What else is happening

In addition to my twentieth class reunion, we've also been living our lives.  JR returned home from scout camp Saturday morning and clearly it was one of the best times of his life!  He is such an incredibly independent kid, and while apparently there were a lot of emotions from others regarding homesickness, he spent most of the time being puzzled by those who were homesick...who wouldn't love being on their own for a week?  Of course, I also suspect that in this day and age there might be a few parents who might play into the homesickness by talking about how much they'll miss their "baby".  And I also suspect that many of the boys have less responsibility at home...and many, many more electronics.  JR didn't have the ability to miss his computer and cell phone and video games, etc., etc., because he doesn't have those at home.  He does however, have chores, responsibilities, and school work (yep, even in the summer I make sure we are academic!) and he probably loved being away from all of that for a week!  He had signed up for five merit badges but was actually able to complete eight...I'm impressed!

My husband moves into his new high school this fall, and we have also spent some days helping him put his new room together.  I must say, this high school is absolutely top of the line...some might even say "over the top"!  The kids and I have been helping to unpack and shelves books upon books, and we've also been helping to arrange and decorate the rest of the room.  We've put in a couple of days so far, but at this point the things that are left pretty much have to be finished by him.

We are heading out this weekend to visit my cousins who have a lake house in Tennessee, then we'll be home for a day before we head back out to visit my in-laws.  I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have, but I know that we'll all be having loads and loads of fun!

Twenty years

This past weekend was my high school reunion.  Hard to believe, astounding in fact, that it's been twenty years!  Even more amazing to me is the fact that I vividly remember the evening of my dad's twentieth high school reunion.  I had just graduated from high school myself, so it seems IMPOSSIBLE to me that mine could be happening.  Anyway, there were two events planned.  The first was a Friday evening at the local bar in our home town.  Initially I thought I would attend, but the more I thought about it, the less enthused I was.  First of all, we had other things planned for the evening, and I've never particularly been a bar person.  On top of that, while I loved high school and to this day have lots of friends from my high school days, almost none of them were in my class.  Most of them were older, and a couple were a year or two younger.  I also was aware that of the few people I would really like to see, only one was going and that person I had lunch with six months ago.  So my motivation was pretty low.  I decided against doing the Friday night event, and instead settled on attending Saturday evening which was to be a smaller (and quieter), more intimate evening.  There were only 19 of us classmates in attendance, and as I had suspected, I hadn't spent a great deal of time with any of them in high school.  There was one classmate there Saturday evening named Lisa, and she saved the evening for me!  While Lisa and I had not spent a great deal of time together later in high school, our sophomore and junior years we had definitely hung out together so it was nice to be able to sit with her and visit.  I'm glad that I went, and it was nice to see everyone after twenty years...even if I can't believe it's been that long!

HTisms

My youngest, and his perspective on life often amuses me.  I think in part that is because he has such a happy-go-lucky personality and always has.  Monday evening, we decided to take the kids to Tumbleweeds Restaurant.  We had a coupon for free kids' meals, and since JR is at scout camp, we would only have to pay for my husband and me.  HT, however, was insistent that he didn't want to go.  Of course we went anyway, and of course he enjoyed every minute of his cheeseburger and seasoned waffles fries.  I asked him later why he hadn't wanted to go and he replied, "I didn't want to eat weeds for dinner."  I share his opinion on that, and was rather amused that he actually thought we would try to feed him weeds for dinner!

Next week we are headed to Norris Lake in Tennessee for a long weekend.  Some relatives have a place on the lake and have invited us down for a few days.  The kids knew we were going to Tennessee, but didn't necessarily know the name of the lake.  JC asked yesterday about the name of the lake.  I replied, "Norris Lake."  HT giggled and pointed out that if you take off the "lake" and add "Chuck" in front then you have "Chuck Norris."  He was quite pleased with his discovery.  He then mentioned (and I'm sure he's heard this joke from a friend who LOVES to tell Chuck Norris jokes from the internet) that there had been talk about adding Chuck Norris to Mount Rushmore and changing the name to "Mount Toughmore."  He then chuckled quite heartily at his own "funny".

I love seeing what these kids come up with everyday!

