Thursday for the Marsh Family

There is no catchy title or letter of the day today . . . it was one of those full-to-the-brim-finally-catching-my-breath days.

It started out with a 6:16am check in at the GI surgery center for an upper endoscopy (the third in a year for those keeping track at home). The reason was to check on the Nissen Fundoplication surgery I had back in August (super not "fun" in my book) as it could have contributed to the continuation of asthma symptoms. My hubby drove me in (we stopped at Starbucks to fuel his tank - torture for me as I couldn't eat or drink till after the test and you know how much I love my coffee!!!) . . . then my sweet friend Carrie picked me up at 7:30am . . . good times. The test showed that the surgery is still intact (good because I didn't want to go through surgery again - slightly frustrating as it still gives us no asthma answers.) Meanwhile, on the home front, my mom swooped in again to save the day by feeding breakfast, dressing and sending our little school girl on the bus.

While waiting for my fabulously entertaining procedure, I finished another book entitled "Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time - my life doing dumb stuff with animals." It was a random selection made at the library as it was set up in the new book display. It was a true story of a writer for national geographic. Each chapter is another animal that he has traveled for, spent time with an expert in the field, and written an article about. Although I must admit I was over my head with some of the scientific specifics of some of the chapters, I was also surprisingly entertained. Most unbelievably was how extreme some peoples lives are . . . like the man who spends his entire life categorizing levels of pain for stings and bites . . . or the lemur lady who has sacrificed her whole life and family and comfort to live in a jungle and count lemurs all day . . . It was a definite journey in which I learned more about animals and more about the wide world of writing for such an interesting magazine.

The highlight of the whole day, however, was when Hannah got off the bus and began educating Haley and I on the ins and outs of the new pop star . . . for our moms and grandmas it was Elvis, for us in the 80's New Kids on the Block, for the younger ones out there, Backstreet Boys . . . you know - the ones the girls scream over? Apparently, second grade is the point in which you begin to discuss such heartthrobs on the playgrounds and buses of the public schools of America. The humor came not in the remix sung in my kitchen or the silly giggle Hannah got telling me about one girls binder covered in admiring pictures but when Haley, the little sister quietly taking it all in the background, finally spoke up and said, "What's so great about this Justin BEAVER anyway?!" (For those of you our of the loop, his real name is Justin Bieber, he's 16 but looks 12 on you tube - which of course, I had to look up later) . . . I wish I could post the laughter that exploded in my kitchen . . . I had to literally wipe tears from my eyes . . . and as I enjoy a moment of quiet tonight as Travis is at a late coaches meeting and the girls are finally in bed, I can't help but chuckle at the irony of finishing a nature type book then having a four year old deconstruct the "now" pop star into a furry stick biting animal . . . and I ask you - what's so great about a beaver anyway?!