My Next 40 Years

I think I'll take a moment
to celebrate my age
The ending of an era
and the turning of a page

Now it's time to focus in
on where I go from here
Lord have mercy
on my next 40 years

Okay, so I took some liberties with the song and changed the last line from 30 to 40, but I feel like turning 40 is much more significant than when I turned 30. I loved turning 30. In my 20's I was way too concerned about what others thought, and I wasted a lot of my and others time and energy. But by 30 I think I pretty much had my act together. I looked and felt the best I ever had, I was running 5k and 10k races and was in great shape. We had just moved into our new house and I was working at a job that I enjoyed and was really good at. Life couldn't have been better. Well, life did get better (and different) with the arrival of Sam by the end of that year, and Ryan two years later. So my entire 30's decade has pretty much been dedicated to raising these two helpless little babies into the great boys that they are today. I no longer run races, just 30 minutes on the treadmill. I now work for my husband, and listen to men talk all day about things that I have absolutely no knowledge about or interest in. And that new house, well, it is starting to show its age. But at the end of it all, Life is still good.

So I greet the arrival of my 40's with a little trepidation and a lot of excitement. There are the shallow and petty things...like I would really like to get botox and I'm not entirely sure if I should still wear a two piece bathing suit. I'm almost positive the days of getting carded are over forever. When I play with the boys, sometimes I need to take Motrin the next day, and I'm pretty sure that I have bursitis in my hip. When did that happen??? But I'm excited that I now get to watch my boys grow into young men. They are now old enough that we get to take them on great trips, and we can experience some of what life has to offer along with them. Hopefully the economy turns around soon so that we can continue to afford what life has to offer. And one bonus to my continuing to age is that they continue to age right along with me, and this offers me more TIME. I think back to before I had kids and laugh at myself that I ever thought I was busy. I know one of these days they won't want to hang out with me and I will probably be sad, but right now Ryan is so stuck to me that day is hard to imagine. So I really feel like this is the beginning of the second half of my life, and I'm going to focus this half on enjoying myself and those I love!

People Suck!

You know how at the end of the book "The Diary of Anne Frank" Anne writes that despite everything she still believes that people are good....well, Anne was wrong on that one. PEOPLE SUCK! Granted, I have always been a pretty cynical person. I believe that most people tend to do what's best for them, not for the greater good. But in listening to the news over the past few days I have been struck by several stories that really stand out on my "People Who Suck" list. Here they are

1. The people at the Obama inauguration that boo'd President Bush, and those that flipped the bird and sang inappropriate songs at his helicopter as he left Washington. Regardless of how you felt about him, he was still the President of the United States. He left office showing a lot of respect and class, and I think he deserved the same in return.

2. The CEO of Merrill Lynch, for decorating his office to the tune of $1.5M, and using bailout money to give bonuses.

3. Along the same line, whoever it was at Citigroup that made the decision to buy a new corporate jet with bailout money. Were you not watching C-Span when Congress told the Big Three to loose the jets???

4. The survivors of the US Airways plane that went into the Hudson River who are expecting a "settlement" from the airline. Geese flew into the engines and US Air had an experienced and well trained pilot (who wasn't asleep, drunk, or anything else) and he managed to land the plane on a river in the middle of the most densely populated city in the country, next to a ferry terminal!!! Yet these passengers were emotionally traumatized....that they lived. I guess you could make the point that if that plane wouldn't have taken off a few minutes late than they would have avoided the geese - and for that US Air must pay!!! All I know is that the karma attached to that money is going to be a bitch.

So that's my list of people who suck...this week. Please feel free to add your own.

State Quarters

When Sam was born in 1999 our friend, Randy, gave us one of these state quarter books as a gift. Randy had filled in the 1999 section with the first five quarters, and I remember thinking that Sam would be 9 by the time the entire book was filled. That seemed like a lifetime away at the time. When Ryan was born in 2002, we started a collection for him also. Well, Sam is now 9 and neither book is filled, so we are calling on all of you to help us complete our collection. These are the quarters that we are looking for:

All are from 2008
Oklahoma
Alaska
Hawaii (2)

Also, if anyone knows where to get a collection case for the 6 Territory Quarters that are coming out this year let us know.

Thanks to all for looking!

A Snow Day in the South

This picture pretty much captures what a "snow day" encompasses in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is poor Ryan attempting some sledding in the dusting of snow that we got this morning. You can't tell from the picture, but our neighbor, Karen, was actually having to pull the sled to get it to go. All yesterday the watherman was predicting 3-5 inches of snow, but much to the children's dismay this is what they awoke to. Ryan would like to write a letter demanding that they all be fired. We haven't had a "real" snowfall that Ryan is able to remember, and Karen is from El Salvador, so they were determined to make the best of it. The worst part about it is that the kids have been sick, so they were going to miss school anyway, so now they have to make up their sick day. And yes, my family members in the Northeast you did read that right, this dusting of snow did require school be called off. Go ahead and chuckle, but we closed our office as well.