House Hunting

On Sunday we loaded up the two kids (JR is at scout camp) and decided to head over the town in which my husband teaches to do some open housing.  We really have no desire to move, but it may eventually be ridiculous to live here if my husband and children are all spending their days 45 minutes from here.  We decided to start with open houses to see what our budget could afford.  And it was pretty much what I expected...we can afford to pitch a tent in someone's yard.  Houses are just so much more expensive there than they are in our little town, and even factoring in the gas we would save with not having to make the commute, it's not affordable.  I realize though, that we may decide that affordable or not, we need to move because of the time we are spending on the road.  When that day comes, we'll just have to learn to do without other things, and I suppose that with the increase in the size of the town it might be more likely that I could find a part time job.  In the meantime, I'm very happy to stay put in my house!

16 years

It was 16 years ago today, on Tuesday July 23, 1996 that my dad first became ill.  I remember my mother and sister were in Atlanta at the Olympics and I was working at a summer day camp.  I was surprised to find him at home when I got home from work late that afternoon.  He explained that he'd been having trouble breathing and his boss's wife had insisted that he see a doctor.  The initial diagnosis was pneumonia and we expected him to be off work for a few days.  We had no idea the road about to be traveled.  Dad ended up missing seven weeks of work, and it took over a month to get an accurate diagnosis of Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia (BOOP).  This disease has a few different manifestations, and unfortunately my father has had one of the worst.  He went on oxygen as needed about ten years ago, and it wasn't long before he was on oxygen 24/7.  In fact, he is now usually hooked up to a machine AND a tank, or to two tanks if he needs to be mobile.  He amazes me though.  I've heard people talk about sick relatives who never complain and what an inspiration that is.  I completely understand that.  I remember feeling guilty taking off work for a bad cold or for a bad allergy/sinus day because my father faced so much more than that EVERY DAY and still goes to work...rarely taking a sick day even when he probably should.  I can't even begin to imagine facing the things he's face and feeling the way he's felt for the last 16 years, and doing it so unbelievably gracefully.  And he'd probably even tell you that he's grateful for the last 16 years...in that time he's been able to see my sister graduate from Notre Dame's Law School, he's been able to see me get married, and he's been able to become a grandfather.  I too, am grateful for the last 16 years.  I know that it isn't the way my dad had pictured these years being, but he has, without a doubt, made the most of it.

**As an aside, I am only four years away from being the age my father was when he was diagnosed.  It really helps to put it into a different perspective for me, and honestly, helps me to be even more amazed by the way my dad has handled things.

Silence

I feel like I've been a little silent here on the blog lately.  I guess that's because my head has been the exact opposite.  There are a hundred little things floating around up there, and sometimes I think I can hear and feel them darting around!  Honestly, my brain feels scattered and unorganized, and I just really don't want that to come out here.  Most of it has to do with absolutely nothing major (at least yet) and since I'm a worrier I worry about it staying that way.  Honestly, I wish I could just go with the flow and let things just be what they will be.  That is why my husband is so perfect for me...he never worries about anything, which is fine because I worry enough for both of us.  As I said though, it's really no big deal and before anyone becomes alarmed the kids are fine!

Another reason I haven't written is that July has just been the most wonderfully unscheduled month, and I love how laid back it's been...but nothing "noteworthy" makes for silence on the blog.

Fun with the kids

I don't really feel as though we've been doing anything terribly exciting or noteworthy, and certainly nothing that would be worth writing about here.  But, we are having fun with our kids, and I hope they feel the same way.  July has been a very, very laid back month.  There have been lots and lots of late nights, lots of sleeping in, and lots of just "hanging out".  We went to bargain day at our local second run theater, and for less than $16 we all got to see MIB3 AND had popcorn.  Not bad for a family of 5!  We've been playing a lot of board games, and for the most part just enjoying our lives together.  It's even cool enough today that we could turn off the a/c last night and are enjoying the most gorgeous weather we've had in forever.  While we may not be doing anything terribly exciting, I couldn't be happier!

It rained!

It's pretty sad that rain can warrant a blog post, but that's the case here.  We got a very decent amount of rain, and since the temp dropped drastically, (but the humidity, oy vey!) the rain actually has an opportunity to soak in.  We might even get more tomorrow!

