Lab Test

A little over a week ago, my daughter, age 12, had some allergy tests done. It was the first time we met the allergist and he looked and sounded like Ben Stein, the guy best known for his "dry eye" commercials. He asked my daughter in his deep, monotone voice, "Now, if I say to you there is a huge reaction to elephants and that is what you are allergic to, what would you say?"

Bree, "No"

Dr., "Well, why not? I have a doctor degree right there on the wall."

Bree, "Because I have not been around an elephant!"

Dr. "RIGHT! So we want to make sure the reactions you have mesh with your life."

Ok, so she has over fifty scratches on her back to test various things. We wait 20 minutes and the strange thing is nothing really pops out. BUT there is a small tendency towards dog and cat hair. I look at my daughter and she is wiping her eyes. Our dog sleeps in her room and she is his favorite person.

THe doctor say he would like to run a couple of lab tests. Trying to lighten the mood I ask, "Would that be a yellow or a black lab? Ha, get it Bree, allergic to dogs so he is going to bring in LABS!!!!"

She grinned a little, still wiping away the tears. The doctor did not laugh (probably heard that one a million times) but did proceed to tell a similar joke to which we all laughed probably louder than we should have.

After he left I told her we were not getting rid of the dog and the worst that could happen is the dog will sleep somewhere else in the house. But, we are definetly not getting a cat! My husband is quite relieved....

A Holiday Poem

THis is the poem I wrote for the holiday letter I sent out this year.

Twas the day of Thanksgiving at our house this year,
Everything was going well until the guests got here.

With their new puppy the in-laws were the first in town,
Our dog and their dog knocked Grandpa John down.

They came bringing candy, warm rolls and two pies,
then came my mother with her bean dish surprise.

I put her to work mashing the potatoes with care,
Suddenly she said, "What's going on over there?"

I turned around slowly and set down my Coke,
only to discover the kitchen filling with smoke.

I had left a stove burner on (when will I learn?)
I set the bread board on top and it started to burn!

Although it was smoky the food turned out fine,
Pete opened some windows as we sat down to dine.

Then at the table we each took our place,
We all held hands as Luke started to say grace.

"Grace!" he said followed with "Let's eat!"
"Say more, " said his sister as he squirmed in his seat.

"Thanks, God, for this family and all of this food."
"Amen" we all said feeling the holiday mood.

We each went around the table saying our thanks for the day,
Interrupted by Pete yelling, "Touchdown, Green Bay!"

Despite all the mishaps, it was a good day,
No one was hurt, (well, no blood anyway).

The gift of being with family during the holidays is dear,
Our wish is the same for you in the coming new year.

Why am I here?

Lately, I have wondered why am I here on earth? There must be something great I am supposed to do but I haven't found it yet. But, today, I finally figured it out. It is my destiny to use a new word, 'burple' or 'birple' until it is in the dictionary. Right now it is a fake word, but with enough utterances, it will become a real word.

It all started when Dr. John posted some words which had no rhyming words to play with...they were all alone. Since purple is my favorite color and he has such a huge blog following, not to mention he is a pastor....what that has to do with this I do not know, but it cannot hurt.

Afterall, we had not heard of blog until the last couple of years, right? Certainly, this is a feasible task. I ask all of you readers to use the fake word as often as you can stand it...at least once a day. Make it part of your daily routine along with brushing your teeth, having your cup of coffee or reading the newspaper. I predict by the year 2020, burple with be in the dictionary!