parenting

The more experience I have, the more I have to learn.

This is me and my honey in Chicago today. I love Chicago in the summer. There is so much to do, the weather was fantastic- sunny with a nice breeze from the Lake. Last night we went to see the fireworks on the Navy base here. I got a little choked up. The bandstand played all of the patriotic music, and they talked about soldiers across the world who would rather be home but they are out there serving their country and us. They dedicated the fireworks to those soldiers. The fireworks were beautiful!! They went on for quite awhile. I also enjoyed being on a military base again. I was raised on a military base, so I am used to clean lawns, having soldiers around, everyone calling me "ma'am", and being around people with a sense of honor and respect for authority. I felt safe there.

We went to the "Taste of Chicago" and tried foods from all of the famous restaurants in Chicago. They also had a 'foodie section' with gourmet food freshly prepared in white tents. It was fantastic!!

KJ decided to stay at home with his friends for this vacation. It is very odd to be here without him. But I am doing okay with it. I only cried twice. He is an adult now, and I don't want to make him go on vacation to Chicago if he doesn't want to. I just wish that he wanted to. But we are having a ball. Tomorrow.... Six Flags!!!!!!

I have been having a lot of back problems, and had to start taking pain meds from the nine hour drive here, and then all of the walking in Chicago. I am hoping that this will pass soon. I hate to be in pain, and I really don't like to struggle to physically keep up with my family. The last thing I want is to rely on pain meds to get me through the day. I don't want to end up on "Intervention" :-)

I haven't posted for awhile, so I am ramling on... more later.

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Summer

I haven't posted for while. Summer and reading are getting in the way of my blogging and facebooking. I can only imagine what my life would be like if I lived in a place where swimming was possible year round. Sunny! I have been having a rough time at work recently. I have been adjusting to changes, and adjusting to changes, and adjusting to changes for about... ohh... a year. I have a new co-worker that drives me crazy. Every time he opens his mouth I want to smack him or say sarcastically, "Really?!!" I don't want to go around talking about him, but at this point I need to start a support group for me and my other co-workers.

I have had some challenging supervisors in my past. Some that wanted to play all day and were exasperated when the work wasn't being done ("I know, let's go antique shopping!"). One that just did not like me or my 'young, fresh ideas'-but taught me how to follow the rules (or at least pretend really well that I was) and document, document, document. One that would purposely hold back information so that we all had to depend on her, but would stand behind you like nobody's business. And... now I have a grandmother. She is easily confused, wants to befriend us all, and doesn't really want to commit to any course of action. On the other hand, she totally understands when I freak out about things like "George is having a biopsy" or "Anna is sick". The scary thing (other than talking about my supervisor on a public blog.. duh.) is that I don't always have the guidance that I need to do my job well. I'm not sure what to do about that. I have a license to protect and a code of ethics to follow. I like her well enough as a person. I need a real mentor to grow though. I think I need to just stop going over it and leave it with God.

I am thankful it is summer, overwhelmed by the love of my friends, happy that I have several pools in my community and a daughter that loves to swim, and a healthy son that is drug free and loves the Lord. Oh! And two unopened bottles of my favorite wine. Woohoo!

Cousins and family

My brother Tim, sister in law FaDonn (who was my very best friend as soon as she married my brother), my niece Mariah, and nephew Andre came to visit for Mother's Day. Six of my mother's children were in one place with her. Amazingly, the earth did not crack open and swallow us, no one was arrested, and only a few people got drunk. Tim and fam stayed for a few days. We went to dinner, play putt putt, hung out. It was fun to spend that much time with family. By Wednesday I was exhausted. I learned an important lesson- there really are aspects that I love of each person, and I can be with them and observe the craziness without taking part in it. Woohoo! It took me about thirty years to figure out. I love my grown up nieces and nephews the most. They are hilarious! I like to listen to their wild stories and their experiences with my brothers and sisters as parents. My nephew Andre has my brother Tim's sense of humor- quick and sarcastic. Mariah has her mother's voice and my sense of synicism.

