Archive for » August, 2010 «

Attempting A Last Minute Fling

30
Aug 2010

Attempt is the key word here. It hasn’t really worked out. I tried, but other people keep interrupting and making demands on my time, and it is hard to get away and steal a moment or two.

I had high hopes for today, but they were shot down by a 13-year-old who thinks she wants to play volleyball. It is strange the things that will interfere.

Officially, my children do not go back to school until Wednesday, Sept. 8. Unofficially, two of the four children are currently on school grounds engaged in school activities. My other two children are probably still sleeping or at least barefoot and planning to soon head into the lake for a nice relaxing swim. I was planning at being lakeside as well, but volleyball interfered and instead I am using the woefully limited power of the wifi at my local public library.

The fling, you see, was an attempt to get one last vacation in before school starts. We pulled our camper into the campground yesterday, and we flirted with the idea of setting up an official camp. There were two problems: one, we weren’t quite next to my in-laws, and there would be a closer spot opening up today; and two, the people camping next to us had claimed about 6 feet of our campsite. It wasn’t all our temporary neighors’ fault. A few trees on our campsite sort of create an unofficial border that makes them think it isn’t ours. This left us without room to even spread out our checkered-flag rug. And if we planned to put out our awning, we’d never be able to use our own campfire.

We didn’t complain though because we only needed a place to park for one night until the better spot, closer to our in-laws opened up. Today, my husband is at work, and I am at the library, and my father-in-law gets the wonderful job of hooking up our trailer and moving it two spots down.

So, our family is camping. Sort of. The oldest child has band camp three days this week. She has to be there from 8 to 3 every day. The youngest daughter wanted to do volleyball, which is why she and I are here today. But she just called, and she has not yet had a physical (I should have known), so she can’t do anything. I am definitely still in summer mode.

Tomorrow, classes start at Ferris, so I will be driving down to teach, and I will be gone pretty much all day. I will do it again Thursday, which is the day when all of the children should be able to stay at the campground.

And this weekend? A holiday weekend when all of us should be able to rest and relax? Three of the children are working both Saturday and Sunday, and one is working Friday too. And by Monday, we’ll pack it all up and head back home.

Despite the time struggles, we will find a way to enjoy ourselves. There will definitely be s’mores and time spent around the campfire and that will be enough. Next year, we need to remember that even though school doesn’t start until after Labor Day, the school may have other plans for our children.

Category: Family, Life with Linda  Tags: ,  One Comment

Summer’s Over

24
Aug 2010

OK, maybe it is just over for me because this is faculty week, which means I am back in school. Classes start next week, but after a long time of not having to set an alarm, I am now the one getting up at 6 a.m.

Of course, this week coincides with one of the weeks my husband took off for vacation. He was nice enough to get up with me that first day since I tend to almost always get up with him. Plus, I think he has a hard time sleeping in because he normally gets up so early.

It is now 10 a.m., and 3 of my children are still in bed. I need to wake them up. It is practice for the upcoming school year. It will be good for them. Besides, there are dishes to be done and their stuff needs to be picked up from my living room.

The fourth one would probably still be in bed too, but she had to get up and do one of her six hours of driving. She will be done with her classroom instruction this week and then she’ll be able to drive with a parent in the passenger seat. She isn’t even 15 yet.

And in a semi-related comment, I signed up for a Google Voice phone number. It lets me customize my voice mail messages. I created one just for my kids: “Hi this is your mom. Is your laundry done? Are the dishes done? Is your room clean? If the answer is yes to all of those, you can ask me for something else.”

I thought it was appropriate, but I should have also added “no, I am not sending you money.”

Category: Parenting  Tags: ,  Comments off

Thirty-Nine Lessons I May Have Learned

19
Aug 2010

Today, August 19, 2010, marks my 39th birthday. It is one of those birthdays that aren’t quite real in that when you mention it is your 39th birthday (or your 29th), people tend to wink and nod and think you are really turning 40 (or 30). But I’m not. I’m 39 today.

What does it mean to turn 39? After 39 years on the planet, what have I learned about myself, about parenting, about writing, about love, about marriage, about life? I’m not sure, but I want to make an effort to figure it out at least 39 times. At this point, I’m not sure if I can come up with 39 things or if I’ll be able to come up with 139, but the plan is 39 things. I’m going to go ahead and get started now:

