~ Not Doing Shit

KJ left for Canada yesterday ~ I don't think I'll be doing shit for the next 11 days!

~ Love Is

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And now faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of those is love.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4

We’ve all read this verse at some point in our lives. Sometimes I read it and I’ll be like “Yes!” Other times I read it and I’ll say, “blah blah blah”.

I sat down and comprised a list of just some of the things that love is to me.....

Love is 2am feedings. And 3am. And 4am.

Love is cleaning up the chunks when one of the kids is sick.

Love is letting the kids get a dog when they “promise to take care of it”, even though you know you’ll be the one taking care of it.

Love is letting your kids make their own choices even though we know those choices may not be the right ones.

Love is letting them fail once in a while.

Love is being there to pick them up when they fall.

Love is hanging in there instead of running away.

Love is tears streaming down your face at your daughters dance recital.

Love is unconditional.

Love is being able to sleep in on Saturday (and Sunday) morning ~ undisturbed.

Love is homemade pancakes on Mother’s Day ~ in bed.

Love is a lot of work.

Love is giving mouth to mouth to a dog you didn’t even want.

Love is holding said dog in your lap 5 years later when the vet has to put him to sleep.

Love is watching your son get trampled on the football field and staying in the stands instead of rushing down to the field to protect him.

Love is tearing up at high school graduations.

Love is kindegarten handprints forever saved on red construction paper.

Love is popsicle stick Christmas ornaments.

Love has its rewards but sometimes it’s really hard to find them.

Love is a handmade birthday card.

Love is a phone call just to say, “I love you.”

Love is the smile you keep on your face when your heart is sad.

Love is family ~ near or far.

Love is the lump in your throat that you get when you watch them achieve their goals.

Love is being able to take a second look at that really hot guy (or girl) and not have to apologize for looking.

Love is following your spouse 1500 miles from home and not letting him see you cry.

~ Empty Nesters?

Every now and then, someone will ask the question, “What’s it like to be empty- nesting?” My reply is always the same ~ It’s not empy-nesting as long as their crap is in your garage. In our case, it’s the garage, two closets and a couple of dresser drawers.

With Ryan starting his new job today and being relatively settled into his new bachelor pad, KJ decided it was maybe time to hand over some of his ‘important documents.’ You know the ones I’m talking about ~ the ones we keep for them so they don’t get lost. The passport, the Social Security card, the birth certificate, etc. My plan was to hold these things hostage, thinking that as long as I had them, the kids would eventually have to come get them. Evidently, it doesn’t work that way. Go figure.

So, last night I got out the lock box and started going through what I needed to send to Ryan. I got out an envelope, put his name on the front and in the corner, on the bottom, I wrote, “Important Documents.” Twenty-three years old and you’d think the kid was still in grade school. I pulled out his passport and his Social Security card. I’m holding on to his Baptism records but I sent him his birth certificate. I came across his immunization records so I tossed those in there, too. I sent him his savings bonds because they are his and he’s now free to do what he wants with them.

Then, I came across a little card that didn’t look familiar to me. I picked it up and stared at it in horror. It was the card that boys get when they turn 18 and have to sign up for the ‘selective service.’ I wondered if I could trash it and then say it must have gotten lost in the move. However, figuring that was probably some kind of federal offense, I immediately nixed that idea. My mind started thinking of ways I could dispose of the card, all of them ways that would more than likely land me in prison. Seeing as how I’m hardly the prison type, I grudgingly put the card in the envelope. Besides, even if I did ‘accidentally' lose it (on purpose), they have his name and information on file. *sighs*

KJ leaves early Wednesday morning for his fishing trip in Canada. He’ll stop in Omaha and will spend the night with Ryan on Thursday before continuing on to Canada. He’ll hand over to Ryan his envelope of ‘Important Documents’ .

But you know that other stuff I still have that belongs to the kids? It’s in the garage, two closets and a couple of dresser drawers. I think I’ll hold that stuff hostage; someday they’re gonna want it and they’ll have to come here to get it.

Empty nesters? As long as I have their crap in the garage, two closets and a couple of dresser drawers, I won’t ever know the definition of ‘empty nesters.’

~ Welcome To The Real World

It’s finally happened ~ 11 weeks after Ryan received his college diploma, he’s now entering the work force as a college graduate. Yay!!!! His 5 years of college and hard work has finally paid off. He’s been struggling since graduation and not finding a job in his field has made it, at least to him, seem as if he were still in college.

