"Can you hear anything from in there?" Ken whispered.
"I think I heard a groan, but I'm not sure!" I replied.
"What should we do? I'm not sure we should just leave the door shut all day."
"I don't want to open the door! It's not safe!! Who knows what we'll find!"
"This is ridiculous. I'm going in. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of."
.
.
.
.
.
"AaaaaaaaahhhH!"
"WHAT!! What happened!?!" I cried!
"I...I fell on something. There's something sticky here on the floor. Shhh! Do you hear that!?!"
"I do. I think....I think...Yep. She's awake!"
"Good morning, Frances. It's time to get out of bed."
*GRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!*
"Nope, sorry, sister. It's time to get up. You've go to get ready for school. Your alarm has been going off for 20 minutes. The boys are already in the car. I'm leaving in 5 minutes; with or without you. Let's move it!"
"Can you help me out here, I think my leg is stuck in a laundry pile!" Ken replied.
Your “Secret Subject” is:
Tell us your detailed plan for surviving the zombie apocalypse.
It was submitted by: https://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com. Only thing is...zombies don't scare me. I have a teenaged daughter!!! But if you really do need a plan, the CDC has you covered.
PS Happy 15th birthday to my favorite zombie daughter!!!
Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week 7 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.
Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
We have a week to go before the kids go back to school. In some ways I'll be spending this week trying to hold on to the last remnants of summer. In other ways I am craving a return to our routine. I've been running the kids around all over the place this summer. Part of the reason is to give them a fun and enriching summer, but honestly it's mostly to keep them occupied because Ken and I both work full-time.
This school year will be an interesting one for sure! We are going to have a kid in elementary school, one starting at a new middle school, and the oldest starting high school. I've already had a taste of the juggle that will be involved with the registration appointments we had last week. It's a fairly small school system, so you'd think they could coordinate things a little better, but NOPE!
I know it's going to be a lot to keep track of, so I'm setting myself up for success by trying to be really organized before we even get started. And when I saw our August theme for Blog With Friends was "Simplify Your Life," I knew exactly what to do.
I've used an online calendar app called Cozi for a while now. It's great because Ken and I can both see it on our phones or computers and it syncs automatically. We have now reached the point where the kids need to see what's going on, but don't have ready access to smart phones to check on things.
While we were at Staples doing some school supply shopping, my eyes were drawn to a big dry erase calendar. I chose one that had space next to the calendar to write in, as well as a cork board underneath. I picked up a few other supplies and an idea was born.
I put the calendar in the foyer so it's easy to see as we leave the house. I wrote out the dates for August by checking the Cozi calendar as well as all those stray papers that have been getting sent home lately. Each kid picked out a color scheme and I labeled their events with magnets in that color. I also found some "cubicle clips" that have pins in the back to stick to the cork board and a clip in the front to hold papers. The cubicle clips and the magnets come in the same colors, so each kid can tell at a glance which things pertain to them.
The day after I put this up on the wall and showed it to the kids, Frances came home from her camp and clipped something to my clip underneath the calendar. "What's that?" I asked her. "It's a paper you need to sign for tomorrow," she replied. SUCCESS!!
Need some other ideas for how to simplify your life? Check these out!
Karen of Baking In A Tornado has Skillet Cordon Bleu Dinner. Start with a packaged rice mix, add leftover chicken, ham and vegetables for a quick and simple dinner in no time.
Dawn from Spatulas On Parade
presents Parmesan Ranch Chicken. Simple easy recipe that doesn’t complicate our busy lives
Tamara from Part-time working Hockey Mom shows us her KEEP - DONATE - TOSS Buckets. Declutter areas of your house by using the tried and tested method that she calls keep, donate or toss.
Lydia from Cluttered Genius
has a Simple (On-a-budget) Laundry Room Update. The house is from the turn of the 20th century, but the decor doesn’t have to be. An easy and on-a-budget update that even *I* could manage!
