First World Problems

The first day back after a long weekend is always a little crazy, just because of the catch-up stuff that always ensues from things coming in over the weekend.  But on top of the "normal" craziness, I also had to deal with a dying router - the wifi is working fine but the wired ports are dying out.  I wasn't really sure, until I got up this morning, whether I would be able to work from home (as I have for nearly 4 years) or if I would have to actually prepare myself for the public and go in to work from the office (which I really dislike having to do).  Fortunately for my sanity, the router decided to behave and I was able to stay home in my PJs and get my work done.

As first-days-of-the-week go, I've had worse.  I've also had better.  At one point I told someone (either Lauren or Josh - I don't remember) that I thought Tuesday was making up for us having the day off on Monday by being extra obnoxious.  Overall tho, I finished the day with decent production numbers and even managed to make my bed, finish my laundry, and make dinner on my breaks and lunch. I was able to get off at 2:30, and without a drive home, have had about 90 minutes to decompress before the kids get home from school.  I have taken full advantage of this time - took a shower to decompress and clear my mind, cleaned out my bathroom cabinet and re-organized that stuff into the main closet (its amazing how many bottles of shampoo can get lost in the back of a cabinet!), and now I'm sitting here typing while dinner finishes up in the crock pot.

And it struck me that I've been kinda complain-y lately.  I don't handle technical frustration very well - I expect tech to work, and when it doesn't, I get grouchy.  But really ... we have our "basics" covered ... which are really a lot more than most of the rest of the world has.  A house - it's not huge but certainly not small, and it has a good yard and a nice basement that (usually) doesn't flood.  Plenty of food - we buy in bulk and eat cheap, but we never go hungry.  Three cars - some would call that a necessity with three teens!  We are able to go to Six Flags for fun and St. Louis to visit family; we have computers that allow us to play online games with friends from around the world; we have a microwave and a washer/dryer and a dishwasher and multiple other modern conveniences.  Re-organizing my closets to simplify and condense my stuff made me think ... how much of the world has enough "stuff" that they even "need" closets ... plural ... to store it in???

So ... I really am thankful, and I really just sometimes need to remember that I have more than most, and not complain so much when some of those things aren't working like I want them to.  I'm not saying I'm going to pare down to the absolute essentials and go live in a tent with a bicycle ... but there are people in the world who will never know more than that, and others who have as much as (or more than) I do but are forced to leave it behind or face death.  With that in mind, I've decided there is a lot in my life/house that I can live without - what do you have?

That was fast ...

Is it really almost the end of August?  Second week of school?  Where did the summer go?

I just realized that I haven't written anything since April - when I got my Pony.  I guess we were just that busy having fun!  So I will attempt to recap, if for no other reason than to have the written memories for myself (I often wonder who - if anyone? - reads my stuff!).  Nothing profound or earth-shaking tonight, folks.

May was the end of school - lots of last minute assignments and finals and (for Daniel) prepping to move to a different school. We had a year-end class trip to Six Flags, and a (only slightly) teary goodbye to LMS with Harlem Renaissance and the Moving Up Ceremony.  I think Ashleigh and Michael were just ready to be done :P  We also arranged a Gathering for our gaming buddies ... I was thrilled to see Dave & Dom, Dan & Rachel, and Josh for Memorial Day weekend.  We basically hung out in St. Louis all weekend - City Museum, Six Flags, Ren Faire ... personally I had a blast!

June ... June was a rough month.  That was the month I declared war on the arachnids in my immediate territory.  After counting over twenty "insurgent strike attempts", we called Orkin to clear the area and set up a perimeter defense.  A few suicide runs have come close since then, and one very large soldier - possibly even a 5-star general - made it within 12 inches of me.  But I have prevailed, and the overall number of attempts has dropped significantly.  A recent surge of activity may signal a need for a renewal of the perimeter guard tho.

At the end of June I went to YFN for my fourth time.  I didn't take any of my own kids - so I was able to focus a little more on "my" girls.  We figured out early on that there was something big in store - the train was late picking us up in Springfield, lost more time on the way to Dallas, and took so long to get our luggage sorted that we almost missed check-in at camp, then a couple of the girls had a fairly large dramatic blow-up one night.  After a chat with the leaders and each other, all was sorted and made well and many of the kids had breakthroughs the rest of the week.  We came back and proceeded to have an awesome summer at youth with interns and events and parties and outreaches!

