Ooh Child things are gonna get easier, Ooh Child things will get brighter

These are the words echoing from my mom's mouth each time I tell a story about Ashley. She's been saying this for years and I have to admit things appear to be easier; however, it's days like these that make me wonder if things will ever really get easier.

Oh Ashley, WOW...You've done it again! My emotions are like a sea-saw. Tonight, I laughed so hard I cried and cried so hard the tears wouldn't stop! You are so full of life, so full of laughter, so beautiful and so charming! You do something so extraordinary or unexpected on a daily basis and the things you do create unique, unexplainable mind-blowing moments! In the movies, moments like the ones you create win actors Academy Awards but in real life it's different.

Getting the call from the camp counselor was unfortunately expected as we never leave our phones when you are away at a camp; but what we heard next was unexpected and had us laughing so hard we cried!

Today you decided to have a blast in the bathroom! You put your shorts, socks & shoes in the toilet and told the camp counselors they fell in by themselves. When I arrived, you told me you had so much fun jumping up and down in the toilet making the water splash out! You even walked me to the bathroom with a smile the size of Texas to show me the water surrounding the toilet. Once we got to "the stall" you explained to me how the toilet you used was made of metal and the color silver.

You then looked at me and asked me if you were in trouble. I asked you if you thought there should be a consequence and you said, "yes, what it is it?" I suggested that you have to wash your own clothes today and you said, "yes, that's awesome!" and then proceeded to say, "thanks mom, for not taking away my TV." Once we got in the car, I took away your favorite TV show and you were happy it wasn't your second favorite TV show, Sponge bob.

I am still trying to figure out how to handle this situation and want so badly to be upset with you but can't seem to have that emotion. From this one incident alone, I can see that you see the world in a positive way. When something is lost, you can still see the positive. You are fearless. You are an outside-of-the-box thinker and constantly push the limits, the barriers!

For now.....we will just have to wait and see.... although, I'm pretty sure.....things will get brighter!

Girl Scout Cookies, Banana Smoothie, I love my mom & Rumpelstiltskin

You may never guess what these words mean; however, I'm pretty sure you will guess who blurts this out two-to-three times a day: Ashley! The nine most random words, Girl Scout Cookies, Banana Smoothie, I love my mom - have the same meaning as raising the white flag, giving up, surrendering! They simply end the seconds upon seconds of tickling that happen each and every day in the jansky household! However, this surrender phrase only works when I am tickling Ashley! When John is in tickle mode, she has to remember to use their surrender phrase, which is Rumpelstiltskin.

Tickling in our family was and is to this date one of my fondest childhood memories! I can still remember lying on the floor of my living room in our house on bowling brook, with my hands under my back and my legs stiff as a board just waiting for my dad to tickle me! Our goal was to stay as still as possible and contain or withhold our laugh for as long as we could stand it. My dad would do a claw-like movement with his hand and a "wah, wah, wah, wah" with his voice. My brothers and sister called it, "the claw." We'd laugh for hours at each other and try to have the longest time without laughing when it was our turn! I don't ever remember getting past a couple of seconds.

With Ashley, we have also introduced "the claw" and she even loves the wah, wah, wah, wah sound! The surrender phrase changes often and gets funnier and funnier as time goes on! It's truly a time of unexplainable bursts of laughter and memories of good times and fun!