Fall Is In The Air

We woke up this morning to a cool 68 degrees, fall is indeen on the way. I can see leaves losing their green color and pine needles falling from the pine trees, it won't be long until I have to start thinking about Christmas.
DH and I had breakfast in town this morning then I had a hair appointment to get my "natural" color back. Afterwards was "the shower". As soon as I could get away from there I headed to town to get the oil changed in my car and a pedicure. Got home midafternoon and haven't done much since then. I'm fixing to watch and a movie and go to bed!

Been Busy At Work

I've had quite a few changes at work and I've been really busy. I think I'm finally going to have the opportunity to do some things at work that I've wanted to do for a long time. I feel that now I can devote more time to my job because my children don't need me as much. I hope the things I do will work out and be helpful for the students.

I Really Appreciate Air-Conditioning

I live in Florida and the airconditioner was not working yesterday at the my job. It was miserably hot but hallelujah it was working today. We had a short day today and then spent the afternoon in meetings. I will post more later.

Nehi Grape Drink

Today I thought I would add some stories/memories from First Grade. I thought my teacher was really mean. She probably thought I had an attention problem. Anyway, on with the story. I lived a sheltered young life as I have mentioned in some of my other stories. I certainly didn't know what the "cheat" meant. In first grade there was this girl that sat next to me and she had a real problem getting her workbook pages done. I LOVED workbook pages, I was GOOD at workbook pages, I was FAST at workbook pages. One day this girl asked me to do her workbook page for her because she didn't know how and she was afraid to ask. I thought why not, after all, I LOVED workbook pages, I was FAST AND GOOD at workbook pages and I really liked her. I took her workbook and started filling in the little blanks. My teacher was not happy. She walked over to me, snatched the workbook out of my hand and gave it back to the little girl. She then told me she was going to call my Mama and tell her I "cheated". I didn't know what cheated meant but I knew it couldn't be good. I went home and told her what had happened and I didn't get in trouble, thank goodness. I did however, learn what "cheat" meant and I didn't do it anymore.

About this Nehi grape drink. I rode the bus home to my Grandmother's house everyday. My Mom worked every day. She was a nurse. As soon as I got off the bus and made it into the kitchen my grandmother would have me a Nehi grape drink and 4 sandwich creme cookies waiting on the counter for me. The sandwich creme cookies were the kind that one side was chocolate and the other side vanilla and inside was white creme. The Nehi came from out of the refrigerator and it was soooo cool and good to drink. Keep in mind that drinks in glass bottles were all that was available at that time, no plastic liter bottles. All soda came in six packs, the little six pack with a handle at the top. No aluminum cans, no plastic bottles, just glass. I have included a picture of the closest thing I can find to those drinks. Funny what sticks in your memory.

Quiet Labor Day

We didn't have any big plans for Labor Day. DH was home from work but he stayed busy around here mowing and cleaning up limbs. I stayed in the house and worked on a video for the funeral of our friend that I mentioned a couple of days ago in my blog. His funeral is tomorrow. It is a privilege to be asked to do this but very sad. Repeatedly looking at pictures that sum up a person's life tell so little about who the person really is. I can say one thing about this friend..he was proof that one person can make the difference in the life of a child. He was a friend, coach, school board member and volunteer that will never be matched and he will be missed.
I talked with oldest DS about the "wedding". I mentioned that I had missed his calling on my birthday, he offered no reason for not calling so I can only assume he doesn't care and I am going to have to accept he has no use for our family any more. I pray daily for strength to get me through this time. You just don't want to believe that your own flesh and blood can cause you so much pain. I am grateful to say that although my parents and I had our moments of discord, I never treated them this disrespectfully.
On to something else, Gustav hit New Orleans today, I watched all day on CNN. As of right now, it appears the levees are going to hold! This is something we can so very thankful for. We do have to set our sights on the next few days as another one is on it's way.
Well, back to work tomorrow, a short day.

One more thing, youngest DS has infection in his right eye again!

The Past Repeating Itself

Today was Homecoming at church. We had a really large crowd for a Labor Day weekend. Ted Anderson was our speaker. I had to get up early to cook lunck to take with us. Miss Priss spent the night again last night. When I finally made it home, I curled up on the couch and took a nap and since then I've been watching CNN and coverage of Hurricane Gustav and the evacuation of New Orleans. This is so similar to 2005. On that day of Homecoming at church, August 29th as soon as I got home from church I watched people file into the Dome in New Orleans, not knowing the horror that awaited them. The levees broke the next day, my birthday. So much destruction and devastation. I hope the levees hold this time.

Youngest DS cooked vension for supper tonight, he did a good job. Nothing means more to me than to be cozy in my home with my family.

My 53rd Birthday

Today is my 53rd birthday. I guess because I am an only child, my Mama always made a big deal out of my birthday. It carried into my adulthood and I have always loved birthdays. Even though I have always looked forward to my birthday there have been a few historical and personally poignant memories associated with it. Just this year a friend of our's passed away, not today, but yesterday. I will post a picture of him with this blog. He was the school board memory from our district and a much loved local personality. He was the announcer for our high school football games for about the last 16 years. He had cancer and was awfully young to succumb to the disease, middle forties. He was a warm and loving person that ALWAYS hugged you and you told you he loved you EVERY time he saw you. As one person said about him, "He is proof that one person CAN make the a difference in the world" because he did make a positive impact on everyone.

I also remember Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech, although it was made two days before my birthday (7th I think, 1962), I remember watching it on television and the apprehension is provoked in my family as to

what was going to happen racially in our area and we did have some racial issues that year.

