Little DIY tutorial on making a shadowbox picture frame

So who says scrapbooking is only for books. Lets put it on the wall too.
                                             (sorry its blurry)
I got my box, stickers, & “glue dots” (a scrapbook must have, they keep your fingers clean and your pictures from bending with the glue!) from Hobby Lobby (I bought the frame on sale and only spent $15 on it). I couldn’t find any cheap foam so I bought two .98 cent foam letters from Wal-Mart’s craft area, note the blue sparkly “M” looking thing (they only had sparkly ones). The foam will give the box depth.

1. Find a layout you like. Keep in mind that your foam will act as riser lifting up some of your pictures (the one/s you want to stand out the most). Remember that its okay to layer, like my board walk picture here, is really too pictures. Don’t forget to look at it with the lid on, and if you’re going to hang it up, will you be looking up at your shadow box? If so, can you still see the bottom pictures, or does the lid/trim cover the edges at the angle you’re going to hang it?                                                                                                                                                                                     
   
2. Now its time to think about support.  Cut up your foam to support to the elevated pictures (as you can see I cut up my “M”s and even cut that part in half to make a second lower height option. If they’re glittery, run scissors across to get MOST of glitter off (don’t cut yourself!). Just make sure you spread out your support to cover most of the picture, so that it doesn’t start drooping.                                                                                                                                           
   
3. My shadowbox had a tack board like back to it, so I tacked the corners (you can color the tacks with permanent marker if they’re visible) & glue dotted the center of my orange backdrop [scrap book] paper. I relayed out my foam & pictures, then traced outlines of foam (so I knew where to glue it down at), glued the foam (sparkle side down) to the back drop. Tacked around the foam for support (to keep the paper from drooping with the weight), you’re not going to see these tacks anyway. Let the glue dry according to it’s directions (if it doesn’t say: wait a few hours, don’t risk it!). Next put glue dots over the top side of your foam supports. Gently Pat pictures down to glue dots (DO NOT use your hands [or you’ll leave fingerprints]) with a piece of paper between the picture & your hands. Decorate outside!                                                                                                                   

In memory of my trip to Oceanside & Venice Beach in California. ❤

Rocky Mountain Picture Show

So I’ve been scrap booking last year’s California trip (where Taon’s from), when I decided, why not put it here too? We had grouped with another couple (Nate & Tess), and set off on a morning trip to Ice House Canyon. The farther from the pavement, houses, and noisy traffic we drove, the more alive I felt, as if the trees were absorbing the stress. Reaching the trail, we even saw a billboard of smokey the bear -which almost surprised me, as he seems out dated.

They said there was a big house in the woods that burnt down, they called it a “the castle.” All that was left were two fire places and a short stone wall.

 

Once we started into the forest we quickly hopped off the trail. Everything about this place called for adventure, and I had the greatest desire to explore every inch. The nature was twice as wondrous as the these pictures make it out to be. I wanted to live near by, to have the opportunity to spend as much time there as I could, sure the ocean was vast and pretty, but for me it didn’t compare the mountains. Quickly we were captured by the trickling of a stream, where we spent a lot of time. The boys were consumed with the fish, apparently they had never seen fish there before (-not in any of their adventures), I didn’t mind, I have a love for the water.  As we traveled up stream we hopped and climbed along the rocks (as if in a Tomb Raider game). It was thrilling, I even felt like I was lost -as if no one could find me- and for the first time in my life, I was totally fine with that.

   

We picnic-ed and after a few hours we started back since Nate needed to sleep before his grave yard shift at work.

