Things That Make Me Nervous...

Standing in a line of exactly thirty-eight people waiting to have a TB test done as a requirement of substitute teaching and having the petite, young girl in front of me say, "Sure is a lot of people willing to work for little pay." Her statement caused me to look around. In fact, there were a lot of young people clinging to their college transcripts and paperwork and smart phones waiting to pay their ten bucks for a shot in the arm.

But hey, I've got experience... right?
And a (practically there) college degree.

And God. Yeah. He's on my side.
And probably their side, too.
Just please be on the side of my mortgage.

Okay?

My (Two) Favorite Roles In Life

Some days I take a trip down memory lane for no particular reason, and some days I walk that path intentionally. This morning I have been sorting through pictures as I think about the birthday of my oldest niece- which, by the way, is not the best idea when you are already behind schedule due to the inconvenience of a time change. If there are two girls in this world that I think the most of (not counting my own, of course), it would be these two pictured here.

This photo was taken long before these two became the mothers of their own little baby daughters, but it just so happens to my favorite one of the two of them together. While I was wishing the oldest a happy birthday this morning, I thought about that day I was sitting in a junior high algebra class when I was given a yellow post-it note announcing that I was a new aunt. From that moment on, I was hooked. I know that I know that my brother had to be sick of seeing me at his place, but come on... how do you resist a sweet baby girl who shares your middle name? Then the second one came along some four years later and I was in love all over again. My claim to fame with her is the time I rescued her from the Great Flood of 1990.

Okay... a slight exaggeration on my part, but my sister-in-law was there.
She can back up my story even if nobody else believed us at the time.

I really do love being an aunt.

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And because I am who I am, I just can't fight the urge to not share these pictures as well. It's been quite a few years since the kids were this little, but some photos just make you smile.

I love being a mom, too.

My Day Does Not Include Falling Asteroids

This morning the middle and I head to the doctor for a quick check of his hand. He had yet another longboarding incident last Friday (my mom knows this now so I'm free to talk) and what should have been a minor fall landed him in the ER for an unsightly wound on his right hand. Three hours and five stitches later, we went home with the question, "Are you gonna tell Granny about this?" Doesn't a granny always find out, though? There is very little I don't tell my mom and when it comes to my kids... well, there isn't anything I don't tell her (as my kids think, WHAT?!). At any rate, his hand is pretty swollen at the moment and feels warm to the touch, so off to the doctor we will go. I'm expecting a prescribed round of antibiotics and a morning drop-off at school. It's going to be too nice of a day to sit around in a doctor's office.

And a nice day it will be, indeed. Temps back up to the mid-70s have me planning on opening every window in the house and doing some serious cleaning. I'm not proud to say that I have let this house go in the last week or so, but an afternoon of me staying focused ought to change that. I've been spending most afternoons sitting outside reading my literature homework which, for the most part, I have really enjoyed. The house (and the fridge) have suffered, though. I haven't been grocery shopping since last week and today we are officially out of sugar. What Sweet Italian Creme is for my coffee, a cup and three-quarters worth of sugar is necessary for our tea. The family will slip into a slow meltdown if I don't have a pitcher of the state drink of the south on hand for them to sip.

On a random note, the youngest was informing me this morning of solar flares while the husband was telling me yesterday about asteroid insurance. We stood under the stars for the longest time last night talking a universe that is too big for us to know everything about.

And I can't even venture down that road right now.
I've got too much to get done today that leaves no room for philosophy.
Besides, I'd rather enjoy the world than analyze it.

Happy Cleaning!

Losing Track Of Time

I looked at the date of my last entry and have been trying to figure out what I have been doing in the past week. I'm thinking a whole lot of nothing... and a whole lot of everything. Know what I mean?

I've been watching what started out as just a few blooms on this tree literally explode with flowers in just a matter of a couple of days. Beauty can be deceiving, however, as we all know. This tree, as pretty as it may seem, stinks horribly when in bloom. The oldest compares the stench to that of wet cement... not pleasant at all. Speaking of the oldest, he is still job searching and watching his savings account dwindle and worrying about his friend, the one we had as a surprise guest not long ago. Her situation has only deteriorated since she last stayed with us and it's hard to look your child in the eye and admit that you don't know what to do about the whole thing.