Princess Diana died the day after my birthday by the French calendar, it actually was my birthday by the American calendar and Joey punctured his lung in a water skiing accident that same day.....1996.

Of course, many first days of school were also on my birthday.

September 11, 2001 was not my birthday but it seems very close to my birthday and the memories of both are meshed together.

The final birthday that comes to mind tonight is eerily similar to tonight is the devastation of Hurrican Katrina on New Orleans. I remember hearing and watching on the news that the levees at broken and New Orleans was flooding, I remember watching on television people being rescued by helicopter from the roofs of their homes. Tonight as I write this I am again watching television and seeing people fleeing from New Orleans in anticipation of the destruction that will happen with Hurriane Gustav. I will remember them in my prayers.

Today I have spent washing and playing with Marah, she spent the night with us last night and is here again tonight. Middle son and wife, youngest son and girlfriend, Marah and her Mom, MIL and DH went to our favorite seafood restaurant for my birthday. My dad and oldest son seem to have forgotten the day. I talked with Dad this morning but he didn't mention, I'm sure he has forgotten. I don't guess oldest son doesn't care. I could pretend it doesn't hurt my feelings but that would be a lie.

Instead of leaving this post on a negative note I want to tell a funny story. Last night as we were coming home from the football game, Marah started singing songs for us that she had learned at VPK, her favorite was Baby Bumble Bee. Well, my DH always the jokester, starting singing a song for Marah........the name of it is My Ding A Ling.....if you get the chance listen to it on youtube. All the way home DH is teaching this song so she can go back to VPK next week and teach it to her class.....you will crack up if you will just listen.......you can see where this is going really fast. That is the beauty of grandchildren or in this case, a great niece, you can relax and just enjoy them being little and leave the tuff stuff to their parents. If you want a laugh to finish your day, listen to Church Barry's song, My Ding A Ling.........Happy Birthday!

I've Got A New Computer

I didn't post yesterday, my computer finally died! Good news though, I went to Gainesville after work today and purchased a new one and it's working like a charm. Just a couple of things I want to take note of today..
1. Hurricane Gustav appears to be heading in a direct path to New Orleans. This will be another major disaster if it hits.
2. I also went to Gainesville this afternoon to Party Time rental to check on items for the "wedding" rehearsal dinner. I'm not looking forward to the next two weeks.
3. Sunday is Homecoming at church and I need to get my slideshow done.
4. The shop where Brittany works is closing and she is looking for a new job.
5. This weekend is my birthday, whoo hoo!
I'll add more later.

Major Computer Problems

My computer is giving me major problems. The electrical plug in is loose. I've gotten some of my pictures off. I've got a feeling I'm going to be getting a new one this weekend. Today was busy, I worked on the Annual Contract and got some material ready for my last class. Found out some info on the upcoming wedding. Had breakfast with Chris, Kristy, and Marah. Elections were held today..our county has a new sheriff, a new superintendent of schools, county commissioner from our district will probably stay the same. Couple of other offices had no surprises. I guess the new sheriff and superintendent are the big ones. Looking forward to this upcoming weekend, Labor Day. No big plans, just get a few things done.

Busy Monday

Wow, what a busy Monday. I started with breakfast up town with Kristy and Marah. Then at work I readied about 6 packages to mail off and started my ribs to cooking in the crockpot. Oh, I forgot, before I left for work I washed a huge sink of dishes and washed my hair...I hate to wash my hair. Took my packages to the post office, went to the grocery story and family dollar at lunch. Came back to work and mixed up my cabbage salad. Tried to get ready for my 7th period class...they didn't behave so hot today!. Then afterschool, load up the car and come home. Even with all that cooking, supper was late because I had to finish up when I got home because DH and youngest son had to drop his car off to get fixed...again. To finish off my day, I think my computer is dying, I'm on DS's now.. Don't have money for another now but I'll find money, I'm not going to be without a computer.

An Unexpected Visitor

Got up this morning and got lunch going before I headed out to church. Most of the rain is over well actually all the rain is over for us, it hasn't rained all day, as a matter of fact, the sun as shone most all day. After church we (me, DH, DS, & girlfriend) had lunch. After lunch DS and girlfriend headed to the big city to do some last minute school shopping. He starts Jr. College on Tuesday.

Our unexpected visitor was middle son. He came over and spend the afternoon with us. It was so wonderful to see him. He only lives about 35 miles away but we haven't seen him since Father's Day. Naturally we have talked to him on the phone but he has been working such long hours this summer. He went 25 straight days without a day off and I mean working from 7:00 in the morning to 6:00 at night. He stayed all afternoon and we played on the Wii.

My DIL didn't come with him, she had a new baby in the family to meet. He brought their new puppy over....she looks like a cross between a collie and a chocolate lab. Her name is Helen.

All in all it was a wonderful afternoon until it came time for him to leave, then I shed a few tears but I know I'll see him next weekend. I've included a picture of us dancing at his wedding.

Lots and Lots of Rain

Well, I guess we have seen the worst of tropical storm Fay. It has rained allllll day, I'll bet we have had six inches of rain. A big tree fell across the road in front of our house, down close to the house on the corner. Stayed inside all day and watched movies. The electricity was off from about midnight last night until one AM. The phone rang several times, it was Daddy. Said he had a stomachache. He always has a stomachache when its bad weather. I should know that by now. We were remembering later this afternoon about the time I had to take him to the emergency room in the middle of Hurricane Charlie several years ago because he had a "stomachache". All they did was give him some pepto bismol and something to make him sleep. By the time I got him home he was out cold. We just about had to carry him in the house. Then he got up a couple hours later and didn't even know where he was and knocked down a lamp. It is sad that he can't cope any better than he can but sometimes it really drags me down. I hope we all get a better night's sleep tonight. I'm about to give it a try.