We slid into the car and took a scenic mountain trail. It was breathtaking, we all sat in silence soaking up the beauty. You felt so small in comparison, and the depth of the feeling just melts everything else from your mind, as if you’re helpless to do anything but look. It was surreal for me -from the flattest parts of Ohio.  But just as we crept up to a look out point the car made an awful noise, and then started to over heat. we pulled up to the space and parked. The radiator had just blown a large chunk, and we weren’t going anywhere. The magic of the mountains turned into desert now that we were stuck and [phone] signaless. There was nothing but mountains on either side, and without a passing car we felt utterly alone. Nate felt it was his fault and he volunteered himself and Tessie to walk forwards on the path -we had thought we saw a clearing in the distance. Taon and I headed back down the path, sadly we were far from town, and we knew we could do nothing. Luck would have us though- near 15 minutes later, a firefighter drove by, he listened to our situation, and headed out to get Nate & Tess. Upon their return he dumped water through his hose into our car, but to no avail, the hole was just too big. He took their names and contacts, as well as Nates Triple A info for a tow, and he drove away to a radio tower.
Soon he returned, he said there would be a truck in two hours. For those next hours we talked about different subjects: Their ‘crazy’ parents -and how they want to get married quick, Dr. Who, childhood, Nate’s job and how he really needs to get home to rest, because he has to be to work, how he might be getting a promotion that night. Sometimes we sat in the car, or sat outside, or stood on top of the stone rift fencing the edge of the view point. We were so thankful to have brought over a case of water with us. The officer showed back up in about two hours saying that AAA denied Nate’s card and that he could work on getting a third party or he could take us to the town by the trail. Nate wanted to wait, and Taon figured was Nate was our only ride home, so we all waited. During that time Taon and I walked up the path, it was still our vacation, and I wanted to make the best of it, we walked up the mountain path, and beyond sight of camp, but now it seemed so lonely. As if we could just vanish and no one would know, scream and no one could hear us. We continued to walk without a good sense of distance or time no less. We felt as our fears would come to life as we heard the hum of a motor, a black pick up slowly drove by us, just around the bend and then parked, we froze as we heard the motor shut off. It wasn’t a view point and it felt too coincidental that he would want to stop beside the only two people for miles (not counting the two at the car). Instinctively Taon pulled out his camping knife and we stayed quiet. We watched the man walk just into our view, pick something up, then drive off. We figured it was drugs and that was a drop off point. We waited a little bit then headed back. The now off duty officer was back, this time in his own car. He told us it would be an hour on the third party tow. He was so sweet to come check on us. But now it was about 6, we had spent four hours stranded in the heat, the mountains were starting to cover the sun, and I was scared of the idea of the coyotes and mountain lions.

 

As the hour slowly passed, with nothing but the beauty of the sunset to comfort us. Even though it was a scary experience, the pink and yellow tints over the mountain had nearly made it worth it, a sight and prospective that not many would be either lucky enough or unfortunate enough to see… The officer returned for the last time, he was also concerned with the ever growing darkness. he said if no one had come by now, we were probably on our own. He would either take us down, or we could dump our water into the car and try to make it run -now that the temperature was dropping. He exchanged numbers with Nate, and we began dumping water bottle by bottle. The car started -it was scarey knowing we were headed the opposite direction then the officer, and if we stopped we’ed be spending the night. Slow and steady we headed down the windy road, with little acceleration and little use of breaks. Thankfully the only animal we passed was a surprised deer off the side of the road. (On a high note, watching the lights of the suburbs of LA glow like stars was also enchanting.) Once we got into town the car could barely reach 15mph and rapidly slowed as we progressed. Great for us- Tess was the only one who lived in that part of town (at least someone did, as everything seemed to be residential). We crept up to her house, where her parents disappeared and we were tended to by her super-polite siblings. We washed the dirt off our skin, and almost depressingly had lost all apatite. By the time Nates parents arrived to bring us to his house (where our car was) it was about 10pm, and eleven by the time we made it back to Taon’s parents -who were just upset because we missed their dinner plans…

 

 

 

 

retail and profiling (what not to do)

     So the other day Taon and I were visiting another couple, they’re a black & white couple just like us. We all went into Fredrick’s of Hollywood in the mall. She bought something, and I went into to try on this pretty pink corset with black ribbons: This thing was seventy bucks -but we don’t live near any stores like this one, so might as well get it when its around! It fit really well, and I wanted to buy it (after twisting the employe’s arm to help me put it on, she looked so pissed at me [but you can’t really do it yourself, everything you need is in the back]). I came out of the dressing room, saying to the group that I was wanted to buy it. However; standing arm’s reach away from us was a mall cop pretending to fiddle with his phone -just pressing random buttons- while he (& the clerks) gave us dirty looks. She called the cops on us.

     Now I work in a mall, I know many ‘signs of the thief.’ From what we were wearing we couldn’t fit any merchandise under our clothes, I was the only one with a [small] purse, it was a small store so its not like they could lose sight of us  and they had no other customers in the store to watch. We didn’t even act anything I would call suspicious. There is only one thing we could guess: two of the four of us were black…  They lost a seventy dollar sale because they chased us away, I hope the clerks feel like idiots.

