Robbed again

I should be blogging about my brother's wedding, and I will, but not now. During the wedding, we have spent the week with my parents, and sibling's families in a beach condo. My brother Rob has always been fond of teasing my wife, from the very beginning. He teases my wife by complimenting her endlessly. "Su, you are the greatest." "Su, you remind me of the babe." "Su, you are as light as a marshmallow and twice as sweet." "Su, you rock." And so on. I call this getting "Robbed". Anyone who knows my wife knows that she doesn't like the spotlight of a compliment, especially if it isn't genuine.

All of this reminded me of a funny time in our first year of marriage. We were visiting my parents for Sunday dinner. Rob and Mikey were going on and on, praising Su's every action. Exasperated, Su finally demanded, "I don't want to hear any more compliments from either of you for the rest of the evening!" Rob stopped and quietly considered the situation for about three seconds. Then turning to me he gleefully stated, "Tommy, you sure do have great taste in women!"

Heart Attack!!!

I am currently remodeling our basement with the help of a friend. One night Susan took of with Lily to a church activity leaving the Tyra, Thomas and Beth home with me while we worked. Beth enjoys playing by herself, and this evening was no exception. T&T were interested in the work going on downstairs, so they were both watching Jerry and me remove debris, build walls, and install new plumbing.

After a while, I asked Thomas to go check on Beth. After a cursory inspection, he said he couldn't find her. I sent Tyra to go look, knowing that Thomas probably only looked in the living room. After about five minutes, Tyra came back down and said that she couldn't find Beth anywhere, but that her bedroom door was locked shut.

That was a little worrisome, so we all stopped what we were doing and went up to look for Beth. I ran up to the bedroom and tried the door: locked. I knocked, "Beth? Are you in there?" Nothing. I knocked louder, "Beth! Please let me know if you are in there." Nothing. I pounded the door with my fist, "BETH! Open the door right now!" Nothing. Nervously, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "BEEEEEEEETHHHHHH!", while I pounded the door.

All sorts of negative thoughts started fillling my head as I spun around and leaped down the stairs. I knew what I needed, my drill and needle nose pliers. In the basement, I grabbed my pliers and drill, unchucking the bit and letting it drop while I ran. I grabbed the Phillip's head bit and chucked it tight as I shot up the second flight of stairs. I was pretty sure it was Phillip's, and every second felt like it counted. I hit the door like a NASCAR pit man. Pop! Pop! I dropped the screws out in rapid succession. I rotated the cover to the side and awkwardly pinched at the unlocking mechanism with my pliers. I slipped. I tried again. I slipped. I tried again. My hands were shaking and my whole body was surging with adrenalin. I would have been easier to lift half a car than to manipulate this locking mechanism. It turned.

I burst through the door and scanned the room, screaming "BETH!" She was nowhere to be found. I looked again at her bed. There was Beth. My hand shot down to her neck. Pulse. Warmth. Breathing. "Beth!", I exhaled, "Didn't you hear me?" She responded with a slight snore. I sighed, "Why did you lock the door?" Her angelic face continued to disarm me.

I went back over to the door and started to screw the hardware back in. Thomas came up behind me babbling some song. Without thinking, I scolded, "Quiet! You are going to wake up Beth."