The kids and I took a couple trips to Six Flags in July and August - we saw Third Day, but missed Mercy Me (Family Force 5 in a couple weeks!!!).  We learned how to do it cheap by packing lunches (the kids weren't thrilled about that but I insisted on not spending the ridiculous amounts on park food) and refilling bottles with *water* instead of junk soda ... better for you anyway!  One of the trips was the annual youth group trip, which started out a little sketchy because it rained on us the entire drive there.  But it cleared up just as we got there and stayed dry the rest of the day - and then *dumped* some serious rain on us on the way home again.

School has started now - Ashleigh's senior year, Daniel's freshman year.  There was a bit of an issue with Ash's schedule but it got worked out to everyone's satisfaction, allowing for all three of my kids to be in the same gym class next semester.  That may or may not be a good idea ... friends have said things like "that will be one heck of a dodgeball team".  As big of a school as SHS is, I must say it surprises me that a senior would have so many classes with a freshman and sophomore ... she shares at least half her day with one or both of her brothers!  Of course she is also driving to school this year, which allows a little more flex in my work schedule - I don't have to be off to go get them from school.  Final cool school thing ... free breakfast and lunch!  Some schools had it, and there was the income-based program, but now the entire school district has free meals for all kids, period.  No more lunch checks!!  It's a little ridiculous how excited I got over that letter.

This weekend we get to help celebrate Aaron and Ariel as they get married - I've only known Ariel since Christmas 2013 but man she is one really cool person and I love seeing the two of them interact and play off each other.  *Really* looking forward to seeing the growth in the youth group with having a married couple pastoring!!

So, I think that's it for catching up ... I hit the highlights anyway.  I'm watching and listening as some really neat looking clouds roll in, hoping we get a good storm but kinda not expecting to.  The cicadas are singing, the house is quieting down ... tomorrow is Wednesday and then it'll be almost Friday and then Friday will be here with a short day which always makes it feel like a long weekend on top of Labor Day making it an *actual* long weekend ... I may even go to bed early tonight.

Thoughts ...

Today is my eldest's birthday.  Ashleigh is now 17 ... still can't quite figure out how that went by so fast.  Seems to go faster every year too.  For her birthday dinner, Josh told her it was her choice - she could go anywhere in town, take any or all of the family ... whatever she wanted.  She chose to stay home and have him cook - said he's the best cook in the city :)  I kind of have to agree ... but it's nice to have time to just sit and chat while someone else waits on us, which is why I generally choose Bella Milano.  She treated us to a movie tonight in the "new" family room - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  I had seen the previews but just hadn't gotten around to the movie - she loved it and insisted on watching it.

Earlier today, I was looking at copies of the kids' birth certificates that I had to get for insurance verification stuff and noticed the times of their births.  Each one came a little earlier in the day - Ash was 3:15p, Michael was 10:47a, and Daniel was 7:55a.  As I looked at those times, all side by side, I was struck by a little correlation I had never realized before.  Ashleigh is most like me in her sleeping habits ... she likes to stay up late and sleep in, but she's *able* to get up and get moving when needed.  Michael moves a little slow in the mornings, usually has to be coaxed out of bed, but almost never is in bed past 8 in the morning.  Daniel ... he's the oddball child who is up no later than 6 am nearly every day, regardless of weekday/weekend or what's going on (or not!).  So at least in our family, it would appear that the earlier in the day you are born, the earlier of a riser you are in the morning.  I'm curious how other families are?

My lilac bush has decided to bloom in somewhat spectacular fashion ... there are little buds all over it!  I'm really looking forward to seeing the soft purple cascading down the sides.  Last year's one little bunch showed me she wasn't dead, but man I missed the color!  The rest of my flowers are sprouting and throwing a lot of green up into the red mulch, but only one (so far) of my tulips has a little bud.  It should blossom in a couple days, by the looks of it.  That's one of my favorite parts of spring ... watching the flowers peek out.