     To make matters worse, when I returned to work the following day, apparently they had been hit up by some real thieves. And when it was brought up at the morning meeting -before the store opens, there was an uproar. “everyone’s a thief” and blah blah. Out raged, I got everyone’s attention and told them of my experience. All kinds of profiling [ “they look poor” “they’re a different color […]” “they don’t look like they belong here” ] is wrong (and can get your store in lots of trouble). Think twice next time, imagine if it was you.

An early fathers day tribute, of the best father I could ever ask for.

After a lot of thought, I’ve finally figured out what to do for my father.

   

      My father is many things, the root of my creativity, work ethic, as well as my sense of morals (and humor). He taught me that I should never give up, to be open minded, that I should try everything and learn as much as possible. That knowledge is power and using it creatively is the key to the kingdom. Many times in life I have been complimented on my personality traits, and I smile and mentaly note that I am happy to be his daughter.  He is the kind of man who is smart, funny, and stands behind many years of experience. Since I was little he told me many stories of his trials and errors, how he hitched hiked from Indiana to California, how exciting (and dangerous) it can be to live in the big city, his “hippy dreams,” how he started smoking young (and always encouraged me to stay away from drugs as he was a living testament to how bad they can affect ones body and mind). He graduated in 1972 and his stories before and after were so mind blowing to a child born in 1991.

A heart of hearts.

     My parents split up when I was too young to remember, and while I did see my mother a lot, I was definitely a daddy’s girl. My father owned and worked a bar (passed down from his mother), yet I have no memory of him ever drinking. By the time I was twelve (he was 51) he was too disabled for the upkeep on the bar since -as well as some other big issues- both of his knees were  replaced, and the padding between the bones was wearing away from his spine. We didn’t live in the best conditions, but I would never of traded it. He always did his best for me, and I learned quick that love didn’t come from a dollar bill, or lots of toys, or even a bed (we couldn’t afford one til I was 14, until then I slept on a love  seat  while my father slept on the couch. it didn’t matter much cause the living room was the only room that really got any heat in the winter anyway).  I’ll never forget when I convinced my father to get me the amazing PS2 for my 13th Christmas ( about six years after its release in 2000), (that along with the only three games we ever had) was the first tech advance from the single 20 inch TV -we shared- that sat in the same place since before I can remember.

As I mentioned there are quite a few medical problems. With all these things combined he was very sick. He was never able to teach me how to ride a bike, but he was always happy to help me with my homework. I remember all the children asking me if he was my grandfather, to which of course I would get a little defensive, I as his little nurse (since as far back as a child can help), I was pretty protective. Most of the time, I took care of him, made sure he was able to wake up (because at one point he could sleep two days straight if I let him), that he took his pills on time, and a lot of cleaning, if I didn’t take care of him, no one else would, but he never took my help for granted. It’s been seven years since the last time I took care of him, when I was fifteen. Of course I was upset, -but I knew in reality that I myself wouldn’t of been able to take care of him much longer. I marched on because the most important things he taught me was to never take life, people, or opportunities for granted.  The time we have now is a gift, and all the moments before that we can never have back.
     Since his death I have sat on half a box of ashes, not knowing what to do with the rest of it. But now I think I know were to start. This way he can always be with me, just a little bit more than an echo. Some keep an urn, I’ll keep a necklace. I love you papa, and I’d like to think that you made the [light reflecting off the glass in the shape of a] heart to show your approval. Happy fathers day, to the best father ever. ❤

Dear future me

 Please always remember, that no matter how far you’ve come, there’s always a chance to improve, not in a perfectionist way, but in a “there’s always something new to try” type of way. Know that there is always something above where you are now.  Please don’t ever settle for what has become boring, safe, and habitual. I know it might be difficult, it might take practice, time, sacrifice, money, years…. But please don’t give up, don’t forget. You’re the only one who can make your own adventure -your own happiness, who can make your life fulfilling, and you’re the only one who can stop the regrets. Please take responsibility, please take a chance, please keep striving!

That empty feeling, and the strength it takes to live (really live) again.