There's a mountain between Waynesboro and Charlottesville. I've driven over it a number of times. It's actually an interesting part of a very boring drive. However, sometimes that mountain is covered in fog. There are signs and reflective beacons and lights all along the route. In the middle of the day it can seem excessive, but early morning or late night drives, you really appreciate them.
When you're driving over that mountain in the fog you can barely see what's in front of you. If you are lucky, there is another vehicle in front of you that gives you a little more of an idea where the road is going. If not, you just have to have blind faith, go slowly, and trust that you will make it over that mountain.
I was reflecting on that fog one morning last week when we had a bit of very minor fog on the drive to drop Frances off for school. Most of that fog was over in the field beyond the road I needed to drive on. I knew where I was and I knew where I was going, but the entire view didn't look as familiar to me.
It was during that morning drive that I realized that my fog seems to be lifting. I honestly wouldn't have even described it as a fog until just recently. I've been going through life, aimed in (mostly) the right direction and simply plowing along, going slowly, and having faith that I was going to make it.
I did some research on post-partum depression. I've never been diagnosed with it before, but a stray comment from a friend got me thinking. My miscarriage was 17 months ago.That fits within the time frame. I am now at a point where life seems to be less fuzzy. While I've been wading through the fog, I had forgotten how some familiar things looked and felt.
Everyone who has experienced miscarriage has had a unique experience, though there are some similarities. My family and I have grieved this child. We still talk about "Lucky" and Ben still hugs my bear. I often wonder how life would be different with a 10 month old around. Would the kids be big helpers with a baby around? We'll never know the answers to those questions. I try in my mind to be realistic about things. I don't want to candy coat what life would have been. I know us to know well enough that I would still be overwhelmed with things to do. There would still be piles of laundry (likely bigger ones), the kids would help out on occasion, but they weren't going to change into different people themselves just with an addition to the family.
I've accepted that life is different now. How we view life has been altered in big ways in little ways. Our family has gone through a crisis and come out on the other side. I've spent a lot of the last 17 months wondering if the way I felt was just my new normal or is there was something going on. I'm coming to realize that it was something else. I am experience joy and silliness again. I am feeling hope and safety. I don't want to jinx myself, but the severe anxiety I had been feeling is lessening. Life seems a little easier to deal with lately.
It doesn't mean I've forgotten. Maybe it just means I've accepted things. I expect that I'll always feel like a part of our family is missing, but it's less overwhelming lately.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month. Since going through my own miscarriage I have come to know about many other women who have experienced one as well. It is talked about more openly now, but many women still feel alone in this experience.
Personally, I still feel a mix of sadness and relief. Sadness because I really would have welcomed a new baby into our family, but relief that we didn't have to start completely over again. I've felt a lot of guilt over that, and I honestly struggled to even write it here. I'm sure there are some who will judge me, but I also know that there might be a few who need to see that someone else has felt the same way. I don't mind being judged if someone else can take comfort that they are not alone.
As we remember those babies lost too soon and those we never even go to meet, please reach out to check on a woman you know has been affected. Men too, as I know fathers grieve these losses as well. If you have had a miscarriage or lost an infant, my prayers are with you. If you need to talk, I'm here.
Sometimes life seems to get out of control. In recent weeks we've had natural and man-made disasters aplenty. It gets hard to watch the news or listen to the radio. I've had a number of friends announce breaks from social media because things just seem too heavy to deal with. I get that. I've felt that way myself.
When things seem especially dark for me, I force myself to look around for the light. The good in our world really does outweigh the bad, even if the bad seems to get all the press. Science has even proven that purposefully cultivating a positive outlook can do wonders for your mental health.
One way to help develop positivity is to keep a gratitude journal. Now, you know that I love a good craft project, but I believe so firmly in this concept that I am determined that you will not Pin this on Pinterest and never look at it again!
