When I was thirteen, my mom went to work.  As a result, it was my responsibility to pick up my two little sisters from the elementary school and walk them home.  I would get them a snack, help them start their homework, and start dinner for my mom.  This was a blessing in that I became an okay cook at a young age.  That came in handy when I got married at seventeen and had to start feeding a hungry husband and eventually kids, lots of kids.
     So here I am, thirty some odd years later and I am so sick of my own cooking that I would just as soon eat Cheerios for dinner.  Unfortunately, I still have these people in my house that demand food every night, like I didn't just feed them the night before!  What is up with that?!  
     In order to keep the peace and satisfy my taste buds, I have been searching for some new recipes.  I have scoured magazines, bought cookbooks, even gone online to see what I could find. I think I have made at least twenty or thirty new recipes.  We liked some and didn't like others, but at least they were new.  And my quest to find new fare for the table is not over.  I was looking online at a new recipe for grilled chicken salad and I was reading the ingredients to the hubby excited because the dressing had sour cream, his third favorite thing in the world behind butter and bacon.  I just knew he was going to be saying, yes make that tomorrow, but do you know what he said, "Please don't talk during the Laker game."
     ...At least they won. :)

What I Miss About Having Little Babies

     There are a lot of things I have enjoyed about my children getting older. When my youngest was potty trained it was like Christmas, no, better than Christmas, it was the gift that kept on giving.   I really enjoy the peace and quiet that I get during the day now that my baby is in school full time.  It took me thirty years to get to that point.  Think about that, thirty years of children, and diapers and feeding, and whining, and smiles, and sloppy kisses. It has been quite a journey.
     There are also things that I really miss about having babies and little children around.  My oldest daughter and my third daughter both had babies in the last six months, Dallin is six months old and Parker is three months old.  As I watch my daughters with their babies, I realized how much I miss being the light of a babies life.  If you watch a baby's face when they see their mom, you know what I mean.  Their is a light of recognition that makes their face's glow with such love.  It is the most perfect expression of love you can witness.
     I also miss when my babies and toddlers were sick and they wanted no one but me to hold them and love them and make them feel better.  I still snuggle with my younger ones, but it's not the same.
     I know how hard it is to raise babies and toddlers, but find the joy in every moment because before you blink it'll be over and you will wonder where it went.

   Should I post chapter three tomorrow? Or should I blog?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho It's Off To Park City I Go

     If you can believe it, it looks as if I may be going on a writers retreat this weekend.  You have no idea how much I am looking forward to this.  My writer friends go twice a year and I have never made it once.  There is always something that keeps me home.  This time, however, the hubster said, "You really need to go."  What?! Huh?! Do I have the right phone number?  I don't think he has thought it through.  That means he will have to work out the logistics of not one, not two, but three soccer games on Saturday morning by himself.  He hasn't realized that that means he will be responsible for the care and feeding of our three minor children(every one else that lives in this house is on their own.)  The Saturday night shower battle with our two boys will be all him.  The frantic search for lost church shoes on Sunday morning will either make or break him. The poor guy.
     You want to know what I will be doing?  I will be enjoying the company of adult woman who share a love of the written word.  I will be staying up late talking like a teenager at a slumber party.  I will be able to write without anyone asking me,"What's for dinner?" or "Are you still on that stupid laptop?"  I will be eating obscene amounts of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.  Chocolate is what feeds writers, but that is a trade secret so don't tell anyone.  I will be letting the creative juices flow and nothing can stop them.
     And by Sunday morning I will be missing my hubby, and kids, and my bed, and I will come home, and after about two minutes I will wonder why I missed them. It happens every time.

A Few Words Of Encouragement

     Why is it that women always seem to feel like they are not good enough?  Where did this come from?  When did this start?  Do we all have some inbred sense that we are failures for a reason?  Is their an inferiority gene in our DNA?  Have we been programed like this by our own mothers?  Did society do this to us because we are women?  I really want  to know because I can't believe the intelligent, high-energy, kind, wonderful, faithful women I know who think they are losers.  Listen up all of my friends and family and loyal readers, YOU ARE NOT LOSERS AND YOU ARE FINE JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!!! 
     You do not have to be perfect.  It's okay if you mess up. You're not a bad mom if you yell at your kids, trust me, I do it all the time.  Is your BMI over the top?  Join the club, it's a big one, (pun intended.)  Whatever it is that makes you feel like you fall just short of the goal, kick it to the curb and wave bye-bye.
     Find something that makes you feel good about yourself and go for it.  If their is something that you just can't get away from, embrace it, but instead of setting your goals too high, make one small change or try to take one small step in the right direction, no not the right direction, the direction you want to go. Sometimes they are two different things.  Go for it. And remember, as long as you are moving forward, your moving.

