It's been three weeks since Eric passed away. I thought about this as I sat in my car with my son to run errands. The seat next to me was empty. An obvious reminder of his absence. We used to go every where together. Actually, every Saturday, we would spend our afternoons at the local bookstore and stop off for a bite to eat at one of the various local restaurants. While in the car together, we'd joke around, listen to alternative music, and play the license plate game. We'd choose the closest license plate and use the first three letters printed on the plate to come up with quirky, funny phrases. For example, if a plate's first three letters were JLO, I would remark, "Jimmy, look out!" We would work at this game till we got to our destination. The goal was always to see who could come up with the weirdest, funniest phrase. I usually lost. Laugh. Eric had a great sense of humor and he was always thinking outside of the box. He came up with dozens of phrases for each plate we passed. He was a fast thinker. I didn't mind cause he always made me laugh every time he shouted out a new phrase. We used to have a blast together in the car. Of course, we used to have the occasional fight in the car, but the car was a place for me and Eric to catch up with each other. It was a place where we spent long periods of time being physically close to each other. You can't exactly open the door midway while driving some where and step out of the car without being seriously injured. When I look at the passenger seat now and Eric is no longer sitting next to me, I feel his absence immediately. No more license plate games, singing, fighting over radio stations, or weekly updates. That part of my life has changed...the car is just a means of transportation...a reminder that Eric is gone.
The car did manage to get me to Michaels today without issue. I ran into a new line from Making Memories; "Chelsea's Place". I wasn't expecting to find a "full line" of something at Michaels. I know they updated their scrapbook supply collection some time ago with the whole Martha Stewart product introduction and K & Company inventory increase, but I wasn't totally impressed..at that point in time. Well, when I saw this new line today, I was giddy with excitement. Was there some secret little deal going on between Michaels and Making Memories? I wasn't even aware that this line was under production. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out new product debuts before they reach store shelves. So, where did this line come from? I was totally surprised...I started to wonder if my life had become more sheltered. Laugh. Anyway, I put a few of the items in my basket and brought them home. Here's a few pics:
Very shabby sheek. Like it a lot, especially the blue & red combination on these embellishments. Reminds me a little bit of some of their earlier releases.
I don't post pics of Ethan often enough at my blog. I just never really know which photos to post. He seems to be growing by the minute. Every hit of the camera button and the kid is doing something different. I can't keep up with his developments. Lately, he's been focusing a lot of his energy on mechanical things. He wants to know how things work. He'll play with just about anything as long as it has wheels and dials. If it lights up, even better! He's so hilarious. I'm really enjoying this phase. It shouldn't surprise me then that he takes great interest in my vacuum (when it's not on). He likes to play with the cord, the buttons, the light, and every other movable part on the thing. For him, cleaning time is fun! Not for mom...so here's the little guy with mom's vacuum:
One last photo of Ethan..he's growing up and is 15 Months old.
