The Thompson Trials and Travels

I ordered a custom DVD with Zeke's face in a cartoon...of him saving Christmas. He watched it at least 30 times in two days. I'm not kidding. I also got a flip video from the kids...so here's my first video...and Zeke watching himself (over and over) on TV. Zeke dancing to "his" song.

Kyle and her future husband, and children, arrived around 1 a.m. Sunday night...tired...sleepy... and worn out by the twelve hour drive from Texas to Georgia. Don and I were asleep. Sam barked when they opened the front door and woke us up. I walked into the upstairs hallway and instantly had three little ones hugging me, and kissing me, and saying, "we love you Grandma Robin." Hailey was asleep on her feet, Hayden said, "I'm going to sleep the minute I get into the bed," and Zach was just excited. I think I went to bed around 3:30 a.m. Monday morning Kyle and I spent several hours discussing the wedding plans and later she took the kids to see her Grandmother and then Amber. Don and Darrell played golf. I had pulled my back out and thankfully Darrell had prescription muscle relaxers...or I would've ended up in bed all weekend. After everyone returned it was a long wait for Santa Claus... so the kids worked on making a gingerbread house...and did a great job...

My daughter and her future husband, and future children, have decided to visit for Christmas...and they're bringing KAJA!!!! I couldn't be more excited. Nat has Zeke for Christmas this year but she has agreed to let him come to our house Christmas night where he will open presents with his cousins. How blessed am I....three children and four grandchildren. Life is good.

I was flipping through channels last night and landed upon "the Kennedy Assassination" marathon. I watched all of the events that happened that day...I watched people tell about what they remembered. I didn't realize it was the 44th anniversary until later. I remember that day, too. They had just moved me from the third grade to the fourth grade (I hated it...no friends)...I was in Mrs. Estes' class. I was 8 years old. All of a sudden Mrs. Estes started screaming and crying and yelling at us to get out of the building. There was panic and chaos. Everyone outside the classrom was running and pushing and crying and screaming... and I had no idea what was going on. All I knew was that I was scared to death and alone...and that something bad was wrong. I remember trying to get to the front door but I kept getting pushed aside by the bigger kids (it was a 1st through 8th grade school). I didn't know if the world was coming to an end...if Russia had finally attacked us ...

Kind of an eye opening experience this week. Don and I spent Thanksgiving together without any family...just us. It was the first time in my life that I didn't have a house full of people but you know what...it was kind of nice. No arguing...no fighting...no hysteria...just a calm day of thanks. The kids called. Kyle is in New Mexico skiing and Jase spent the day with Zeke and Nat and Nat's family. Zeke called today and gave me his list of things he wants for Christmas. He wants the Sponge Bob lego set... and then said, "I really don't want anything, Grandma Robin. I have everything." For a four year old to make that statement...I guess he does have everything. I gave thanks...that I have the family that I do...that I have a husband who has managed to love me inspite of myself, that I have two children whom I love, that I have a Grandchild whom I adore and that they all love me back. Life couldn't be any better.

Highlight of my day...Jason called. Zeke got to select TWO prizes from the awards box at school. One for being the most well behaved child and one for being the most independent child. His teacher said she was using him as the example of what a good student should be. With all that Zeke has been through over the past few years...Jason and Natalie have done an excellent job in raising a good...good child. It is amazing to me that he is so content and happy and well adjusted. Someone is definitely smiling down on him. Jason started a new job as a restaurant manager. He finally seems happy and content...and is making more money than he did as a graphic designer. He probably could do well as a graphic artist in another city but he will not move and leave Zeke. Sometimes you just have to make difficult choices...and in this case, often times it works out for the best. As for the fam...Chris has made about 5 phone calls to Jason wanting to know where the family christening gown was. She call...

I've been in Chicago for a week...with a cold. It was freezing and windy and the people seem to become more rude with the bad weather. I did take my team out, Wednesday night, for a celebratory dinner at Japonais...my favorite restaurant. That was the highlight of my week. The event? Standing all day until you would pay someone to cut your legs off...smiling a fake smile until your face cracks... People envy my position but it isn't fun...at all. You wake up in a different city and have to look at the phone book to realize where you are. Nope...not fun. Jase brought Zeke up this weekend. He, Jason not Zeke, needed to do laundry and his apartment doesn't have a w/d hook up. His w/d are sitting in our storage unit. Whatever the reason... I was glad to see the kid. He's grown so much over the past few months. He's a little man now. He said he needed to tell me a "secret" and crawled up into my lap. He whispered, "Grandma Robin, I'm sorry you don...

