The Girl who Played with Fire

Stieg Larsson's triology is genious.  Lisbeth Salander is the best unconventional heroine ever.  She is not well liked, does not make friends, but I and everyone that reads these books love her....  I thought the Dragon Tattoo was the best who done it book ever, but Larsson's second book in the trilogy takes you to another level.  The only problem is the last book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest  will not be out in English until May 25th.  I finished the second book a couple of weeks ago and grieved that I could not find out what happened next.  I must reveal Stieg does leave you hanging at the end of the second book.  I need the third book badly.  Why am I not able to read a foreign language????

Regina

30 years old

My son turned 30 this week.  What an amazing 30 years he has given me.  Every year has gotten better and now this last year he provided my first grandchild.  How can a mother ask for more.  I remember the night he was born like it was yesterday, not the pain, but the light labor pains the whole day prior to his birth, the drive to the hospital, and having a son to hold.  I remember his first year of life, the first time he ate cereal, learning to crawl, his first fever, learning to walk.  The difficulty of leaving him for the first time at a day care center for the entire day when I went back to work.  Throughout childhood, I remember all the sports he was involved in, soccer, baseball, karate, basketball, tennis.  As an adult he has done triathelons and marathons.  I was present at most sporting events, missed only a few.  I never realized how much I would miss elementary school with the field trips, fundraisers, Halloween costume and pumpkin carving contests, ice cream socials and who remembers all the things we had to do, until the final end of the year ceremony with all the grades performing.  Middle school had tough moments with fitting in and trouble with friends but still fun.  Then we moved to a different city when he was in high school.  I thought he would never forgive me, it was his worst nightmare.  But that year I moved and he joined me come summer gave me more time with him.  My son, as I with all children, is special.  He found great friends in his new high school, went on to college and found more great friends.  He succeeded here in Kansas City.  I am not sure he would have succeeded had we not moved between his freshman and sophomore year.  He now does what he loves.  He married a beautiful woman who is a wonderful mother.  They are a great couple, they go together well.

Looking back I didn't know if being raised by a single woman who had two unsuccessful marriages and too many boyfriends would harm him.  If anything it made him stronger, I know family is the most important thing to my son.  He will dedicate himself to his own son, wife and other children.  I am so proud of my son because he survived me as a mother.  Yes he was my first priority and maybe that is what helped us get to 30 years.  I made way too many mistakes and continue to make mistakes.  I do not have a huge family (something he always longed for), he has found his family in his wife's parents, sister, grandmother, aunts and uncles.  My son was extremely close to my mom, dad and brothers.  Him and my dad were great buds, Kabe had to have a blue suit like grandpa's for his first communion.  I have a picture of the two of them when he was 3 and they have the same stance.  But my dad died when he was nine.  He was a extremely close to my mother, but she died the year my son graduated high school.  She didn't get to see the man he has become, but she would be so, so proud.

And then there is little Eli.  What a cute grandson I have.  He smiles and smiles, quite the charmer.  He may not see me for a month or two at a time, but he smiles when he sees me.  He is like his parents easy going and happy.