Alert and Oriented (x4)

Tuesday went downhill.....you can read about Sunday and Monday here . To continue with the saga of my week, we’ll roll right into Tuesday morning. It was one of the saddest things I’ve had to deal with in a very long time. Tuesday 9:45 a.m. After arriving back at the stinky sewage building at 7 a.m. for staff meeting, I ran home to grab some breakfast, paperwork and checks. I needed to meet the restoration company back at the building. On the drive back, a dog—a pretty, yellow, playful Labrador-cross dog--dashed out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, but there was nothing I could do. The owner was right there, leash in hand. He’d been running with Bruno in the field and was preparing to put Bruno back on the leash when the dog ran across 4 lanes of fairly busy traffic to greet some women with kids and jogging strollers. Then as Bruno dashed back to his owner and there was an awful, horrible thud. The dog was thrown against the curb, broken and bleeding. The kids were there watch...

I think that someone could probably write a country and western song about the things that have been happening in our family’s lives this week. Example: Sunday, 3:37 a.m. Claire barks frantically from her crate. Not a typical thing for her to do at all. Ted and I both came down the hall to see what was happening. Ran into a green cloud of smell. At first I thought Claire had been stricken with diarrhea, but no. It was a skunk. In our garage. More than likely drawn by the kitty food there. Just not for THAT kitty. Blessedly, it didn’t spray. Not the bigdogs, not the garage full of musical instruments, nor one of us as we went to investigate. Mr. Stinker just waddled away, content to eat up about $5 worth of cat food...which I was happy to let him have. But…P-U!!!! And there’s just no getting back to sleep after that… Monday 7 p.m. I was late for a church business meeting to discuss the budget and our recent sewage problem and the restoration that should be happening rig...

Summer time is winding down. Three of my kids go back to school on Thursday. My eldest begins college on August 31. Even though I wait with baited breath in May for school to let out, I’m always ready for it to start again. But this year, it’s a little different. The many rites of passage various family members have achieved this year have overwhelmed me. And I’m struck by the thought that every time we do something, especially something with the family as a whole, it may be one of the last times. I’m treasuring impromptu moments together more. In all honesty, I will be glad to have my living room back, without listening to the Xbox or the tv while I’m working. But it’s coming home to me how quickly this is all going to be gone. The older I get--the more time passes, the quicker it seems to run by…it’s as if someone is turning the stem on my watch and making each hour go by in the space of what used to be 45 minutes…. In other news, I have expanded my independent contractor g...

I braved not only the Mall (the new Mall-Mall, even tho' it's like 10 years old) and Marshall's on tax-free day, but Wal-Mart. I know. I am insane...but I heard just the cutest thing ever at Marshall's. All to save probably 5 bucks.... There were wall-to-wall people there, with lots of cranky kids and crankier moms. One little boy of about 8 was trying to soothe his little sister, about 4: (my comments that I said in my head are in parentheses) Him: I know she's angry. And she will probably raise her voice at you. But you don't have to be scared (talking about his mom, I'm assuming) Her: Really? Him: She will raise her voice, but don't be scared (Raise her voice, really? Scream and have her head spin around backwards and pea soup come out of her mouth, maybe? I don't know--I didn't see mom, but in that situation, she'd have been justified. And what 8-year-old says 'raise her voice' anyway?) (Pause) Her: Well, okay. But I'm g...

Having learned my lesson, and having spent about 487 hours of my precious off time in July at the MVD, today I took Caleb, age 16, to the MVD EXpress (15 Minutes or LESS! Toot-toot!) and coughed up the extra $20 for the priviledge of not waiting in line at a privately owned store and officially became the mother of not one, but TWO, teenage boy drivers. Interestingly enough, even though’ the price was considerably higher than the state-run version, there were still people with prison tattoos there. And one or two of them looked as if they might be craving a bit of the hair of the canine that nipped at them….or something like that. However, everyone did seem to have a full set of teeth, and there was nary a child there under the age of 12. And the 12-year-old there was fully dressed and not in pj’s.** But that’s not the point. The point is, I just signed over permission and accepted responsibility for obtaining a driver’s license for someone who does things like this: On a regular...

(ok...but it's red...and it hauls things...kind of like BOTH of my Suburbans!) In between mopping up lakes of blackwater (read here: POOP people!), dealing with reluctant property managers and insurance companies, driving my daughter to and from Chick-fil-A, both to work and just hang out for something approaching eight hours on her DAY OFF, I became the proud mom of bigredtruck2 about a week ago. We were out looking for a car for my son, and found an adorable little Honda Civic that’s just perfect for a college student. Bigredtruck2 was parked in a Staples lot with a “FOR SALE” sign and phone number. We weren’t even looking. Bigredtruck1 still has lots of life left in her. You see, bigredtruck1 is a 2 wheel drive. Bigredtruck2 is a 4 wheel drive. As my kids will tell you. 2WD=feminine, 4WD=masculine. So, basically we bought a boyfriend for my Suburban. He isn’t new. But he’s beautimous! He has a leather interior and REAR A/C folks! We’re hoping the two vehicles will g...

Saturday morning I was on my way home from the gym (after the first workout since surgery 6 wks ago—in pain and intensely disliking my BFF who made me go at the moment, but that’s a whole ‘nother post) when I got a phone call from a church member who had gone in to do some cleaning and general maintenance. “Not to alarm you, but there’s a small leak here at the church. We came into clean and noticed a smell. There’s some pretty nasty water coming out of one of the bathrooms and it’s started to go into the main worship area.” None of the other staff had answered their phones and I was the first “live” person he’d called. Hmm…not the way I wanted to spend my Independence Day, but, oh, well. I came home, decided to forego the shower and changed into some work clothes. Told Ted I’d be back in a couple of hours probably and off I went. I arrived at the building and opened the front door and immediately smelled it. Then I stepped into the worship area. And viewed Lake Soul Rio. Oh,...