My other favorite part is the neighborhood waking up.  Right now, the kids are all outside playing basketball with Josh - he got the hoop fixed and, as dark as it is, they are out there with spotlights and extension cords, playing with several of the neighbor boys.  They are all hollering and calling shots and fouls and generally having a blast, and it's after 9.  Another month or so and they won't even need the spotlights and extension cords :)  I could listen to them play all night - I always wanted to have "that" house ... the one where the kids all congregate and know they can have fun and be safe.  I love being in a neighborhood that we can do that!!

When God tells you to wait ...

A few months ago, I received some news at work that I did *not* like.  I was very upset, angry, and frustrated.  I'll be honest ... I had to clock out and take about an hour to calm myself down - I was that upset!!  I felt that I simply would not be capable of working under this new sitution, so I immediately talked to the appropriate people to try to get some changes made.

Well, I was essentially told to stick it out for a bit and see what happened.  Of course I didn't like that idea - I wanted things my way!!  So I ranted and raved at home and to my friends and checked job postings to see what else there was that would get me out of this situation.  Then I heard a song on the radio.

Now, God frequently uses music to talk to me ... I will hear a phrase in a song that applies to something going on in my life. I have heard this particular song many many times ... and it's a good one, but it never "said" anything to me specifically.  This time, the part that caught my attention - what really smacked me in the face - was this:

I'm gonna make you stronger
Hold on just a little bit longer
Cuz I'll be there
When you feel like you're going under
I'm gonna be there for you
(Royal Tailor: Remain)

Boy did I ever feel like I was about to fall off a cliff... like I couldn't hold on.  But God told me to wait and that He was still there with me.  Okay ... fine.  I've dealt with worse, right?  And as a reminder, about a week later, after I had a little time to calm down and get a little bit of experience under the new system, I heard another one ...

I won't give you more, more than you can take
And I might let you bend, but I won't let you break
And no, I'll never let you go.
(Group 1 Crew: He Said)

Got it.  Wait, deal, be patient.  So I stopped trying to get things changed and just dealt with it ... but I kept an eye on job postings anyway.  A while later, I got an interview scheduled for another position.  It was a lateral move, but I figured that was acceptable and would at least give me additional experience in a related area, and that could always help down the road.  Just before the interview, things changed again to what I had actually been angling for before.  But I already had the interview set up, so I went ahead with that route to see where it would lead.  A short time later, I was offered the position and told that, while it would technically be a lateral move, it would still come with a pay increase and, best of all, confirmed that I would still be able to work from home.  I've been in my new role now for 5 weeks ... and it's a *much* better fit for my abilities and preferences.

All this to say ... even when things maybe look awful, if you think you just can't take it and you want it to change ... if God tells you to wait and see, do that!  I could have gone on and pushed for change, but it would have probably injured my relationship with the people in my previous job.  I don't know how He talks to you ... it might be through other people, books, movies, music, a sermon, a "random" thought ... but learn to listen and then *hear* what He says.  It may be to move, it may be to wait, or it may be a step along a longer path.  Either way - He'll direct you to the best He has for you.

Tough Character Lesson

When you spend all year kind of skating through school and not really paying attention to deadlines or homework, it can really bite you in the butt.  Ash found this out the hard way this week.  To her great credit, she has really tried to buckle down and pay attention and get things done and turn homework and assignments in.  But a big research paper was due last week and has disappeared.

Since she has never tried to tell me something was turned in when it wasn't, I do believe that it was done and got turned in.  However, the hard fact is that the teacher does not have it.  Where did it go?  No one knows, of course.  But with Ash's track record of procrastination (handed down from me - I will take full credit there) and turning things in late, her teacher is simply not inclined to give her any grace on it.  This could easily bomb her grade, and depending on how she does on her final exam, may even mean she has to repeat the class.

It's the classic "boy who cried wolf" scenario.  So many things done late or not at all ... and this one time that she really did do it, it gets lost.  It really sucks, honestly - and I went with her today to talk to the teacher, all prepared for a fight and ready to make the teacher straighten up and do her job, etc. (Mama Bear was raring to go!).  But after talking to the teacher, while I don't really like her style of communication with the kids, I cannot argue with her logic or methods - I can't think of anything else she could have done to ensure things from her end.