SO...For this project all you need is a writing implement and a writing surface. You can use the notes app on your phone. You can use a stack of post-its and a pen from under the couch cushions. You can use a spare napkin from the glove compartment and write using a ketchup packet for all I care; just try this! Do it for a week and see how your life will be affected!
I got out my Sunday School notebook and some duct tape. I only decorated it because I needed a pretty picture for my blog post.
Each day take some time to reflect and write down three things that you are grateful for. Some days you are going to be grateful for some really life-altering things. Some days you are going to be grateful that you stepped in the dog poop right as you were coming home instead of when you were leaving the house in the morning (late for something, of course). Your gratefulness does not need to be profound. Most of the time it really isn't. Just train your brain to look for the good in your world and soon that's what your brain will start to find automatically.
We aren't going to stop natural disasters, or terrorism, or even kid meltdowns in the middle of the grocery store. That's not the goal of this exercise. Our goal is to find joy and gratitude in our lives despite natural disasters, terrorists, and meltdowns in the grocery store.
For the record, lately I've been grateful for:
the fact that the house was mostly clean before the landlords gave me two day's notice to clear out half the basement so they could fix some leak issues we've been having. Things got cluttered really quickly when I had to bring a bunch of stuff upstairs, but at least it was only one mess, instead of a mess on top of another mess.
the fact that I finally caught up on all the laundry...two days before 2/3 of the kids had lice discovered...while the washing machine was out of commission because of the basement work.
being able to afford a trip to the laundromat, as well having that be a rare occurrence because normally we are fortunate enough to be able to do laundry in our own home.
being able to help a friend who had a mini crisis. I'm finally in a place with my mental health that I could reach out and be useful to someone else who was in need.
Have you ever kept a gratitude journal? Can you vouch for me that it really does improve your outlook on life? Or will you give it a try and just see what happens?
Our Blog with Friends group had a different theme originally. And yet again, world circumstances made a change seem prudent. For October, our theme is Reflection. Head over and see what other things we've been reflecting on!
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to purchase something I will receive a commission. In this case, these are all items I have purchased myself and I am receiving no other compensation for the links.
It's July. The weather is hot and we've hit the midpoint of summer. We're getting used to a slightly different routine. Or maybe we're getting used to not really having a routine since every week is different camps and different combinations of kids at home. I've actually only had two kids at a time for the last month! That's weird in some ways and nice in others. I like seeing the interactions they have with each other when there's only two. Plus their reunions are pretty sweet.
We don't have a vacation scheduled this summer. The kids get their camps and they each have a week at Camp Grandma and Grandpa. Otherwise, we're sticking close to home and enjoying our new house. One of my most favorite things here is the backyard. I've always wanted a fun backyard for the kids to play in. Even though we're renting and recognize that this one isn't permanent, we've still found some fun ways to liven it up.
First of all, my Mother's Day present was something I've always wanted to have. Ken got me a fire pit! We like sitting around it in the evenings. We've roasted marshmallows plenty of times and Frances is learning to whittle. The smoke keeps most of the bugs away too.
Next came Memorial Day and we realized that our grill hadn't survived the move. It had been on it's last legs before we moved, but the line to the gas tank just wasn't functioning properly and we decided that we probably didn't want to blow up our new home. Off to Lowe's we went to get a new grill. This one is pretty great because it has infrared heat. I'm not really sure how that works, but I know it makes the meat really moist. Also, I don't have to cook when Ken grills, so I love it even more!
Obviously, the backyard is not just for Ken and me. The kids want to have some fun out there too. I purchased an extra laundry basket which is just perfect for holding all the outdoor toys we have like frisbees, water guns, hula hoops, balls, etc. The hamper is easy enough to carry outside when we need to and small enough to fit in the corner by the backdoor when we don't need it around.
Last year I bought the kids a slip and slide. The boys loved it (Frances is a little nervous around it), but we didn't take good care of it and it didn't make it past the end of summer. This year I found a similar one and decided it was worth the money to try again. I decided that if it lasted past the summer that was great, but if not, it was still worth $10 of fun per month. So far we've taken really good care of it by airing it out after each use. We did use it on a hill once and discovered that wasn't a very good idea, but we found some water proof tape to fix it with and it's been fine since.