We're Not Poor, We're Rich

     A long time ago, I was talking with my sister and she said, "I was telling my friend that you had ten kids and my friend said, what does her husband do for a living."  Meaning how can anyone afford ten kids, and my sister replied to her friend, "Oh they're poor." 
     I have to say that that surprised me.  I have never felt poor.  We had a home and cars and food on the table and clothes on our backs.  Our children were happy for the most part and at Christmas they usually got what they wanted, within reason. They always wanted one of those little jeeps that you could really drive down the sidewalks, but those things were several hundred dollars and that was out of our budget.  For the most part though, they were happy with what they got.
     What we lacked in material wealth may have been obvious to others, but what they didn't see was all that we had and still have.  My husband and I have been married for over thirty years and we still enjoy each others company and have fun just laughing and talking. We are each others best friends.  How many people in the world would trade any amount of wealth to have their family still together and liking each other. 
     We really enjoy our children too.  Our adult children are here all the time and so are the grandkids.  It reminds me of the line in the movie Steel Magnolias when Julia Roberts character says, "I want to sit on the back porch covered in grand kids saying 'no and stop that."  That is my life.
     All of the grandkids were here for Easter dinner and chaos reigned.  Brielle got bit by Libby the dog and Dawson made his usual amount of noise just for the sake of it.  Lyla got teased by Dawson then crashed on the couch.  Little Lacee snuggled with me and I really love that.  Sofia looked adorable in an Easter dress that I had bought for my girls when they were little. I got to hold Dallin and Parker our newest little grandbabies and Mauro graciously tolerates all the little ones with a smile.
     We may have spent most of our lives living paycheck to paycheck, but I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world because we are rich beyond belief.   

Donald Trump for President?

     Donald Trump for President? Really? Is this the best that we can do as far as a candidate to run against President Obama?  I have to admit that I have heard very little about The Donald's policies, but what I have heard I like. That's a shocker.  I have never, never been a fan of his.  He comes across as arrogant and obnoxious on T.V.  I respect what he has done with his business, building it up like he has, I just wonder if he did all of it legally and what about morally and ethically?  I know that people justify the things they do that deep down they know are wrong, "everybody does it," "that's just the way things are done," and "business is business."
     The point is an honest person is an honest person, they don't pick and choose when the rules apply and when they don't.  I remember when the whole President Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal happened.  People were saying it shouldn't matter if he cheated on his wife, that's a private matter between them.  It would have been if he weren't the President of the United States, and if it hadn't happened in the Oval Office, and he hadn't lied about it under oath.  If he had been a Republican president the media would have had a field day.
     I have to wonder if Donald Trump as that kind of a skewed sense of morality,on second thought if he does, he will fit right in in Washington with our self-appointed American royalty.  Their is one other problem, however, if he wins we have to look at his hair for at least four years. My eyes, my eyes!!!

     
   

Put It On The Board

     In one of my efforts to be more organized and less forgetful at the grocery store, I hung a dry erase board in the pantry so that my children could write down what they wanted or needed. This worked out pretty well.  Before I went to the store I would take my list in there and copy what had been written.  The list usually contained things like salt and vinegar potato chips, Hawaiian Punch, cookies and cream ice cream, you know, the really important stuff that your body can't live without.  So I have to admit that for a while I didn't go out of my way to check the list before I headed out the door.
   Over the last year the kids have noticed and complained, "Why don't we have salt and vinegar chips?!" Always said in that whiny, obnoxious voice that parents know and love. "Was it on the board?" is my standard response.  "It's been on the board for three months."  I decided that I had better start making an effort to check the board before I went to the store.  Over the last few months I have come across some rather unusual requests such as, one-million dollars(in small bills), six zebras, a firefighter, K-Y Jelly, a new baby sister, a dog, nineteen balloons, condoms, just to name a few.  Did I mention that my adult children use the board frequently and they love to surprise me with what they come up with. I just laugh, like they're getting a new baby sister, ha! Fat chance!  