  1. You are never too old to learn something new. I went back to get a master’s degree in 2006, and I plan to eventually get a PhD. And even without the pursuit of formal degrees, I love to learn.
  2. Although I absolutely love to engage in a DIY project, I am not a carpenter, and it shows. It might be that the project is unfinished for months (years), but the imperfections just add to the character of our home, right? I still love doing DIY projects.
  3. I have never regretted taking the time to learn HTML code or anything about how computers work.
  4. Parents need to know as much as if not more than their children know about technology.
  5. Marrying the right man is an important first step in having a good marriage, but the work doesn’t stop there.
  6. Laugh. Be goofy. Don’t skip doing something because you are afraid of looking silly or stupid.
  7. Don’t skip doing something because you are afraid of failing (OK, I admit it, I am STILL learning this lesson.).
  8. No matter how hard you work to protect your children and your pets, both can still get hurt anyway.
  9. Even if you aren’t a sentimental parent, you will suddenly find tears in your eyes when you realize your youngest daughter finally grew so much this summer that she is almost the same height as your oldest daughter. And no, you aren’t sure why you didn’t realize that when she brought you the garbage bag full of pants that were now too short.
  10. Children are rough on a home and furniture. Eventually, your son’s bedroom will need major drywall repair, but if you let him use his “cover it with posters” strategy long enough, you can possibly wait until he is old enough to fix it himself.
  11. Buy lots of posters.
  12. Amazing husbands are rare. Be thankful you have a rare one and make sure he knows you feel that way.
  13. You can do little things for your husband without being in danger of becoming your mother.
  14. Yes, teenagers do sometimes talk to their parents in “a tone” that makes the parents want to strangle the offending teens, but your teen probably can’t hear that she is using “a tone” anymore than you could when you were a teen.
  15. Counting works. Start counting when your children are young and ALWAYS follow through. You’ll be glad you did when your child is a teen and still responds to hearing the number “four” and stops before you have to say “five.”
  16. Yes, your dad only let you talk on the phone for 10 minutes under his supervision. You hated it. Times have changed. Your child can talk outside of your hearing for longer than 10 minutes. Times haven’t changed enough yet though to make it OK for your child to be making phone calls in the middle of the night.
  17. Cell phones are optional for children even teens. Parents do not have to provide them. When parents do, it is perfectly OK to go through the child’s texts and set restrictions about when and how the phone is used.
  18. You are not limited by where you live. If you want to do something, find a way.
  19. Work hard.
  20. Stop working and spend time with your family.
  21. You CAN go at least 24 hours without technology especially if you spend those hours with your husband and/or family.
  22. Dance.
  23. Yelling doesn’t solve anything. It can even make things worse. You feel bad and so does the person you are yelling at. Knowing all of this doesn’t make you stop yelling. But you can keep working on yelling less.
  24. Words are useful, and there are no “bad” words, but there are times and places and audiences where words should be carefully chosen and some words should be avoided.
  25. Writing can help you discover what you are thinking.
  26. Punctuation and spelling are not the most important things you need to know in order to be a good writer. Most people do not realize this.
  27. At one time in your life, one person may have said something about you or your skills or your lack of skills. Years have passed, and you still remember. Don’t let it limit or box you. Even if it was true then, it doesn’t make it true now. And the person who made the comment probably forgot about it two second later, so why continue to give the statement power?
  28. Everyone doesn’t have to like you. You can be OK with that.
  29. You must always have good reading material available. You never know when a snow storm might hit.
  30. Spending money on yourself can be a good thing. Being a mom doesn’t mean you have to be a frump.
  31. Flirt with your husband.
  32. Sometimes the cheapest deal isn’t really a deal. Sometimes you’d be better off paying a bit more for good quality.
  33. Take photos and videos, but remember to take time to put down the camera or video player and live in the moment too.
  34. It is easier to find things and keep them in good shape in a clean house, but you will never keep things as clean as your mother-in-law. That’s OK.
  35. Embarrass your children once in a while. They’ll be sure to return the favor whether you do or not.
  36. Everyone should learn how to read a map.
  37. Things don’t go away just because you try to ignore them.
  38. Your children are wonderful and frustrating and smart. They are not you or your husband. You like them anyway and love them always.
  39. About 20 years ago, all you wanted was to wake up each day next to the love of your life. Your living the dream, and it is even better than you thought it would be even when he does steal your pillow. I love you, Steve.
Category: Life with Linda  Tags: , ,  One Comment

Lilly Caught One and Didn’t Know What to Do

16
Aug 2010

Lilly weighs about 8 pounds, but she is fiercely protective, and to do her protective bit just right, Lilly wants to chase cars.

She is hindered, however, by our electric fence. She still does what she can, which is start at one corner of our yard and runs the length to the other end, barking furiously whenever a vehicle happens to pass. She is even worse when she is in a vehicle as she jumps around yapping at any vehicle stupid enough to be on the road when we are. Don’t they know Lilly’s wrath?

Yesterday, Lilly got her break. She was out of the yard on a leash when a truck starting rumbling down our road. She got loose and took off towards the truck in all of her fury with her leash trailing behind her.

The truck missed her, but she was still thrown about because of the wind and possibly the truck didn’t miss the leash. She jumped up furious at her failed attempt. At first Lilly was her usually furious self, snapping and biting out. Within moments though, Lilly realized she was hurt. She was limping.

At home, she hobbled into the house on three legs, and when the kids reported Lilly was hit by a vehicle, we thought they were joking. Until we saw Lilly, who was trailing behind with her left rear leg being held at a weird angle.