My big splurge for the backyard was our swing. There's just no way to look at this big beautiful tree in our backyard without imagining a swing there. It has the perfect branch in the perfect location, so I set out to find the perfect swing. The one we got holds 600 pounds. I don't imagine we'll ever have that much weight on it, but I didn't want to have to police it constantly and tell kids to get off. It will hold 3-4 kids easily, but you can't really fit more than that on it, so it self-regulates in that way. I got a strap for it that is weighted for 1000 pounds, so once again it's completely safe for however many kids want to climb on.
If you can't tell, we really love our new backyard. It's a great place to hang out, play, read a book, or swing for a little while. In the past when we haven't had such a great backyard, we did some of these things in the front yard because that's the space we had. If you don't have a yard at all, hopefully you can find a fun space to hang out somewhere in your community.
And if you need some other ideas for hot summer fun, check these out!
I've always wanted to do a home blessing. It always seemed like such a special thing to have done for our family. I've also always put it off because it would mean cleaning, and crowding extra people into a too small house, and keeping children's behavior in check.
I really wish we had done it sooner because it turned out to be such a memorable night for our family.
First of all, Fr. Silvio had been talking about house blessings at Mass for a few weeks. Then Fr. Joe announced his re-assignment and I knew we had to get moving. I picked the week of VBS, not because I'm crazy (well the jury is still out on that one...) but because I knew Ken and I would both be on vacation that week and better able to host dinner.
Because of course, we couldn't just have a home blessing, we needed to offer up dinner as well.
Oh, and by the way, we have a seminarian deacon in town for the summer, so let's just bring him along too!!
We had the house clean for Henry's birthday party, so my plan was to just leave it that way for the next week.
I know. I feel like an amateur!
Anyway, I planned a menu, hid the laundry, and added a leaf to the table. We made the plan for Tuesday and used the weekend before to get most of the new mess cleaned up.
The kids were really excited about this new thing called "having people over." The plan was for dinner at 6, so around, oh...3:30 that afternoon they made a schedule of who would ask, "When are they coming?" every ten minutes.
Henry actually wanted to "go outside to the porch with a top hat to greet them." Unfortunately, he wanted to do this starting at 5, and we don't actually own a top hat.
When they finally arrived, I knew right away because it was 6:00 and I had figured they would be punctual. Also because all the kids starting screaming, "They're here!" and running in and out of the house.
I welcome all three gentlemen at the front door and stood there briefly to chat with Fr. Silvio and to meet Deacon Nick. Unbeknownst to me, Fr. Joe had made himself at home and was already sliding across our empty living room in his sock feet with the boys.
I managed to get everyone calmed down enough to get to the table and we started dinner. The food turned out quite well in my opinion. We had roasted pork, scalloped potatoes, fresh rolls, steamed broccoli, and baby carrots. I had considered a bottle of wine, but actually forgot to serve it. This turned out to be a good thing.
Dinner went along and the kids actually pretended to have manners. In my head, I was planning on doing the house blessing after dinner and then coming back to sit down for dessert. I'm glad my plan got derailed.
Deacon Nick asked about a shrub in our backyard that he could see through the dining room window. I had no idea what it was, so he asked if he could take a look at it. We all wandered out to the backyard and of course, Henry got sidetracked by our swing. And then so did Fr. Joe. And in the end, everyone except Ken took a turn in the swing. Henry took a lot of turns in the swing...so many, and so fast, in fact, that he lost his dinner...twice! Thankfully he made it to the bathroom both times and that didn't actually stop him from wanting to spin some more on the swing later.
I went in to put away some of dinner and looked out my kitchen window to see an impromptu soccer game in my backyard. My Martha tendencies didn't last too long before I was back outside sitting on the patio chatting with the priests while the kids played soccer. We chatted for a long time and it was such a normal thing to do. I don't know why I had thought it wouldn't be. It was both light and fun, but with a touch of the pastoral that made me feel really safe and comfortable.
