Keeping Dreams Alive

Olivia came home from school today and told me she knows what she wants to be when she grows up. She then asked me to guess.

My head began to spin with all the possibilities for my highly gifted and talented daughter...(doctor, nuclear engineer, stay at home mom) and so I just drew on the housewide vaccination she'd recently conducted on all her (and Joseph's) stuffed animals for my guess.

"Veterinarian?"

"Nope. I get to wear red and wear a shiny hat."

"A fire fighter?"

"Yes, can you believe it??"

Actually, I can't. Not wanting to dare dash any of my sweet pea's dreams, I decided against mentioning that she's terrified of the fire alarm and freaks out at the sight of smoke. She also refuses to go into her one cousin's bedroom after learning that he'd stuck a coin in the outlet months ago (when she was not there).

"That's a wonderful idea!" I agreed, remembering that at her age I was still undecided as to whether I wanted to be a stunt woman or real estate agent. Neither panned out.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Sal, a boy in Olivia's class, announced the following during a discussion on pets:

"I have two dogs. One is in heaven, and one is just dead."

Picture of the Day

Monday her prince did come.....

and there's no way she's letting him go.

Oh, Doctor

After battling a horrible cough that he'd shared with his Mommy all weekend, I took Joseph in to see his new doctor, Dr. Bacchus (do you think she'd think it's funny if I asked her for a glass of wine?---probably not), and she determined that he just had a bad cold, nothing more.

Nevertheless, the culture came back negative and we were sent on our way with instructions to rest, drink lots of fluids, and take Tylenol as needed.

Today, THREE DAYS LATER, they called to say that the Quick Test was wrong (as it can be) and that he has Strep.

Ugh....poor baby.

On a lighter side, I also once had a OB/GYN named Dr. Breast.

Have fun with that one.

They can't be all bad

World Series moment: Joba Chamberlain and his dad, Harlan

By 'Duk

The throng of media members around the makeshift stage seemed impenetrable, but Harlan Chamberlain motored his way through all of the cameras and notepads anyways. Reaching a blue barrier, he stopped his scooter, strained to look over a crowd of world champion Yankee ballplayers and tried to get a glimpse of his son. When that proved useless, he simply resorted to his considerable vocal chords.

"Jaaaaaaahba!" he yelled. "Jaaaaaaaaaahba!"

Harlan said his son's name a few more times, then spied A.J. Burnett in the crowd.
"Burnett!" he said. "Can you get my son!"

Burnett could and a few moments later, Joba Chamberlain put down the giant blue Yankee flag he had been waving up on stage. The big Yankees pitcher hopped off the stage, disappeared from the view of the Fox cameras and quickly made a beeline for his father. When they came together, they wrapped each other in a huge rocking bearhug.
It wasn't long before both were crying.

They said the same thing over and over.
"We did it, dad," Joba said.
"We did it," Harlan said.
"We did it," Joba said.
"We did it," Harlan said.

And on and on. They held tight for almost a minute. Their eyes were red when they let go.

You see the Yankees' $200+ million payroll and it's easy to get cynical. Same goes for their $1.5 billion new stadium, the seats that cost more than the average mortgage payment, the steroid controversies involving some of their team members and all the endless hype and hooey about mystique, aura and all the Yankee legends and ghosts.

But then you see this very simple and very real scene of a 24-year-old pitcher sharing the hug of a lifetime with his dad and you remember that those father-son relationships — one of the only things that really matter — are at the very heart of this great game that we love.

The same dynamic was on display everywhere at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. Way up in the upper deck, a dad tossed his little son into the air whenever Hideki Matsui came through (which was often). A mid-20s hipster sitting next to them made sure to ask one of my co-workers to snap a photo of he and his pops with his grainy cell phone camera. CC Sabathia did his postgame interviews with his little son on his shoulders the whole time.

And while all of those tiny little snapshots meant the world to those pictured in them, none of them seemed quite as remarkable to outsiders as the one taken by the Chamberlains.
Their story has been told often since Joba became a pitcher with the Yankees. Harlan was stricken with polio as a child and his health problems have confined him to the trademark scooter that gets him recognized by Yankee fans everywhere. Despite his limitations, he raised both Joba and his sister in Nebraska and provided for them while working in a prison. The sad story of Joba's mother is sadly well-known — she's facing 20 years in jail for a drug charge — but he's always had the love and support from an extraordinary father. They call each other their best friends. It's impossible for them to be any closer.

