My girl is touring the high school

This afternoon Catherine, and all 8th graders, are touring the high school.  I'm so excited for her.  She is going to do great in high school, and I'm so thrilled for her.  The only downside of today is that Andrew is on a field trip with his anthropology students, so he isn't in the building to see her, and I know that she is a little disappointed.  I pointed out to her though, that she'll get to see plenty of him next year.  She is going to be in her Dad's class.  I had wanted this all along, and when she qualified for the Honors Social Studies class, we knew it was going to be either him or one other teacher.  We found out about six weeks ago that the other teacher is leaving, which is going to mean an uncertain/unknown teacher...and that sealed the deal.  I'm just so excited that they are going to get to share this next year together.

I'm going to be the mom of two high school students...how did we get here?  How did we get here so quickly?  It's just amazing.  I'm so grateful for the days we have together as a family.  They are precious!

Into the teens

As of right now (because all three kids are officially finished with school for the day) we are officially down to 19 days until school is out for the summer.  Strangely enough, the stay-at-home Mom seems to be the one the most excited about this.  That seems odd, don't you think?  I am absolutely certain that my Mom never was as excited as I am about summer coming.

I will foremost acknowledge my mom is an early morning person and I most certainly am not.  School begins very early morning (everyone in this house is up BEFORE 6AM), so the appeal of summer sleeping in is undeniable.  Of course there are those swim practices at 8AM every day for seven weeks, but that still means sleeping in an entire hour...every week day!!!!  So yes, the joy of sleep is definitely some appeal of the summer.

I also need to acknowledge that my mom and I are not living in the same parenting world.  This is going to sound like bragging, but I graduated 8th in my class and my sister was salutatorian.  That means there wasn't a lot of worrying my mom had to do about our school week.  That makes life carefree...I know because I have a very hard working student and I'm so grateful for her efforts.  Unfortunately, I have three kids and only one of those self-reliant students.  With Robert folks, honestly, we are just hoping and praying he graduates.  No, actually that is not "just" what we are doing.  We are nagging, prodding, pleading, cajoling, and sometimes even physically standing over him to get him to do his work.  I have no intention of doing this for the rest of his life and some might say I should let him learn the lesson now.  Sorry, really need this guy to graduate.  He has tools that I believe will allow him to be successful in life, but those tools do not translate into a traditional school setting.  We are cautiously optimistic that trade/skill based school next year will be a big step in the right direction for him.  We are also dealing with some personality traits that I won't publicize, but trust me when I tell you school, and the chromebooks they assign to each child, are not remotely helpful.  I also have to remind Thomas every day, over and over again, to pack his lunch.  Again, just let him forget a few times and he'll learn the hard way, right?  Not particularly.  He is a child prone to fainting, and although he has never been diagnosed with a specific blood sugar disorder, the only times we've ever had an issue is when he hasn't eaten.  To be honest, the kid is so easily distracted that sometimes he flat out forgets to eat.  And those days when it gets packed but left in the fridge? Yep...out the door I go.

The thing is, I really don't mind taking care of my kids and making sure they have what they need.  The tough part about school is the schedule, and the outside forces judging us for not doing "enough".  I get it though.  With all of the rather ridiculous requirements heaped on teachers, they NEED the parents to be actively involved.  If it is so necessary for the parents to be so involved because the teachers are judged by standards the kids can't live up to...maybe there is just something wrong with the entire system????

Regardless, nothing about the system or my kids' needs and personalities is going to change.  Nor am I suddenly going to become a morning person.  And that is why I am so very excited there are only 19 school days left in this school year!

Vacation reservations

This weekend we made vacation reservations.  To be honest, it wasn't the vacation we had originally planned, but Andrew and I are more excited about the way it's turning out.  Originally we had hoped to go to Disney this year, and that is why the last two years we had taken smaller vacations.  As the time approached though, there were several things that were causing problems.  Instead, we are returning to the Outer Banks, and we are absolutely thrilled.  It has been three years since we've been gone a week, and three years since we've gone to the ocean.  It's been five years since we've been to the Outer Banks, and for Andrew and I it is "our" spot.  It is where we took our very first vacation together when we will still just dating, and it is still our favorite vacation locale.  We've chosen a different community that we've never stayed in before and it has some community amenities that are going to be awesome for our family.  Because we are able to go so early in the summer, we are able to get a fabulous rate.  We are absolutely so excited about this trip, and the kids are definitely equally excited.  Our family needs this trip.  I need this trip for our family.  I'm grateful it give us all something to look forward to doing together.  I'm so grateful for this opportunity and this blessing!