This little "change" in our weather has sort of set a tone for this historic day, and hopefully, for our future.

Way To Go, Ryan!!!

Tonight we had this giant cookie cake to celebrate that Ryan has made all of his reading benchmarks and is now reading at grade level. YEA RYAN!!!

On a semi-related note, one of my friends sent me something on dream analysis, in regards to my post below about Ryan's Bar dreams (Thanks Darnell!) Apparently dreaming your in a bar means you are under a great amount of stress. Well, hopefully this achievement is a load off of his 6 year old mind. Now if Batista could just win Wrestlemania all would be right in his world! BTW - Ryan was very offended that I blogged about his dreaming, so mums the word.

Go Steelers???

Let me start by informing those of you that don't live in the Panthers Universe, that despite the pummeling we took on Saturday night, the world did not end and we are all alive and well here in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina. I wish I could take credit for this line, but a local sportswriter put it best when he wrote (in regards to Saturday being Jake Delhommes 34th birthday) "Jake was handing out interceptions like they were party favors." I thought that was funny. Anyway here in the Lockwood household we have a traitor among us. Earlier this fall, Sam declared himself to be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. We don't know why, and there doesn't appear to be any logic behind the decision. So after the Panthers fell on Saturday, and the Giants went down early Sunday (that would be his Grandpa's backup team) Sam felt it was time to let the gloating begin, repeating multiple times that HIS team was the only one that WOULD make it to the Superbowl. And then they won the freakin' game! I felt as if I was literally watching a cold day in hell with the snow and all. Makes Scott want to smack the back of his 9 year old head. He got a Steelers sweatshirt for Christmas, and I am having a tough time convincing him that a sweatshirt is not a jacket and shouldn't be worn everyday. Scott and I were telling him that if you wore something other that the home team in places like Philadelphia or New York that fans would give you a hard time. He asked about Charlotte and we had to admit that if he wore the sweatshirt to a Carolina/Pittsburgh game at the "Wine and Cheese" stadium he would probably be okay. His response was that "since Pittsburgh always wins, nobody should say anything" - WHATEVER!!!I guess only time will tell how long we have to listen to him for the remainder of this season - but feel free to boo and hiss when you see him in his black and gold.

Ryan's Dreams

Ryan and I had a strange conversation last night regarding his dreams (not his hopes for the future, but actual nighttime dreams). Anyway, Ryan told me that when he dreams, which he says he doesn't do often, his dreams take place in a bar. I couldn't figure out what he meant, so he explained that he was usually in a bar, you know, the part of the restaurant with a long counter and really high chairs(his words). After staring silently at him for about five seconds, I had two questions:

1. Are you usually behind the counter serving drinks?
2. Is your Uncle Mike on a stool beside you?

I could possibly live with option #1, but #2 is out of the question.

A scary glimpse into the future maybe? If anyone knows anything about dream analysis, please feel free to comment.

Movin' On Up

Last night to boys had their belt ceremony for their new rank in Karate. They are now 2nd degree blue belts. Each color is approximately 15-18 months of study so they won't earn a new color for about another 9 months. Below are some picture of them with their instructor, as well as them demonstrating some techniques they have learned with their samurai swords. The samurai study is pretty cool, and as they get further into it, the routines take on a sort of dance quality to them. Since this family has absolutely no sense of rhythm this could be quite humorous. Thank goodness the practice sword is wooden.



Now, in an attempt at a lesson in responsibility and preparedness for Sam, he was forced to participate without his uniform or belt because despite repeated reminders he failed to get everything that he needed organized. However, since they attend Karate at the community center, and not a fancy Karate Dojo(sp), a uniform is not an absolute requirement, although they must have their belts. But since this was not an ordinary class, and all the parents were present, I think Sensei(sp) took pity on him and did not call him out, but I tried.

Stuff Happens

The following is a rant, so please just bear with me:

Today I finally finished putting away all of the Christmas decorations. Between the tree, the snow village, and other random lighting and such, it usually takes three days to put up and three days to put away. The kids usually help with putting up part, but there is just not the same excitement and enthusiasm with the putting away. My dear husband, however, does nothing to partake in the festivities. His entire Holiday season consists of attending the company Christmas party (which I plan), attending my Dad's party, Christmas Eve dinner (which I cook) and Christmas day. Wouldn't it be nice to just have all of these events happen around you, and all you have to do is show up. No effort, no fuss. The first Christmas in our house he hung wreaths on all the windows and icicle lights on the roof line, but years 2-10 NADA!! These items have not even left the attic. Our outside decorations consisted of lights that I put on the bushes. Oh wait, he did contribute to that - he got me a remote control so that I could turn the lights on and off without having to go outside and unplug them. Nice, eh - however, we didn't have a 9volt battery so I never got to use it, maybe next year. Ive been asking for years for some type of lighting to show off my indoor wreath and village - HA! lighting designer, my butt! Christmas morning is truly a surprise for him, as he has never laid eyes on one single gift that anyone gets, even though in theory the gift is "from Scott."

So I'm now done with my rant. Thank you for listening.