I am enjoying being a part of a big family for the first time in a long time (if ever). We are not calling each other every day and seeing each other every other week. However, I wish good things for all of them. That's a wonderful start.

Above there are pics of my mother and her six children- (back row) David, Tim, Davena, Howard. (front row) Sherri, Mom- Twila Faye, and me. The next picture includes all of the beautiful cousins in attendance. 10 cousins are missing from the photo. The next photo shows me and my little family.

More to share later.

Grateful

My friend posted this and it hit me right in the gut. Truth....


There are moments in life where one can only stand amazed at the good fortune that surrounds us, and say thank you to the Powers that Be. I'm at one of those times. Yesterday, I almost lost one of my very good friends. But I didn't. Yesterday, I had forgotten to look at the clouds and see what a blessing they are because they hold rain. Today, I am thankful for their shade. Yesterday, blue purple green insert your favorite color- looked different than today. Yesterday, life meant cleaning the house and doing laundry to get ready for graduation, and even though I believe the world is always a beautiful place, today there is a gentleness and fragility to the whole thing that makes me profoundly grateful to have the opportunity to be here.

In the past month, I have seen amazing music with the most incredible group of friends I could ever imagine having; finished my Master's degree; gotten a whole new hair thing going on; eaten chocolate; hooped in the rain; cooked tacos. I have hugged my children, my Sistah's, the people dancing across the aisles at the Dead whose names I don't even know... and I have been hugged back. I have made love, gotten pissed off and gotten over it, been nervous, been confident, been graceful, been clumsy, been exhausted, been energetic... I HAVE BEEN ALIVE.

It's not about the big things. It's not about the little things. It's about everything. It all matters. Love, vision, wisdom, beauty, grace, strength, and fierce compassion... these things carry me on my journey, and I wish them all to you on yours. May you wallow in the ecstacy of being alive.

Okay, so I am back from my wonderful vacation with my fantastic husband. This is one of the few pictures we took. We just weren't in the mood to take pictures this trip. This picture is with one of the waitresses at the minus 5 degrees club we went to. It is literally made of ice (bar, tables, walls, etc.) and is less that -5 degrees inside. We wore coats and drank from glasses made of ice. It was hilarious. You know I don't like to be cold but we had so much fun. We had a picture taken inside- I will post that later. Anyways, before you get mad at George, I asked for this picture. She was so cute in her little fur outfit. The customer service we experienced during our entire trip was fanastic!! I love good customer service, and am a good tipper. My mother raised us on tips from bartending and waitressing- both very hard jobs. I like to remember that when I tip people. They may have nine hungry mouths to feed at home. So... the customer service was wonderful on Frontier airlines ( I wholeheartedly recommend them!), at our hotel the MGM. We also spent time in the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace (HUGE), New York New York, Excalibur, Luxor and this picture was taken at the Mandalay Bay. We walked our feet off and lost some weight in the process. It was great!

All in all, I won about $90 playing my little slot machines. We also viewed a new television show scheduled to start this fall and gave our feedback. We were paid for our time and had fun being 'tv critics'. We are wierd and had nerdy fun doing this.

I will post more later- I need another nap to try to adjust to the time and lifestyle change.

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stay in the moment

I like to look forward to things: events, birthdays, new challenges. In doing so, I often miss the opportunity to enjoy today. So, today I enjoy my laptop, bringing out the summer clothes and shoes for the wardrobe shift, listening to Anna, and folding warm and clean laundry. I am so thankful for good friends that listen and do not judge, for big squeezing hugs, and the card I received from a client on Friday reminding me that my work makes a difference.

Today, Anna told me that her foot hurt. I said, 'Whaaaat?' mock surprised because something always hurts on that girl. She said, "I know, right?" She kills me.

KJ is looking forward to graduation. He completed his FAFSA and sent it to the correct school. About to put the grad announcements in the mail, and am planning his graduation party for May 30. I am enjoying my last days of mothering a minor.