Another week gone by in October

We are nearly half-way through October.  I'm especially excited about tomorrow's weather as the high may not make it out of the 50's.  My kind of weather!  I can't complain to much though, as it's been warmer during the days than I would prefer, but very cool overnight and no humidity at all.  I'm really ready to wear long-sleeved shirts though.

Last weekend we had a lovely dinner with the kids, my mom, and even my sister joined us.  We were at one of our favorite restaurants where they serve incredible loaded fries.  Andrew insisted on a burger, but the rest of us all ate the fries...and even ordered extras!  It was nice to have some time all together.

Catherine is really enjoying her new job, and even has a second job!  She has a significant amount of debt and is beginning to understand the consequences of her decisions.  It's been really nice having her with us during the week and it's been helpful.  She appreciates that she still gets to spend her weekends in her apartment, but this is all temporary.  She understands when her lease is up next summer that she'll be moving in with us until she can really get back on her feet financially.

We have made it through the fall sports season.  It wasn't quite as bad as previous years, except for last week.  Andrew had to work every single evening.  The last two weeks have also been really, really hard at my job.  We had a lot of staff illness and it really took a toll.  I was the only admin working two of those days, and the Head was out pretty much all week.  That made it really challenging to be able to help in classrooms when I was the only one in the office, and there were times I just wasn't sure how we were going to cover everything.  We did though, and thank goodness we had Friday off school!  I spent Thursday night at an AirBnB with our good friend who also had Friday off. 

I can't lie, it's been hard to write this year.  My stories aren't very exciting or entertaining, and my kids' stories are their stories, not mine.  And it's been a really hard year dealing with some things.  I still enjoying re-reading some of the memories I've written here, and hopefully I'll be motivated to be better at recording the future memories!

He's still my little guy

Thomas called me yesterday after getting a text from Catherine.  She just told him they were taking Lincoln to the vet.  He called me right away and wanted to know if Lincoln was okay.  I explained the situation, and he got really quiet.  We talked about how glad we were he would be reunited with our cats who had gone before him, and especially Rosie.  I was getting choked up and we were both at work, so it was a short conversation.

Thomas texted later in the evening and asked if they could come over.  Of course we said yes!  When they walked in, I walked over for a hug, and my "little guy" hugged me and clung to me for a bit.  I know he is all grown up and living on his own (and isn't really little), but my little guy was sad about the passing of our cat and needed a hug from his mom.

I love this phase of our life.  I love the life my husband and I have together, and I'm grateful for the family we've created.  And I'm so, so grateful my little guy still needed his mom.

We had to say goodbye to Lincoln today

One of our cats, Lincoln, passed away today.  It was a bit of a shock.  This morning, Andrew mentioned he seemed like something was wrong.  Catherine heard us, hopped out of bed and checked him out, then scooped him and took him to bed with her (she still had another hour+ to sleep).  He seemed to settle in with her.  Before she left for work, Catherine set him up in her room with a comfy bed, and his own food, water, and litter box.  He took a turn during the day, and when Catherine got home she instantly knew something was very wrong.  She said he sounded like he was gasping.  She called me sobbing, but I was in the middle of carline.  I had her call her dad.  He called the vet, who was willing to see them right away.  Catherine cradled Lincoln, went to pick up her dad, and then they went to the vet.  We all knew at this point that Lincoln wasn't coming home.  The vet said she heard a heartbeat when they first got there, and then he was gone.  She assured us that bringing him in earlier today would not have changed today's outcome.  I'm so grateful it happened fairly quickly and his suffering was hours instead of longer.  But I sure do regret I didn't think to be more aware when I left this morning and give him a quick pat on the head or tell him I loved him...because of course I did.  He'd been with us for eleven years starting when he was just nine-months-old with his sister Rosie.  Those two had to be adopted together as it was clear they had a special bond.  After she died, Lincoln lost a lot of weight, and he had lost his cuddle buddy.  We all agreed that we are so glad he gets to see her again.  My daughter's heartbreak is always the part that hurts the most, but I'll be honest, I'm pretty sad myself.  Losing our furry family members really sucks.

