If you don't read anything else...read this!!!

LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST...

You won't need pictures for this...just close your eyes and imagine.

It was a rather destructive Memorial Day! Let's see...where should I begin...hmmm

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Okay, we arrive at the lake. Our arrival was postponed 24 hours due to the amazing stomach virus that Fulton so kindly shared with me. We got there in time for brunch which I didn't want to have ANYTHING to do with. And you know I felt bad if I was declining the invitation to eat good food!

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Any who...we got Shannon's Dad (Papa) to put the boat in for us so we could take the boys out for a joy ride. As we are loading up he has to remind us, as he does EVERY TIME we go to the lake, that Shannon (and I) break something on every visit. He then has to go through the list (some of which was not our fault but we just let him think it was). So we drift away, stomach cramps and all and actually enjoyed a nice long joy ride with the boys. It was a beautiful day.

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Well, feeling brave and responsible because we returned without an episode, Shannon and I put Fu down for a nap and got Sam settled into an activity with NaNa and asked "H. Wayne Baker" (as I have affectionately called him for 16 years) if we could take the boat out by ourselves. So we got the lecture again and proceeded to cruise on out feeling as young and free as we did many years ago in Papa' s boat. When suddenly a familiar predicament arose....the boat just stopped running. Shannon tinkered and plundered and went to call his dad and realized he had no phone. We sat back and laughed and found great humor in the irony. Shannon then got out the PADDLE and began nudge us a few feet at a time all the way back across the lake towards Nana and Papa's house (who were we kidding?). So I sat back again and enjoyed the comic relief. I definitely felt like I was an irresponsible 18 year-old again. Then suddenly a man pulls up along side us and asked if we wanted a tow...we kindly accepted and enjoyed our long way back home holding onto their ski rope from Papa's boat. Needless to say...when we got home Shannon got the lecture again and we just had to cackle!

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NEXT!!!!

Enter the brand-new Gamecock Golf Cart, Papa's newest prized possession. It's garnet and black color scheme gets spit shined regularly. The boys have always LOVED riding on Papa's golf carts at the lake and the beach. So we dared to ask Papa if we could take the boys out on his new toy. After the boat incident we got a surprising "sure, that's fine." WOW!!! So Shannon and I rode about 3/4 of a mile down the road to Shannon's Uncle Terry's beautiful new Lake House. Only Uncle Terry has decided the lake is too far away and no longer wants to live there so it's on the market if anyone's interested. So as we finished peeking around the house we decided to go take a look in the giant workshop in the back. As Shannon and I are looking I hear a high pitched beeping noise. I turned my head to capture a mother's worst nightmare...an unmanned vehicle rolling down the hill with both of her children on board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God for the many years of Hail Mary's, Glory Be's, and Our Father's I said in Catholic school because it SHO wasn't me in charge right then. All that would come out of my mouth was a very loud and repetitious OH GOD!!!! I looked at Fu's terrified face and heard Sam screaming and thought my heart was going to stop. I have said since Fu was born that he has an old soul. He's wise beyond his years and problem solves better than most adults. The Fu-ster looked at Sam as if to say "Check ya later buddy I'm not goin' down with you this time" and leaped off the back of the Golf Cart. Unharmed.

So Sam's still rolling down the hill and what on earth is taking Shannon so long to get to him????? All I could think was...okay I can handle a a few broken bones but not a traumatic brain injury. So I yelled JUMP, Sam!!!! And he did just that. At that moment I realized that all the Dukes of Hazard episodes that Sam has seen weren't so bad after all and actually paid off. He did a flip and few rolls and popped right back up on his feet. We stood there as one big happy family and watched as the golf cart rolled right into Uncle Terry's new garage door. The door was irreparable but the Golf Cart remained unscratched. Yet again, God was on our side.

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We dreaded delivering the news to H. Wayne for fear of another lecture. But EVERYONE took it well and we were all glad that the boys were okay. Needless to say...that night I prayed harder than I've prayed in a while, thanking God for being in charge one more time and keeping my boys safe!!!! It was definitely a MEMORIAL DAY!!!

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A note to parents: Safeguard your Golf Carts!!!! This could have been much worse. I have heard of several accidents that did not turn out as well involving children. It was only about 15 seconds of drama but it seemed like forever and not to mention...it could have caused a life time of issues for my sweet boys had they reacted differently or had the cart gone into the water!!!! Holy Cow!!!!