It was getting close to bedtimes and I knew the behavior wouldn't hold out much longer, so I wrapped things up and got everyone back in the house. Fr. Silvio and Fr. Joe let both Henry and Frances hold the book for the prayers and blessings. Henry was very excited because he knew he was getting training as an altar server the very next day.
Then the priests walked through the house blessing each room with holy water. They did the upstairs and the downstairs and ended in the family room, where we were informed that "a little birdie" had told them our anniversary was coming up. So in addition to having our home blessed, Ken and I had our marriage and family blessed as well. I was crying very happy tears at that point. And then I was soaking wet because Fr. Joe and Henry were vigorously blessing each other with the rest of the holy water.
All in all it was a wonderful evening. I'm so glad I finally stepped up and made the plans. I'm glad my kids got to see their priests and deacon as "real people" who swing in swings, play soccer, and tell jokes. And I'm glad that Deacon Nick remembered dessert so I could send them home with some. Otherwise I would have had to eat that whole peach cobbler by myself!!
the passenger's seat of the car...while I was talking/singing along to the radio
a movie theater
the dinner table
my desk at work
naptime at the daycare (sorry Pam!!)
my bed (obviously)
my children's beds...while reading them bedtime stories
Apparently I have no trouble falling asleep. If I'm tired, you cannot stop me from just switching off and snoozing. Unless of course I'm awakened unexpectedly. Then I just can't go back to sleep. That's my real problem: not going to sleep but going back to sleep.
If the kids wake me up in the middle of the night, I know I'll likely be up the rest of the night. Even Ken has figured out that if I fall asleep on the couch, it's best to just leave me alone because if he wakes me up to tell me to go bed, I'll never go back to sleep.
When I can't sleep, my brain starts working overtime. I start composing blog posts (that often make no sense later) or coming up with craft projects that are physically impossible to accomplish. My brain language in the middle of the night is weird too. I can't just have thoughts like, "That couch I saw online was pretty." My brain has to make it all complicated and third-person: "The couch she had observed while perusing her favorite decor site had really caught her eye. The lines, the pop of colour in the pillows. There was just something about that couch!" My middle of the night brain is pretentious...and British apparently.
I know I shouldn't, but sometimes I'll try playing a game on my phone until I can go back to sleep. I don't want to disturb Ken with the screen, so I play under the covers until the phone fogs up from my breath and I have to come up for air. Now that I think about it, I'm probably disturbing Ken more with all the moving and adjustments required to keep the phone under the covers in a place I can see it without hurting my neck.
I used to get out of bed and go sit on the couch, but this house has a programmable thermostat that turns the heat way back in the middle of the night and I hate being cold. Also, the couch is not very comfortable. And full of laundry.
If the stars are aligned properly (I'll just assume, I'm not getting out of bed to check) I might go back to sleep. Usually about 10 minutes before the alarm goes off. Ugh!
This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday post. This week’s sentence is “When I can't sleep,…”
Finish the Sentence Friday is
a link-up where writers and bloggers come together to share their
themselves with a particular sentence. If you’d like to stay ahead of
future sentences and participate, join the Facebook group.
This is a sponsored review. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. It also contains referral links. If you click through and purchase something, I will recieve a small commission.
I want to tell you about a book. There are a lot of book reviews that start out with "this book has been on my shelf..." In this case, that would be a lie. This book has never seen a shelf. Instead it's spent some time in my laundry basket, on the corner of the dining room table, and in my shoulder bag. Seems fitting when I tell you that it's a parenting book, huh? Even better when I tell you that I haven't read the whole book! But I'm still going to tell you about it, because I think it's a great book!
