Hold your breath a little longer

Georgie is still small enough that he has babies breath. Every time I'm with him, I hold him close and smell him breathe. I don't want to miss that last time when he still smells like a baby.
I've been thinking about last breaths. The problem is, with all the breaths we take, how can we know which one will be last.
I keep holding my breath. I'm hoping that by holding mine, I can buy dad a few more.
I am also treasuring some breaths we have shared.
Like the time we all gasped, watching dad's axe juggling gone bad.
Inhaling yellow cake, and then savoring the fudge frosting.
I remember exhaling "Whoaaaa", while watching dad hit a softball that went sailing on forever, and chasing it across the alfalfa field with every kid in the neighborhood.



I could never catch my breath hiking with dad across little mountain and up to the Grimm's house.
Dad could have had a second job as a storm siren.
A short breath, pursed lips and two pinkies to the tongue, and every kid in Tooele county knew it was 5:15, and time to come home.
Dad's yawns literally shake the house.
Dad, you may not have known but what you did with your precious breath taught me a lot of what I needed to know. You sigh whenever you hear swearing. You never swear. In traffic you called everyone your buddy.
If you disapproved of something, you elongate the last syllable of our name. If you wanted us to come to you, you held the first syllable a little longer.
When we watched "The Gods must be crazy" Mom had to rub your chest make you breathe because you laughed so hard.
You laughed as if laughter was a song. In fact you could harmonize laughter. For instance, in a Charger. You would hit the gas, the car would hum deep, you would laugh low, Earl would giggle high, and the rest of us would belly laugh the parts in between.


My love of all things baby came from you. I can think of a hundred infants whom you held close, and rocked with your big barrel chest. It rises like ocean waves as you breathe.
You'll forgive me if I might miss the last breath, but I have many others that fill the place.
I wasn't there physically when you knelt across the alter from your sweetheart and gently whispered, "yes". With that you enabled our family to be an eternal unit. Many breaths since have affirmed you commitment, reinforced your love, and likely guaranteed that sealing could remain.
Hold your breath a little longer and buy me a few extra. I'll listen for your whistle and I'll be home soon.



I may not be a smart man, but I do know what INI IBIG KITA means

When mom and I worked at the sewing factory, I would turn around and mouth the words "I love you", she came up to my machine once and said "I love you too, Robert"
I replied, "I didn't say I love you, I said 'Olive juice'".
Mom retold the story at my mission farewell. In her version, my reply was" I didn't say I love you, I said 'Grape juice'".
Mom is known for her many talents and her boundless energy. Most people know is gifted with languages and is a dynamic public speaker.
At times she may get a little lost in translation,but she is fluent in expressing love and kindness.
One of her greatest gifts is that it doesn't matter what people say to her, the message she receives is that they love her. Even if that is not what people intend. She gives them the benefit of the doubt. No matter what they are saying, what language, what tone, she believes they are coming from a place of love. She doesn't think that because she is naive or dumb. . . She thinks it because that is how she thinks of others.
You know the primary song that says, "Jesus said love everyone treat them kindly too. When your heart is filled with love, others will love you."? Love is what fills her heart. There is no guile, nothing petty. if she knows you, she brags about you, if she brags about you, she loves you.

She is a great mediator too. If we fought, if we were frustrated, if we could not look each other in the eyes, she took the middle and made sure the final message in a fight was that she loved us, and we could love each other. She has an ability to help others hear lovingly, the way she does. There were times I would hear my dad elongate syllables in my moms name. I wondered if she was ever frustrated with that, but she didn't hear what I did. She heard "I love you" and responded in kind.
She doesn't get angry. There was an incident with wooden spoons, and Earl's butt, and the spoon breaking, but 1. Earl deserved it-2. Earl likes to get hit - and 3. They were both laughing.
With all the love she dishes out, does she have enough love left to be in love? Can she love one person above all? She can and she does! She is head over heels for dad. She loves the guy. There is no doubt about it. It would be hard not to understand when she says it and shows it constantly.
There is something she should know too.
Mom, read my lips,"katas ng ubas".