 It seems like everyone around me lately -even myself- are getting caught up in a depression grade “gray period”. As a friend put it, “I know my name, I’m a manager, I’m a mother, but other than that, who am I? I am nothing else.”  That point when you’re not living life anymore and you’re just watching the days blend together from the outside, this may be that life has become work, school, college, motherhood, ect. and nothing else -not to say that any of these things are bad, just there has to be more to human life than these types of titles, a sense of self worth, or you fall into this “gray period,”  and the worst thing is if you tell people “the stress is killing me” they remind you “you should be thankful that you have a job,” or “happy that you can afford college,” and the like. But these reminders don’t make it better.

You come home exhausted, but that’s not new, that’s your life style, everything is work and sleep, but sadly sleep isn’t the relief it should be. Not even food has a taste, not even your favorite song has a sound. You lay there empty, doing nothing (nothing sounds interesting, not even your hobbies) until this voice echos in your head, that ‘you’re empty’. You hate being alone for this reason, but you can’t decide if you hate being with people more, you’ve been ignoring your friends forever now -making excuses, you have nothing to say and when you’re with them you’re out of place, and you just want to be alone. “Besides it’s not like they’ve called lately, it’s not like you’re worth hanging out with anyway, look at you. Who would want to hang out with someone so [enter insult]…”  This is how it starts, this is how it goes from bad to worse. That voice in your head not only makes you hate yourself but makes you hate everyone around you. It pushes everyone away, in a sense making it harder to get help “you don’t understand, leave me alone.” And you’re vulnerable state of self pity and hate for everything else, turns into self hate, which can lead to self harm.

Sadly outsiders don’t always take depression seriously, “you’re so […] you should be thankful for it, smile!” until theres evidence: normally at the selfhate/harm level (and if you’re at that level, please reach out to someone who can help you, You are worth it, there are amazing things to live for, but you will never find them sitting alone). And by that point people are avoiding you, when you really need help the most. I personally never got to that point, thankfully, (and I’m telling you all so that if you’re in a rut, hopefully you’ll read this and be inspired to escape it before it’s too late. You have that power, you do, but if you let it go, you may lose that power to fix this)  I  recently fell into a gray period (for the third time in my life) that made me completely uninterested in everything. I stopped going to the gym, i had an eating-out-of-boredom addiction (and even when I ate it, it didn’t taste like anything at all, and then I would eat more, and be disappoined. Repeat.) I spent so much free time sitting and doing nothing it was making me sick. But there on that couch I realized what “gray periods” turn into, and I didn’t want that to happen to me. I needed something that made me feel good, made me feel like I was living again (this can be anything, do something new, start dating again, find a new hobbie, it won’t be easy to start but it will be worth it) so I got into dancing, stretching, and exercise. I feel so proud when I have enough discipline do these things regularly. To see my body stretch in the mirror, showed me that I had control over it, even if I didn’t have control over anything else in my life, and feeling of control is powerful. To feel my strength and stamina improve (to feel less exhausted doing every day tasks outside of the gym) gave me confidence and a brighter self image in everyday life (notice: it had nothing to do with weight). Slowly everything fell back into place, but I had to want it to. I had more interest to blog (which is why Im telling you all), scrap book, and be with friends. I came back to enjoying life and being a part of it, I just wanted you all to know, and hear that you can over come it, that you’re not alone. With 7 billion people in the world you’re never alone. The first step to recovery is realize the problem the second step is to act on it before it’s too late.

Another new year

Congratulations on making it to year 2014!
I don’t mean to sound out of the holiday spirit or anything, but I’m so glad it’s over. Lets face it If you work in retail over the holidays it’s awful, upset and demanding customers, long hours, lines, an over powering amount of Christmas music. Not to mention, in retail you can’t just ask to have a day off to see your family in November-December; I haven’t been to a Thanksgiving in three years due to the ever earlier Black Friday hours (my family gathers a few hours away for that). So between work, long back to back shifts, extended traffic, and snow there wasn’t  any time for pro-me habits. No working out, no time to cook healthy meals, no sleep -when I finally opened my yogurt it was already expired! As an adult, I see why people celebrate New Years with so much alcohol, It’s their first chance to kick back since the end of October.