Tripp calls us ambassadors in that we are called to faithfully represent the message of the leader who has sent us; in this case, Christ Jesus. Our job is to establish a space where our children can learn and grow and ultimately become what God has created them to be. And the best part is that the author himself admits that this is not an easy job and one he has often struggled with. It's not a preachy book, but a guide for helping you to become more of the parent you want to be.
Each chapter is based on one of 14 gospel principles with a series of very relateable vignettes about parenting. It's nice to know that my kids aren't the only ones driving their parents crazy! But my job is bigger than that, and as long as I keep my end goal in mind, I can power through.
In looking over the book, I flipped right to the chapter on Mercy. The first thing I read was this:
"No parent gives mercy better than one who is convinced that he desperately needs it himself."
It really hit home because it made me think of all the times I call upon God's mercy for myself, but act stingy in bestowing that mercy on others. I truly believe in God's mercy, and in fact depend on it to get through many of my days. Somehow, in the thick of things, I neglect to show that mercy to my children. And how else will they come to internalize God's mercy if they've not been shown abundant mercy from me? Mercy is not feeling like a failure when your kids misbehave in public. Mercy is reminding yourself that children are children and they act like children. Mercy helps me recall that my children are learning from everything they do and my reactions to it. Mercy is really what I need to work on most to be a better parent.
Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part
255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in
Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for
providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are
100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a
sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing
address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor
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When I was a kid in elementary school, middle school made me nervous and high school terrified me. When I actually reached those milestones, they didn't turn out to be as bad as I'd thought. They weren't easy by any means, but I was able to handle things.
Right before a new school year my kids always get nervous. The new grade always sounds so much harder than the old comfortable grade they were in. We do a lot of talking about those butterflies and I've always told them that the new grade is harder because they are ready for it to be.
There's a lot of doom talk about teenagers. I even admit to buying into it. The thought of raising teenagers has made me pretty nervous in the past. But lately I've realized that it's not really that much different. Last night I put a 12 year old to bed and woke up a 13 year old, but she's really not that much different than the kid she was last week.
The day before her birthday she "dressed like a kid" in preparation for not being one anymore.
Sure, there are changes that come with getting older. Hormones come into play. More cognitive abilities and different reasoning abilities emerge. She's growing and getting older, but that's the whole point of life, isn't it? These changes don't usually happen overnight. They are gradual and sometimes we don't even notice them.
Baby's first selfie on her new phone!
Like how Frances runs laundry for me now. Sometimes I don't even have to ask. Her basket gets full and she swaps out the loads. She's been doing dishes too. Don't get excited, it's not a daily occurrence, but she volunteers often enough to take a load off me.
She still fights with her brothers, leaves her socks under the table, and rolls her eyes when I remind her to brush her hair. Some things change and some things stay the same! Even her birthday interview was cute because of all the answers I recognized from previous years.
1. What is your favorite color? light blue
2. What is your favorite toy/thing to play with? snuggling with my blankets
3. What is your favorite fruit? grapes
4. What is your favorite tv show? Henry Danger
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ramen noodles
6. What is your favorite outfit? My Harry Potter uniform
7. What is your favorite game? Clue
8. What is your favorite snack? peanuts
9. What is your favorite animal? horses
10. What is your favorite song? Cake by the Ocean by DNCE
11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter
12. Who is your best friend? Desirae and Jocelyn
13. What is your favorite cereal? Mini Wheats
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? pretend I"m in the wilderness
15. What is your favorite drink? root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Puppy and Beary
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? eggs and bacon
She had to settle for emoji pancakes this morning.
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? fried chicken, Brussels sprouts with bacon, artichokes, and fried okra (we managed everything but the fried okra)
Henry hugged her 13 times. You might think it's because he loves her, but really it's because he was excited about her choices for her birthday dinner!
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a vet
I'm going to start out this post by being brutally honest, y'all: I'm struggling. If you Google a list of life stressors, we hit most of the top five in one way, shape, or form. I'm not trying to win a pity contest, I"m just feeling like I'm at the end of my rope. And of this cute little internet kitty has taught me anything, now is the time to tie a knot.