Hurricane Party!

Not really, it was more like a sleep-in as I watched tropical storm Fay pass through. School was canceled today because of the potential flooding but so far it has been just a slow drizzle which is a good thing, we needed the rain. I've washed a few clothes and mostly surfed my favorite blogs. We had shrim gumbo for supper...DH made it. He worked half a day today then went to Live Oak and bought our youngest his graduation present-finally! A new 30 ought 6 gun. Also took son's car over to get a tuneup and get ready for school starting tomorrow. Gonna go shopping tomorrow, maybe that will cheer me up a little. Get my mind ready for work Monday. Too da loo

Florida Baptist College

Went to a fundraising dinner for Florida Baptist College tonight with my best older friend. Got to meet the president of the college and hear all the wonderful things they are doing. School canceled tomorrow, whoopee, I can sleep late. Afterschool was also cancelled today. My 7th period class behaved a lot better today, maybe I'm going to be able to make it through with them.
At the fundraising dinner I got to meet the president of Florida Baptist College in Graceville, Fl and also Judge Blair from Lake City. The fundraising dinner was held in Lake City at the Holiday Inn. While I was there I saw the railing in the lobby, it's just exactly what I want to do with the railing in our family room. Hope to work on that over Fall Break.

Looks like the hurricane is coming back!

Well, we thought we had dodged the hurricane but looks like it is coming our way again. Hopefully we will be out of work Friday so I can catch up. School has been very hectic, they switched my last class all around. MOre to come tomorrow.

First Day of School, First Day of the Rest of My Life

I didn't blog yesterday, I was just too tired. We had both pastors and their families over for lunch yesterday and had a wonderful time visiting afterward but by the time I got the kitchen cleaned up I was just too tired.
Looks like we have dodged the worst of the hurricane, it is now heading east of us. I didn't want any bad weather but we certainly could have used the rain.
Today was the first day of school, Marah's first day of Pre-K. I had breakfast with her and her Mom and I was excited for her but sad also because I know how quickly the years will pass. I guess you could call today the first day of the rest of my life because today is the first day I have ever gone to work without one of my children being with me. I have been fortunate to have them with me all these years but now that part of my life is over. I will adjust I know, but it is very sad and different for me.
I stayed busy today with my extra duties. I am overseeing the virtual school students, had my sixth grade wheel class and worked with my 6th period TA on the school television network. That is going to be great if we can get everything working. I stayed for afterschool and finally made it home.
It's been a week or two since I told a story so I guess I'll share this one today.
I was very sheltered as a child. I really never had any friends to play with as we lived in a small town with very few families. I mostly occupied myself. I was no savy as to the ways of other manipulative children.
I didn't go to kindergarten, we didn't have it back them. In my first grade class there was a girl named Vicky that was the niece of the school principal. Now, I received a nickel a day as allowance and that was to be used to buy a popsicle after lunch every day. This little girl didn't get an allowance I don't guess, anyway, she decided she needed mine. Soooo, one day she came up to me and told me that if I didn't give her my nickel she was going to tell her aunt that I had hit her and then her aunt would paddle me. I knew I hadn't hit her but I just believed that her aunt would take her word. For months this went on, she took my nickel everyday. Finally, one day my Mom asked me about my popsicle and I broke down crying and told her what was going on ( I don't know why I hadn't told her earlier, just afraid I guess). The problem was solved.
Now, this seems like a minor story in the great scheme of life but it has made a lasting impression on me. It was my first experience with someone lying to me, manipulating me, my first knowledge that the were mean people in the world. The first time I was bullied by someone. I've never forgotten it.
As a final note today. When my youngest was born, I planted a pecan tree. I've always called it his tree. That was 18 years ago. Today, I noticed for the first time, it is bearing pecans. The cycle of life goes on. One things ends and another begins. My gratitudes for today:
1. The cycle of life.
2. New beginnings
3. Good friends
4.The joy of seeing a child's first day of school
5. Escape from disasterous weather
6. Health
7. A DH that helped me cook a great meal yesterday.

Hurricane on the Way

Well, I live in Florida and we are bracing for Hurricane Fay. We need the rain and it doesn't look like the winds will be too bad so maybe we'll be okay. I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned today. We are having company for dinner tomorrow. My fixit guy came today and put the fluted trim and rosettes around the windows in my bedroom. It looks sooo much better. I had a very difficult time at the post office today. I love the dear little lady that runs it (the only employee) but she is just ssslllooowwww. Washed about a dozen loads of clothes. My youngest DS grilled us some steaks tonight and now I'm just relaxing before I hit the floor running tomorrow. I did take a minute to watch Michael Phelp win his eight gold medal.

Wikis, Blogs and Web 2.0 Oh My!

Well crud, I don't know what happened to my post I just created.

Really Tired Tonight

I'm going to hit the sack early tonight. I'm tired. Will talk more tomorrow.

