THE MORNING THAT STARTED IT ALL

Wed. October 16, 2013……..Part 1 of a story in 3 parts

“Mom, will you put this on speaker phone and get Dad?  I need to talk to you both at the same time. Nothing is wrong.”  This was the beginning of an early morning call from my youngest son, Ian, several   days ago.   I did as he asked…trying to remember…”nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong.”  CHAIR, CHAIR, CHAIR.  “Yes, Levi.  That is a chair!  Very good talking,” I said.  Don came into the room and Ian continued, “I was calling to tell you that Tina and I are coming to Dothan tomorrow (Friday) and getting married on Saturday.”  RED CHAIR. RED CHAIR. RED CHAIR.  “Very good, Levi!”
(The last we heard, the big proposal was coming on Oct.24 with the wedding in May.  PHONE. PHONE. PHONE. PHONE. PHONE.  “Yes, we are talking to Uncle Ian on the phone.  That’s good!”  DUCK. DUCK. DUCK.  “That’s right!  That’s the duck you play with in the tub!”  Don spoke first, “Is there a reason you are moving things up?”  Ian went on to explain why they had made this decision and we said, “OK. We understand.  We’ll get busy and will be looking for you tomorrow.”

About this time, the doorbell rang and it was two men coming to replace my microwave.  So I had to leave the conversation and take Levi and go to the kitchen and try to answer the men’s questions.  “I do not know why my first microwave stopped working.  Yes the words still pop up on the top sometimes, but it will not cook.  No. I do not know why.  Yes. we checked the breakers.  I do not care what you do with the old one.  No. you can dump it or fix it, I don’t care.  No, if you fix it I do not want it back…you are putting me a brand new one in today.  No. I don’t care if you sell it.  No.  I do not want the boxes either.”  All this punctuated with “DISHES!  SINK!  WATER!  MAN!  EAT, EAT, EAT!”.  Bless that sweet boy’s heart (Levi’s, not Ian’s)…he’s talking so well and is so proud of every word he can say!  I could just squeeze the stuffin’s out of him!

I wanted to be back in the bedroom hearing the rest of the conversation.  But, there was a little tummy ready to EAT, EAT, EAT!  I knew that when I asked Don what else Ian had said, he would say “not much.”  So, I already had it in my mind that I was going to have to call Ian back when Levi finished eating.  But, Ian called us back first to say that he had gotten a minister to perform the ceremony.  He told me who he wanted me to call and invite.  So, I got busy.   First, I called Joy and filled her in.  She said,  “I’m ready to do whatever you need!”  Aren’t sisters wonderful?

Before all this transpired, I had planned a trip for the weekend with Tina and Shirley.  So  I called them to let them know the change of plans. Not missing a beat, they said they would “be here at 8:00 the next morning to start working on a wedding”.  That’s what good friends do!  I decided that in the meantime I would put Levi in the car, go get Joy, and go looking for a wedding cake and food and flowers.

Then the phone rang.  Again.  “Mom, we are thinking about waiting till next weekend.”  (Tina’s little boy, Jackson, was going to be elsewhere  and she did not want to get married without him).  “We’ll call you back.”  So, after a quick call to the minister, who was available the next weekend, as well…the decision was made to wait till the next weekend.

“Ma’am, do you want to come and check out this microwave?  We got it all finished for you.  We’re sorry about that big scratch and broken wood on the side of your cabinets.  I bet Mr. Bruce can fix that right up.  Yeah, my partner here told me that wasn’t the right screw to use, and he was right….broke right on through that cabinet.  Sorry ’bout that.  Do you want me to tell you how this thing works?”  “No.  I can figure it out…….  Yes.  I’m sure you can have the old microwave…….  No.  I really don’t think I need that big box for anything………  Yes. It is a good sturdy box. Why don’t you take it………  OK.   Just leave the box.  That’s fine………  Yes.  It will be good to store something………  Thank you……….  Oh, yes.  I’ll call Mr. Bruce right away about my cabinet!  BYE.”

I called Joy and told her we were not going to shop today. I called Tina and Shirl and told them the trip was back on.  And, I began making plans for the following weekend.  When Suzanne came to get Levi, she called a baker she knew and ordered a cake, and she and I planned a menu.  And, I knew that Tina and Shirley and I would have all the decor planned by the time I got home Saturday night.

BREATHE!  Next weekend is coming fast!