There's also an adage about lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness, so even though I'm feeling like I should be eating lots of carrots to improve my night vision, I'm going to go ahead and make myself light a candle. I really do have a lot of things to be thankful for.
1. Last night at dinner, I think the kids could tell I was stressed. They had been arguing and picking at each other on the way home and I had turned off the radio to get some quiet. At dinner, Ben accidentally spilled his lemonade all over his plate. He immediately made a face and looked like he was about to burst into tears. Almost as immediately, Frances reached across the table with her napkin and started mopping up the spill. Henry held out his cup and said, "You can have my lemonade." (It was the last of the lemonade, so that was a sacrifice. I got up to help Ben dump his plate and get a new one and miraculously no one cried!
2. The bigs have art camp this week. The camp is downtown in a place with no parking. The directors have arranged a drop off/pick up location where I don't even have to get out of my car. Compared to some of the transportation fiascos we've had with some other camps this summer, this is a huge blessing!
3. Pokemon GO is keeping me active and connected to Ken. He sends me texts during the day about things he's caught or hatched and we've been taking lots of nightly walks and just chatting. A tiny part of me thinks maybe I should be packing or folding laundry at those times, but screw that part! I need some decompression time!
4. My job had been pretty slow this summer, but things are starting to pick back up again. I'm excited about the students coming back and getting back into the swing of things. I like my routines and I like having more people to interact with. Also, I'm part of a pilot program for a new certificate series and I'm excited about the new classes and learning opportunities.
5. Sometimes when friends are hurting, it's hard to know what to say. The truth is, there's often not a lot that you can say, but good friends know how to be there anyway. I'm blessed to have a friend like that in Julie. She gave me this necklace over the weekend that says a thousand things I need to hear in such a beautiful way. I don't know what I'd do without her!
6. It's harvest season and that reminds me to be thankful for my own garden and the gardens of friends and family who share with us. I think it's also great that the kids are so excited about the garden. Henry jumps up every morning to check on the tomatoes on the front porch. And Ben is so excited he might even try one of them one of these days!!
7. There's a woman who comes in every year to laminate things for her classroom. She teaches kindergarten in a local private school. She always has such fun drawings and pictures that she's created to make her students feel at home and enhance their learning. It's so much fun chatting with her when she comes in and she's got such a great, uplifting personality. I got to see her yesterday and she told me about a new children's book she's written. I'm excited to take a look at it and see more of her personality on the page!
8. I wore my favorite dress yesterday. It's brightly colored and stretchy, so it always fits. Plus it has pockets. I'd had a bit of trouble getting it zipped up in the morning so Ken had to help me. Partway through the day, I reached over to scratch my side and I poked the zipper. The doggone thing popped right open from armpit to hip! I'm thankful for a sense of humor to be able to laugh at it and also thankful for my grandmother's box of safety pins that live in my desk for a moment such as this! Always be prepared!
9. I have vacation next week! We don't have a lot of plans, but the fair is in town, so I'm sure we'll be spending time over there. My other objective is to get more packing and cleaning done. We'd like to schedule an open house in the next few weeks and hopefully with a week to really focus on the house, I'll be ready for that!
10. I woke up this morning with a roof over my head, hot water in my shower, and food in my refrigerator. It's often easy to forget that those things are luxuries to many across the world. It's good to take a moment to be thankful for all the things we often take for granted.
When I was a kid I couldn't want to grow up and go out on my own. To be independent. To make my own decisions. To not have anyone boss me around!!
Of course, I know better now and I have the ability to laugh at my younger self and how ridiculous I was. The independence I was looking forward to as a child means something different to me now. Sure, I make my own decisions. Not many people really tell me what to do. But it's certainly not all I thought it was going to be. With that magical independence comes responsibility.