Today, as I sit here writing, he’s moving back to Papillion. He’s found a nice apartment not far from our old house and he starts his new job at Utility Equipment on Monday. Some of you might recognize that name because Ryan worked there a few summers ago and during Christmas break.

The downside of this new job ~ seems there's always a downside ~ is the fact that he now won’t be coming out here next month. Both kids were supposed to fly out here on the 14th but with a new job, Ryan won’t be able to make it. Don't get me wrong; while I’m thrilled to death that he’s found a job, I’m devastated that they won’t be here next month. It's my selfish side shining through ~ I want to see my kids.

Lynsay is like me ~ she hates to fly and the thought of her getting on a plane by herself ~ ha! so not gonna happen.

It’s a bittersweet time ~ I’m so excited for Ryan and this new chapter that he’s starting but at the same time, I'm sad that the new job has interfered with his upcoming visit.

I miss them . . . .

How many days til Thanksgiving?

~ What Do You See?

I have found in my life that I'm anal. Some call me Type A but I don’t think I’m a complete Type A person. I’m lax about some things while being totally anal about others.

For example, I sometimes find that I can’t seem to sit still; I feel like I should always be up doing something. When the kids were small, I was always doing something. I was constantly on the go, sometimes forgetting, as I was pulling out of the driveway, just where it was I was supposed to be going. Was I supposed to be picking someone up or dropping someone off? Cleaning? I can be a fanatic. I remember when I used to vacuum on a daily basis. Sick or anal....you decide. Even though it’s just me and Kenny at home, I still clean every week and much to Murphy's delight, I no longer vacuum every day!

I’m also one of those who, if there is a book out that I like and it happens to be in a series, I have to read the series in its entirety, one right after the other. I don't like to wait months for the next book to come out and then have to remember what happened in the previous book. Hey, we all know that I do have my blonde moments and not only am I directionally challenged, my memory isn’t quite what it used to be.

With that being said, the last and final book in the Harry Potter series finally came out in paperback last week. Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled. So excited that Kenny even offered to have me at Walmart at midnight just so I could have it. Sweet guy, huh?

This is one series in which I couldn’t wait for all the books in the series to come out before reading the first one. Admittedly, I did collect the first 4 before actually starting the series. After that, waiting for the rest of them to come out was torture; I’m hardly the most patient woman on the planet. I didn’t think I’d like the books but it turns out that I love them. I found myself anxiously waiting for each book to come out. Every Christmas, I’d buy whichever movie had come out on DVD for Lynsay. Now, I’m also one who can’t watch a movie without reading the book first. So, I found that in order to watch the movies, I had to first get busy reading.

Which brings me to this blog . . . in the first book, "Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone", Harry comes across a special mirror, the Mirror of Erised. When Harry first stumbles across this mirror, he gazes into it and sees his parents and other beloved family members who are long gone. Naturally, Harry is in awe of this mirror, thinking that he is in fact looking into a special mirror that allows him to see his parents and vice versa. However, as Dumbledore later explains to Harry, this is a mirror where one is shown their deepest, most desperate desire of their heart.

This, of course, started my mind to wander, as it’s sometimes known to do.

What if we all had that mirror?

So, just for grins and giggles, close your eyes and picture yourself walking down long, crooked hallways, and up & down winding staircases. At the end of your journey, you come to a heavy, ornate, wooden door. You push open the door and slowly step inside a room that is illuminated by what seems like hundreds of candles. Standing there, in the middle of this spacious room is a single item...a mirror.

Now, let's just say that this mirror is the Mirror of Erised and you get one shot. You find yourself slowly walking towards it, like it’s silently beckoning you forward. Once you reach the mirror, you stand there, silently gazing deeply into your own reflection. You know that this mirror will eventually show the deepest, most desperate desire of your heart.

Now ask yourself this question . . .

What will you see?

~ Adventures in Oklahoma

Wow, what a great time I had! I flew out of Cali last Thursday and after a long day of flying and airport sitting, I finally made it to Oklahoma City sometime after 9pm. Just a few hours late but hey, who's counting!

I had a wonderful time just hanging out with my mom, my sister and my niece. I saw family and friends, did some shopping and left with great memories.

I came home to a wonderful reception; Murphy did nothing but mope around the house while I was away and poor Kenny couldn't do anything to make it better for him. Needless to say, they were both happy to see me when I got home.

As you can see, mom had a great birthday, and that cake? It was sooooo delish!!

It was good to be home but it's great to be back in Cali ~