The optimist in me is still hoping that the folder with the research paper and all related assignments will miraculously appear in an overlooked/misplaced stack of other folders and that Ash will be vindicated and her grade salvaged.  But the realist in me realizes this is unlikely ... and simply hopes for the lesson to be learned this time, on a (relatively) unimportant life event, so it won't happen again on something major.


This is what character comes down to.  Is your character such that people *know* you will do what you say you will?  Or is it kind of up in the air and they'll believe it when they see it?

Lazy Sundays

Thoughts from yesterday:
Ashleigh had her highway driving class Saturday morning.  They had enough time that she was able to take her driving test that day instead of having to wait for Tuesday morning.  She passed with flying colors - only 2 points (points are bad).  I guess you can still pass with 36 points - I'm really not sure what that says about the quality of some drivers currently on the roads ?  And then I learn today that the Drivers' Ed car had been rear-ended Friday morning in a hit-and-run by someone from Missouri ... I feel sorry for whoever was driving - talk about a teachable moment!

As we were replacing the ceiling fan in the boys' room, Josh made a comment about how we need to get a magnetized screwdriver.  Daniel chimed in about how the IT guy at his school has one and quickly moved on to "and he let me tighten my screws!!".  There was a slight pause, and I just couldn't help it ... "Daniel, I always knew you had a couple screws loose."

Tim and Ashley got married on a gorgeous stereotypical spring day - bright and sunny and ever so slightly warm.  I really enjoyed how beautiful and unique the ceremony was - from Ashely's Cinderella dress to the bubble wrap aisle runner, planting an acorn in place of the traditional unity candle/sand.  I love it when a couple takes the time to personalize their wedding in such a unique way that so totally fits "them" without sacrificing any of the tradition and ceremony.

And then the snow came ...
Having been warned of a massive early spring snowstorm headed our way, Josh and I decided to stay home and watch church online today.  We had a nice big brunch - bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, waffles - and then Josh took the kids downstairs to play Ratchet & Clank while I killed some time on Facebook and the REGAP site. I'm wondering if school will be cancelled tomorrow.  The theory is that there will be 6-9 inches of snow.  I'm horrible at judging this kind of thing, so I will let images speak for themselves ... what've we got so far ??


Either way you slice it, it's not nearly as bad (yet?) as the "blizzard" of Feb 2011 - 13 inches and all that jazz. I think this one just has a bigger emotional impact cuz the flowers are all trying to come out and it's the end of March!!  I guess I'm just a sucker for how peaceful it looks out my living room window ... all white and clean and fresh.  I do wish we'd had this at Christmas, but ... it is what it is.  Maybe next time!

Update:  The final total for all this snow was 18.5 inches - officially breaking the previous "Snowpocalypse" record.  Of course it was all gone within a few days!!

March Madness

Random thoughts of the morning ...

1. In about two months I will no longer have "kids".  I will have all teens.  I'm not sure I'm old enough for that ???
   
   
2. The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful ... mostly just life with short-lived critters, a little bit of work blah thrown in, plus tax time and court filings.  On top of it, I have been having dreams lately where I try to talk to my sister and she either ignores me outright or tells me "no" - very painful and I seem to have lost my ability to control my dreams while having them.
   
   
3. We'll have Cheryl's girls, Belle and Hildy, over here this week while she recovers from knee surgery.  They're good girls - they love Nitro and he loves them.  Hildy is Josh's girl and would sleep on him if he'd let her ... as it is she has to be content on the dog bed on the floor since I don't share well.  Belle will sleep on Daniel's bed and allow him to have a corner.  Only thing I will have to watch is the kittens and Belle ... last time she was here, she decided Smoke was a plaything :(
   
   
4. I'm looking forward to seeing the flowers come up in the yard ... already have a few little green shoots coming up.  I think when I take my "Spring Break" vacation time, I'm going to spend some time in the back yard mulching and trimming and cleaning things up so that (hopefully) there will be less work to do over the summer.  I really do love spring - just hoping the weather over that week agrees with me !!