I may not have to make dinner every night if I don't want to, but I choose to because I love my family and I want them to be well cared for. I may not enjoy doing laundry; in fact I grumble about it quite a bit; but it has to get done and so I do it. I have very few complaints about my job, but even if I did, I choose to work here, so I do what needs to be done.
As a child, I didn't know much about responsibility and even less about it's relationship to independence. As I've grown I've learned that the two are intertwined. You cannot have true independence without accepting the responsibility that comes along with it.
Without turning this post into a complete tirade against "what is wrong with the world," I think that a lot of this is what is wrong with the world. People think that independence means "I can do what I want, when I want." but that is a very immature view of the concept. All actions have consequences. The things that I do have an affect on the people around me. As a moral decision maker I have to consider that aspect before I act.
What does independence mean to me? It means I have the right to do things in the way that I want to. It makes me happy to be able to make decisions that benefit others, but not necessarily myself. Independence is fun, but it also comes with responsibility that I feel obligated to honor.
You've been reading a Secret Subject Swap. This week 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.
Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
The last day of school is this Friday! It's only a half day, but we still have to get up and get moving. Actually, we have to get up and get moving every morning. Who am I kidding?! I work full time. We do still plan on having some family fun this summer. I like kicking off June with a Summer Bucket List. We haven't been 100% in year's past, but it's good to have goals, right? Here's where you can see my 2015 list and my 2014 list if you're interested.
1. Reunions! I've got a family reunion as well as a high school reunion this summer. I'm looking forward to both. My kids are excited to see their cousins (second cousins, actually, but who cares?) and play with them. I won't be able to make all of my high school reunion because of a wedding, but I am eager to see some of my old former classmates and catch up.
2. Weddings! Henry's Big Sister is getting married this summer and Henry and I have been invited. He's thrilled to get dressed up and go see her again. She's also made him promise to dance with her. That'll be a sight to see! Ken's dad is getting married this summer as well. I'm happy to see that he's happy.
3. Camps! I don't get to go to camp, but the kids do and they can't stop talking about them.Summer camps are a necessity for us since Ken and I both work full time. I've considered a nanny, but then I wouldn't have any money left over for activities for them! They would get tired of each other rather quickly. Instead I sign them up for a variety of camps they can attend for enrichment, entertainment, and fun.
4. Vacations! Well, we really don't have much planned in the vacation area, but I am still taking some time off from work. I'll be helping with Vacation Bible School again this year, and then take the afternoons off. We also enjoy taking a week off when the fair is in town. I actually a fan of time off with no major plans. We don't often get the chance to do nothing.
5. Moving! This is still up in the air, but we are in the early stages of packing and staging. After that comes listing, selling, and buying. I've got my fingers crossed we can get through all those steps in the next three months. The market is turning over pretty quickly these days. I'm not sure if that's good news for us.
6. Relaxing! There's no homework to worry about. We don't have to pack school lunches. We still have to pack camp lunches, but those are more fun, right?!?! Please agree with me! Bedtimes can be a little more lax. The laundry piles are smaller because shorts take up less room than pants and coats. I may be reaching a bit, summer is still more relaxing than the school year.
7. Outside! I love hot weather. I love being able to sit outside. I love having the time to soak up some sunshine. The kids play in the yard, climb trees, soak in the baby pool, run through the sprinklers and all those other fun summer activities. It's also a great time for hiking and camping: two things I hope do more of this summer.
8. Summer Food! Frances asked me just the other day when I was going to make yogurt soup again. She's as hungry for summer cuisine as I am! Pasta salads, cold soups, and cookouts, here we come!
9. Books! This could go with relaxing, but I'm making it a separate category because I love them so much. And this summer, all my kids can read. I know it probably won't happen often, but I'm banking on at least a few rainy Sundays where we can all lay around the house reading books at the same time.
10. Surprises! I don't like having everything all planned out. I look forward to things popping up at the last minute and us being able to take part. That's what summer is for, in my opinion!
What's on your list for the summer? What's on your list of anything? Got a list to link up? Add it below!