I called the vet, which was closed, and talked to the vet on call. Lilly wasn’t bleeding, and there weren’t any visible breaks or bones. She was quiet and not walking on her leg, but mostly she was OK, which is way more than I would have expected when hearing a mini-pin tangled with a truck.

The vet gave us some advice and recommended we go in today. So that is what we are doing.

This morning, Lilly is still hobbling on three legs. She sometimes just stands up and won’t move. For the most part, she doesn’t seem to be in pain. She’ll let us pet her hind leg and pick her up. Her vet appointment is soon, and I hope we hear good news. And now that she has caught a vehicle, I hope she is satisfied enough not to have that quest again.

Update: Lilly is back home from the vet. She has a broken pelvis, which means she will have to spend the next three weeks in her crate. Then she goes back for another x-ray, and we’ll slowly start letting her move more if everything is good. This is the BEST news. We knew something was wrong, and I am relieved it wasn’t a femur, which would have meant surgery and pins and plates and lots of $$$.

Category: Family, Life with Linda  Comments off

Fat Friday — The Doctor Edition

13
Aug 2010

I’m off to the doctor’s office today to find out my “official” weight loss. Unofficially, I believe I lost about 12 pounds, gained two and lost four, putting me at 10 pounds down. Officially, I think the doctor might find my weight loss to be about 6 to 8 pounds.

It’s been about four weeks, so I think I’m on track for healthy weight loss. We’ll see what my doctor says. And as for the weight gain — it was mostly in one weekend where I had a lot of social obligations.

Today is the second time I’ve been to a doctor’s office this week. Although, technically, earlier this week I saw a surgeon.

And I also realized that I am a big baby.

(WARNING: The rest of this post discusses girlie parts and may be deemed TMI for some readers.)

Last week, I had an ultrasound. It was a diagnostic procedure to figure out why I was having some issues. I have a love/hate relationship with my uterus, but it has been a long time since it has done me wrong, so I had pretty much forgiven it.

How did my uterus do me wrong? Well, back when I was 18 and 19 and again when I was about 20, my uterus decided it did not want to have children. And when I had decided differently, my uterus rebelled and instead gave me this thing called a blighted ovum. It means instead of growing a baby, my uterus decided to grow an empty sack.

My uterus must have really hated me for a while because it did this three times in a row. And then I went to see genetic counselors and specialists and got pregnant for the fourth time. By then, my uterus and I must have made up, and it did a very good job growing my baby girl, Autumn. And my uterus did it again successfully three more times before I decided it was overworked and underpaid. We agreed on a truce that would allow us to co-exist peacefully without bothering each other too much.

But last week, I had an ultrasound to check how my uterus has been doing in the years since I last overworked it. I expected it to be a little dusty, and I knew it would be tipped because I heard about its tippiness every time I got pregnant/gave birth, but I didn’t expect any problems.

OK, so I am not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to my own health.

Earlier this week, I had a doctor appointment to hear about my ultrasound, and I took my mom along with me. And the surgeon came into my room, and pulled up my ultrasound report and read some words off the screen. I heard “fibroids” and “tumors,” and I took a deep breath and asked, “What does that mean?”

And the surgeon stood up, grabbed the door handle and said, “Let me get you a pamphlet.” And then he walked out.

He was back quickly, and I learned that uterine fibroids aren’t cancerous and more of an irritation issue than a health issue.

But the time he was gone? It was too long even though it wasn’t long at all. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had set up a situation very similar to when my mom found out she had cancer. I had been with her that day, Oct. 1, 2004, when her surgeon told her she had breast cancer.

I think this is why, later, after I was home and telling my husband about it that I suddenly started crying. Tumor is just not a good word to hear, and it is even worse to hear when you are in a situation that is very similar to the one you were in when you found out your mom has cancer. And no, I haven’t told my mom that I broke down later.

I don’t have cancer. I have a few, not a lot, submucosal fibroids. Now it was up to me to decide what I wanted to do. My surgeon was prepared to let me take time to think about it. For instance, do I want more children? Um, I didn’t need to think about that one at all.

And so I am going to have surgery. Endometrial ablation to be exact. It will take care of my problem, and hopefully stop the growth of the fibroids.

The biggest challenge was scheduling the surgery. I work on campus two days a week, and one of those days just happens to be the day my surgeon usually does his surgeries. Although, there is one week when my surgeon is scheduling surgeries on a nonclass day. It sounded perfect until I heard the date: September 10, which is my wedding anniversary. No, I don’t want to have surgery on my anniversary.

So, surgery will be on a Tuesday, and my surgeon assures me that I should be able to be back in the classroom by Thursday. And it is early enough that I can build my day off into the syllabus.

Now you will have to excuse me while I go mumble a few choice words about my uterus. I may be holding a grudge.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Category: Life with Linda, Weighty Thoughts  Tags: , ,  One Comment
« Previous Entries