I've spent a lot of time of the front porch reading schoolwork (see next picture), listening to kids talk, and occasionally letting the cat out. Although we had a lot of rain over the weekend, we thankfully dodged all the rough weather that seemed to envelope most of the nation, the Midwest and eastern half, anyway. The husband is currently in the midst of digging and planning a storm shelter and is bewildered by my insistence that I am more afraid of being underground than I am in the wide open. Personally, I don't know why we have these discussions anyway because I can assure you, I am no fool. I've watched the footage on the news. I've looked at the pictures online. I have no doubt that if our home or neighborhood or county was under an imminent threat of a tornado, my petty fears would vanish and I would be knocking someone out of the way to get underground (sorry, kids).

Here is all that reading I was talking about (ignore the obvious dusting that needs to take place). My nook is buried under everything that must come before it; for that reason it hasn't seen the light of day for at least a week. I am in the middle of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, or maybe the title is the other way around, and I must say that I am not impressed. This is one of those rare occasions when I hope the movie is better than the book. Snore. As far as my schoolwork goes, though, SIX (and a half) weeks left. I received great news last week in the form of a job doing substitute teaching work. I am excited and nervous and scared about the whole college thing coming to an end, but the day I hold that degree in my  hand will be a happy day indeed.

And not to leave out the other cat (you're welcome, daughter), this is where she spends much of her time. Sometimes it's there by choice... that cat loves watching the birds, and sometimes it's there due to a cat-imposed time-out... yes, having this cat is like having a small child in the house. Looking at this picture reminds of something that I devoted an entire day to last week and that was cleaning the screened-in porch. I was reluctant to do so because I noticed the pine trees have the tell-tale signs of what I call baby pine cones. All that means is that in a matter of weeks everything will be covered in a fine, yellow pollen to the extent that even twice-a-day sweepings will not control it.  I never experienced anything like it until I moved south. It's one of my least favorite things of spring.

So I've been busy with cleaning and reading intermingled with lounging on the front porch and just generally dealing with life as it comes. I look at the calendar and find it impossible that we are already five days into the third month of the year. It seems like February was just getting started.

Time flies when you're having fun.

Short And To The Point

Today I was reminded of a scripture that I had forgotten about.

Look around you and see! 

And be astonished! Astounded! 

For I am putting into effect a work in your days such that

 you would not believe it if it were told you.

*Habakkuk 1:5*

Some days we just need those reminders, don't we?

My Dream Baby

So if I dreamed that we adopted a teeny, tiny little baby girl that we found, what does that mean? That I long to have another baby? I don't think so. Maybe something new is coming along in our life? I would like that. Whatever it meant, I was at Walmart with this teeny, tiny little bundle in one arm while putting diapers and formula and bottles into a cart. There was not any discussion about what we should do (unlike the previous storm entry). It was simply the husband saying, Look. A little baby and nobody wants her. And me saying, Hand her over.

Of course, it could have also been the pepperoni pizza and the chocolate pie and coffee I had around eight o'clock last night, but if that's the case, I think I'll have the same thing again tonight. I just love little babies... even if they're only in my dreams.



Add one more baby to the pile and you'd have the whole crew. Late Autumn, 1996.



Didn't The Wicked Witch Of The East Die Under A House?

Not that I consider myself wicked or a witch, mind you, I just remember those shoes of hers sticking out from under Dorothy's house.

Here's my dilema in the midst of a severe thunderstorm... would I rather be crushed or trapped under the house (my words) or sucked out through the top of the house (my husband's words)? We have this discussion every time a storm blows through and today one hit just after lunch time. The husband had his shoes on ready to go under the house while I eyed the computer desk thinking that's where I'd hang out- underneath it, of course. Now before you ready to tell me what you think, let me describe the situation.

We don't have a basement, but you can walk under the house and for at least half of it, stand up straight (and it is closed in, just so you know). It's all sand underneath with lots and lots of storage space. On the flip side, the computer desk sits in the middle of the house next to a stone fireplace and no windows in sight. The root of this dilemma is that I have a very profound fear of being trapped somewhere, plus I'm a little bit claustrophobic. I can ride an elevator, but I hate every second of the ride. I can go in a cave, but I don't enjoy any of it. We all have our little quirks, right?

Anyway, we kept an eye on the sky and the radar and ended up never leaving the living room. We were on the north end of the storm (that did end up spawning a tornado, by the way) and by the time it roared through, all we had were some limbs on the ground and a shed door blown in. The discussion over where to hide out, though, continued on. So, other than praying and believing Psalm 91, where would you go?