Second Day of PrePlanning

Another meeting this morning. Lunch at Mayo Baptist. Two meetings this afternoon. Mailed 4 packages. Cooked chicken for supper. I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

The Smells of School

Just for a fleeting moment today I was taken back to my first day of school. Nothing reminds me more of school than the smell of new crayons, new books, and freshly sharpened pencils. I experienced that today. There is a picture of me on my first day of school as I am boarding the bus. I rode the bus to school my first day and my Mom met me there.
I don't know why thinking of my first day of school reminded me of birthday parties but I think now is as good a time as any to say that I never had a birthday party as a child...a party where my friends were invited and it has always bothered me. Now I guess I should take that back because for my 13 birthday my Mom rented a house at Keaton beach for a week and let me invite a friend but that turned into a disaster. I had my second period ever that week. I had only had a period one other time several months before so I didn't know when to expect it again and well, you guessed it. It was that week. So I had to sit on the sand and watch my friend play in the water...it was pretty miserable.
Went back to work today for my first day of preplanning. It was like the last 25 years of preplanning, meetings and rules. We did have a good lunch of chicken wraps and broccoli salad. Then I had an afternoon of trying to get some lesson plans ready for next week. Nathan and Brittany made it back from the beach...woo hoo! DH penned up cows to sell tomorrow for his mom. Life goes on........

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

I was watching a movie on television this afternoon and in the movie a young child says his prayers with his mom before bedtime. I wonder how many children are taught to say their prayers before bedtime in our world today? I know I failed with my children. I did say prayers with them sporadically but not enough for it to become a habit like my mother did with me. Even now I can remember the little prayer I was taught..

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

God bless Mommy, Daddy......

and I went on to name everyone important in my life,

ending with Amen.

I also remember being a little scared sometimes because I didn't want to die

during the night and that little prayer put death on my mind.

Back to the present. I get up in the morning and go back to work. I'm not looking forward to it as this is the first time I will go to work without one of my children attending the school where I work. I've always been fortunate enough to teach in the same school they attended and it has been wonderful to share this with them but now it is over. That combined with my new responsibilities have put dread in my heart. I will have to take the pastors words from our lesson tonight and make them mine. He said, "Nothing else matter but what is in your heart, if your heart is right everything else will fall into place." Please let those words get me through this year.

Busy Saturday

Well, my last Saturday of the summer. I started cleaning out my closet but before I could finish I had to stop and take Poppy to Live Oak to pick up his truck. DS and his girlfriend left to go with her family to the beach for a few days. About the time I arrived in Live Oak, DH called me to tell me he had left his debit card in the machine at the bank in town last night and needed more money for his trip. So I then came home, got him some more money and took it back to town for him. Then I had a pedicure. One cute thing to mention is that the young man that gave me my pedicure today HAD to be new on the job and I swear he was hispanic. Most of the employess at the salon are Vietnamese but I really think he was hispanic. Anyway, my normal procedure is to sit in the chair and read the book I bring along and I was doing that today. He was doing his job (rather hesitantly) and I was reading. All of a sudden he looks up at me and says, "I am so lucky to have you today". I was rather surprised but I responded by saying, "I'm so luck to have YOU today". I guess he had been trained to make small talk, I don't know, but I have to give him an A for effort. What a kind surprise he gave me after a busy morning.

As soon as I got home it was time to go out to the church and help cook and serve food for the youth at their "back to school bash". I guess all total there was about 77 people in attendance. I am tired now so I'm going to hit the sack and get ready for tomorrow.

Things I Am Grateful For

Today I have decided to add to my blog everyday a list of things I am grateful for. Here goes:

1. I am grateful I finished painting the baseboards today.

2. I am grateful my DH took me out to eat tonight.

3. I am grateful that my oldest son helped cook hamburgers at church tonight.

4. I am grateful that I have a cool home to live in, especially in the oppressive heat.

5. I am grateful I was able to get some of my packages mailed today.

6. I am grateful I can sit and here and watch the beautiful opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

7. I am grateful for my DH and my three sons.

Distressing News

Well, I went to work for a little while this morning, I'm officially on the clock again Monday. While I was there I got a phone call from my boss. He was breaking the news to me that I'm going to have some extra responsibilities this year. It seems that every year adds more and more responsibilities and less and less time to get them done. This latest addition is not going to be good........I was looking forward to going back to work until today.

I've uploaded one of my favorite pictures of Miss Priss, maybe this will cheer me up. I hope to paint my baseboards and clean out my closet tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Finished Painting

Well, I finished painting my bedroom today. I have to go to work for a little while in the morning then I plan on coming home and starting on the trim. I painted the walls a color called Tobacco Road that I found reading all of your blogs and I absolutely love, love, love the color! I went to church tonight and met with Ms. Elouise to finalize some plans for Homecoming at church..it will be here before we know it!

Since I've church on my mind tonight I decided to include a picture of my "BABY" playing Goliath at our Church Fall Festival last year. The kids got to throw "stones" at him (marshmallows). They loved it and so did he!

Painted All Day

Well, I blogged last night, as a matter of fact, I wrote a new long story. When I tried to upload it...poof! it was gone. I'm tired tonight because I painted all day and I don't feel like writing it again. Maybe tomorrow. I hope to finish the bedroom tomorrow then DH can put the molding up around my windows! Whoo hoo! I'll keep you posted! I've got a feeling I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

P.S. The picture I uploaded is another "I wish" ....would love to have this in my home...oh well.

It Never Ends

Well, my Sunday wasn't as great as I hoped. It was actually going pretty good until tonight.

I went to church this morning, it was wonderful. Came home from church and finished scrapping off that wallpaper border, whooo hooo. I just realized today that I only have one more week left before I go back to work and I've got to get this bedroom painted so tomorrow I start on that little project.

Anyway, tonight I learned so info that set me back a little. I have this one area in my life that just seems like it will never get straightened out. About the time I think things are smoothing out it comes out and smacks me in the behind.

I don't know how to deal with it except to put it in God's hands, please pray that I can have some peace.

My picture today is just random, a wish for how I would like for my bedroom to look but is too high priced for me......but I can always wish!