Just a little bit about my Christmas, so my boyfriend (left) decides he’s going to go decked out in his Dr. Who clothes. Funny enough my cousin (right) had the same idea. Haha. I’m so lucky they like each other so much, cause they both mean a lot to me. ❤ As for my new years eve we sat, drank a little and played the new Tomb Raiders game (it’s sweet by the way, not just point and shoot, there’s lots of thinking, its challenging, somewhat realistic, and amazing graphics). And like last year, I wore my star dress. This time I had my Tardis Necklace, which I think is just perfect! As for new years day, well I was suppost to have that day off, but I got suckered into coming into work 9-1.  They originally asked for 8 – 3:30 but I turned that down to have a day off with Taon (we work opposite shifts, and never get a day off together)

Anyways, Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and have a wonderful New year.

Reflection (another birthday)

As another year comes to a close, I sit here and reflect. There were many great things about my 21st year. It was 11 months ago that my wonderful boyfriend moved in with me, not before moving via truck approximately 2196 mi / 3,534.11 kms cross country to get here. The story is somewhat fairy tale, which I’ll let you all in on a little later. (he’s taught me to play video games: Jack & Daxter 1-3, Resident Evil 6, Borderlands 2, Left for Dead –be happy with small victories). I’ve had some big victories as well, I’ve been able to over come some huge problems too. ❤ I’ve over come my self esteem problems, by adopting a more “don’t think just jump” outlook, I have realized that the hottest accessory to any outfit is self confidence and a smile. Once you believe you look good, so will most other people. People are like bees, they can sense when you’re scared and nervous.

We were so lucky he found work quickly, and is now nearly a manager. We’ve been fortunate and had the chance to go so many places too! The balloon festival, the county fair, Foy’s for Halloween (see happy halloween), even California for a week (Where most of Taon’s family seemed to except me!).

I’ve also excepted my new baby corn snake Atticus into my heart. A pet I have been waiting for since the 4th grade. He’s brought me more joy than I could have imagined (if you want a pet, and have the means and the time to properly take care of him / her I really suggest that you get him/her). Of course we’ve had a few problems with heat lights burning out, and him having problems with shedding, but for the most part it’s been okay, no bites or anything. He’s very curious and playful. (a great low – maintenance and affordable pet).

Professionally I’ve have advanced to full time, which took a lot of hard work, and not giving up, even when the chances of success looked dim. I’ve also learned to stand up to my boss, that as long as I haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t say anything stupid, I don’t deserve any mental abuse (neither do you), and it’s okay to stand up for yourself. Infact, once you’re not a push over, people stop walking all over you. Sometime they’re even more polite to you as long as you stay polite back (there’s a difference in standing up for yourself and being a jerk, you can do it politely.)

I have also worked towards building stamina and muscle strength (which is something I had a very limited amount of two years ago) by going to the gym regularly as well as keeping a healthy diet (if I can do it, so can you!). I’ve also advanced my cooking abilities, which was a goal for me this last year.  I was over all happier and healthier than I was this time last year, and I feel very well accomplished. There were also no serious car issues, or trips to the hospital! As I close out this year on unlucky Friday 13th (which is the day I was born!) with an Oreo ice cream cake and some cheesy potato slices, I feel pretty good about it, and am ready to start year 22.

 

Grounds for Divorce (A few chapters from my life)

My parents divorced when I was a toddler. While I was in shared custody, mother worked all the time, she had to (so did my father).  My mother found another man (Mitch) when I was about seven. I had the common reaction, “I didn’t like him,” “he took my mother away.” But of course that didn’t stop her– as I’m sure it never really stops anyone. He had two sons of his own, they were four and five. Soon Mitch had moved out of his parents house and into our tiny 3 bedroom house with his sons. [Otherwise he might still be living there now] The adults remarried when I was in the fifth grade, I still wasn’t very over joyed about Mitch, but his good job provided for our family, he quit smoking, and we were even getting a bigger house (with a basement much to our delight). The wedding was held in the scenic back yard of Mitch’s parents, everything wrapped in off-white and electric blue, and the wedding ring: a hand-me-down from my mom’s mother’s first marriage — Mitch claimed they couldn’t afford a proper ring (with the new house) at the time, soon after, he declared that Mom could have her own ring if she could survive 10 years with him. (Since he had already failed with two women previously)