Jason brought Zeke up this weekend because Jase had a job interview in Atlanta on Saturday and needed us to sit with the little one. Zeke had the croup and a runny nose and a cough and wasn't feeling well, at all. I dropped everything planned and spent Friday night and Saturday doing whatever he wanted...mostly watching Sponge Bob and Scooby Doo on dvd's in his bedroom, giving him his cough medicine and making him blow his nose! Jason said Zeke needed winter clothes so I bought enough to last him for 10 years...including a pair of moccasins that I found for a four year old who wears a kid size 11. He loved them, wore them all weekend, and even wanted to sleep in them. Highlight of my weekend...there were many. When Zeke gets out of the bathtub he wants you to wrap him up in a towel and hold him "like I'm a baby." I could hold him like that forever. I sleep in the bed with Zeke so we can "snuggle" as he calls it. When he woke up this morning, at 6 a.m., ...

Today is my wedding anniversary. Don and I have been married 20 years. I never, EVER, thought we would have made it this long. We've had a rollercoaster of a marriage...first years were great...the middle years were low...and now we seem to have gotten back on track. As much as he often drives me insane...I can't imagine my life without him. Money does not matter. "Things" do not matter. What matters is that you have someone to talk to and someone who listens. Someone who believes in you and someone you trust. Someone who is your cheerleader and someone who pushes you to be your best. Someone who understands you and someone who accepts you. Someone who makes you laugh and someone who holds you when you cry. There were horrible arguments and huge fights over the years, but I think the reason we have lasted this long is we learned to say "I'm not leaving" instead of "I'm leaving." It takes work. It takes patience. It takes putting someone bef...

Jason, Natalie, Zeke and Jude camped out to see a concert last weekend. I love it that they're so close even though divorced. I love it that they have a little of the 60's hippie in them. My child...my grandchild.

Zeke visited Friday night. He was supposed to have stayed the weekend and celebrate his 4 1/2 birthday, but he had plans and I understand his life is beginning to include friends and events. Jason brought him up last night and they left at 8:30 this morning. Zeke had a camping trip that he didn't want to miss. Due to our schedule; mine, Don's, Jason's, and now Zeke's, it's been about 7 weeks since we've seen him. He's changed so much. He opened all of his presents and slept in his new Spiderman tent last night, but the only thing he grabbed to take home with him was his new Spiderman glo w-in-the-dark underwear. Go figure. He is adorable.

Having a difficult time planning the upcoming wedding. Kyle and I are not agreeing on many things and have fought a lot lately. I wanted a large celebration...she wants a very small intimate group. I wanted steel drums during the ceremony...she wants her brother to play the guitar. I wanted a party for those who arrived early...she wants alone time. I ordered sparklers to light after the wedding...she doesn't like them. After many fights, I had to step back and realize that this isn't my wedding...it's hers. It's difficult when you're paying for everything and have little room for input, and when event planning is my profession, but I want her to be happy and not stressful. That's all that matters. I have no doubt the event will be flawless and she will be the happiest bride in the world. I may have to drink a lot in order to let things go the way she wants but it will be beautiful. Still struggling with the family. The only people I speak to are Milt and Mary....

Don left for a golf trip yesterday. Before he left he went to the bank, picked up the clothes from the cleaners...the dog's food from the vet...and ran other errands. I was a little surprised that he did all of this. He said that he ran the errands but I had to clean out a closet this weekend as a trade off. I would have rather ran the errands. You just don't go into a closet and start throwing things away. You have to pick everything up...look at them...decide if the items can be tossed or if they need to be kept. A lot went into trash bags...make up that, I swear, was from 1980...ribbons and paper that had been saved for years; six calculators that didn't work and nine remote controls that I don't even remember what they were originally intended for. In all of this mess, I found photos...photos from years ago when the snow storm hit in 1993. Kyle was playing with our Dalmatian, Tyson, in the snow and Don was shoveling the snow off of our driveway. Those photos are pri...

