The beginning of dive

Tuesday evening was Robert's first dive meet.  Andrew was working there as a school district employee, and I was planning to be there in between dropping Thomas off and basketball practice and picking him up.  I now have a better idea of how this works...they do half of the swim meet, letting the (very few) divers dive, and then resume the other half of the meet.  There were seven divers all together, and Robert was the end of the rotation.  Andrew and I got to our seats just as Robert did his first dive (there are six rounds) and we heard his scores...4's & 5's.  We are so clueless about this that we had to ask a nice lady sitting near us how many points were possible (10).  The highest Robert was able to get from any of the three judges was a 6, and unfortunately there were some 3's thrown in there as well.  I reminded him though, that at his first track meet last year his discus throw didn't go 40', and his PR by the end of the season was 112'...so he's got plenty of time for improvement.  He was also the only one of the seven who had absolutely no experience with any of this before.  We are very proud of him taking these chances, and looking forward to whatever the season brings!

Diagnosis: bronchitis

Yesterday Andrew went to the doctor.  He wasn't feeling awful, but the cough he had been fighting had definitely turned into a bark.  The doctor feels he probably has bronchitis.  He is now on an antibiotic, steroid, and both daytime and a separate night cough medicine.  I am very, very much hoping that we can keep this contained to only him...Thomas goes downhill very fast when he gets sick and we don't want that to happen at the holidays!

A new fireplace

Today our fireplace is being rebuilt.  I am beginning to think we are not meant to live in a home with a working fireplace...although both of our houses have had them.  Our first house the previous owners had not used the fireplace.  We had it inspected and we decided it would be safest to install a new liner...not cheap, but the right way to do it.  The fireplace still never seemed to work quite right and as we continued using it, it seems as though the house filled with smoke.  One time I was outside and noticed the chimney was falling away from the house and that there were char lines at the top of the chimney.  Several thousand dollars later we had it all fixed, although we were informed that the liner (by then five years old) was done poorly, but things were safe.  Honestly, I don't remember if we ever used the fireplace after that or not.

When we moved to our current house, the previous owners told us they had used the fireplace all of the previous winter...and it certainly would've been nice to have it last winter!  But when Andrew looked into the fireplace after we moved in, he could see light...definitely not a good sign!  Because our town is near almost nothing, we had trouble finding someone who would come and do a service call, but we finally found someone to come this fall.  The entire back wall of the chimney needed to be rebuilt.  At first I really didn't want to spend the money, but Andrew did a good job of negotiating.  And since we don't live in town, I decided it's really not a bad idea to have an alternative heat source should the power go out.  Granted, it wouldn't be great, but it would be better than nothing.  The workmen are here today, and since it's finals week, Andrew and Robert will be home shortly.  It certainly will be nice when this is done...and just in time for a cozy Christmas hearth!

Not myself

I don't know if it is age or stress, but I am just not myself these days.  I used to be on top of things and know exactly what was happening, and what needed to happen at all times.  Now though, I'm slipping.  I certainly acknowledge there is more going on in life than we used to have to worry about, and the stakes are higher.  By that I mean that if a kid missed a practice, it was rec league and not a big deal.  Now, it's high school, and there better be a good excuse to miss practice.  I'm not complaining...high school sports have a business aspect to it and I totally get that.  It's just that I'm not feeling on "top of my game" these days. 

I acknowledge that I am 40 and that could be a part of it...I'm not getting younger!  But I also acknowledge in addition to my own household's activities, I also have other things going on in life.  I now have my Mom's doctor appointments on my calendar as well.  I haven't attended the ones with her this month as she is doing better, but some further complications have also developed, and while we still don't know where we are going with it and maybe there isn't much to worry about, it's in the back of my head.  Yesterday I was getting a new battery in the van and I suddenly had a realization...for the last 18-1/2 years, I've had a sick parent for all of it but four months.  It certainly hasn't been critical every single day, but it's always been there.  That perspective did help me to cut myself a little slack!

Finals week

Robert is experiencing his first ever Finals week.  I've spent my morning sending up prayers on his behalf.  He is a child who tends to have extreme testing anxiety, and the fact that this week is worth 20% of his entire semester grade is not lost on him.  It is not aided by the fact that he has put forth much less effort this quarter than he did the first quarter, and therefore is a little shakier with the material covered this quarter.  We sat yesterday and did flash cards, and he had a bit of a melt down (as an aside, I'm really tired of my children who are no longer toddlers having meltdowns).  I recognize part of the reason is because he was pretty tired, but without going into details let me assure you that part of the reason he is so tired is his own darn fault.  Regardless of any of this, I've been sending up lots of prayers on his behalf this morning.  Some of them are certainly just that we all make it through his teenage years, but most of them this morning are specific to his exams!

A pretty wonderful weekend

It was one of the most exhausting, and yet enjoyable, weekends I can remember.  Friday evening Thomas had a sleepover of some friends.  They were up pretty much all night and it certainly sounded as though the enjoyed themselves the entire time.  I was exhausted myself come Saturday, but I really did enjoy listening to them have so much fun.  Saturday morning everyone had rehearsals at church for yesterday's program, and then Robert and Catherine volunteered in the afternoon for the church babysitting session, Andrew had to work at basketball games, and Thomas and I were off to visit my mother and grandmother and deliver fruit Robert had sold to them.  Thomas pretty much slept all day, and ended up going to bed at 6PM and sleeping 14 straight hours.  Andrew didn't get home until after 9:30, but we enjoyed hanging out for a little while before trying to catch up on some sleep ourselves.

Yesterday was the children's program at church.  It was absolutely gorgeous and beautiful, and so moving that at one point there weren't too many dry eyes in the house.  It was a beautiful reminder of the real reason of the season and I just can't adequately express how great it felt to watch my kids be a part of it.  Thomas had a line to read, and Catherine and Robert played their instruments.  I truly enjoy watching Robert play the trumpet because he makes very comical facial expressions while doing so.

Our afternoon yesterday was spent watching both the Steelers and the Broncos win (I've always been a big fan, although it's not like it used to be).  Andrew spent all evening working on writing a final, and I helped Robert study (I'll post about that separately).  Thomas and I spent a little time reading Christmas books, and it just felt like a great way to begin the last ten days before Christmas!

Sometimes it is hard to write

That is the case this week.  It's been an absolutely crazy week, and it's been a tough week as the parent of a teenager.  The hardest part is the same poor choices over, and over, and over again, especially when I thought we had turned the corner.  I can deal with a lot of poor choices, but looking me in the eye and lying to my face is just not one of them.  Lots of prayers for guidance have been sent up this week, and I know that life overall is still pretty good.  It's just that these are not memories I particularly want to hold onto.