I caught up with Harlan later on Wednesday night and asked him what it was like to see his son pitch a scoreless inning in a World Series clincher. Then I asked him what it was like to have the hug on the field with him afterward. His eyes were still teary as he talked.
"I told my son for years that he would do this, we would talk about getting to the World Series all the time" said Harlan while stopped near home plate of Yankee Stadium. "We just shared that moment while realizing that he did it. I pinched myself a few times. It's pretty awesome.

"We love each very much. This whole adventure in life is about family and in our case, it's about father and son."

In the days ahead, we're sure to see a lot of scenes from the Yankees 27th championship. Some we'll be bound to remember. Some we'll be bound to forget.
It's not hard to tell which category the Chamberlains' special moment will fall under, because it rarely gets much better than that.

Picture of the Day

The Votes Are In

Since more than half of you are in support of the Phils winning this year's World Series, I must draw one of two conclusions:


1) The Delaware Valley really appreciates them some good bloggging and, therefore, makes up most of my hits.

2) That many people truly hate the Yankees and would root for John Gosselin as a one man team before offering any support for the Bronx Bombers.

On to the next vote!!

How to Know When You're Taking Yourself WAAAAY Too Seriously

I was doing some work on the website where I pick up writing jobs from time to time and I came across a FANTASTIC job opportunity.

A person was looking to employ a professional writer to edit and even rewrite his family Christmas letter. And, yes, he was prepared to pay a hansome sum for it!!!!

Now, I love Christmas cards that come with pictures or even a short family update, though I have never done the latter for my own (we're not that interesting); however, I also take delight in the annual arrival of one of my mother's friend's holiday cards, which always includes a booklet outlining every possible event that has taken place in her family's life over the last year---- from the exact amount of college scholarship monies received to her husband's angry gall bladder.

Too much fun!!!

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't be shocked that someone out there puts a lot of effort into their annual letter, though I can't imagine what that letter may entail.

I am really tempted to take the job and have some fun with .....should I?

Guess Who?

Congratulations to Margaret for her correct identification of Mackenzie Rosman from Seventh Heaven.

In honor of her win, I will divulge a secret about one of my bestest friends.

Drum roll, please.......


Her father is the best Beer Pong player there ever was....and he bears a startling resemblance to Kenny Rogers.

Vaccination Fascination

The inevitable effect of experiencing two, separate flu vaccinations and a viewing of a Syd the Science Kid episode devoted entirely to vaccinations has made itself apparent.

Yesterday, Olivia spent 40 minutes administering shots to every stuffed animal she could find in our home.

Her instrument of torture?

Not the pretend shot that comes in her toy Fisher Price Doctor's Kit; but rather, a pair of toothpicks she absconded from the pantry.

Ouch.

Video of the Day Meets Question of the Day

What did you think of this famous Canadian's rendition of the anthem???

Picture of the Day: They've Made Their Choice

Olivia, deciding it is much more fun to annoy her father than root for the Phillies, has sided with her mother and is a vocal Yankees fan (is there any other kind?).

Joseph, ever his father's clone, has never wavered in his support for the Phils, even going so far as to risk a time out by taking swats at his sister every time she shouts, "Go Yankees!"

The walls are closing in.......

Quote of the Day

"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." ~George F. Will, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball, 1990

Eye Candy of the Day

Since I haven't been feeling all that well, I thought I'd cheer myself up....

Ah, Edward.

Quote of the Day

"I don't care how long you've been around, you'll never see it all." ~Bob Lemon, 1977

Picture of the Day

The Monarch and the Mater

Sacrifice Fly

Having spent the weeks following the Phillies' clinch of the Nation League division awaiting the promised playoff tickets and possible World Series tickets, it was only inevitable that one obsession collided into another: my determination to keep a healthy home.

Though O is almost completely recovered, I awoke on Halloween morning sounding a lot like Kathleen Turner circa Romancing the Stone and Joseph awoke that night with a fever and his best Sylvester Stallone impersonation.

What does that mean?

My ticket to Game 4 was given to one of John's cronies while I stayed home curled up with a little man and a cool mist vaporizer.

There's always next year.