Heat wave! Babymania. Packratitis.

Thawing out
A lady who was interviewed for our five o'clock newscast said it best, "It's about time! I'm tired of the cold and I'm ready to get out and walk!"
Amen, sister! It's amazing how much happier I am now that it doesn't hurt to go outside.
Speaking of which, this is a picture of my niece Megan and nephew Colin burning off some pent up energy on Sunday afternoon. I think they were happy to get out of the house, and I know for sure that Mom & Dad were thrilled!


Since we're on the topic of weather, you might get a kick out of this email sent to me by my childhood friend, Kim. Just change all the names of Nebraska towns to places in Iowa . . . it translates.

60 above zero: Arizonians turn on the heat. People in Holdredge plant gardens.
50 above zero: Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in North Platte sunbathe.
40 above zero: Italian & English cars won't start. People in Chadron drive with the windows down.
32 above zero: Distilled water freezes. The water in Lincoln gets thicker.
20 above zero: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats. People in Grand Island throw on a flannel shirt.
15 above zero: New York landlords finally turn up the heat. People in David City have the last cookout before it getscold.
0 Miami residents take off for Cuba. People in Beatrice close the windows.
10 below zero: Californians fly away to south of France . People in Columbus get out their winter coats.
25 below zero: Hollywood begins to disintegrate. The Girl Scouts in Omaha are selling cookies door to door.
40 below zero: Washington DC runs out of hot air. People in Valentine let the dogs sleep indoors. 100 below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Nebraskan's get upset because they can't start the John Deere.
460 below zero: ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale.) People in Nebraska start saying..."Cold 'nuff fer ya?"
500 below zero: Hell freezes over. Nebraska public schools will open 2 hours late.

BABYMANIA!!!!!

Here's my sister-in-law Bethany at the bridal shower we threw for her Saturday afternoon. Those of you who've been pregnant will hate her guts when you find out when she's due. Are you ready? Are you sure? The beginning of April. I know, it's disgusting. She should be looking a lot less cute than she does. It's not fair.

In spite of everyone being very envious of how great Bethany looks, we all bought her lots of baby-related stuff. I will spare you a rant about the commercialization of babies, because I really had a lot of fun shopping at Babies R Us. However, my sisters-in-law Kris and Melinda say it is a "total racket" how retailers try to sell new moms all sorts of stuff they don't need. ANYWAY, here is Beth opening a sentimental gift from my mother-in-law. It includes a rattle, baby spoon and blanket that were given as gifts when Beth's husband, Matt was born. These gifts, and a conversation with my mom last night lead me to my final topic:

PACKRATITIS.

I'm convinced this is a real disease, and I have it. It's defined as "the saving of everything, just in case." I think I inherited it from my mother. As a third grade teacher, there are lots of things worth saving, because she uses them every year. Calendar decorations, books, items for science projects and math lessons, etc. Then there are things like clothing, cards and Christmas decorations. I mean really, are we ever going to wear those pants from 1990 again? Is there any reason to keep a graduation announcement from a kid I babysat in 1987? How about some of those hideous holiday items we haven't dragged out of the basement or the garage in a decade? My mom will likely get rid of a lot of these sorts of things because she and my dad are moving to Arizona this summer. It's a good time to throw things away. But, in my experience there are some things you just can't bear to get rid of. For instance, my mom spent the weekend going through what she described as "shoeboxes and envelopes filled with thirty years worth of pictures." She organized a lot of those photos, but didn't pitch many. Why would she? Each one is a little piece of history, a reminder of a special occasion or just worth a good laugh about hairdos and shoes we wore "back then." When I was home last summer, my dad had discovered boxes full of things I'd made in pre-school and elementary school stored away in the attic. Everything from Mother's Day cards made out of construction paper and string, to worksheets identifying colors and animals, my mom had saved it all. It's been six months since my dad showed me that stash of stuff, and I'm guessing my mom still hasn't thrown those boxes away. My mother-in-law is the same way. She has Christmas decorations my husband and his brothers made when they were kids, tons of old pictures, and programs from the Pope's visit to St. Patrick's Church in Cumming. It may seem ridiculous to some people to have closets and drawers jam-packed with useless "junk", but you know what? I'm glad both of these women are packrats. I'm also glad I've inherited packratitis. Some things are just worth saving.

Enjoy the warmup,

Erin