E is for Endings

     We are going through a lot of endings in our house lately.  Of course we've just gone through the end of winter.  Very soon it will be the end of the school year.  Less than a year ago was the end of us having children in elementary school.  But, there is so much more getting ready to come to an end and it's got at least two of us in this house a little unsettled.

     My daughter is going through the most endings right now.  Her Girl Scout troop will be folding after this school year and so that's the end of everything that goes along with that.  The end of mother/daughter dinners, father/daughter dances, neighborhood camps, overnights at museums, cookie sales, etc.  The cookie sales I will not miss.  It will be very strange not having the other stuff going on.  She is going to do PEGS so she can continue to earn her awards.  But, it will not be the same.

Neighborhood Camp 2.5 years ago

     This is her last year of middle school.  Everything that goes with not being in high school is over.  This is both scary and exciting for us.  I just am having such a hard time believing that my baby girl is going to be in high school come August.  In just four years we will be planning for graduation.  YIKES!

     We are also part of the ending of an "era" with our local YMCA.  My daughter has been part of the swim team there for the past three years.  All of the coaches are leaving which means whatever happens next year it will be completely different.  It's a little scary, but then, change is always scary.  I hope that they are able to find new coaches soon.

The coach who is pregnant

     This past Christmas saw the ending of Santa Claus in our house, too.  It was the first Christmas that we did not have to pretend about Santa.  Which also meant that the tooth fairy and Easter Bunny have ended, too.  These actually I'm not as sad about as I probably should be.  I'm more relieved because I was HORRIBLE at it.  I just can't remember my lies to keep them going.  And,  our poor kids, the tooth fairy has NEVER been on time.  So, that ending has been helpful.

     This year also saw the ending of my 18 year run as a first grade teacher.  I was moved to 2nd grade for this school year.  I was not happy about it, but am really hoping this is where I stay next year.  There is a lot of uncertainty about that, but I'm still hoping not to be moved again.

My first second grade class in 19 years

     My husband's job that he had for a long time ended less than a year ago.  The company he worked for closed it's doors.  This led him back to a company he left about 13 years ago.  Thankfully, he did find another job.

      And, now it is time for the ending of this post.  Life takes us through lots of changes.  Sometimes they are far apart, but sometimes a lot happen in a short period of time.  The upside to it all is that whenever something ends, something else begins.

An early spring sunrise

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A Road Trip

     I am sitting in the passenger seat of our van playing a game on my tablet and signing softly along with an 80's song that is coming over the radio.  The kids are in the back seat watching a movie on the DVD player.  My husband is in the driver's seat.  We are on our way north.  Our destination is about 4.5 hours from home.

     I actually love times like these.  We don't have to be going anywhere exotic.  We don't even have to be going anywhere to stay overnight.  Our destination is not necessarily important.  It's that we are together.  It's that we are creating memories as a family.

     Last summer, my daughter came home from girl scout camp with all these plans for the next few summers that include her being gone for increasingly amount of time each year.  She will be starting high school in August.  These two things have been a huge twist in my gut.  It has made me realize exactly how limited our time is with our children.

     I have always tried to make sure my children have plenty of smiling moments in time that they will hopefully be able to look back at their childhood with fondness.  I want them to be able to have tons of things to reminisce about and talk about when they are older.  Those, remember when we... moments.  Moments they want to share with their own children.

     As I sit in the moving car I breathe in the contentment that surrounds me and cloak myself with love we all share. I glance at the man I am lucky enough to share all of this with and it makes me smile as my chest balloons.  He is the reason all of these family times work so well.  Because he is a daddy and a husband, not just a man with a family.

     Our road trip may cause us to sit in the car for a long period of time.  It may be we sleep in not the greatest hotel.  We may end up playing a waiting game most of the weekend.  But, we are all doing it together.  Our children are learning to support each other in their interests and our family is building a foundation that, hopefully will be strong enough to embrace grandchildren and great-grandchildren and beyond.

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An Unusual Friday Night

   It's Friday night and I am at home with no intention of leaving.  I have been in my pj's since 6:30 p.m.  This is very rare for me.  We are usually off and running somewhere with something to do.  

   Actually, most weekends we are constantly on the go.  But, this weekend we have only two actual planned things.  A baseball practice that my son and husband have to go to and the dogs have a grooming appointment.  

   It's so nice to know we don't have to rush from one thing to another.  I have been looking forward to this all week.  I had visions of sitting with my computer composing blog post after blog post and scheduling them to be published at various times.

