Mark

Today is Mark's birthday.  Who is Mark you ask?  Mark lives next door to us.  To say that it is a miracle that he is here would be a complete understatement.  You don't need to know the why but the how is most certainly because God has great, great plans for this young man.  God has placed him in the most loving care of the best parents he could find for him.  Now he is 18 and the world is his to explore and improve upon.  To say that Mark has a good heart would also be an understatement.  He is giving and loving and always has a way of making people laugh.  He walks with God and it is obvious.  Mark, you have figured out how to live everyday with a smile on your face, God's hand in your hand taking one step at a time.  Something most people don't learn until they are much older.  I hope this year brings you continued happiness, fun, laughter, great memories and good health.   Happy Birthday Mark!

Wouldn't you know....

Last night my car was broken into and my purse was stolen.   Good thing there were just "things" in there.....   Maybe I was a purse snatcher in another life, this is the 3rd time this has happened to me.

Indian Summer

This is Julia rescuing Bugz from the heat and putting him in the bathtub for the day.  She found him this morning at 9am hyperventilating and he wouldn't move.  He is fine now.  Temps will probably get up to almost 100 degrees today.

This was Ben a week ago.  It was foggy and cold and he didn't mind that we put this blanket on top of him while he was napping in Julia's bed.

Anniversaries

Tonight we had dinner with friends celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary.  Wow.... 27 years.  That is a long time.   John and I celebrate our 15th this month and I think that is a long time.  I think it is funny that we as humans document moments in time like this.  How our lives are so structured into centuries, decades, years and months.  We go about our lives with this big checklist.  27 years married - check.  40 years old - check.  7 years with the company - check.  How different would it be if we didn't have these markers.  We must need them.  We must want to have this structure.  I guess God wants us to climb each rung of the ladder to get to heaven so we know how far we've come.

Sentiment, remembrance and regret

When I was much younger I used to get quite attached to things.  Knickknacks mostly.  Little treasures from other people.  A Christmas gift from someone special or a neat rock I found on one of our Sunday picnics.  After my Mom died I had one of her bracelets - it reminded me of her so much and I would play with it on my wrist when I thought of her.  I did this so often that one day the clasp broke.  I put the bracelet in my purse so I could get it fixed.  Around the same time this happened the ring that John proposed to me with (a beautiful ring that had been his family for a long time) had a loose diamond.  I put this ring in my purse too until I could get to a jeweler to have it fixed.  One day at work I realized my purse was missing.  It was in the same place I always kept it - secure in my office.  I knew someone I worked with had stolen it.  I searched and searched the entire building getting more frantic with each step not wanting to admit that these treasures were gone.  When it finally hit me I collapsed on the floor in a heaving bundle of tears.  

The loss of those items tore me apart for a long time but it was the moment I started to live a different life.  I realized eventually that they were indeed just things and to this day I can still remember exactly what they looked like.   It was a defining moment because I started to not care about items anymore.  I am not a pack rat.  I tend to throw things out rather than keep them.  I started to value the people in my life and the moment I am in more than the memories.  I have a very bad memory.  I think it is because I have learned to not dwell on the past - I prefer to enjoy the present.  That doesn't mean that I don't miss my Mom sometimes or wish that I had that ring to give to Julia someday.  I do.  I have a few choice items locked away in the garage to share with my children someday but for the most part life is about today - I live mostly in the now - forgetting the past and not worrying about the future (maybe to a fault).  I try to love the people I am with now and I don't walk around with regret that I didn't do things differently.  I try to learn from my mistakes and move on.  If anything I hold onto the people in my life too much rather  than the things.  I probably hold them too tight to my heart.  I guess this blog is an item that records and remembers for me so I can move on.  

Back to School

It was back to school night tonight and I was in hot pursuit of the principal.  Julia was suppose to have a teacher named Mrs. Luske (whom everyone said would be the perfect teacher for Julia).  On the first day of school we showed up to a substitute named Ms. Shultz who informed us that she only found out about subbing the night before.  She said she wasn't sure what was going on with Mrs. Luske but she was expected to be there through the end of September or even longer.  We like Ms. Shultz - she used to be a 4Th grade teacher at the kids school but she received a pink slip this past spring with all of the new layoffs and budget cuts.  We were happy she could possibly be Julia's teach but noticed that her belly was quite big..... pregnant in fact...... so there was no way she be there the entire year.  After 3 days of school Julia informed us that there was yet another Ms. Shoultz (notice the different spelling).  This was very confusing.  Was this another sub?  Was she permanent?   We never once received a letter home informing us of what was going on.  So as I was saying I was in hot pursuit of the principal.  We tracked her down and she explained the predicament.  We understand and I will save you the details but it looks like Julia might just be playing the teacher shuffle this year.   The lack of communication would never have happened in our previous private school and I honestly didn't expect this from their current school which is usually on top of things.   I guess she will learn to adapt to different situations better and we will encourage more home learning this year as a result.  We are trying to look at the bright side because there doesn't seem to be a better alternative option at this point.  Julia seems relatively happy - she is glad to see her friends from last year on the playground. 

Zumba

I attended a class today called Zumba.   It is sweeping the nation and is extremely popular.  It is a dance class that is all latin based.  You will soon see me at the club teaching it!!!  Training is on Sept. 12.  I am really excited!