Foreign Films

Well, we finished the Beth Moore simulcast this morning...it was wonderful and I'm anxious to participate in another. It was doubly great that I was only five minutes away from the church and yet was able to enjoy such a great speaker in a broadcast with over 70,000 women...absolutely awesome.

We finished about 1:00 and I didn't come home and strip any more wallpaper, it was drizzling rain and a nap just seemed to be in order. I did however watch a movie. I don't think I've mentioned that my ONE of my latest pasttimes has been watching foreign films, especially ones from France. I specifically signed up with Netflix to have access to these movies because they weren't available any other way. I have to say the ones I've watched so far have had BEAUTIFUL scenery, just breathtaking. French films always seem to tug at the emotions or at least the ones I've seen do. Beautiful stories set in a beautiful country. The one I watched today was Zelary. It was a love story set in World War II and honestly I don't know of an American film that was any better. Some people might be put off by having to read the subtitles but to me that is a minor inconvenience in comparison to the beauty of the films. Off to bed, it will soon be Sunday, my favorite day of the week!

Beth Moore Simulcast

Just got home from attending the night session of Beth Moore's live simulcast. It was great to be a part of the group of ladies at our church gathering together for this event. We had a total of 30 people in attendance. I wish we could have had more but I'm sure the numbers will be larger next time. I really enjoyed her story about her new border collie and bird dog and how the border collie led the bird dog when he wouldn't follow directions, just as we sometimes need someone to lead us when God is calling for us. I'm looking forward to returning in the morning to finish the broadcast.

I did get part of my wall paper border in the kitchen stripped off. I hope to finish the remainder tomorrow. Got most of the clothes washed, dried and put away. As a matter of fact, I fell more like the old me today than I have in a long time. I remember days when I would lay down exhausted at night and tick off the things in my head that I had accomplished that day and not be satisfied, wishing I could do more. Now it is an effort to just get one thing done but maybe I've turned the corner, maybe I'll begin to feel more like the old me.

Today is the day!

Whee! I feel better. I didn't blog yesterday, I was just too exhausted from trip with the teenagers. We made it back home late yesterday afternoon and I declare I was in bed before dark, I had to get some rest. I guess I'm getting too old for this stuff.

I picked up the paint for my bedroom today. Finally gonna start on my summer project as time is running out! But first I am going to strip that wallpaper border off in my kitchen, that has been on my "to do" list for some time. I decided that I needed to spend the afternoon with my gorgeous niece that I've mentioned before, we call her Miss Priss. So I picked her up and we spent the afternoon just goofing around. Moments with her are precious beyond words and before I can blink an eye she'll be grown up. I'm going to capture the moments while I can. Here is a picture of Miss Priss with her new pony.

As a side note, my youngest went to the big city today and purchased himself a laptop for school, paid for it with his own money.......he's my baby!

I Don't Think I Belong Anymore

I've been off with a group of teenagers for a workshop this week. I have really enjoyed being around them. I also teach high school and thoroughly enjoy my job but I"m beginning to have my doubts. Several years ago I would have been right in the middle of what was going on with the young people in my life, especially if one of my children was involved. I don't know if it is because I don't have a school age child anymore (I kinda think that is it) or it I'm just too old but this trip hasn't been as much fun for me as usual. Now just two months ago I was in the big middle of my son's high school graduation and had a blast but now I kinda feel like I don't belong with these kids anymore.
The workshop has been great, the kids have been great and for all practical purposes this shuold have been a good trip but, I have felt out of place. We took the kids bowling tonight and I love watching them play but when I decided to sit it out, they didn't object. It's almost if older people are invisible. PLEASE don't get me wrong, these are very well-behaved kids and not a one of them would purposefully hurt my feelings but I see this happening in a lot of areas in my life. Somehow I don't think I have value anymore since I don't have a child to be involved in things with.
What I can't figure out is whether this is a mindset, a reality, or a little of both. All I know is, I don't like it. If anyone out there can help me pinpoint the problem, let me know. Thanks for listening.

Message In A Bottle

I attended another workshop today and we had a really great "get acquainted" activity. The theme of the day was "beachy" which provided a perfect opening for our message in a bottle game. We filled out a questionnaire, rolled it up and stuffed it inside the bottle provided for us. All our bottles were collected and placed in the sand on the beach (a child's blow up pool filled with sand). Throughout the day a bottle was retrieved by the instructor and he read the questions and answers, we then had to guess who filled out the paper.....it was a pretty cute activity.

This is not the only message in a bottle I want to tell you about. When my youngest son finished fifth grade my middle son was graduating high school so our entire family went on a cruise. I saved five small plastic bottles and had my youngest write a message including his name and address. In the message he asked that if anyone found his "message in the bottle" to please reply to him. We threw one overboard each day of the cruise. Yes, I know, it was littering, and I should have set a better example for him but I wanted him to have an adventure and I figured this was his best chance at it.

We hoped to hear from someone but time passed and we eventually forgot about the whole thing until one day about a year and a half later. I picked up the mail one day and there was a strange letter for him. Someone had found one of his bottles!

I wish I could say it was from far away but it was from Key West. Now the thing is, we traveled to Key West and Mexico and I don't know which of the bottles was found but he was excited. I think it was fantastic that he even heard from one! Who knows, the other four bottles are out there, maybe we'll hear from one them.

Happy Anniversary!

My middle son and his wife are celebrating their first anniversary today! It seems like their wedding was just yesterday. Just another reason for the title of my blog, The Empty Nester. In less than a year one son married and moved out and another graduated from high school. It is all happening too fast, I want to turn back the hands of time but I know that I can't.