   Well, here I sit with two unfinished blog posts in my files and no idea how I am going to finish either.  Actually, one I've got a vague idea of how I want it to go, but I just don't have the stamina or energy to put into it what is needed.  I really hope I do sometime this weekend.  

   Then, I sat and let the cursor blink for half and hour while I watched this week's episode of Big Bang Theory.  I love that show.  My daughter and I watch it together.  Now, we've got Hoarders on and my brain just seems to keep floating away.  

   I guess knowing that I don't have a swim meet or basketball tournament to go to this weekend has made my brain decide to really take some time off.  It doesn't get to do that very often.  And, next weekend we'll be off to Dekalb, IL (about a 4.5 hour drive) for the last swim meet of the regular swim season.  No more swim meets until summer time.

   Everyone in this house seems to just be wilted, including the dogs.  My husband is lounging on the bed in the bedroom.  My daughter is curled up on the couch under MY blanket.  My son is downstairs on his Xbox.  One dog is stretched across a pillow on the floor.  The other dog is stretched across the part of the blanket my daughter is not using.  And, my eyes keep straying to the clock to see if it's any closer to bed time.  

   So, that's how I'm spending this Friday night.  How about you?

It's the weekend, so it's time to hangout with the weekenders at Yeah Write!

Marriage Games #2

     My husband has some OCD tendencies.  He is far from being in need of therapy, well at least for that anyway.  But, yet there are those certain situations that he just has to have things a certain way.  I guess maybe we all have our moments, but when those moments provide amusement for others, they leave a person open to torment.

     One of his OCD needs is to have the hymnals and bible in the pew at church spaced equally apart and there be perfect symmetry with all three volumes in the rack.  He CANNOT leave them alone if they are not perfectly situated in front of him.  Which is hilarious considering the state of his desk at work.

     My daughter and I take turns moving them around.  We will push them together, push two together and move the third far apart.  We'll take the bible (which belongs in the middle because it's smaller than the hymnals) and put it on the outside of the hymnals.  Sometimes we even turn one of the books on its side.

     We have started "timing" him to see how long he can go without "fixing" them.  So far his record is about 8 seconds.  My daughter and I have a hard time controlling the giggles during church because we are spending so much time torturing my husband.

     Ok, so not only am I a bad wife for inflicting annoyances on my husband during church, but I'm also a bad mom for being a dreadful role model in church.  But, I consider it my duty to teach my daughter how to vex your husband.  It is a very useful skill that requires careful cultivation.

See What Happens in The Marriage Games #1

Friday Flash Blog Hop

The Marriage Games #1

     Today we had my son’s birthday party.  We held it in the fellowship hall of the church that we attend.  It was a small party with only six total kids, including our son and daughter.  The last game of the party was hide- and-seek with the lights off. 

     During the game my husband would say, “I hear footprints.” 

     Wait, What?

     I looked all over the building and could not find one footprint anywhere.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard a footprint.  Isn’t that the impression that is left behind after a foot has stepped in something soft enough for the foot to press into?  I was not aware they made noise. 

     As we were driving home something was said about all the footprints in the snow in the park.  I mentioned that they did not make noise.  After all, it’s just an impression in the snow. 

     Well, of course, my husband is a man and this meant it had to be argued. 

     Me: “Listen, do you hear the footprints.”

     Husband: “Yes, they make crunching noises”

     Me: “No, the person who walked there, may have made crunching noises with his/her FOOTSTEPS, but the footprints do not make noise.”

     Husband: “I can hear them.  When someone walks by, I can hear their footprints.”

     Me: “Those are not footprints, those are footsteps.”

     And, so it went for the entire ten minute drive home.  Of course the kids were chiming in and laughing at the whole match.  As usual in these games I threatened to break out my dictionary.  But, as I mentioned, my husband is a man and even this does not deter him from his adamancy to the point of declaring the dictionary would prove me wrong.  Of course he would do this even with proof of his botched resoning in print in front of him.

     This is not a new sport for us.  It’s just the newest form it’s taken.  We have an ongoing feud about itch and scratch.  Then there is the whole cabinet/cupboard debate in which not even Merriam Webster could convince my husband he was wrong.  

     It’s just one of our quirks that helps keep our relationship fun after almost 27 years together.  We’re both nutcases and stubborn mules which makes life pretty interesting most of the time.

     How do you keep your relationship(s) entertaining?

Hanging out with those wonderful peeps at Yeah Write again.