I was definitely cut out to be a boy mom

This weekend 100% reaffirmed what I already knew...I am definitely cut out to be a boy mom.  It was the prom for our high school, and since Thomas's girlfriend is a senior, they went last night.  He got a tux two weeks ago, and paying for that was literally the most effort I put into the weekend.  I was horrified yesterday afternoon when I realized I hadn't thought about a corsage, but Thomas had already taken care of that as well.  We showed up for pictures at 4:30, they hung out at our house between dinner and the dance, and then we took them to after prom.  We didn't want them driving home in the middle of the night (3AM is the end time).  I did that middle of the night drive, and then I couldn't fall asleep.  Just as I was about to be asleep, the power went out, and the lack of white noise woke me up.  Then when it came back on, that woke me up as well. 

Honestly, I just don't love the whole thing.  When I got married, I didn't have my hair done or my nails done, or my make up done.  I couldn't even begin to imagine spending that kind of money on something I absolutely didn't care about.  Catherine's only prom was the "make up" event that was thrown in 2021.  Thank goodness for a dear friend who came over and wanted to do Catherine's hair and make up.  It just isn't my thing at all.  In fact, Prom weekend is not among my favorite as I don't love being awake in the middle of the night for transportation either!

Regardless of all of this, I wouldn't trade my daughter for anything!  Hopefully I haven't scarred her by not being a great "girl mom!" 😁

There's been a lot going on

I know I've been pretty quiet through April.  There's been a lot going on, and it wasn't all good.  Now awful, but not all good.  My grandmother has had some health issues, and it's had a dramatic impact on how she lives.  It doesn't have to, but she has allowed it to do so.  Because she has begun to isolate herself, she is becoming more and more confused.  She qualified for Hospice Care, which we are very grateful for as it meant she didn't have to move.

My mom has also been having some health challenges.  There had been some issues with her kidneys, and after various test it was determined last week that she has a spot on one of her kidneys that is cancerous.  My mom has been obviously stressed by this, but she did receive good news this week.  We learned that she can have surgery (and there is no rush to do so), and that should take care of it.  I know she was tremendously relieved not to be facing rounds of treatments.  It made the fact that her appointment began 2-1/2 hours after it was supposed to happen worth the wait!

Thomas is officially home from college for the summer.  I picked him up yesterday.  I'm not going to lie, he has really, really struggled with college this year.  He has struggled academically, he has struggled socially, and he has struggled emotionally.  As a parent, it has been so hard to watch.  I can't fix things for him, and I shouldn't fix things.  All I can do is be here and let him know I love him, and of course pray.  Definitely lots of prayers.  Yesterday when he got home, he was so grateful that he was finished and home he brought out his stuff dogs.  Oh, that tugged at my heartstrings!  

There have been a few other things, but they are much less dramatic.  I know that May is going to be absolutely crazy, but I"m so excited about the summer that will be at the end! 

This date is always hard

Today is my dad's birthday.  He would be 69-years-old today.  More than any other day of the entire year, this is the date on which I miss him.  This is the day that is supposed to be all about celebrating him, and he isn't here.  I don't love this date, but I'm grateful Dad was a part of my life for forty years, and that I celebrated him as much as I could on each one.  I vividly remember his 39th birthday.  It was my first year at college, and he was going on a work trip.  It was early in the "cell phone" era, and calling outside of the cell range was pricey.  I woke up really early so that I could call him shortly after he hit the road.  I remember how pleased he sounded that it had mattered so much to me.

It's a beautiful, absolutely gorgeous spring day, but it is still a day that hurts.  It's been a rough month overall, and I hope to soon write about things happening in our lives and catching up!

Another week in April

Andrew has left to take his mother back to her house.  I'll be honest, I was really looking forward to the quiet time in the house.  My MIL is truly a lovely person, but it's just hard when she's here and I feel like I don't have any time to myself.  She laughed quite a bit at all of the craziness that happens with the pets here, and she laughed quite a bit as we continued to show her our shows.  Catherine came for another night during the week, and Thomas was here again for the weekend.  In less than two weeks, Thomas will have completed his freshman year of college and be home for the summer.  I'll be honest, I'm not sad about that.

We had fabulous weather all week, and we spent Thursday evening at Andrew's baseball game.  They played a local powerhouse, and lost big.  On the upside, it was a quick game that way.  It was Andrew's third game of the week, which also adds to the challenge of having his mom here.  I was swamped with work during the week, and this week is going to be even crazier.