I want to share with you what a beautiful marriage my son and new bride have created. They are both kind and considerate people, very mature, and are hard workers. When we see them they still act like newlyweds...holding each other's hand and thoughtful of each other. I see God first in their marriage. They have started their life together with no mistakes and I know them well enough that I am sure their future life together will be just as beautiful as their love story.

Their wedding last year was picture perfect as they are a handsome couple and picked a beautiful location. I was shocked at first when they told us they were getting married. They had been engaged for about six months and said that it was going to be a long engagement, at least a year. After the engagement I told my heart that at least I had one more year of his being at home before he was gone. When he came in and told me they had decided to go ahead with the wedding I think my heart skipped a beat. My time with him was up. In six weeks he would be gone. You mothers will understand. I was happy for him to marry such a wonderful girl and I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, but my last six months vanished. I'm not going to lie to you it was a shock and I didn't handle it well. I wanted to plead with him to give me a little more time, but I couldn't. All I could do was try to smile and wish them the best.

I have survived this last year secure in the knowledge that even though my time with my son has ended he brought a new member to our family. One that we are proud of and love. They will share my final years with me here on this earth and see me off to be with my heavenly father when my journey is over. I hope they will be as proud of me as I am of them.

Dinner and A Movie

My son and his girlfriend just left for their Saturday night date. They were so attractive, I was so proud of them. I said, "Where you going?" They're reply, "dinner and a movie" and I had to chuckle inside. They're idea of dinner and a movie is so much different than what I experienced with my DH when we were dating. I'm sure they will probably wind up at Red Lobster or some steak house for dinner and then scoot over to the Stadium 16 Movie Plex where they'll have a choice of at least that many movies. SSSSoooo much different that when we were dating.

For my DH and I, a fun Saturday night was drive-in food and a drive-in movie. I'm really about to clue you in on my age because when we started dating there were no fast food restaurants near us and certainly no walk-in movie theatres. The nearest walk-in theatere was much too far for us to travel on Saturday night and you can be sure there was only ONE movie showing that night. We ate at an A & W Drive-in. Yep, we drove up to the post, looked at the posted menu and out comes the waitress. She took our order and we sat in the car and waited. Pretty soon she retured with that tray on which most of the time we had ordered burgers and french fries. On the bottom of the tray was a drop down hook that allowed her to hook that tray of food right on our rolled down window (yes, rolled down, no such thing as electric windows then or if so, we didn't know about it). We ate there every Saturday night as did most of our friends, it was THE place to be seen!

As soon as we finished eating we headed to the edge of town to the drive-in. As we drove in there was a little building where you stopped and paid. I'm pretty sure it was $2 each. We always had our same spot where we parked. Again, stop by a post, reach out for the speaker, roll your window up high enough the speaker can hook onto it and you were all set. In the middle of the drive in was a building that housed concessions and bathrooms. You always tried to avoid the bathrooms if possible, they weren't very clean. I do remember the popcorn as being the best in the world.

We were all set. Sounds pretty good? We thought so. I guess looking back now we didn't think so much about how hot we were in the summer or cold in the winter. We were just happy to be together. The best part of my week was Saturday night. I will never, never forget sliding over to the middle of the seat so my husband could put his arm on my shoulder and I could lean my head on his arm. We would sit like that for hours. Content to not say a word, just watch the movie and be together. AAAhhhh, young love.

A Fine Friday

Yippee, skippy, it's Friday! Now why I'm so excited I don't know because right now I off for the summer. You can bet when I'm at work that Friday's are a BIG DEAL. I guess I'll just name the things that are delighting me on this Fine Friday. I got my hair done this morning. I was sssoooo tired of those gray roots. I declare I absolutely had a spring in my walk when I left the hair salon. Getting your hair done can just make you feel better all over. Ohhhhh and when I got home my hubby had brought home fresh shrimp for you us to grilllll......doesn't get any better than that. Now I'm sitting here surfing and blogging, cozy on my sofa, watching it rain outside...rain we so deperately needed. I might just slide down and take a little nap before time to grill those shrimp. Have a great weekend everyone!