Soon after the Marriage, Mitch bought his baby, a 1967 white Ford Mustang convertible, in mostly good -drivable- condition, but it needed a little work. Still believe he didn’t have enough money for that wedding ring? A few years went by and I started to like him a little more, we had good insurance through his job at least. At this time Mom worked in the hospital cafeteria and when she got home Mitch expected her cook a full meal, heaven forbid his 11 and 12 year olds have to fend for themselves even one day (just to reiterate, even when they were 17 &18 they couldn’t cook for themselves. If mom said “preheat the leftovers,” they would make cereal instead and mom would get into so much trouble from Mitch because they didn’t eat properly.) But on the occasions when she worked second shift Mitch was fine making hot dogs and mac & cheese (or if it was just him and me, it was “fend for yourself”). Mitch also believed his boys -no matter how old they got- became exempt from all house hold chores -like dishes, washing laundry (their own included), even vacuuming before their (the boys’) own parties (which had to be done or we could not have one), in his eyes these chores were to be left up to me and mother. He also got into some habits of his own, you should of heard mother yell when he almost started smoking again, “You couldn’t even buy me a ring but you could buy yourself a car? And now you’re going to waste your money on cigarettes too? If you start that up, you better sell that car and buy me a damned ring.” He stopped smoking, luckily, but started drinking heavier and heavier, he stayed around her less, and told her that cuddling is what he bought her the dog for. By the time I was 15 he was drinking as early as 10am on his off days. And when he was drunk no one else could handle him. His sons hated him when he was drunk, but claimed he didn’t have a drinking problem when he was sober. Mom didn’t have the patients, (it was actually left to me to take care of him like that).

When I was in my senior year of high school he told me I needed to move out of the house before school started back up, so that one of his sons could take my room. There was this big fight over my dresser set that mother had boughten for $60 at a garage sale when I was little. They had flower carvings on them, He insisted that I couldn’t have them unless I forked over $2000 [Yes really], or he would give them to his son [who wouldn’t of favored something so girly]. Once when my mother tried to defend me, he told her, “Don’t start, or I’ll throw you both out tonight.”

Nine Years  after their marriage (a year and a half after I moved out) mother could not take it anymore. He didn’t do anything with her (she loves to go out, she wanted him to go out and do stuff with her, but all he wanted was to sit at home and drink), even went in -drunk, he was always drunk- and told her how much he hated her, how the boys hated her too. She was scared to go back to being alone, to go through divorce again, this time at 48 years old. But Now she’s free of him. Now she even has a boyfriend, and they go out and are happy.

I wish I could post a picture, because he was an average looking man, there weren’t any real signs it would end this way. And I wanted you all to be aware, if you’re suffering from a bad marriage, you don’t have to be. If it’s heading this same way, you may want to get out, before this point. And that sometimes time makes it worse instead of better. You can still be happy at any age. You deserve to be.

A Random Encounter

Do you ever look at someone and wonder, “how they got to this point in their life.” It may be the middle aged business man you see every day on the bus, the young woman who looks too young to be that rich, or maybe just the older couple who still look happily in love in the booth next to yours. I look at people all the time and wonder about their childhood, their job struggles, their life in general. Those things too personal to ask to a stranger.

The other day my boyfriend (Taon) and I were having dinner, our restaurant of choice seemed to be pretty busy, and we happily ended up with a seat toward the back. We had got into my childhood, I had mentioned how I didn’t have many friends when I was younger and this older man behind us -mid seventies maybe older- who hadn’t been in his seat long chimed, “Do you need a friend? I’m lonely too. I lost my wife ten years ago,” As I asked if he wanted to be my friend his waitress came up to him. Taon and I talked for about 10 minutes because we were done with our meal, and as Taon went up to pay the bill, I sat with the old man and said hello. He told me about how his wife’s daughter and grand daughter have moved in with him, help him do the everyday stuff.  Then he told me about how he loves football, basketball, and especially baseball and how he goes to all the games (local schools as well as pro games) when he can. He said that back in his day he umpired adult baseball for 50-some years all around Ohio and Southern Michigan, as well as coached many youth teams.  He commented on Taons Jimi Hendrix hoodie (Taon’s second comment on it that day) when Taon came back. We talked for maybe 15 minutes. The old man seemed a little unsure what to say at first, but when he smiled he seemed happy just to talk to someone. I think we made his day. ❤

I was hesitant to at first too, to ask a stranger. But It felt really good to see him smile. I hope I get a chance to do it again someday. I enjoy listening to personal history. ❤