Well that was ... fun?    o_0

I've been having a really good day, up until about three hours ago.  My cell phone rang and my neighbor informed me that she'd been trying to call and was getting a busy signal.  Ordinarily, that would be no problem, it would simply mean that I was online ... except she knew I wasn't online because she'd seen me and the kids coming back from town.  (Had to return a video, you know.)  That was when I discovered that I had no dial tone.

I was ON THE LINE with the phone company, when - the power went out.  Apparently not just my power, power across at least three Southern Indiana counties went down.  And it stayed down for over an hour. 

I know that in the grand scheme of things lack of phone and power isn't something to whine and feel sorry for myself about.  But you know what?  I did anyway.  I whined and felt sorry for myself.  Only, there wasn't anyone to whine to because I'd already put the boys to bed, and I had no phone so I couldn't call anyone for sympathy either. 

Okay, I could have used the cell phone to call someone, but really, who wants to be called just because I'm bored and have no power?  That would be a poor use of a friend, right?  Calling up just so they could entertain me while I'm sitting here in the dark with nothing to do?  Yeah, I thought so to.  But NEXT time - I'm calling you because, hey, sitting in the dark with nothing to do is really boring. 

Do you have a particular color that you resonate to?   Does your life vibrate in harmony with a band on the spectrum?  Yes, I took another of the ubiquitous quizzes that float about.  I'm kind of a sucker for them and frankly, I think you should cut me some slack because I don't post even a tenth of all the ones I take. 

PS -

Just for giggles, I asked my son to check off which of the adjectives he thought applied to me ... this was the result

Okay - I'm sorry I know this is getting to be obsessive.  I asked my OTHER son which adjectives he thought applied to Momi.  That was fun because Tucker wasn't sure what all the words meant. 

Taking Care of Momi

I'll warn you now - this is a sentimental post so if you're in a cynical mood and wish to preserve it, you might want to skip Q-momi today.

One of the things that has surprised me most about my sons is how much they want to take care of me.  I will confess that I have had certain stereotypes of what male children are like and at every stage my kids challenge me to rethink, and revise my narrow views.  I grew up with "girl" toys, playing with dolls and doing the streotypical female child thing, where I role-played being a Mom.  I thought it was the girl's job to nurture and the boy's job to make loud noises with cars.  (My kids DO make machine noises as they play.)  But they are also very nurturing of themselves, each other and of me. 

I'm not feeling well today.  I had a bit of headache and sore throat last night so I took some cold/flu medicine that pretty well knocked me out.  This morning I didn't want to take that stuff so I took something different that didn't make me drowsy, but also didn't do much for alleviating my symptoms.  So I have a terrible headache and cough in addition to congestion and sore throat.  The boys of my stereotypal expectations would not have noticed.  But my kids did. 

Michael's teacher stopped to talk with me as she was delivering the kids to their parents after school.  "How are you feeling?" 

I was a bit surprised because she's usually in a hurry and never initiates a conversation.  I gave her the polite response, "Fine, thank you, and yourself?" 

But she pressed me, "No, seriously, are you feeling better?"  Now I was really taken aback. 

I answered her more honestly.  "I've felt better, I'm afraid I'm catching something nasty." 

She nodded.  "Michael has been very worried about you today.  He told me at least three times that he was planning to cook dinner tonight so you could rest.  Does he really do that?"

Yes, Michael really does that kind of thing.  He had his menu all worked out and told me on the way home that as soon as we got here, he wanted me to lie down and not worry about him and Tucker.  He said that he had already finished his homework because he knew that he would need to be done with it if he was going to make dinner.

Okay, I had a phone conversation with a friend in which I said that I was thinking I'd let Michael take over dinner tonight because I know he likes to cook and he hasn't had much chance recently.  But to hear from my son that he had already thought about this and planned to do it ... I was amazed, and touched.  He's nine!  My expectation is that he should be concerned with childish - boyish things, Yu-Gi-Oh, hot wheels and the like.  I am not ashamed to admit that it made me tear up a little to realize how much he had worried about me today.  I asked him why he was so concerned.  I mean yes, I don't feel well, but I don't have anything really serious, it's just probably a cold.  He told me that he knew last night when I didn't finish my dinner that I was really sick because he had noticed that I didn't eat lunch and I should have been hungry.  Come on, tell me ... is this normal?  Do other kids pay that close attention to their Moms?

It wasn't just Michael.  Tucker drew me a special picture today to cheer me up.  And speaking of Tucker - he made first grade SuperStar today.  He was thrilled, I'm thrilled.  His teacher was thrilled.  We all did a little happy dance for my baby who is trying really really hard to get this school thing.  But I didn't need to see the sticker to know that Tucker AND Michael are SuperStar kids.  I don't know everything that will happen to us over the next year.  But I know that we are all going to take care of each other, and it's gonna be all right. 