Ignorance Is Bliss

     I love having my children and grandchildren around me.  When we moved from California, I had a master plan to get all of my adult kids within a ten minute radius, and so far so good. I have two adult kids still in Cali. Though I am hoping that my daughter and her husband will move here before too long. Having most of them close allows us to go to the grandkids soccer games and I can pick them up from school or pre-school if the need arises.  Many times we get a phone call for help with one thing or another or we call for help. It all works out.
     Their is one thing that I have discovered to be a problem though, now that my children have turned into adults they feel the need to share with me all the rotten things they did as kids that I never found out about.  From my oldest daughter having her own pad of office excuses, so she could cut class whenever she wanted and write herself a note, to my other daughter throwing Weinerschnitzel hot dogs at her brother. Apparently she only liked the bun and the chili so the hot dog was fair game.  I found those shriveled and moldy hot dogs behind the couch when we moved.  I remember saying, "How the heck did whole hot dogs get behind the couch."  If I had only known.  I heard about the time the boys were filling water balloons in the kitchen sink and decided that the balloons weren't big enough, so they got a huge trash bag and filled it only to have the bag split open all over the kitchen floor.  What a mess that was! Although the floor got really clean.
     I also was enlightened as to why I found a really scratched up Shania Twain CD behind the freezer in the garage when we moved.  My son and daughter were mad at their sister and snuck into her room and got it, then proceeded to slide on the cement floor in the garage with it and as if that wasn't enough they took push pins and dug deep grooves in it.  It gave them great joy to hear their sister storming through the house looking for the CD.  I remember that I was accused of taking it.   I have heard about all the stuff they burned in our old fireplace. It is a wonder the house is still standing and that they are all alive.
     This is just a speck of what has come to light on the evenings we have spent reliving the "good times."  All I have to say is ignorance truly is bliss.  Let's keep it that way kids.

"Love You Mom"

     Their is a lot of responsibility that comes along with being a mother.  When your child is born their is the pain and healing that has to be endured all while trying to take care of a new life that is totally dependent on you for every little thing from feeding and diaper changes to cuddling and holding.  It's not easy when your sore and tired.
     Then time passes and before you know it your baby is two or three and they are into everything. Gone is the infant who couldn't do anything for himself, replaced by a person that wants to try and do everything for himself, even though he can't quite pull it off yet. Their is the temper tantrums and the messes. Patience is sometimes hard to find, and then you blink and you're taking them off to their first day of school. Suddenly, there is a shift in the balance of power. Teachers and other parents and children influence your child in good ways and bad, and the older the child gets, the less influence you have.  It's sometimes painful when you realize that the baby who you have devoted your life, love and energy to, doesn't want his friends to know that you are his mom.
     That's why when I drop my boys off at school and my ten year old says, "Love you, Mom," My heart skips a beat.  I know sooner rather than later, that will stop, but for right now, I am going to bask in the warmth that those words give me and know that it is worth all the work, exhaustion and heartache that I have been through and that will come with the teen years, and it will come with the teen years.  Those three little words mean so much, "Love you, Mom,"  I love you too, and you will never know how much until you have a child of your own to hold in your arms in the middle of the night.

What a World, What a World

     I think humans are lazy by nature.  Just think about all the inventions that have changed our lives in the last one hundred years. The automobile, we no longer have to ride horses, or travel in carriages or covered wagons.  I don't know how the pioneers survived months of, "Are we there yet?" or "He's touching me, Mom."  It's a wonder any children arrived on the old homestead alive and well.
     The telephone. Folks could pick up the phone and talk to family and friends instantly.  Now, we have cell phones replacing land lines and pay phones. When was the last time you saw a pay phone?  In our house we have taken advantage of this to the max. We call each other because we have gotten too lazy to actually go down stairs and tell someone that dinner is ready.
     The washing machine. If I would have had to wash all of my kids clothes on a wash board, I seriously would have limited my children to two or they would have run around naked. And of course, the dishwasher.  This was a blessing sent from heaven to all the over worked women everywhere.  I have two of them in my kitchen.  When you have holidays with over thirty to forty people it is a necessity.  On a daily basis we can have twenty or so people here for dinner and most of them share my DNA.
     Entertainment has changed, we have gone from radio, to TV, to computers, to phones and iPads where you can watch all your favorite shows any time, any place.  And we don't have to get off of the couch to change the channels, our remotes do it all.
     To quote the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz, "What a world, what a world."  Although there is a dark side to all of this technology, we're all getting soft and puffy(of course, I mean me.)  After all, I don't think the pioneers had to worry about getting a muffin top. :)  
  

Feed Your Mind

     Nature's first green is gold,    
     Her hardest hue to hold.        
     Her early leaf's a flower;
     But only so an hour.
     Then leaf subsides to leaf.
     So Eden sank to grief,
     So dawn goes down to day.
     Nothing gold can stay.

