Why We Don't Need Cable

When Don and I had Deanna, we decided we would never need cable T.V. The children were entertainment enough. This certainly has born out to be true.

Daelyn is the one who always tells Grandma and Grandpa interesting things that they can't wait to pass along. Like the "twisted ham" and the time he told them that we had all left and gone to DisneyWorld without him.

Dane is humorous in his lack of response. He gets this dull, glassy stare on his face and you're never completely certain if he even heard you. Deanna bought one of her cousins, who graduated from college last December and moved to Atlanta to take a job with an International Banking/Investment company, a talking picture frame for Christmas. It was quite expensive and she used her own money. Before we wrapped it, we took off the packaging and I prepared the children who recorded a Christmas greeting to Bradley. I pushed the button, then pointed at Deanna. Quickly, and in her sweetest youngest female cousin voice, she said, "Merry Christmas, Bradley. We love you." Next, I pointed at Daelyn. "Merry Christmas, Brad." Then, to Dane.

"Merry? . . . " Long pause before we all broke out in laughter. Is it really that difficult to remember the words "Merry Christmas'? It sounded like he was asking Bradley if he was, indeed, merry. After a long, hard laugh, we retaped and, this time, Dane came through. I told Bradley about it when I called on Christmas Day from West Virginia and he told me I should've left the first greeting on the picture frame.

"It's Classic Dane," he said. Yup! That's my boy. Bradley understand him well because they're similar. But Dane is also extremely intelligent and, we've discovered, notices everything. He just stores it all in that sharp little brain of his for use at a later time, like when he announced to our family, at the ripe old age of 4 or so, that one of the neighbors down the street used a different air conditioning company than us. When we finally got down to the bottom of how he had figured that out, he said,

"I saw them carrying in the condenser yesterday." At 4. Most 4-yr. olds don't even know that word, let alone know the piece of equipment well enough to recognize it.

Deanna is my child that entertains us with her faux pas. She is forever using a word incorrectly in a hilarious way. While she, too, is very intelligent, she tends to talk before her brain engages, thus she says CRAZY things! Like the time we were at the Boshears Memorial Fly-in and they featured a boy flying his remote control airplane that he had built himself. He's known for his remote control aerobatics and has won several international medals. Deanna had the camera poised for the fly-by. When I asked her why, she said she wanted to get a good shot of the guy in the cockpit. After we laughed uproariously, we tried to explain to her what a remote control plane meant. She understood, she just couldn't seem to get the idea out of her mind that there was someone inside the plane at the controls.

Last night, while eating dinner, the children began asking questions about my Synchronized Swimming experience. I was fortunate enough to be able to swim with a local team in my teens that competed in the Nationals. The kids asked about our routine and I explained that our routine was about mermaids and the entire thing was done underwater. It was very important that we not break the surface of the water and create ripples that would keep the judges from being able to see the routine at the bottom of the pool.

"So, the judges were ABOVE the water?" Deanna asked.

"No, honey. They all had on swimsuits and were sitting cross-legged on the bottom of the pool making notes."

"I did it again, didn't I, Mommy?" she asked. Yes, dear.

But not to worry, Deanna. We rely on you - no cable T.V. yet.