Much Ado About Nothing

This has been a rough week. We've all been fighting various strains of the cold. I've been tired, cranky, and moody. It's come to a point where I've decided I need to start prioritizing my life. We made the decision for me to go to work full time, though I'm still not completely sure it's the best decision right now. The suburban started to shoot smoke through the vents at me, the washing machine is making a bad, squeaky noise, and we still need to file our taxes. These are things that would just be easier to deal with if my schedule were more flexible. And the reality is that I have great bosses who allow me to be flexible. But my work ethic won't allow me to take advantage of that. The highlights of this week were two birthdays. Nicholas turned 7 on Wednesday and Daniel celebrated his 12th birthday today. We had a combined birthday party on Friday after school. It was actually very nice. We had it at Peter Piper Pizza, the only thing I had to b...

I'm going to miss this house. It was the one that I thought we would raise our children in. The one that we would grow old in together. The one that would be filled on the holidays with the joyous sounds of children coming home from college, missions, and with families of their own. We talked about how when the kids got older and moved away, we would still sneak out to the pool for night swimming. We planned on what to do with all the extra rooms once they were gone. My own sewing room, an office, an exercise room - the possibilities were endless. Now the dreams have ended. I guess they actually ended a year and a half ago when Neil lost his job and we watched our savings slowly drain away. When we realized we couldn't afford to live here so stopped making payments altogether. When we put the house on the market first at regular price, then as a short-sale. The past year has been hard. With the acceptance that we would eventually have to move, I pulled back emotionally...

As we approach Valentine's Day and the world around us is filled with heart-shaped balloons, cute stuffed animals, and flyers portraying a variety of jewelry, I can't help but reflect on the love lives of my close friends and other acquaintances. Relationships are difficult. Hopefully, the longer you are together, the more unified you become. Supposedly, marriage vows are meant to strengthen the relationship bonds by providing promises to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, til death do us part or for time and all eternity. Instead, what I witness is a cynical approach. The thought, if any, behind the promises is about tax write-offs, staying together for the kids, and staying together until it gets to hard or something different comes along. The first year is often the most difficult. You have come out of the honeymoon stage and realize that despite the best of intentions, you are not married to Prince Charming or Mrs. Rig...

Nick: Mom, is that stuff dad puts under his arms called yogurt? The McDonald's has an air hockey table. Since the youngest three are a bit too short to reach the table adequately, we drag chairs over. Nick used the chair for better reach. Rachel used the chair to climb onto the table. She's the winner because not only does she have better control of the table, she effectively blocks her goal with her body.

This classic story is the one chosen for this month's book club. Surprisingly, it is not one I had previously read. I suppose I thought it "too girly" as a child and it wasn't something I chose to read later in life. I am glad to have had a reason to add it to my "have read" list. Anne of Green Gables highlights the life of a young orphan girl brought mistakenly to the home of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert - elderly siblings wanting a boy to help out with the farm. We first meet Anne at the train station, an 11 year old disgrace full of optimism. She is a realist full of fanciful notions, and though she is a bit too chatty and direct in her comments, she is a delightful child. We follow Anne's progress through school, family life, and friends for the next five years. We rejoice in her triumphs and feel heartache through her sorrows, and we applaud her as we realize that she has developed into a bright young woman. Although there is nothing magical o...

It has been a busy week with some triumphant moments. The biggest happened on Wednesday. Rachel turned 4 years old and, true to her promise, started wearing underwear. She had a couple of accidents, but has picked up on the urges pretty well and has been doing very well. I gave her the option of underwear or pull ups for church and she chose underwear. Yay Rachel! Last night was our district Volunteer Recognition Dinner for scouts. I MCd again with the help of a 100 year scouter. Our Council CEO was present and commented to our district commissioner that this was the most entertaining dinner he had ever attended. I brought home a couple of plaques myself - one for the Tiger Den Leader of the Year and one for Scouting Spirit. I don't think anybody becomes a scout leader in hopes of getting a plaque or any other recognition, but it is nice to have your hard work acknowledged. Other highlights of the week was Wednesday night's Pack Meeting, Thursday night's Roundtable...

I admit, I love Dan Brown. Well, maybe not so much him as his books. Truth be told I've never actually met him, so yeah, it must be his writing I am so fond of. I read The DaVinci Code before it was a movie. I'm not sure it was even a popular book when I read it. It may have been and I just didn't know it. That happens a lot in my life. I'm actually more relevant than I realize because my eclectic taste in literature, music, movies, etc. means that at some point I will have already read, listened to, or watched something that is now mainstream popular. I digress. The DaVinci Code intrigued me. I have a sort of interest in history. I like learning things that are put out there, but I really don't want to have to go delve to determine how much of what is put out there is actually true. This is fine as long as I don't spout off history learned in novels as actual historical fact. When Angels & Demons came out as a movie, I had to read the book. I sti...