I'm hoping I can being to write a little more frequently, although I'm not altogether sure I know what to write about.  The kids are grown and living their own lives.  I'm so grateful to be their mother!

Catching up on our lives

I didn't mean to have a two-week gap without writing!  Life has been busy, but mostly a good busy.

Right after I last wrote, Andrew and I made a trip to Tennessee to visit family.  Although we see them at least once a year, and usually more often, we hadn't been down to their place on Norris Lake in nearly nine years.  We had never been there this time of year either.  We noticed how it was definitely more spring down there then it was here at the time.  The hard part was that we had no cell connection, and I didn't love that my kids couldn't get a hold of me.  We ended up coming home that Friday evening instead of Saturday morning, and honestly, that was the best decision for a variety of reasons.  It gave us a lovely weekend at home, and we didn't have to travel in tough weather.

Baseball is in full force around here with Andrew's team.  I haven't been to any regular season games yet, but I'm sure I will this week.

Today is Easter.  It's been a very lovely day.  We were able to attend our church this morning as Andrew took his mom to a very early service.  My mom and her friend joined us here this afternoon for dinner.  Catherine had come home yesterday and Thomas was home since Thursday night and Andrew took him back this evening.  I loved that they were her together, even if only for 24-hours!  My heart feels full in so many ways.

A fabulous end to this week off

This week has been wonderful.  I am so grateful I had this week and that it went as it did.  Monday was spectacular.  I never left the house.  Tuesday was similar, but I did go to Andrew's baseball scrimmage that evening.  We grabbed Mexican out afterward.  Wednesday I went to the office to get some things done and also worked at church for a bit.  Andrew's game for that evening was cancelled, and it was so nice to be able to hang out together for the evening.  Thursday, I had to take my grandmother to an appointment, and then I did some shopping in my hometown.  Friday I ran a few errands and also did some more shopping.  I picked Thomas up from work, and he was off almost two hours early.  It was awesome to be home so early that evening.  Andrew had no practice or anything, and he had dinner waiting for us (re-heating pork I had made the night before).  We enjoyed having Thomas around and watching basketball.

The weekend was the perfect ending to the break.  We made a trip east yesterday in order to visit friends.  It is always a wonderful evening spent with them.  Catherine had arrived home while we were gone, and it was lovely to be able to spend some time with both of our kids before we went to bed.  I also loved knowing that the kids had spent the evening together.  Today we gathered with my mother, sister, and dear family friend to celebrate the friend's 50th birthday.  We grew up together, and his parents are both gone.  He never married and his brother and family live in South Carolina.  It was important to me that he be celebrated.  We had such fun together.  Andrew took Thomas back to school, and Catherine is spending the night with us again.  This weekend has made my heart so very full.

Andrew told me this morning that he was sorry I had spent so much time alone during my break.  It was exactly what I needed though.  This week, Andrew has his break, and we've been invited to spend time visiting family at Norris Lake.  I am very much looking forward to this.  I told Andrew I feel a little badly for imposing on his break, but we know we will enjoy this.

My cup runneth over, and I'm very grateful!

This might be my favorite day of the year

I am on spring break.  It is a break that could not be more needed.  Work has been crazy, and as my boss put it, logistically challenging on nearly a daily basis.  Last week I was standing in a classroom trying to determine whether or not we were going to be able to have school in that classroom because there was no water in the building due to plumbing issue.  One of the teachers said to me that she was sorry I was dealing with that, and my response was that I was sorry it wasn't the worst thing we were dealing with that day.  That would've been the long-time student who needed to be suspended.  Yep, lots of stress.

But now, we are off on an entire week.  It was a fun weekend with all basketball, all the time.  There were some good upsets, and I enjoyed the fact that I really had nowhere to be all weekend, except for taking Thomas back to college yesterday.

I had trouble sleeping last night, and I allowed myself to really sleep in this morning.  I've had nowhere to be today.  It really felt like a perfect day, and a day just entirely for me.  The sun is shining, and it's just been an amazing day.  Andrew has a baseball scrimmage, so he won't be home until about 7:00.  I needed this day that was just 100% for me.  I need to get to the office for some payroll later this week, and I need to take my grandmother to a doctor appointment, but today is absolutely nothing.  I can't even describe how relaxing my day has been.  And it's just the beginning of the break!