     This is a poem from Robert Frost.  I love his work.  I was first exposed to him in junior high when I read The Outsiders.  This poem is in that book.  He's probably one of the most quoted American poets. In the movie Eclipse, Bella reads a poem at the beginning that is also a Robert Frost poem called, Fire and Ice.  In the old movie Telefon a line from the poem, Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening, is used to activate Soviet spies.  And if you read my blog on March 17 you already know that one of my favorite poems is, The Road Not Taken. 
     I recently got the book, The Poetry of Robert Frost on Amazon, an old text book for $2.45.  At the risk of sounding really old fashioned, it has brought me great joy.  It has everything that Robert Frost ever wrote.  I love this book.  Some of his works are stories, much longer than the poems I've mentioned, but interesting to read nonetheless.  I enjoy finding new things that have value.  It can be a poem, a scripture, a book.  I recently read, Sense and Sensibility after a friend told me how much she loved it. Thanks, Anne(aka Nicole Jordan.)
     The point for today is feed your mind as much as you can.  Take a brake from all the monotony that fills our lives everyday and do something that makes you think.  It's healthy and you may surprise yourself with what you learn.  If you can't think of anything else, give Robert Frost a try.

Where Did All The Good Entertainment Go?!

     Does anyone remember when you could sit down with your family and watch a movie together?  Or a TV show.  When I was a little girl, Sunday nights were special.  We would all sit in the front room and watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and then the Wonderful World of Disney would come on.  We would learn all about the lions in Africa and then watch the Adventures of Daniel Boone.  Good times.
     Why is their such a lack of good shows anymore?  It is sad that we can't sit down with our kids and all be entertained.  And the kids programs today, like my daughter so eloquently says, she would rather stick a needle in her eye than watch them.  It is painful to see the bad acting, the stupid plots and I am offended that all the adults are portrayed as idiots. 
     When I think of shows I like to watch or used to watch, their really isn't something I would feel comfortable watching with the kids.  I used to always watch the CSI's, but I had to quit watching the Miami one because the acting was sooo bad it made us laugh.  Then the network kept showing reruns of episodes that we had seen three weeks earlier and that killed that for me. I also liked Criminal Minds, but that show is very intense, too intense for kids to watch.  Most of the sit-com's are just plain stupid.
     Why can't someone come up with a good show that we can all sit down and watch?  I seems like the writers have used up all their ideas and are now rehashing the old stuff.  I mean how many remakes are we seeing coming out these days.  Then their is all the comic books they are making into movies.  Guess what,  comic books are the one thing I don't read.
      Thank goodness for books.  I recently read a book to my youngest son called, "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane." What a great book, it had a story line that adults could appreciate and yet my son loved the story.  I also recently down-loaded "Journey to the Center of the Earth" onto my Kindle, for my boys.  I am hoping to read it to them. I guess when all else fails we will always have books to turn to. 

It Goes Over, Over, Over.

     It has been a busy month for us and it's not even half over.  I could give you a run down of some of the things we have done so far, but that would take up all the space I have for today and that wouldn't be any fun.  One of the things that has kept us busy is a steady stream of company.  We have had family coming and going and it's not over yet.
      We love seeing family and have a great time visiting and getting caught up, even if it is a quickie.  Any one of our family and even our friends are welcome any time. Please come and see us, we will feed you, we will entertain you, we will take you to the airport, we will take you to dinner or church.  Anything we have is yours.  I do have one small request however.  Keep you're cotton pickin' hands off of our toilet paper!
     Let me state this publicly, we are an over the roll family.  We always have been and always will be.  And this includes all of the family branches.  We have discussed the situation at length and the decision is final.  Over the roll it is.  So while you are here, and if you are in need of using the facilities, and if you find the T.P. hanging not to your liking, "to bad, so sad."  Do not! I repeat, Do not! change the way the roll hangs.  We find this very disturbing and it upsets the delicate balance that we need to maintain the handling of stress around here.  I'm sure you don't want to hear about my needing to take anti-anxiety meds do to the change of what is the accepted norm around here.  Thank you for your cooperation with this sensitive matter.  Please come again.