Reading Pleasures

     I've just finished the most marvelously satisfying book.  It's rich with interesting and very real characters.  Let me share with you the opening paragraphs ...

     Once upon a time, there wasa woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.
     She was fifty-three years old by then - a grandmother.  Wide and soft and dimpled, with two short wings of dry fair hair flaring almost horizontally from a center part.  Laugh lines at the corners of her eyes.  A loose and colorful style of dress edging dangerously close to Bag Lady.
     Give her credit: most people her age would say it was too late to make any changes.  What's done is done, they would say.  No use trying to alter things at thie late date.
     It did occur to Rebecca to say that.  But she didn't.

     Anne Tyler writes the story of Rebecca Davitch in a way that makes us start rooting for her on the first page and keeps us turning and hoping all the way through.  Back When We Were Grown-ups is a novel about second chances and growing up at every stage of life.  Rebecca imagines how her life would have been different if she had made different choices at crucial points.  Her introspection takes place as Rebecca plans and orchestrates lavish parties.  The contrast of the work she puts into celebration and the ease with which she enters growth is a fascinating study of the way our experience seldom matches common wisdom or expectation. 

     Today is my sister, Sam's birthday.  I won't tell you how old she is, except to say that she's two years younger than me.    I sent her a card, but I forgot to mail it until Wednesday so she probably won't get it until next week sometime.  Don't you HATE when you remember to buy the card, address the card, stamp the card, and drop it in the mail days before the birthday but you know that it's going to be late anyway?  It's a good card though.  Made me laugh. 

     I've been noticing that Tucker's socks don't match again.  The reason that I am noticing this is because all of a suggen his ankles are showing out the legs of every pair of pants he has.  So today, Tim and I are making a trip up to the outlet mall near Indianapolis to do some shopping.  You guys have a great Saturday.  Stay warm or cool or whatever will oppose the extreme of the season in which you are spending your January. 

     And everyone didn't Tina do a FABULOUS job with the redesign of my site?  I'm thrilled. 

My Happy Butt -

You guys are great.  I loved Dawns' Early's comment about the gator's I mentioned yesterday,  gator-ade indeed.  LOL 

I have not been able to comment on my SIR in a couple of weeks and I'm starting to feel like a total Xanga bum, living off the grace of the community and giving nothing back.  Does feeling badly absolve me from some of the guilt from neglecting you?  Or does it just make me sound pitiful? 

You may notice a few changes around here over the next day or two.  I've enjoyed the site design that Tina did for me last Summer and I've gotten a lot of compliments on it as well.  (Maybe she should submit it to the Xanga Skins Archive - hmmm)  But I think it's time for something a bit lighter.  Something that says Spring is on the way.  So - (you don't think I'M going to figure out this code thing right?  I don't even want to take credit for what's coming) - Tina is working with me to give Quiltnmomi a make-over. 

I've been reading, and that has stirred up some thoughts I'd like to blog about.  My kids have been my kids so there is a log of postable material building up there as well.  Yes, I think it's time for Q-Momi to get off her butt and do some serious Xangity-doo-dah. 

First of next week. 

Thursday -

My how time flies when you're up to your butt in alligators. 

I figured out this morning that the world is going to keep turning even if I DON'T try to get out and push ...

I hope you have a great day. 

Terri

Homecoming Routine?

Yesterday turned into a whirl of insanity that I hadn't planned.  Yes, I do pencil in my insanity, it's part of the fun.  I had a hard time getting to sleep after my drive back Sunday so I was up until ... about 3?  Monday morning.  Finally got to sleep, then I had to be up again a little after 6 to get the kids to school on time.  So here was my day ...

7:30 - leave home to drop kids at school
8:00 - dropped by Superintendent's office to complete the next step in the application to be a substitute teacher process.
8:30 - Post Office
9:00 - Bank
9:15 - Walmart (This is the black hole of the morning, I'm not sure why it took an hour to pick up bread, milk, and toilet paper!)
10:15 - drive back to Salem
10:45 - stop in doctor's office to make an appointment and talk with the billing person about a charge from last summer that was incorrectly billed to my insurance so it hasn't been paid.  Yes, I've been trying to sort this out via phone for over a month, being there in person we solved it in about 15 minutes.
11:10 - gas station
11:30 - back to my house to put away groceries.  Left a message for the therapist to call me back about setting up appointments for the kids as we go through this separation and divorce thing.
12:00 - picked up Barb to ride with me as I make a trip to Brownstown for MORE business
2:30 - back from Brownstown, pick up kids from school
3:00 - kids are settled in with afterschool snack - I return phone calls that have been piling up since last Wednesday
3:30 - I take a bit of time to try and organize my thoughts about a poem that's been stuck in my head
4:00 - Tim checks in and I describe some of the above - he makes the command decision NOT to ask me what's for dinner, instead he offers to come home early and take the kids to McDonald's.  I check my email. 
5:15 - I wonder if the dog has been outside at all today, start a load of laundry
5:45 - Tim arrives, while we talk about the business of the family, I notice that the bowl of Great Grains I had poured for my breakfast is still sitting on the table, still without milk . . . so I eat my breakfast.  Never did add milk, and it wasn't half bad.
6:00 - I'm in bed sleeping. 