My little girl is getting married. Ten minutes ago she had a chocolate milk moustache...now she wears lipstick. Ten minutes ago she was drinking from a sippy cup...now she is drinking from a champagne flute. Ten minutes ago she was wearing footie pajamas...now she is wearing designer gowns. Ten minutes ago she was holding my hand...now she is letting it go. Ten minutes ago she was a 7 lb. baby...now she's 29 years old. You blink...and life is put on fast forward. Where did the time go? She has decided to marry a man that I would never have expected her to choose as her soul mate; eight years older, divorced, and the father of three children. Kyle had her life mapped out by the age of 12; graduate college, work for 5 years, meet someone, get married, and start a family by the age of 30. Her current scenario didn't fit into her plans...or in retrospect...perhaps it did. She graduated from college, worked for five years, met someone, will get married and will have her family by th...

Last night my brother Milton visited...unannounced. I am so glad that he feels comfortable in doing so. No worries...no barriers...finally. I watched as he played with our dog, Sam. Sam cautiously approached him then eventually was jumping all over him. Sam is a good judge of character; he recognizes good from evil. Zeke called. He reminded me that he wants a million presents for his 4 and 1/2 birthday party. (He wants an early birthday party. Why not...why should the celebration of a birth be limited to one day a year?) I told him that he could have a zillion presents if that's what he wants. As long as he is innocent and caring and loving, I will give him whatever he asks for. Life.......today it was good.

For some reason...today I felt the presence of my Grandmother more than I have in a long time. Her spirit is as real and fresh as it was in August 1987 when she died. I smell her.......she smells like wildflowers and flour for some reason. I can feel her hands... smooth and soft from years of use....nails hard and strong...and painted red. A gold band with tiny diamonds circles her ring finger. I can see her face as clearly as I did as a child...hair perfectly combed and set...glasses resting on the brim of her nose...a small mole on the side of her nose...and a gold rim around a tooth that winked at me when she smiled. She was my haven...she was my heaven. She told me...taught me...that I could do anything. No fear. She raised me to be the person I am today. The moment you get up...you make your bed. "Can you imagine crawling into an unmade bed at night?" she would ask. She would be dissappointed in me...sometimes I don't make my bed up for weeks. At her house sheets we...

I just watched a movie that a friend recommended..The Journey. It makes you stop and think. It's the dash..........the dash is all that matters. Robin V Thompson...born 1955 - (dash) 20xx... it's the dash that matters. You are born...and then you die.....what did you do within the dash?

Yesterday my brother and his children stopped by...Derrek (sp? can't remember if it's Derek, Derreck, Derrick???) and his new bride, and Misha and her new beau. With all that our family has experienced, it amazes me that these young ones are so pure of heart. No animosity...no judgement...just love. Misha has experienced a little more "family time" than Derrek has, so I do not blame her for not wanting to sit around the campfire with everyone. She knows who she is and what she wants. I'm just thankful that she allows me to be part of her life. She is a beautiful young woman! I asked Derrek how he managed to avoid all of the turmoil and he said it was because he wasn't there during the arguments... that his Grandmother was his Grandmother...and that was pretty much it. I adore him!!! He's probably the smartest one of all of us. We sat around and watched Zeke put on his show...playing Spiderman and riding his Harley. It made my day...sitting and watching ...

My cousin was in a car accident Thursday evening. His girlfriend, the passenger in his car, died on impact. Three other cars were involved... several people were taken to the hospital. Serious injuries...critical condition...so said the local papers. A parents worse nightmare...having the police knock on your door to tell you your child has been in an accident and has killed someone. A mother sitting watching her son as the ventilator breathes for him...looking into vacant eyes...holding a hand that is cold and withdrawn. Another mother having to select clothes her daughter will wear for eternity...heart is breaking for everyone. Labor Day weekend...suicide machines...why are we in such a hurry to get there..

We just returned from our vacation where we went to meet Kyle's new family... Darrell (whom we had already met) and the kids (whom we had not met); Zach, Hailey and Hayden... of course we took Zeke along for the trip! We stayed at The Club at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Florida... where the accommodations are unbelievable, the service to die for, and the facility itself leaves you with your mouth hanging open. As Hayden said upon arriving, "Wow! Everyone has a TV in their bedroom!!!" The resort is really beautiful. Zeke and his new cousins hit it off right away. In fact, the only time we had any friction at all was when Zach and Hailey were arguing over whom Zeke would sleep with. (It ended up being Hailey). Don and I instantly became Poppa Don and Grandma Robin to the entire clan and it felt like we had known them all their lives. The last night of our vacation we had planned on going out for dinner but Don and I decided we were too tired (chasing after a four year old ...