I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up

     My husband came home from California yesterday bringing a wrenched back with him.  The poor guy is in pain and I was laughing at him.  I couldn't help it, he was a walking comma.  Seriously, he was leaning to one side and shuffling his feet and he was all curved.  He had to laugh too, through the pain.
      It is mind-boggling how much a sore back affects you.  He needs help in and out of bed. I had to help him step into his pants, even getting up off of the couch is a two person job.  When he sneezed their was a long moan after it.
     I feel bad for him, I really do, however, I have carried and given birth to ten kids and during many of those pregnancies I suffered from sciatica.  I remember standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes, in agony, crying in pain and did anyone help me, NO.  Oh they were concerned alright, but instead of helping or doing them for me, they would say, "Just leave them," "Or do them tomorrow."  Well, guess what, sciatica doesn't go away like that.  It's there until you give birth and their is no more pressure on your back.  So I know what a bad back feels like.  And you know what, I'm going to pamper and baby him until the cows come home and then I'm going to remind him that I have been through this many, many times and I'm going to remind him how no one helped me when I was hurting.  Guilt can be a constructive thing.  And you know what they say about wives, we may forgive but we never forget, and we don't let them forget either. 

The Joy Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat

     Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It is not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. (Margret Thatcher)

     I love this quote. I have so many days when my list feels as if it is a mile long and, to be honest, I almost never get to half of what is on my list.  But every once in a while, I will accomplish something that has been on my list for a long, long time, and when I do I know the joy of victory.  Most of the time when I feel like that it is because it is something that I don't want to do and I have been putting it off forever.  Things like that haunt me.  They pop into my mind at the oddest times making me feel guilty. I'm sure that all of my friends are never like that.  They are all organized and perfect and on the ball.  The very opposite of me.  At least they are in my world of guilt.
     I am happy about one goal I accomplished.  It is a three part thing.  I cleaned out my food storage room a while ago and I did a nice job, if I do say so myself.  However, I left one thing undone.  The labels that I put on the bins of food down there came off and it has been a pain.  Every time I go down to find something specific, I have to take very heavy bins off of the shelves, open them and see what is inside, when all I had to do was find the packing tape and tape the labels back on.  I am ashamed to say that it has been almost a year since this happened and I just taped them back on this week.  Why you ask? Let me tell you, because I couldn't find the expensive packing tape dispenser that I needed and I didn't want to buy more packing tape when I knew I had some.  Well, after almost a year, I broke down and bought more tape. Yes, I spent the $1.97 to get more.  Here's the funny part, the new tape has disappeared, I can't find it anywhere.  The old tape dispenser, however, has magically reappeared in a cupboard in my kitchen.  Don't ask me where it came from because I couldn't tell you if my life depended on it. I was able to tape the labels back on and then I was able to put away all the pasta we bought a month ago that the hubby just sat in there.  And last, but not least I have been working on getting more food storage because we are very low.  And that scares me because we like to eat around here, a lot.  And finally, I added 75 pounds of dried beans to my storage.  That was part three.  So for now I am satisfied. Today I know the "joy of victory rather than the agony of defeat."
     But tomorrow is a new day.

Misery Loves Company

     How is it that when you don't have any extra money life bumps along just fine.  There is a flow, a routine, but the minute you get a few extra dollars all of the sudden everything goes haywire. Cars will need repairing and appliances will break down, some bill that you didn't even know you owed will show up in the mail. How does this happen?  Is there some kind of cosmic vibration that surrounds money?  I don't know.
     Maybe it is some kind of government conspiracy to separate us all from our dollars and to keep the economy flowing. Perhaps every computer in the world is secretly linked and whenever our bank balances are in the black they go into over drive trying to come up with ways to get our money.
     We received a small tax return this year and I was determined to hang onto it for a rainy day, but it seems the odds are against it. We have had illnesses, car repairs, appliances breakdown, unexpected bills and bills that have all of the sudden doubled, and don't forget that it is now costing a fortune just to feed our families and to put gas in our cars.  How is the average person supposed to survive like this I ask you?
      Why can't we keep a few dollars without everyone and his brother having their hand out.  And I know it is only going to get worse.  The government is spending money they don't have and guess who is going to be left holding that bill?  Eventually taxes will have to go up and no one will have a rainy day stash. 
     Thank goodness I have my family and friends and we are all in the same boat.  You know what they say "Misery loves company," and I'm in good company.

Zombies, Zombies, Everywhere!!!