The drought

Our area is one of many areas that are in a drought.  After how much rain we received last year it almost doesn't seem possible, but that was last year and this is this year, and we've had very little rain.  In fact, until Sunday we'd had one day of rain in the last month.  And to make matters worse, both Sunday's rain and the previous rain the last month were downpours.  The problem with that of course is that the ground is so dry that it can't really absorb rain during a downpour, and most of it just runs off.  And then our weather is so unbelievably hot following the rain that most of it evaporates.  Our crops are in DIRE shape, and based on what we saw in Indiana this is true of most of the mid-west.  I remember 1988 when we last had a summer like this.  We could use some rain, but there just doesn't seem to be anything developing.  We are fortunate though that the water tables for communities are still in rather good shape, and hopefully it will rain sooner rather than later!

Topsy Turvy

I'll be honest...my emotions are all over the place right now.  Sadly, we've somewhat been surrounded by death recently.  Nothing at all in my immediate family, for which I am VERY GRATEFUL, but some dear friends have lost parents in the last month.  I suppose we are reaching that age, but I'm just not ready for that.  Ready or not, here it is.  My prayers are with so many I care about right now.

I'm also conflicted about many things happening in our home.  I'm so excited about JR starting a new school next year, but don't like the fact that he's going to be so far away.  I want to make so many fun memories with the kids while they are young, because this time is going so very quickly.  But when I think of the trips and things I'd love to do with them, it all costs so much money.  And I know it isn't about the money we spend that makes good memories...it's about the time together.  And I know that sitting and playing games and reading together here at home...those are good memories too (and cost nothing).   I'm ANGRY that one of the people that tormented JR has continued to be a jerk at the community pool, and I feel completely helpless about what I should do.  I've taught JR that he shouldn't just haul off and punch him (and I'm not sure that JR has it in him to so) but JR shouldn't just be a punching bag for this kid either.  And the kid is really, really sneaky.  He's very quiet and subtle in his torment...for instance he kicks JR in the head underwater, where NO ONE CAN WITNESS IT!  I just want to protect my kids from hurt, but I know in the long run that doesn't do them any favors!

 Like I said, I'm just a bit of an emotional wreck these days!

I love how close they are

I absolutely love how close JC and HT are.  They are very much alike and that is definitely the source of much strife between the two, but they are so unbelievably close.  In fact when they are fighting, the biggest punishment I can dole out is to keep them separated.  When something cool happens to one of them, the other one is always the first one that he or she wants to share it with.  JR doesn't really seem to mind their relationship.  In fact I think he somewhat prefers that they have each other because then they tend to leave him alone.  I remember wishing my sister had a twin to entertain her so that I didn't have to!  They've been going to karate this week while JR is at VBS.  HT finally earned his white belt earlier this week.  Karate is a huge challenge for him, mostly because of the self discipline involved.  Anyway, tonight was the first night that he was taking his belt with him, and JC was such a good big sister in helping him to get ready.  I love watching them be so close!

Almost half way

Our summer is pretty much at the half way point, especially for JR and my husband.  JR starts school on August 20, and my husband has to work the Thursday and Friday before.  I'm just not ready for thinking about that, but reality is what it is.  And I'm grateful that my husband has a job that he really, really likes, and that he's pretty good at as well!  We are very blessed in that regard.  Anyway, as always, it completely feels like the summer is flying by.  This week has been wonderful though.  Other than JR helping out at VBS, we've had almost nothing on our calendar.  Our days have been very carefree and I'm so enjoying the laid back life style.  It's almost better than our week on vacation!

My new background

I'm really enjoying the new background on my blog.  I had one that was red, white, and blue for the holiday, but I found it difficult to read.  Then I went to one that had fire on it to represent our temps last week, but that one was even more difficult to read.  I love the one that I happened to stumble upon.  Every time I look at it, I feel peaceful, and everyone can use some help with that at times.  I've been feeling extremely unsettled and emotional lately, and at times even down right anxious.  So, I'm enjoying the peaceful scene on my blog, and my morning cup of a caramel latte is also very peaceful!

