Plethora...don't you just LOVE that word?

My favorite words to date: Serendipity, hurl, and now, plethora.

Serendipity...a happy mistake...how cool is that? I mean, you dump too much garlic in your broschetta and instead of it being ruined, you make the cover of GOOD EATS magazine! Rock on!

Hurl...this one speaks for itself. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Hurrrrrllllll. Love it! You can hurl a ball, a discus, or your lunch; very diversified! Is and always will be, never to be replaced, favorite!

Plethora...this one is relatively new to my cashe of favorites. It's fun to say; almost like you have a lisp. Say it out loud right now...don't you feel like following up with "Thylvethter the Puthy Cat"? Definitely a fun word to say. More importantly though, is what it means; at least to me. When I think of that word, I think of cups runneth-ing over or an abundance of friends. When I think of 'plethora', I think of how blessed I am with the friends God's granted me...

Old friends that I've disconnected and reconnected with and pick up exactly where we left off; that no time has passed since our last meeting. New friends that I'm just getting to know, to thoroughly enjoy, to look forward to seeing. Friends who laugh at my jokes and rejoice in mine and my family's successes as if they are their own.

Then there are the friends who have and always will stand by me no matter what. Even with little spats in between, they're always ALWAYS there for me. The friends whom I can tell my darkest fears or darkest secrets to and know that they'll listen and not judge. The friends whom I can gossip with with no fear of my opinions being shared. The ones who would take care of my family, no questions asked, if, God forbid, something happened to me.

Many of my old friends are in this group, many of my current friends are in this group, and I know, in time, many of my new friends will be added as well.

I have a dear new friend who told me she hoped God was still creating people like me. I have never, EVER been so touched in all my life.

Thank you to all my friends, near and far, old and new. You are the reason I start my day and brush my teeth. You are wonderful and you know who you are!

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop

Why?

We introduced the kids to Indiana Jones this weekend. You remember how incredibly exciting Raiders of the Lost Ark was, right? I mean the booby traps, the giant rolling ball, the snake pit; all meant to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Here's how it went...

Guy gets speared trying to escape with the idol..."Why did that guy get killed?" "He should have waited for Indy." "Why?" "Because Indy could have protected him." "Why?" Sigh.
Giant ball chases Indy..."Why is that ball chasing him?" "It's just another booby trap." "Why?" "Because people wanted to keep the idol from getting stolen." "Why?" "Because it's important to them. Just watch!"
Indiana runs for his life from the natives with the poison darts..."why is he running?" "Because the natives are trying to kill him!" "Why?" "Because they work for the bad guy." "Why?" "Um, I don't know; maybe he pays well. Just be quiet and watch!"
Indiana splashes in the water swimming to the plane waiting for him..."Are there alligators in there?" "Maybe." "Why?" "Well, it's the jungle." "Why?" "Why what?" "What?" "Please just watch the movie!"

I mean, talk about killing the moment!! And that was the first five minutes of the movie!! It got worse as the movie progressed. One asking more inane questions, another running from the room or covering his head at every scary part (or every 45 seconds) then asking what happened.

We agreed to send the movie back to Netflix and watch it again when they're in college.

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop

I have to tell you; I am very proud to be a stay-at-home mom. That actually surprises me a little bit. But it's true. I don't like the term "housewife" or "homemaker" and when those are the selections on an application or survey, I tick "other" and write in either "stay-at-home-mom" or if I'm feeling really indignant, "molder of little lives" or "wiper of runny noses" or simply, "SuperMom". Why not? If a garbage collector can call him/herself a "waste management engineer", why can't I give myself my own title as well?

It wasn't always like this. I used to be kind of ashamed that I stayed home. I was laid off from my IT consulting sales job back in January of 2003. By March or April, I was feeling guilty for not even thinking of looking for a job. When I mentioned this to my mom that "it's not like I have kids to take care of or anything", her reply was, "what's wrong with staying home and keeping the home-fires burning?" Wasn't that a great way to look at it? Seriously! It bought me a few more months of guilt free sluggishness until I found out I was pregnant with my son that Summer. Funny thing is, after trying for 10 years to have a baby, we gave up. Don't tell me stress is unrelated to infertility!!

This was the first "vacation" I'd taken in 12 years. Even when away at Martha's Vineyard or Daytona or Vail or wherever my "vacation" was at the time, I was ALWAYS checking in; email, voice mail. Hey, when you're in sales working on commission, there's no such thing as a real vacation. Add desperately trying to have a baby on top of all the professional stress, it's no wonder there was nothing to show for all our "hard work"!

Anyway, I digress. Point is, I can stand up on my kitchen stool and shout, "I'm a full-time mom with healthy, emotionally-stable, intelligent, and secure children and God-damnit, I PROUD of that!"

Howzat, Mom? :)