     I have a confession to make, I love zombie movies.  You would never know it to look at me, but I do.  After all, how many forty-somethings like them?  Not many would be my guess.  They are more a teenage thing, but I still like them and I have quite a collection. I am also a fan of the tv series The Walking Dead.  I just got the first season on DVD.
     If you were to ask me why I like zombie movies I could give a few reasons but what it boils down to is that zombies are slow.  I think I would have half a chance if I came across one.  And if I was packing, I would have no trouble blowing its brains out.  I know that because I took a zombie survival test and it told me so.  The test asked things like if you saw a friend that was now a zombie would I have the guts to shoot. Of course, everyone knows that once your a zombie their is no cure, so I would put them out of their misery and I would expect the same from them. However, the zombie test said that I was very likely to survive an outbreak of zombyism(there is that pesky spell check telling me that zombyism isn't a word)  because I am an alpha-female.  That's me alright. I'm a tough as nails, gun-packing, zombie killing, 21st century woman and if any zombie gets in my way look out.
     My daughters friend is a zombie movie lover too and the other day she told my daughter that if their was a zombie outbreak she and I would survive.  So I have confirmation that it's not just my opinion.
     Of course, I'm relatively sure that zombies don't exist, at least right now. So I will just keep my soft and puffy self on the couch doing research for when the day comes when I have to break out the alpha-female in me.

A Few Thoughts About Marriage

     Have you ever wondered why so many women think Tim McGraw is sexy?  Aside from good looks, money, and talent.  I have a theory.  I think it's because he is so in love with his wife.  I have heard him say, she is the one with all the talent, she is the only wife he will ever have and that she is the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  Who wouldn't want to be adored like that?
     When a man is in love and he isn't afraid for people to know it, it is incredibly sexy.  Every woman wants to be the one and only love of someone's life.  Romance novels depend on that to keep the industry alive.
     Recently, at our church, a husband and wife were speaking.  The wife spoke first and when she was done her husband got up and the first thing he said was, "Isn't she amazing?"  Now, to the outside world she wouldn't be amazing at all.  She is not a public figure, or a stunning beauty, or wealthy.  She is a middle-aged woman with adult children, but she is the light of her husband's life.  Anyone could see that he is still as smitten with her today as he was when they first fell in love.
     This is so rare today.  All around us we see marriages falling apart at the drop of a hat.  How many times have you read about a celebrity marriage and said, "I give it a year."  More often than not you're right.
     I am so glad I belong to a church that emphasizes the importance of marriage.  When we go to church on Sunday, I can look around and see so many couples that are still in love, some have been married for many, many years.  I'm not saying they have all had it easy, quite the opposite, they have had so many struggles, and yet, they fought through it and made it work together, mostly because they have common values and goals.
     I think that's what is missing for so many people, a common faith.  As a society we have all but eliminated any mention of faith in an effort to be politically correct.  The result is so many broken marriages, how sad that so many won't ever get to be that one and only.  And how many children are going to pay the price for the social immaturity of their parents?  It makes me grateful for all that I have.  

A Pillow Emergency. It Could Happen.

     What is it about pillows that makes us feel so safe and secure? I love pillows. In fact when I sleep I like to have my pillows arranged just so.  Each one has to be in the right position and they have to be fluffed just so and sometimes I have to change things up because one doesn't feel quite right.  This has been a point of contention at times with the hubster.  You see, I am a side sleeper, so I need a pillow to the right of me and a pillow to the left and two pillows under my head. I think my head must be heavier than the average head because my pillows squish down. And sometimes, after a long day, I have to tuck one between my knees. He is a stomach sleeper, so he uses only one tiny, wimpy, flat little thing, a twin size, that hardly qualifies as a pillow at all in my book. My pillows are nice and fluffy and I use two kings, and two queens nightly with an extra thrown in just in case. 
     I don't know how it works for most married people, but we have this imaginary line down the middle of our bed that neither of us is allowed to cross.  And laying right next to the line and breathing on the other person is not allowed.  I can't tell you how many times someone has breathed on me and I have to nudge him and say, "You're breathing on me, back away from the line."  Maybe that's where the pillow usage came from, it's self-defense.
     As much as I love my hubby, my best nights sleep are when he's away for business. I can align my pillows just the way I like them and no one complains. 
     Last night when we were going to bed he was handing me all of my pillows one at a time(that means he was plopping them on me heavily and enjoying it) and I was placing them correctly and when he handed me the last one which is an extra.  I set it next to my bed, leaning upright against my nightstand within easy reach, that way I could find it in the dark, and in my mind I thought "just in case of an emergency,"  Then I had to smile, when was the last time anyone had a pillow emergency.  I guess it could happen, and if it does I am prepared.