Woke up at about 10:30 and checked on the family - they were all here and alive - so I went back to bed. 

Since I've been telling you guys about my trip to Arkansasa and about the family I visited while I was there I thought I'd post a few photos of them. 

This is my cousin, Jeff, with two of his daughters.  Yes, that IS a saddle on his back.  He doesn't have a horse, but he found this saddle and got a really good deal on it.  I'm thinking that there will be a horse in his near future.

Jeff and all his girls.  They are charmers every one.  And he's about to go nuts already at the thought of them out in the big bad world.  The one in his arm is the same age as Tucker and when she and Tucker get together, it's scary what all they encourage each other to do.  Tucker and Bailey have missed each other in this long 6 months since our last visit.

OKay - I have more photos, but apparently Xanga is done playing nice with the uploads, so I'll have to save those for another day.
 

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

The trip to Arkansas was FULL.  Three days packed with meetings, discussion, negotiation - and that was all in the morning as we worked out the shower schedule.  My poor Dad, on New Year's Day the 70 year old septic system suffered a critical failure that turned out to be fatal ... and unfortunately, no one in the family is a plumber.  But even worse than that - the cable modem was refusing to flush properly when I got home from visiting Jeff last night so I wasn't able to post about my evening. 

Now I'm home in Indiana, with pictures and everything, and Xanga won't let me upload them.  o_0 

I'll try to make up for this later, but I'll tell you now that the highlight of my trip was last night.  Jeff has a new toy - a Honda 1100 something something something (I'm no good at remembering the numbers and letters he rattled off to inform me of the make and specifications of his motorcycle.)  And here's the deal, I had to SWEAR that I wouldn't tell my Mom because he's afraid that if she finds out, he'll be banned from his Aunt Lib's turkey and dressing forever ... but I talked Jeff into taking me for a ride.  It was so cool.  Of course, my part was easy - "DON'T LEAN" - his part was to be tour guide, pilot and windscreen.  And (really DON'T tell my mother) we got out on Highway 270 so he could show me the fun of curves. 

Yes, I'm thinking that my desire to own a helicopter has just been replaced by an even stronger (and more attainable) desire to own one of these toys.  Tim suggested that I should take two chapters of Kant and lie down til the feeling goes away, but I'm not sure that's strong enough medicine to squelch this passion. 

My Weekend

Some things about coming home to Arkansas are just fun.  Visits with my cousin Jeff are the best.  He was a total hellion as a teenager.  Drove his parents nuts, had us all convinced that he would wake up dead before high school graduation.  Now, he's a 34 year old man with three gorgeous blond daughters.  If any man ever deserved to be blessed with beautiful babies, it's Jeff.  And he has become the most conservative - involved parent of any of the guys in the family by far.  I tell you, it does my heart GOOD to see him sweating over Paige - the 12 year old - because she's attracting the kind of attention that he used to pay to the 12 year old girls when he was in Junior High and dreaming about making it to third base.

It's been unseasonably warm on this trip.  I lucked out because I knew before I came that I wanted to wear my new leather jacket at every conceivable opportunity - so I packed light weight tops.    Well, I haven't been able to wear the jacket, but I'm comfortable with the mid-70's we've been enjoying.  My poor babies are about ready to smack me because I made them pack heavy sweat shirts. 

We have a final round of whirlwind activities today.  I have a meeting this morning with a man from the Arkansas State Education Department to talk about the various alternative means of teacher certification possible for people like me who have an undergrad degree and don't want to have to spend three years in school to get a second degree before teaching.  I don't know if this is the route I'll go, but I'd like to know my options.

Mom and Dad have found a new Chinese Restaurant in Hot Springs they want to take me to for lunch.  And then this evening - I'm going over to Jeff's house to smile while his daughters wrap him around their little fingers. 

Tomorrow, the boys and I will make the drive back to Indiana so if you think of us please say a little prayer for our safety. 

Donna - You will be missed.