I graduated from college thirty years ago today

Exactly thirty years ago today I graduated with my accounting degree.  I can't believe it's been THIRTY YEARS!  Where did all that time go?  I'm not going to pretend it feels like yesterday, but I'll be honest, my 20's don't feel like they were that long ago.  I have a photo of that day of my friends who came to my ceremony.  We'd been friends since high school, and in one case, even longer.  Those friends are all still part of my life.  It may not be daily contact, but we'd all be there for each other if needed.  Life has been full of so many blessings.

Mother's Day 2026

Mother's Day has arrived again.  It has arrived at the end of another school musical week, and that brings absolute exhaustion.  The Friday after the musical is always such a hard day, and I went to bed at 8pm that night.  I was supposed to spend yesterday working at my mom's house, but between my exhaustion and my allergies it felt like more than I could handle.  Andrew and I spent yesterday doing a bit of shopping instead, and today we literally just hung around the house.  I've been spending some time trying to get things organized (or reorganized), as well as cleaning.  Honestly, it's been exactly the day that I would choose.

I feel a little badly that I didn't see my mom this weekend, but we are seeing lots of each other these days.  Of course, I still wished her a 'Happy Mother's Day' today.  Andrew called his mom, and we are going to take our moms out to dinner at some point.  Catherine, Thomas, and Lyndi all texted today.  It was so sweet of them.  It was odd not to see any of my kids at all though.  And of course, as a parent, there is always the realization that I have three children and no contact with one of them.  Mother's Day also brings up all the memories of those years that I wanted so desperately to be a mother, and I also can't help but think about all of the moms that are no longer with us.  It just seems like a challenging day for so many.

I'm incredibly blessed to have my amazing kiddos, and I'm grateful for so many things.  I'm also incredibly grateful that there are only eight more days of school remaining!

This weekend was a wonderful beginning to May

This weekend was a really nice beginning to the crazy month of May.  Andrew and I were exhausted at the end of the work week and went bed at 9:30 on a Friday night.  We are not in our 20's anymore! :)

Saturday morning I got up and went up to help at my mom's house.  She wasn't feeling great, and I ended up not being there very long.  It was such a gorgeous day, and I decided to make a quick trip to the cemetery.  I miss them all very much.  That evening we had dinner plans we are best friends, and it's always a fabulously fun evening with them.

Sunday was another absolutely gorgeous weather day.  Catherine had been at our house Friday evening to help with some weeding and other outdoor chores, and Andrew wanted to finish trimming.  I worked in the garages and was able to make a good deal of progress.  Honestly, I was delighted to soak up the gorgeous weekend weather.

Today is the exact opposite of that gorgeous weather, but I don't really mind.  It was a quiet day at school, except for the very wet carlines.  But, it is the only evening I'm home this week, and I'm so very happy to sit in my house and watch the rain fall outside.

Only eleven more days of school this year.  We can do this!

A year of marriage

Today, Thomas and Lyndi are celebrating their first year of marriage.  It's hard to believe it has been a year, and it's crazy to think that we put on a wedding the week prior to my craziest week at school.  Holy moly.

I am so grateful that Thomas found Lyndi, and I'm incredibly grateful that she puts up with him.  They are so, so young, and I worry about that, but they truly do love each other.  Thomas was a bit of a putz in the beginning of their relationship, but I couldn't be happier that these two have found each other.

They took a trip this week to celebrate since they never really had a honeymoon last year.  I hope they have many, many happy years together!

This month took forever

I can't believe today is the last day of April.  Not because the month flew by, but because it feels like it took forever to get here.  I mentioned today to my co-workers that Easter was only 3-1/2 weeks ago, and we all felt that couldn't possibly be right.  I can only hope the summer moves as slowly as April. :)

Tomorrow though, May does finally arrive!  We only have fourteen student days remaining.  That doesn't make me sad at all.  In addition to all of the crap we have dealt with at school, life in the world, and especially our country, feels really, really hard.  Gas this week jumped an entire dollar and is $4.99/gal.  It's almost double what we were paying just six weeks ago.  This comes at a time when Andrew is starting to contemplate retiring from teaching, and when my school's enrollment was already struggling, and these gas prices won't help.  Things feel precarious.

I'm going to try to remember that each day, I "get to."  I get to wake up and spend the day with great kids and co-workers who are literally the best on earth, and then I get to come home and spend an evening in a house I love with my awesome husband and our fabulous pets.  And if I'm really lucky, I might even get to hang out with my kids from time-to-time.  I should wake up each day and be glad for whatever I "get to" do, so that is going to be my goal.   And the first day of May seems like a great day to start.

A beautiful day for my dad's birthday

Today is another year of not being able to celebrate my dad on his birthday.  It's an absolutely gorgeous day.  With a birthday at the end of April, I have so many memories of celebrating dad on perfect weather days.  Dad's birthday on a Sunday is particularly memorable.  As a child, Sundays were the only day might dad might not work.  I miss him more than I can even put into words, but I also know that anyone who has lost a parent understands what I mean.

There was a part of me that really thought Grandma might not wake up today.  It's hard to see her living the way that she is and the way that she never wanted to be.  I really thought maybe it would be too much for her to face another birthday of my Dad without him here, and that she would be ready to go see him.  Grandpa has been gone over 21 years, and I just suspect she is really to see them all again.

Andrew will be home in about an hour.  He and Thomas had a spectacular weekend together, and I know they loved getting to see Andrew's mother.  I know she loved having them.

I'm feeling emotional about a lot of things right now, and I can't help but feel some changes are on the horizon.  I'm working on holding on to a peaceful feeling and for being grateful for the blessings in life.

This is my kind of Saturday morning

This morning is so incredibly peaceful, and so incredibly needed.  As much as I love my husband, and as much as I do miss having my kids around more, this peaceful morning is exactly what I needed.  The three animals are all sound asleep here in the living room with me.  The weather is sunny and cool, and I can have the windows open and listen to the sounds of nature that are all around me.  I have plenty of things I want to get done and I'll get to them later.  There will be baseball on TV and maybe listening to some radio.  But for right now, I'm going to soak up every second of this quiet peace that I can!  And of course it is a Saturday which makes it all even better!