In our 25 years of parenting we have had some pretty scary phone calls. Most of them, looking back, can make me smile now. Like the time Amanda called around 2 am, coming home from a concert, and wanted me to look at the exit number she had just passed and tell her how far she was from Old Town Spring. She was on Beltway 8. Beltway 8 makes a loop around the OUTSIDE of Houston. Imagine a clock: Baytown, where she began, is at 3 o'clock. Old Town Spring would be at about 12 o'clock. She was somewhere past Missouri City, which is at about 7 o'clock. We refer to that as the night she took the long way home. Then there was the time she started out for a mall in Clear Lake and ended up in The Woodlands. (Well, at least they were both on Highway 45.) One time she took a trip to New Orleans to The House of Blues and almost ended up in Mississippi. Thank God for Google, cell phones and mobile GPS's that don't cost a fortune.
Yesterday I got another one of those phone calls (I almost always get the frantic phone calls) but she was not lost. A friend from school had called to tell her a building in her apartment complex was on fire and he thought it was hers.
It was building 15. It WAS her building.
She called me crying frantically and all I could understand were the words: Apartment. Fire. Rudy.
Once she calmed down she explained she was on her way back to her apartment, her building was on fire, all she cared about was her cat, Rudy. All I could say was CALM DOWN, SLOW DOWN, once you get there find a fireman and tell him about Rudy so they'll know to look for him. Then I called her Father and said GET OVER THERE NOW!!!!!!
They were lucky and got a fireman to go into her apartment and look for him. He was able to find him and brought him down the stairs, going crazy, in a box. They took him to the Emergency Animal Hospital where he stayed overnight so they could monitor his breathing because he has asthma. He came back to our house today and will get to move into a brand new apartment in a week or so.
The top floor of her building is gone but most of the fire damage was on the other side of the building. Water damage is another story. The fireman that went in looking for Rudy was thoughtful enough to take all of Amanda's cameras and her laptop and put them inside drawers where they were all better protected from the water that was running down the walls inside the apartment. After they left the cat at the animal hospital they went back to get what they could out of the apartment. A fireman walked her upstairs and stayed with her while she got her first look at the broken down door and the sheetrock filling up with water. She got as much as she could think of and the insurance company is taking care of moving, cleaning and/or throwing away the rest of it. We made a little trip to Target for boring things like a toothbrush and pajamas - every now and then I would see her wince and say outloud, "Shit, my makeup!" or "Oh crap, my jewelry!" as she thought about the things she had left behind.
But then she would say, it's okay, I got my kitty.
He'll be just fine.
They both will.
Thank God.
Come in and have some birthday cake and lemonade and play TOM-TRIVIA!!
Twenty-three years go today I heard Mr. Wonderful gasp and say with a voice full of wonder and amazement "It's a girl!!" Even though our doctor, who had a 99% prediction rate on the sex of babies, had told us he was pretty sure it was a girl, he was absolutely amazed at the sight of her. Her hair was as white as snow - it took about a month for the white hair to turn red - or as she once told someone commenting on her beautiful red hair when she was 5 - "It's not red, damn it, it's orange!" Yes, she was all of 5 and already had the vocabulary of a sailor.
Here is my favorite baby picture of her:
In recent years she has rarely been photographed because it is almost always her job to be the one taking pictures at family events. With all of the changes and moves we have made in the last year I cannot find another recent picture of here bedsides this one of her, her/our roommate Jenna and Vincent D'Onofrio taken in NYC near the Law and Order set on Spring Break a few years ago:
Oh yeah, after he said "It's a girl!" he handed her to me and said "Happy Birthday!"
Best birthday present I ever got.
And the display:
Thanks Franklin, for spreading a little fun around here even after you've gone home. And Beth at Lorna's Laces totally rocks. What a wonderful idea.
Note to self: The cooling system in British cars do not do well in Texas. I must remember to have a nice little talk with the Land Rover when college girl gives it back....Anderson the Cooper is on his way to San Antonio (the closest dealership) for a little R&R. The wrecker driver may want to watch it closely - it may just hop off the back and make it's way down to the dark streets of the music district out of habit - of course, it would be lost during daylight hours and the GPS system only works if you turn it on BEFORE you get lost. Oh well.
And by the way, as of August 9th I'm going to have to find a new name for college girl. YAY!!! Does "Girl With a Degree" sound too much like "Dances with Wolves"? Anyone out there looking for a highly motivated photographer? Annie Leibovitz - please call the store. Someone I know needs a job.
Announcements:
We will be closed on Friday July 4th.
We will be having a 4th of July Sale on Thursday, July 3rd. All Red, White or Blue Yarn is 20% off.
Next Wednesday is July 9th. It SHOULD be a National Holiday.
For some reason they have not gotten around to making his birthday a holiday.
He doesn't look very happy about it.
(Don't worry Tom, I'm working on it.)
In any case, we will be celebrating and having a Tom Hanks Birthday Sale!
Everything will be on sale 10%!!
There WILL be TOM-TV. There will be a Trivia contest - get the answer right and save more $$ on your purchase!
There will be Birthday Cake!
Speaking of Birthdays and Mr. Hanks:
"Ashcot's You've Got Male:Thomas J. Hanks" turns 4 months old today.
What a cutie.
![Hank-Before-After[1]-1.jpg](http://emptynestknitter.prettyposies.com/archives/Hank-Before-After[1]-1.jpg)