Today is my Dad's birthday

Another year has rolled around and today is my dad's birthday.  To be honest, it has become one of my least favorite days of the year.  The fact that he isn't here to celebrate is all too obvious.  I couldn't help but think of my grandmother this morning and how tough this day must be for her.  After all, she is the one person on this earth who was there when he came into this world exactly 62 years ago today.  No one should ever bury their children.

On Saturday we were at my hometown celebrating my mother and sister's birthdays (April is a busy month).  My cousin asked if I could come by so I did, and then we stopped at DQ.  I only had Thomas & Catherine with me.  Robert had to work so Andrew stayed in town to transport.  After DQ, we stopped at the cemetery.  Strangely enough, seeing my father's name on the stone was actually less awful than it not being there.  I think maybe it was something to focus on other than the pile of dirt under which he is buried.  The stone has a fish by Dad's name and that pleased Thomas.  Catherine asked if my dad liked ice cream and when I said that he did, she and Thomas decided he might be jealous of them with their blizzards.  It made me smile.  My parents' stone is directly next to my maternal grandparents' stone, then we walked over to my paternal grandparents' stone.  Grandpa has a fish near his name as well, and Thomas hadn't realized that the tackle box he currently has belonged first to my grandfather and then to my dad.  Thomas was delighted!  Catherine asked about my Grandpa liking ice cream, and yes he did, even more so than my dad.  I can't say it was fun to be at the cemetery necessarily, but I am so grateful I got to share it with Catherine & Thomas.

For dinner this evening we are having fried chicken.  It has been a while, and it was something my dad absolutely loved.  I am grateful I'm able to do that.  I miss Dad so much, but he is still with us every day!

Missing my hubby

I'll be honest, I am missing my husband this week.  Don't get me wrong, we've actually seen each other quite a bit, but not nearly as much as we normally do.  Monday he didn't get home until 9:30 because he teaches a night class on Mondays.  Tuesday we were both at the track meet but not together, and it was almost 9:00 before he finished his responsibilities and came home.  Wednesday was a teacher recognition ceremony, and although he wasn't recognized, I still encouraged him to attend.  I thought it was important he do so, and it was about 8:30 when he got home.  Last evening was teacher development, and I was grateful he was home around 6:30.  Tonight I have to teach so it will be nearly 11:00 before I get home, and since I've volunteered to help the Boosters at 8:00 tomorrow morning I won't be staying up to much after arriving home.

Tomorrow evening though, we have nothing planned.  I can't tell you how I'm looking forward to hanging out not just with him, but with the family.  I really can't explain how much I treasure that time.  Sometimes I think it is too much, and maybe somehow I'm not being fair to the kids, but I really do love our time together.

I'm grateful for looking forward to tomorrow, and I'm grateful for this life my husband and I share...there just aren't enough words!

The head vs. the heart

I love these moments of my day when I am sitting in such peaceful serenity.  It is unbelievably quiet here and the only thing I can hear are the birds chirping (except for the occasional thud of furniture from the cats jumping when they realize a bird is right outside the window).  Since we've moved here, I've taken a great deal of comfort in feeling that this is exactly where we are supposed to be.  Our kids are in fabulous schools with many opportunities, my husband now has only a ten minute commute, we have support and resources available with Robert we most likely would not have had, and the natural beauty of living in this house is just amazing.  Yet, last evening I laid in bed and couldn't stop crying.  Our high school hosted our annual track invitational last evening.  Andrew ran the concession stand and I was in charge of the booster bake sale.  Our former school was there.  I can't tell you how much fun it was to see kids we hadn't seen in years, and I couldn't believe how some of them had grown.  Andrew and I were both able to chat with several of the kids, and I'm still at that point that where I know more of them than I do in our own town.  My head knows with certainty that this is where my family is supposed to be in our lives right now.  And yet, my heart was still wishing it could've worked out differently.

So peaceful

I just absolutely love this picture.  It was included on a CD that my aunt gave me this weekend of pictures from when she and my dad were kids.  I find the setting so serene and tranquil, and the fact that it shows my dad on the water is just icing on the cake.  This picture must be about 50 years old, but is truly timeless.

This is going to be one of our busier days in this pretty busy week.  Lately I've been going back to sleep after everyone leaves for school, but I was expecting someone to drop by between 7 & 8 this morning so I was up and 'em early.  One of the many blessings of our home is that the neighborhood is so very quiet.  The mornings are especially so.  I have spent the last hour+ just listening to the birds chirp and the squirrels scurry.  I can't think of many other more peaceful ways to begin the day!