Alone

I’ve read an old saying somewhere that you are never as alone as you are when you are in a room full of strangers. I would have to agree. If you’ve been reading my blog you will know that day before yesterday I had to attend a meeting relating to my job. I traveled 80 miles one way by myself to attend this meeting and sat in a room full of people and didn’t know any of them. Of course we all had the same purpose for being there and obviously we had the same career but most people had come with a co-worker wherein I was alone. When lunch came we had such a short amount of time that most of us just visited the cafeteria. Again, I sat in a room with a few hundred people and knew no one. I felt very alone and vulnerable.
Now I must explain that being alone is not something that normally bothers me, hence the picture of the train station today (I’ll explain in a minute). I am an only child that was raised in a small town with maybe one or two other children. I didn’t have any cousins or extended family to speak of. I was taught at an early age to occupy myself. As I grew up I longed for “girlfriends” to share shopping trips and gossip and I did have some of those but we drifted apart as we started raising our families. God blessed me with three sons so once again when it was time for me to go shopping for a new dress there was no one there to give their advice and I got used to it. As a matter of fact, most of the time I prefer to shop alone…it gives me the freedom to explore something that interests me or wander from shop to shop, thinking through my purchases and what works best for me.
For some reason though, on Tuesday I felt very alone…can’t pinpoint it, just did.
Anyway, I thought I would share a time with you when I was probably the most alone and vulnerable in my life and it worked out beautifully. When you finish reading my story I wish you would share with me a time when you were most alone….and made the best of it!
Several years ago my oldest son had to take a business trip to Paris. When he asked if I wanted to tag along I couldn’t say “yes!” fast enough. So my DIL and I were left to our own devices in Paris while my son took care of business except for one day. I had purchased the three of us train tickets out to Normandy to visit the American cemetery and see the beaches. We boarded the train early that morning and had a beautiful time watching the scenery go by. The train made stops at every little town we came through and we knew we were supposed to disembark in Bayeux (sp) where we would be picked up by our tour guide. You should know that the stop for each little town was announced in French and we frankly weren’t paying as close attention as we should have until it dawned on us that we were at our stop…as luck would have it, my DIL had just two minutes earlier stepped to the bathroom. My son said , “go ahead, get off, I’ll grab xxxx and we’ll be right behind you”. But it didn’t work that way, I stepped off the train and the doors slapped shut behind me and I looked up to see my son and DIL waving and motioning for me to stay where I was (as if I would try to do anything else). I can’t begin to describe how I felt seeing that train pull away and leave me standing there alone. Now if everything was going as planned, there should be a tour guide there, but there wasn’t. I sat down despondent on a bench trying to come up with a plan. Maybe we had completely gotten off at the wrong stop. How long would it take for my son to get back. I couldn’t speak a word of French and it was a pretty desolate looking place (the picture above is the actual train station, the little building on the right is where I sat down). I had no phone, couldn’t speak the language, I wasn't completely sure where I was and I didn’t know how to get home….pretty sad. I sat for a few minutes praying and suddenly this volkswagon van comes to a screeching halt in front of me. Out jumps a little French man with a sign bearing my last name. Hallelujah! In his broken English he asks where the other two people are and I explain the dilemma. No problem he says and makes a few phone calls and tells me it will be 1 ½ hours before my son and DIL will be back. Then he does the most amazing thing, he asks if I would like to tour his little town? Here we go again, what do I do, ride off in the sunset with a little French man? What if my son makes it back early, doesn’t think I’m there and heads back to Paris without me. What if this whole thing is unsafe, I don’t know this man. What should I do? Well, I threw caution to the wind, climbed in the volkswawagon and had a private tour of the little town, the best 1 ½ hours of my entire trip. He dropped me off at the cathedral in Bayeux, the sister to Notre Dame in Paris and I was able to explore the entire cathedral alone. I couldn’t believe it was unlocked and he just left me there because there wasn’t any place for him to park. To see the inside of that cathedral and admire it’s breathtaking beauty alone. To be in the presence of such history, the drink in the glory of God’s work! How sacred! Something I know I will never experience again this side of heaven. Something I could never had done had I been with a group of people!
To finish the story, the tour guide picked me back up and we made it back to the train station to pick up my son and DIL and had plenty of time to tour the beaches at Normandy. What a memory. Thanks for hanging with me, I know this has been a long one. I hope it was worth it.

Splendid

Every so often I allow myself to get totally immersed in a book to the exclusion of everything else. Today was such a day. Yesterday, I started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I know by now that most everyone else has read the book and it has been in my stack for a long time but I just picked it up yesterday and quickly became engrossed. This morning after running some errands I convinced myself that it would be alright to pick it back up and read a few more pages while I had my coffee. Once I started, I couldn't stop. It has been a long time since a book has touched me in the way this book has. Maybe it is because I have done so much soul searching in the last few months about what I want to do with the remainder of my life. My last child has graduated. Although I will ALWAYS be a mother I guess I am free to explore other areas in a way I haven't been up until now.
I would like to share with you what I think is the best quote from this book and maybe, just maybe, what I need to focus on....warning this may contain spoilers for those of you who haven't read the book.

"and yet she was leaving this world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence."

If this can be my legacy, I will gladly accept it.

Meetings!

Today I had a meeting. I don't guess I've mentioned that I am a high school Media Specialist and I also have a couple of other jobs with the school. Well today I had a state level yearly meeting pertaining to one of the other part time jobs. If you read my earlier post on family reunions and certain rituals you will understand what I mean about the requirements for a "meeting". Here is a list of things that describe an "official" meeting...the ones we all hold so dear!

1. A cold sterile room, devoid of any adornments on the wall.

2. A long rectangular table in the back of the "meeting room" that holds coffee, orange juice, and donuts.

3. Name tags.....we musn't forget the name tags and today we had not just the stick on ones where you write your own name but "official" nametags with the picture from our 20 year old driver's license imprinted on them.

4. Folders which contain various colored sheets of paper that have been stapled together and an agenda. You will always have the printout of the boring powerpoint so you can take notes.

5. A boring powerpoint.

6. "Miss Insecure" . She is the participant that has to have every bullet point of the entire powerpoint explained to her personally while everyone else sits and waits.

7. Mr. Know It All. He is the participant that tries to explain everything to Miss Insecure before the presenter gets a chance.

8. A "focus group". No meeting is complete without breaking up into focus groups. These are really an opportunity for people to sit around and shoot the breeze for 20 minutes.

9. Finally, the evaluation at the end. This is suppose to help the presenter gauge how well the meeting went but who is really going to bubble in how they feel!!! We all know one day we might have to be the "presenter".

Anyway, when I finally made it home I found I had scored big on an auction and won some more pieces of a set of dishes I am trying to collect. I'll bet you're familiar with it...Spode Pink Tower. Here is a picture...eat your heart out!

A Blah Monday

Hope this works, my first attempt! I had all kinds of grand plans for things I wanted to accomplish today but it just didn't work out. I did exercise on my new Wii Fit....I just love that thing except when I step on the scales and my little Mii says "Oh"....the last thing I need is a machine telling me I'm overweight.
Anyway, I thought I would share with you a video I made for our Vacation Bible School commencement. Being VBS Director is the best job in the world! I try to make it fun for the kids. I used online software that my favorite blogger uses. Let me know what you think!

