Need to catch up

 There are many things I need to write about!  We were on vacation two weeks ago, but that is definitely a post of its own.  My mother has been having some not-so-minor health issues, but that is also a post of its own.  The Reds are playing fabulous baseball, but that is for another time as well!  I'll be on to write again in the next couple of days as next week is another week off!

RIP Rockne

My sister's Old English sheepdog (her second) passed away this morning.  Rockne was such a sweetheart, and was really the perfect dog for my sister.  She was my sister's constant companion.  As ardent dog lovers, we are all so sad, and knowing how my sister's heart is broken makes me sad as well.  I'm sure she is over the Rainbow Bridge and enjoying lots of treats.

Puzzling

I'll be honest, I've realized that I truly love doing puzzles.  As my boss said to me this week, my mind is always thinking about how to solve logistics issues, and it's because I love to solve puzzles.  I've never really "allowed" myself to do puzzles.  For one thing, they aren't necessarily inexpensive, and I'm pretty cheap.  Secondly, when I my kids were home, it just seemed as though I really should be doing something else that was productive.  Now though, my kids are grown, and Andrew and I work really, really hard.  I've allowed myself to buy puzzles this past winter and spring.  In fact, I didn't really realize how many puzzles I had purchased until I went to organize the closet this week.  I buy very specific "themes" of puzzles.  And truly, these puzzles make me so, so happy.  I will only do the puzzles that fit the season, because I'm pretty neurotic that way!  I've also realized that I don't have to wait until I have a break from work to do a puzzle.  It's okay to take a little time each day to work on a puzzle.  I've purchased several (as it turns out) summer themed puzzles, and I'm looking forward to getting them completed!

Friday of a long weekend, and graduation

This is one of my favorite Fridays of the year.  I only worked a few hours this morning, and then my long weekend started!  It's also about the most gorgeous weather day you could imagine.  It was cloudless with a temp in the very low 70's, and no humidity.  And the fact that we have Monday off makes it even better.  It is spectacular!

I'd been looking forward to this evening especially.  Andrew was going to escort students at graduation, and Thomas was going because his girlfriend is graduating.  I enjoy the peace and quiet of the evening, and it gave me a chance to clean up the house a bit.  I did tune in to watch the graduation streaming online though, and it made me just a bit emotional.  These kids were freshmen when the pandemic hit, and this is the last class that I'll know.  I really like my job and I'm so grateful for it, but I also really enjoyed my days spent at the high school.

We have some fun plans this weekend, and yet nothing on Monday, so it seems like an ideal weekend!

I made it through another school year

Today was the last day of school for the students at my school.  Andrew still has two more days.  I am so, so grateful to be looking at twelve weeks of summer.  I get to just enjoy my office job, and there is much less chaos during the next twelve weeks.  I'm especially grateful that we don't have to worry about staffing issues.  I get to go in later tomorrow that a school year, and I'm looking forward to some extra sleep!

It was the best

There are many things I want to write about, but I want to make sure I write first about last evening.  I don't ever want to forget our evening together as a family.

I had asked Catherine in the middle of the week if she wanted to come and stay over last night.  She responded that it sounded like fun and she wasn't working this weekend so she'd be here.  Three of us had a grad party to attend in the afternoon, so we agreed a later afternoon arrival would work.

The last several times she has come, everyone has just sat around looking at their own devices, so I'll be honest, I didn't have very high expectations for the evening.  I couldn't have been more wrong though.  We decided to go out to eat, but first stopped at our local nursery to purchase some flowers.  Dinner was at a pizza place, and we had lovely conversations.

For Mother's Day, I had asked that I receive a small badminton set.  I love that game, and even at my age I still wanted to play.  I know that I need to keep myself moving, or one day I won't be able to!  Andrew took the dog on a walk and Thomas put everything together for me.  Thomas and I hit some practices swings, and we laughed and had a blast.  When Andrew got home, he and Catherine came out to join us, and I couldn't believe how much we all laughed and enjoyed ourselves.

We weren't done yet though!  As it got dark and we came indoors, we all wanted to know what our next activity would be.  It was so sweet how much the kids were enjoying it just as the adults were!  We decided to play a trivia game that is based on generational questions.  It was so fun to realize what our kids pay attention to, and they truly enjoyed the game just as we did.  We had soooo much fun.

Because I'm still fighting gunk and goop, it was nearly bedtime for me by the time we were finished playing the game.  We had an absolute blast, and the best part was that the kids did as well.  We'll be leaving for vacation in three weeks, and I know that we are all looking forward to it.  I love hanging out with my kids as adults!

It's been awhile

It's been almost three weeks since I've written, and they have been some of the three busiest weeks I've had in a very, very long time.  In fact, my three least favorite days of the school year occur within nine calendar days in May.  Last night was the last of those three days. The reason I don't love those days is that they require 3-4 additional hours of work into the evenings, and preps for receptions.  It's just a lot.

On top of that, I was the sickest I've been in years last weekend.  I could feel it coming on the Thursday before, but that was one of the crazy long days and I needed to push through.  The next day, I needed to be at work because the Head of School was out.  I made it as long as I could, and by mid-afternoon I was out of there.  By that evening I knew I was really sick, and was running a fever of 101.  Andrew woke me up Saturday morning so I could get to Urgent Care early, and I had Thomas drive me.  That's how sick I was!  Thomas had been there earlier in the week, and sure enough I had it too.  I stayed down all weekend, and all of Monday.  I tried going in on Tuesday, but woke up with a migraine, and then went in just long enough to grab some papers for home.  Tuesday afternoon things finally "broke", and I couldn't believe how much better how I feel.  I worked 1/2 day Wednesday, and I've been dragging all week, but we made it to the weekend!  I even made it through the longest day of the school year last night.

We are down to three days left, and I hope I can get on here and post more often as things begin to settle!