We have lived in this house ten years

It's been ten years since we moved into this house.  That feels just astonishing to me.  How on earth did time pass so quickly?  I am certain most of our friends can't believe we function in such a small house, but the thing I love is that our small house allows us to have a small house payment.  I am all about that!  There are so many wonderful memories here, and I'm so grateful for this piece of earth we get to care for.  Even though moving was stressful all those years ago, this move was full of so many blessings, most of which we couldn't even imagine when we made the decision to move.  I love the life we have lived in this house.

A great beginning to our year

Today was a very peaceful beginning to our school year.  It was a beautiful weather day.  We made the difficult decision last spring to discontinue our high school program after the third year.  It wasn't sustainable, and we had no idea how mentally and emotionally draining it was on top of being financially draining.  We love being back to our roots, and we love our community.  

I also enjoyed that Thomas was able to come to school and work after school care for us.  He'll be helping us out for the next couple of weeks.  It's fun to have him around for that.

Andrew also had a good first day.  Working full time without parenting, even just one teenager, is different.  I'm grateful for this phase, even if I do miss having little kids to celebrate the first day of school!

The school year begins tomorrow, and it's different

There are so many changes to the school year this year.  Most of them are specific to our public schools, and especially to Andrew.  Because our school levy failed last fall, there is no longer any high school busing.  That is going to make the arrival and departure quite a mess.  On the upside, because they are no longer reliant on a two-tiered busing schedule, the school is able to start later.  It won't really impact Andrew though, because he has no intention of being a part of the arrival mess!

It's also a little different in our family as well.  A year ago tomorrow, we were taking Thomas to college.  This year, that isn't the plan.  We weren't overly surprised to learn that it wasn't for him.  It looks as though he is going to take training to receive a CDL and be a professional driver.  I won't lie, my kids and driving is a huge anxiety trigger for me, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to increase my medication.  At the same time, I can't at all say I'm not proud of him.  I'm thrilled that he has realized what would be best for him, and I'm pleased that he is making wise choices.  It's a little strange having him around again, but I suspect that won't last long, depending on what job opportunities await after the training.

There is also Catherine, who is doing things differently.  I won't lie, the last year has been a real struggle for her, and she is having trouble finding her "thing."  She really loves being a CNA (STNA), but her size is proving to be detrimental.  Not that she can't do it, but there are definitely some who decide she can't even before she tries.  Things might take her a bit longer, but she does get them done.  There are also family members of some of the patients who didn't want Catherine being the care-giver, which we think is because she looks like she is only about 15.  It's not fair, but we are pretty sure this is the reality.  Catherine was originally going to take classes for being an LPN, but that didn't really appeal to her either.  She decided to take classes for a certification of medical assisting, which will allow her to read vitals, take blood, etc.  She started classes for that last evening, and she also has a job working two nights a week.

It's kind of strange that none of my kids have a traditional "first day", but that is the phase of our life.  My kids aren't kids anymore.  They are adults, and I'm proud of them.  I love them more than I can even put into words, and I'm so incredibly grateful to be their mother!

Here we go school year!

Thirty years ago today

It was on this date in 1993 that a very dear high school friend was diagnosed with leukemia.  I'll never forget receiving that phone call, and I'll never forget all of the emotions that happened in the next week before most of us returned to college.  To be honest, it bonded us in a way that is indescribable.  I'm so very grateful that my friend is still around and this day can be a celebration.  It seems so hard to believe that it's been 30 years though.  It definitely feels like a long time ago, but I just can't believe that I had year of college under my belt and it's been 30 years since it happened.  I feel old.

It was also on this date in 1996 that my family began to really understand that my dad was really, really sick.  He was around for another 17 years, and I'm so grateful for all the memories we made in that amount of time.

Andrew and I start with students this week on Wednesday.  This summer was amazingly fast, but I'm ready for another school year!

My mom's health

 I haven't written much about my mom and her health.  We learned in the spring that my mother has a cancerous tumor on her kidney.  The surgery had been planned in June to remove the tumor, although the doctor had stated in April he was completely fine with waiting until fall if she had big summer plans she didn't want to miss.  Because my work schedule is more flexible in the summer, Mom opted for surgery as soon as scheduled.

The afternoon before we left for vacation, Mom suffered what was thought to be a heart-attack.  I phrase it that way because while most cardiologists agree, there is one that does not.  She feels it was a "heart event".  My family, including my mother, assured me that we should go ahead and take our vacation.  The surgery for the kidney was scheduled for the week we returned.  The morning of the scheduled surgery, Mom received a phone call that the surgeon was not comfortable performing surgery on Mom.  Because he had been comfortable waiting in the first place, he felt it would better to wait, and even to do another scan before scheduling surgery at any point.  That was the plan.

Last Sunday night at 11:30 the phone rang.  Mom was asking if Catherine was with us.  When I replied that she was, Mom said that she needed Catherine due to a health issue.  At first I thought she wanted Catherine to take care of her given the nursing background, but soon I realized that Mom was heading to the hospital and Mom wanted Catherine to take care of the dogs.  I decided I was driving up because not only did I not want Catherine driving by herself that late at night, Mom needed someone at the hospital with her and my sister couldn't be reached.  I made the trip up and got to the hospital about 1AM.  At 6:30 mom was finally admitted and I made the drive home, getting home about 8AM, having been up for 24 hours at that point.  Andrew made a trip up mid-afternoon to retrieve Catherine.

Mom was released later that day.  There is agreement that there definitely is a heart issue, but there is still uncertainly what is happening.  Follow up appointments are in the future, and any prayers are appreciated!

The last week of our summer

School begins with students in five day for both Andrew and myself.  Summer flew by, but so does the school year.  I have to say though, August already feels like it has been a forever month.  I think back to two weeks ago, and it seems impossible for me to believe it was only two weeks ago.

My mother-in-law was here for the past week.  It was lovely having her visit.  Catherine was here for five days at the same time, which meant lots of family time.  We had some dinners out, some fun TV, had dinner with my mom and sister, and just enjoyed hanging out.  Of course, Andrew and I also had plenty of meetings and school events to handle, but we really enjoyed having her here.

There have been some crazy things happening, and I'll write about them soon.  Today though, as we stare at the end of our summer, I'm just going to be grateful that we had time together and had the fun that we did!

Eating a memory

I'm going to be totally honest, our house is on the "struggle bus" a bit.  I'm sure everything is going to be just fine in the long run, but there have been some challenges.  Today I had to take Thomas to a doctor appointment.  My sister had let me know that my grandmother was struggling to work her computer so I headed there after Thomas's appointment since we were so close.  Grandma was not having a great day, and it was tough to see.  After we left, I decided to hit this small burger and ice cream stand on the way home.  I hadn't been there in at least twenty years, but my dad used to take us when we were really little.  They had the best soft pretzels.  Thomas ordered a shake, and I wanted a soft pretzel and a root beer float.  I bit into that soft pretzel, and (although they were smaller!) it tasted exactly like I had remembered.  I'll be honest, I had to fight tears.  I wanted to pick up the phone and tell Dad that they still tasted exactly the same.  In just a few months, Dad will have been gone ten years.  I can't believe it's almost been an entire decade.