Pete Rose died

Last evening we learned that Pete Rose had passed away.  My sister let me know.  I really wanted to write, but I wasn't feeling well at all.  My sister and I share so many memories from our childhood that involve the Reds, and specifically, Pete Rose.  I remember being devastated when he started playing for the Phillies, and I was beyond thrilled when he came to back to Cincinnati from Montreal.  I vividly remember watching the game on TV the night that he hit #4192.  It's always sad to lose parts of our childhood.  So, so many memories.

September took forever...and also flew by

September has been a crazy, crazy month.  It's been a hard month on the work front.  I have spent a crazy amount of time on scheduling and trying to fill all the holes with a very small amount of subs, and last Wednesday we were three teachers short...on a day we also did school photos.  Insanity.  It's been exhausting.

Andrew has worked every Saturday at an athletic event, except for last Saturday when we had a family wedding.  His weeknights haven't been quite as bad as past years, but after a not-too-bad week this coming week, he will work every night next week.  That will lead up to about five weeks off though, so we can handle it.  And this season tends to be the worst season, so that's good news.

Catherine has a new job working in the public school district here.  She works about 28 hours a week, which is a good start, but she needs something else to supplement due to some other choices.  She is with us Sunday evening through Friday afternoon, and then goes to her apartment the rest of the week.  It's kind of like "reverse-college" living.  We call it adulting with guardrails.

Thomas has been in his new apartment for five weeks.  We are so grateful he has a place to live that is so close to his job.

After three weeks ago when the weather was absolutely gorgeous, it got hot again.  Really, really hot, like upper 80's and even some 90's.  The family wedding last weekend was an outdoor ceremony and a non air-conditioned reception venue.  Hurricane Helene struck Florida and came up to Ohio this weekend.  Western North Carolina was certainly not expecting a storm of that strength, and even here in Ohio, we had substantial wind damage on Friday afternoon.  We are on our third consecutive day of rain, but it was much needed as we were in a drought, and it was extreme.  Hopefully this is the end of the summer weather as we are headed into October this week.  I've enjoyed decorating for the fall, and I'm pleased that I've been able to have some candles lit.  I love, absolutely love the smells of fall, and I love that we'll have two months of fall decorations to enjoy.  I'm so grateful for the peaceful feelings that this season bring, because there have certainly been days when life has felt anything but peaceful lately!

It doesn't feel like it's been five years

It was five years ago today that we had the funeral and buried my Aunt Cathy.  It doesn't feel at all like it has been that long.  She is so missed.  I can still hear her laugh, especially when I see a picture.

A good friend recently found out he had a melanoma on his leg.  Gratefully, he didn't wait, and they feel like they got everything when they removed it.  He is quite a bit younger than us.

In some ways, I can't help but feel like five years ago was when the family really changed.  My grandmother had lost her youngest child, and things really changed with her outlook.  We all know that was a big factor in her passing less than six months later.  And that led to the break up of our family as a whole.

It doesn't feel like it's been five years. 

It doesn't get any better

Today is one of those days that, well, it just doesn't get any better.  A cold front came through last evening, and the temps dropped significantly.  Today's high was in the 60's, but still bright and sunny...an absolutely gorgeous day.  And of course, today is SATURDAY, the best day of the week!  And since it is in September, it means there is college football on TV.  It's literally an ideal day.  Andrew had to work this morning, but was home by mid-afternoon and has already completed his lesson plans.  The kids are both at their apartments, so it's just us and the pets.  Oh, we are loving this day!  I'm soaking up the entire day.  Tomorrow will also be lovely, and there will be NFL, but we have tons of things to accomplish.  The kids will be here for dinner though, so overall it's a wonderful weekend!