Lots going on with JR

JR has a lot going on his life right now, but I think he's pretty happy about it.  Last week, he became the owner of a new (to him) trumpet.  He had decided last year that he wanted to join band and wanted to be a trumpet player.  When we enrolled him in the new school district, we signed him up for that.  My husband knows that band director who gave us some advice on where to purchase an instrument.  I was completely unprepared for the cost of instruments, but my husband found a used one in VERY good shape and was able to make a good deal.  And it only took about 72 hours before JR was goofing around and managed to get the mouth piece stuck on it and put some scratches in it.  UGH!!!!!!!

JR is also involved with helping out at Vacation Bible School this week.  Our church doesn't have a youth group, but the Methodist church here in town does, and they are very welcoming of others, even those that don't attend church or attend different churches.  I know the leaders involved and JR has enjoyed being part of the group.  He is also often the only boy in attendance and that doesn't bother him at all!  He's been helping out with the drama group, and since he was the only boy at practice last week he's been playing the part of Jesus.  He tried telling us he shouldn't be in trouble for anything at home since he's Jesus...nice try!  Anyway, he's enjoying his week at VBS.  I was raised in the Methodist church, and it's a very dynamic church here in town.  I would like to attend and check it out, but I understand that my husband, as a Catholic, has some concerns.  He is willing attend at least once though.

In two weeks, JR will be off to scout camp.  The summer is going quickly!

One more day

Today is supposed to be 10 degrees cooler than yesterday, which was equally as hot as Friday.  Of course, 10 degrees cooler than 102 is still the low 90's!  Today is supposed to be the end of the oppressive heat though, and along with temps in the mid 80's we are also supposed to have lower humidity, so things should feel significantly better for a few days.  Unfortunately, there is no rain in sight, unless we get a few storms today as the front moves through.  Otherwise, this horrible, horrible drought will continue through the week.  This is being compared in our area to the drought of 1988, and I was old enough to vividly remember the heat and dry conditions.  I remember standing on our front porch, along with our neighbors, and being so excited because we were watching the rain move in.  For a fourteen year old to be excited about rain coming gives an idea of how bad it was that year.

Today my mother's family is arriving for a little reunion.  I'm the one that talked my mother out of having a large Christmas gathering (there were several reasons) so I feel obligated to try to "make up for it" and get everyone together now.  Hopefully all will go well.  If not, I'm sure that will become another post!

Hope everyone stays cool...just one more day until some relief!

No words needed

Okay, maybe a few words...sadly, this was the outdoor temp IN THE SHADE.

I've got to mention...

...that it's REALLY HOT here.  We've been embroiled in a heat wave for over a week now, but I've tried very hard not to complain.  This is made easier by the fact that I never left the house yesterday so I really didn't know how hot it really felt outside.  But let's be honest.  It's absolutely miserable.  I'm so grateful that my family can all be home together and I don't have to worry about them being elsewhere and making poor choices regarding their body temp and hydration (ie. scout camp).  Today we are projected to hit over 100 degrees.  At 10:00 this morning, the temp was already 87 degrees and it felt like 93 according to weather.com.  It's going to be a scorcher folks!

Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day!  My husband has taken the kids to the local parade in town, and later today we are headed to JR's Godparents' house for a cook out.  It will be nice to see many friends, but to be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to coming home and just hanging out as we head into the evening.  My husband would like to find some fireworks to go watch, but I'm pretty indifferent about that.  I would be just as happy watching them on TV with the Boston Pops.  Regardless of how exciting or low-key your holiday is, I hope everyone enjoys celebrating our country's freedom!

Fun with family at the pool

Yesterday my aunt hosted her annual family pool party.  The kids seem to have more and more fun each year!  This was the first year that none of the kids had to have floaties, and next year when HT can more easily touch the bottom, I'll feel fairly confidant about leaving them outside with their teenage cousins (and in fact, we'll have a teenager ourselves!).  I absolutely love the fact that even though the kids only see each other a few times a year, they all get along so well.  This year JR had an added connection.  The school he will be attending is the same school that two of his older cousins have attended in the last couple of years.  In fact, my cousin lives right around the corner from JR's new school and works at home.  These are some of the factors that are helping to ease my mind about sending my son to school 45 minutes away from me every day.  Anyway, I digress.  The pool party is always something that the kids look so forward to each summer, and so do I.  I'll be honest though, the day after, when they are so unbelievably tired, is NOT something I look forward to!