-yr-old daughter be anywhere in Las Vegas all by herself!!!

The condition for her tagging along for her birthday was that she would have to be in the company of some of the other adult ladies from my group, when I was in meetings.

  

From the moment the plane arrived in Vegas, Asheley was determined to "see the sights."

Remember the introduction to this post—the child who was never still?

A place that "never sleeps" is the perfect environment for someone like Asheley!

So, needless to say, when I wasn't in business meetings, I was walking the Vegas strip with my daughter.

On one such day—as we were touring the strip—we noticed a decent-sized crowd gathered in a grassy area near the sidewalk.

Of course, Ashe had to find out what the buzz was all about, so we began making our way to the crowd.

Still dressed in business attire, from my morning meeting—including high heels—made traversing the sidewalk full of people rather tricky.

Just as I started stepping off the sidewalk into the grass, my heel got wedged in a crack and threw me forward into the crowd.

Thank goodness, there was a kind man standing right there to break my fall.  Of course, he didn't know he would be breaking my fall—unfortunately, with his back.

The whole crowd turned to see what the new commotion was all about—including the entertainer, who was the reason for the crowd.

As soon as I could compose myself, and, as graciously as possible, apologize for "dropping in" unexpectedly on this nice man, I was out of there!!!

Of course, once Asheley knew that I hadn't hurt anything—other than my pride—she was in hysterics.

In the midst of her hearty chortle, she jokingly asked, "Mom, did you have a nice trip?"

Which caused us both to break into hysterical laughter.

That night, there was entertainment provided at a function hosted by my company, and Ashe was invited to attend.

Any guess as to who the entertainer might have been?

IMAGE SOURCE

It was none other than the very same Elvis impersonator whose impromptu sidewalk show, I had crashed!

Like being humiliated in front of this guy once wasn't enough!!!

And since that day, every time someone asks whether I've "had a nice trip,"  I think back to Vegas and Elvis...

and especially to my darling daughter—who made it a very nice trip—

and I smile!  ; )

Wasn't It Just Yesterday

Wasn't it just yesterday...

 I was rocking you to sleep as a baby in my arms...

and swinging you on the playground after Sunday School?

Wasn't it just yesterday...

that you thought every character at Disney World was your very best friend?

Your zest for life and sweet spirit

 made the toddler and preschool years pure joy.

Remember when you dressed up as Laura Ingalls

for one of our many homeschool events? 

I cannot believe how fast those twelve years flew by!

What a precious little ballerina you were. 

Wasn't it just yesterday you were taking lessons?

Then at the blink of an eye,

 the teen years we upon us.

And I found myself taking lots of

deep breaths and praying—even more—

especially when you got your first car...

and went to your first dance alone with a guy—in his car.

Wasn't it just yesterday that you were

sitting on your dad's lap as he read to you? 

By the time your prom came around, you were as tall as him.

The day of your graduation,

I could not contain all the emotions welling up within me. 

My baby was graduating,

and our homeschool days would be no more.

As I have watched you blossom into

a beautiful young woman...

my heart has yearned for days of old,

when I would hold you in my arms and sing silly, childish songs with you.

But those days will never be again.

Now, you have given me a precious granddaughter...

who in many ways helps me to see you...

as you once were.

In my heart, you will always be my little girl,

and now...

you are also my special friend!

I love you Asheley Elizabeth!  Happy 23rd Birthday! 

Sharing at Beverly's Pink Saturday.

Be sure to visit Jeanette at Good Mornin' Beautiful and let her know you found her by way of the Brambleberry Cottage.