Ode to the ziploc bag

Ziploc bags are a basic, every day item.  I have been on this earth for 34 years and never really thought much about them.  This trip however has revealed the extraordinary usefulness of ziploc bags.  Here is a list I am working on.  You won’t see it, because I can’t actually publish this post till I get back to Nassau, but it will be growing all week.

1. Toy organizer: I used ziplocks to hold individual categories of toys for Owen.  The idea was two fold. Keep the toys from ending up in a pile at the end of the Star Wars light up diaper bag, and keep them separated so that he could play with one thing at a time, clean up, repeat.  FABULOUS!!

2. Dirty diaper/clothes bag (’nuff said)

3. Busy maker: Owen LOVES to carry things right now. He also LOVES to take stuff out of containers and put them back.  A ziploc bag of toys or any other sorted items for that matter is intriguing to him and has kept him busy.

4. Snack holder: duh

5. Toiletry items organizer and protector.  We had ziplocks for our toothbrushes and shampoos and medicines etc. They kept our clothes safe when the kids Benedryl spilled and kept our toothbrushes clean. Plus I labeled them so replacing was easy.

As far as all purpose ultra useful items go:duct tape is out my friends! The ziploc bag is here to stay.

You have no idea what this means to me!

I don’t know what it is about airplane rides, but they always make me think.  Some of my deepest thoughts have come on an airplane.  Or at least they feel deep at the time.  Anyways, right now I am on a flight to Nassau. We are on our way to Cat Island. OUR Cat Island.  We have taken this trip as a family since we’re married almost 14 years ago. Through the years we have had to split up sometimes with John going along to represent our family. Last year in particular I was unable to go because we had a little foster son that we couldn’t take out of the country.  But mostly we have gone altogether. 

This year we go as a family of five for the very first time.  With Owen being our son.  OUR SON! He is sleeping in my lap right now.  I look down at him so peaceful and I remember a time when he didn’t know me as “Mommy”.  I have been so excited for this trip.  All the plans and all the time we spent jumping through all the hoops. First, the adoption. Then the birth certificate and then the passport. Raising money for our team’s mission to Cat island. Getting up at 4am. Going through security, and now our first flight together. I thought I was excited before.  Looking down at him now so secure in his knowledge that mommy and daddy are here and he is with his family, I can’t help but realize that I had no idea what this trip really meant to me u till right now.  

Tears keep falling.  I am so thankful for this precious life and this beautiful boy snuggling up to me. So grateful for this trip and for the ability to take him home to meet our friends and family and to serve God together as a family of five!! That is what it feels like. Bringing your baby home from the hospital. I can’t wait for everyone to meet him! 

It’s also a blessing that after two nighst of no sleep he is sleeping during a plane ride that would otherwise be pretty crazy.  But that has NOTHING to do with it. 

Real Men

Ever wonder why movies and tv shows always depict the hero without a shirt?  Or why heroes change into a costume to signify their great alter ego? Well I figured it out!!

You might say it is sex appeal, or to show off their strength, but I say no.  It’s because they are imitating a real man.  I know, I know, now is the point where you say I am crazy and stop reading.  You can if you want but I am telling you, I  FIGURED IT OUT!!!!!

Like many, if not all, of our fantasies,this concept begins with a real life scenerio. Then moves on with a bit of unrealistic details.  Right? Ok well let me tell you a little story.

This morning I turned on our garbage disposal only to be greeted by an aweful medal on medal slightly muffled grinding sound.  Then I felt a gush of water at my feet.  Upon opening the cabinet under the sink, I discovered, to my horror, a half inch of water mixed with bits of slightly ground up food everywhere!

So, I texted John to alert him to my mega crisis and he said “I’ll be right there!” He left work to come home and deal with the offending appliance. He came in and began the work/clean up process and I stepped out to talk to Kaitlyn who was playing in the water hose outside.

When I came back in,  I handed him a bowl to catch some of the dirty water still pouring from the pipes. I noticed that he had taken his shirt off.  It made sense, he didn’t want to get his dress shirt dirty, I  just had not seen him remove it.  It struck me.  Not just because my husband without his shirt is exciting to me-it is- but because in those moments he was my knight in shining armor, my super hero, my sparkly vampire, and my warewolf all in one.  He is my husband. The man I love.  The man who can fix everything. The man who will drop everything to come home to rescue me from a mega crisis.  And suddenly it all makes sense.

These super hero stories really are rooted in real life with a little bit of fantasy. The “unrealistic details” are really just manifestations of the feelings we have for the men (and women) we love when they do things for us and are there for us whenever we need, and really when we want them.  And real men do things that require them to take their shirts off.  To deal with the unpleasantness of life.  They also have to change constumes like putting on their work clothes to go to work every day to provide for their families.  They are willing to do ordinary things and that makes them extraordinary.  That is what makes them real men.