Waffleless Waffles and Church

I love Sunday, it is my favorite day of the week. It begins with breakfast with my family and then off to church. Being with my family, sharing a breakfast of pancakes and then going to church and being with my church family is a joy. For me, church is a place of peace, uplifting, spiritual renewal and serenity. After church today my son grilled us steaks and what a great job he did. This afternoon has been a time of rest, a good book, a movie, just quiet.

Now I know you are wondering about those waffleless waffles. I have three sons. God did not see fit to give me a daughter even though I desperately wanted one. I accepted his wisdom and wouldn't change a thing but when a little niece came along after 25 years of an all male family..well you can see where this is going. We have nicknamed her Miss Priss. Welllll, Miss Priss loves to spend the night with us and we lllloooovvee for her to stay with us. One Saturday when she was about 2 1/2 she spent the night with us. Everything was going along just fine until Sunday morning. When she got up and started asking for breakfast she wanted waffles. My waffle maker bit the dust years ago and I never replaced it because my family wasn't particularly fond of waffles. We had a problem..we tried to entice her to eat her favorite cereal....Nope...we tried pancakes....Nope...we tried toast and jelly....Nope...we tried eggs...Nope...we tried it all..she wanted WAFFLES.

Well DH hit upon a brainstorm...he said to her, "Alright, I'm going to make you some of my world famous, never before shared, delicious, WAFFLELESS WAFFLES and he proceed to mix up pancake batter and as he poured the batter onto the griddle he painstakingly shaped each one into a square with his spatula. We sat her down to the table and held our breath as we placed the "square" pancakes in front of her. She looked at us with a quizzical look but began to eat. They were a hit! The rest is now as they say "history". Every time she stays with us she requests waffleless waffles. This is her up above, don't you agree she is a doll!! P.S. We think she has figured out the whole pancake/waffle business but she won't admit it.

Family Reunions

Let me say up front that today's blog in no way intends to be a put down or demeaning, I love all my family and I am a firm believer in family rituals but sometimes you just have to be amused at some of the things you see.
Today was our yearly family reunion and it is an understatement to say I'm not overly fond of family reunions and by family reunions I mean the ones where you gather with very extended family members once a year, at the same place and do the same things. These are the same family members that you will run into at Walmart next week and not even recognize! Let me give you a tongue-in-cheek look at some of our rituals.

1. No family reunion is legitimate without the required family reunion t-shirt that looks similar to the one above (no this is not my family, but the similarity is scary). You must buy the shirt so that the proceeds will go to pay for next year's reunion...a t-shirt you will never wear again unless absolutely everything else is dirty.
2. The same elderly male cousin I'll call "forgetful" that walks up to you every year and says, "You're new, my name is xxxx, I'm xxxxxx's great grandson, who are you related to?
3. The loud talking, gum chewing female cousin I call "ditzy" that wears a crazy hat every year.
4. The silent auction...again to raise money for next year's reunion, some hot items in the silent auction are the crocheted slippers, crocheted potholders, Dollar Store pillar candles and jars of homemade jelly.
5. The very blunt great aunt "miss straightforward" who just has to comment, "oh honey, you've put on a little weight since last year!
6. The "picture taker"..now don't get me wrong, I love taking pictures and do it all the time..but this "picture taker" always seems to catch you with your mouth full of food, or a picture of you from behind as you bend over to pick up your dropped napkin or he wants you to put your arm around your "husband" and the guy standing next to you is someone you've never met.
7. No family reunion is complete without the "bragger" who just built a brand new millon dollar house or bought a Hummer for each of his kids.
8. We mustn't overlook the "prize winners" these are the people that get a key chain with the family crest imprinted for traveling the furtherest distance to get to this yearly family reunion, or a camoflauge cap for correctly guessing the number of M & M's in the jar.

Oh well, I guess I've shared enough. I'd love to know if any of you share the same "rituals" at your family reunions! And by the way, I overheard them say that next year the silent auction items were going to be bigger...maybe flashlights and ice coolers....I can't wait!

What A Day!

What a strange day to start a blog. Within the last 48 hours I have experienced moments of great happiness and many moments of deep sorrow. I might share the sorrow with you later but I have chosen to share the great happiness with you now. My mother-in-law is celebrating her 76th birthday today and we (DH and I) took her out to eat at her favorite restaurant. I have been so blessed to have a wonderful mother-in-law these past 35 years. She has been a joy and a shining example for me!

I know I am suppose to have a purpose for this blog but I want to truthfully say I have many. I do like to decorate my home and I hope to share decorating projects with you. I also want to be a writer and this is a jumping off point for me. If I can stay faithful to this blog perhaps I might have what it takes to be a "real" writer. Another reason for me to jump into "blogland" is a deep desire to record the events of my family for future generations to read. I've said to myself so many times that I should keep a journal but the most I seem able to do is maintain my calender of appointments, hopefully this blog with be the catalyst for change. The last reason I started this blog is tied into the title I have chosen, The Empty Nester, because you see I am now living in an almost empty nest. My youngest child graduated from high school last month and it is really bothering me. We spread our children apart (7 years between each, don't ask me why, it just happened that way) so I have spent the last 33 years of my life raising my children and now in what seems like just a poof, they're gone.

I so admire you young mothers with small children, cherish these moments they will be gone quickly, but I admire you for taking the time now, while they are small, to record these precious moments, you will never regret it. Now, if I can figure out how to add a picture I will show you my youngest at his graduation. Oh, one little thing I forgot to mention....he was Valedictorian of his class..not bragging....just sharing.