Loud Sneezes!

Thinking about my Dad and Father's Day naturally led me to think of my Pop-Pop. When he and my Mom-Mom moved back to NJ I was able to visit him often, and usually I'd head there to say hi for Father's Day. I miss that now.

One of my earliest memories from age 2-4 is of my Pop-Pop sneezing. Man could he sneeze. I remember playing with my favorite doll, Tender Love, in my bedroom and hearing him sneeze at the other end of our house. I was amazed by it. How could anyone sneeze so loud I wondered.

Well, as it turns out, it's all in the genes. See I've come to realize I have his sneeze. I'm in a meeting, trying to remain quiet and "ahchoo" and I get looks from everyone whose never heard it before. They think, "how can anyone sneeze so loud"? I used to be embarrassed by it, now while it's highly annoying I must admit, I just secretly laugh and think of my Pop-Pop.

I was his "Triner". He was in awe of my ability to get us home when I was just 4 years old. I don't know how many times he'd tell me that story and laugh with pride.

So I have come to accept my lot in life, loud sneezes. Now, if only I can channel is amazing whistling genes, lol!

Scrambled Eggs Can Heal Anything!

Recently I've been craving scrambled eggs.

I go to the kitchen, open the fridge to grab a few eggs and then remember, "Darn, I don't have eggs". Easily solvable right? Not so much!

Rob does the grocery shopping because my ankle still hurts and I always forget to add them to the list. A mental block I just overcame today.

I just had a temporary crown put on a tooth today which had an emergency root canal a few years ago while visiting my family in Colorado for Thanksgiving. What turned out to be my last one with my dad. Thanks to our nightmare dental insurance it wasn't fixed over and over for various excuses provided by our dentists, Eastern Dental. We switched to another dentist, but it was so bad he had to wait and wait for it to heal, and finally today I reached that point.

As many of you know, I had TMJ surgery in college. While my jaw is much better, keeping my mouth open for dental work, well, hurts! So I am at home afterwards, jaw tired and starving. What to eat? Something soft and filling.

Scrambled eggs of course! But, you already know that problem. Then I started to tear up, but why?

For the last year I've been fighting ankle pain, which led to 9.25.09, my day of infamy! Reconstructive ankle surgery, no weight bearing for 10 weeks. Climbing up and down the stairs on my hands and knees, wheeling around on a knee scooter, switching to crutches and using a handicap tag... and channeling my Dad. Remembering his struggles in his wheelchair and trying to park his handicap van and trying to go up a blocked ramp, and well I could go on and on and on.

So through all of this I've been thinking of my dad. How would he handle it? How would he make a task easier. He was the great inventor. Talking to him and, well, craving HIS scrambled eggs.

My dad's answer to any problem was scrambled eggs.

Bad day? eggs
Fight with a friend? eggs
Rough day at work? eggs

Eggs, eggs, eggs and always scrambled.

And you know what? They always helped, even if just for a few minutes. You know why? Because it was his way of saying "I love you" while listening to my problems.

I keep hearing ads on the radio and TV to remember Father's Day. I always think, "Oh, don't forget a card" but then realize I don't need a card anymore and think fondly of my dad. My dad whose been helping me through my ankle nightmare and my life, my whole life, and somehow scrambled eggs just seem to symbolize that perfectly to me.

So next time you need a pick-me-up, make some scrambled eggs and listen, my dad will be talking to you from heaven over the skillet. You might just feel a bit better. I know he will.

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you and miss you.