My Girl

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside I've got the month of May.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).

I've got so much honey the bees envy me.
I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).

I don't need no money, fortune, or fame.
I've got all the riches baby one man can claim.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day
with my girl.
I've even got the month of May
with my girl.

This is an old Temptations song that we all know. I'm sure it's meant to be a love song between a man and a woman but I'm dedicating it to my girl.

She's the one who has a separate ring tone for me. She's the one who answers my phone calls in the middle of the night. She's the one that I can say "to the grave" and she knows I am serious. She's the one that can make fun of my middle-aged pooch and still make me laugh.

She's the one that's allowed to open my mail.

We both have bad days and this has not been a great year for either of us. In the midst, we've swapped some clothes, swapped some stories and laughed. just like old times.

I called her this morning and said, "I have to tell you something horrible I did." Without missing a beat, she said, "Tell me. It's to the grave."

I'm still standing on her shoulders.

Different Times; Different Places

This is only a few of my college girlfriends and I'm sad to admit that I have no idea who is in the middle. But I'm thinking about them. Not only because the baby is in college but for where we are in life.

One of the friends in this photo is a widow and now raising two girls without her beloved. Another is getting married for the first time next month and about to become a step mom -- a position I highly recommend.

We're all roughly the same age and we're all in different places. Some have young children; some have grown children. Some have fabulous careers; others have picked and chosen, whether right or wrong.

There are several friends missing from this picture but the essence is there. Young women embarking on it all ... careers, marriage, motherhood.

I hope we were toasting our parents for giving us this opportunity but I doubt that's what was going through our minds.

The Circus

We were invited to a friend's home the evening of Thanksgiving to watch our local team play football. The invitation came with a warning: There will be an infant here. Since all of our children are grown, they felt the need to point that out.

This is not a judgement, just an observation. I'm amazed at how many middle-aged people are willing to birth/adopt/go through surrogacy. This friend's brother is in his 50s and has some lingering health issues. The wife is in her 40s and also had some scares. They now have an infant.

I knew I would be thrilled to play with the baby. And, he was oh so cute and endearing. I'm far too old to raise a child but I could've stuck him in my bag and taken him home.

But during this phone conversation about the invitation, my wacky sense of humor got ahead of my brain. I said, "Yes, we'd love to come over. Since you already have two dogs and multiple houseguests, why don't we bring our maniac dog and the oldies? We could tape it all for Barnum and Bailey."

As it turned out, they have it down to a science. The dogs were well behaved. The baby was precious. One houseguest had already gone to bed before we arrived. They even served hor d'oerves. Get out! Didn't she just make a huge meal a few hours ago? Now, she's feeding us. Of course, we all dug in.

On the way home, I was reflecting. I'm jealous. Their home seems to work like a well-oiled machine. My house is the circus.