This 'n That

More things are swirling around in my heart and mind than I have time to blog about. They don't need separate posts, anyway. Some would say they need don't any posts, they just need to be dealt with. "Why talk when you can work?" he says. But I say, "I work better when I talk or after I talk. " Plus, I'm old enough to know some things ain't gonna change, like my need for expressing myself in words.

All that to say, here is the confetti of thoughts and happenings in my bit 'o real estate of mind and Maryland.

• Yesterday we finally got together with my parents. They only live 15 miles away but we haven't seen each other since May. It was a combined birthday lunch for me and my baby sister, and an opportunity for us to see their friends from far east Russia. The best part was being hugged by Valeria (who is my age) and hearing her say ,"You are so beautiful, my dear." I told her to stick around because I hadn't heard that in years. Unfortunately, they have to fly back today. My mom gave me a pair of pretty earrings and a sweet card. No one had a camera along, so no pictures.

• Speaking of birthdays, Paul has a brand new grand-nephew, Peyton Scott, born September 15th, exactly one year to the day from his next-older cousin, Brooks Elijah. Both were born to brothers, and both were named for sports heroes. And both were born on my baby sister's birthday. Oddly enough, my older sister has a son born October 2nd, almost 15 years ago, on the very day ( a few hours apart) from one of HIS cousins on his dad's side (ie. two kids born the same day to brothers). Is this crazy coincidence or do you know of cousins with identical birthdays?

• Our plans for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary are coming along. My sister Jill is the party-planner extraordinaire (she does it in her job all the time), so she is official project manager. My job is coordinating the pictures and video presentations. My sister Rachel is doing vases and table settings. My sister Andrea claims no creative talent and is working 60+ hours a week at her job, but she has the gift of agreeability, which works great with the take-charge folks among us. I just wish I had the "umph" for this event, or any event. I just don't. Nothing excites me any more. Nothing makes me really want to get involved with it, except art class. I am not dealing very well with things going on in and around me right now.
  

• The youngest child has ended up in the principal's office four times in the first two weeks of school. Twice for tossing things around that should have been held onto. Once for disruptive talking in music class. (He "comes by it honest, " as they say.) And once for a pseudo-expletive. Sometimes I want to laugh, and other times I am on the brink of tears. The thing that made me nearly laugh was when the principal told me of the time when the teacher put Joel between two girls (to help with self-control) and he blurted out, "Oh, crap." When asked if he was allowed to say that at home, he said, "Yeah. Everyone at home says it." It's true! I didn't get on his case for that, but told him he best ought to wean it out of his vocabulary so that it doesn't get him trouble at school. So I suppose I ought to wean it out of mine also. Needless to say, we've had many conversations about, and prayers for God's help with, self-control, obedience, love, and other virtues that he and I both need to grow in. We have been giving him consequences as well. Someone has found out that there are a million little dust particles per square inch in the crevices of dining room chairs when Mom doles out "punishments."
  

• Friends of ours had to put their 12-year-old Labrador retriever to sleep yesterday. I cried. It made me really miss Molly and feel the pain all over again. I still miss her, and still have faith that Reilly will one day be calm enough to be a therapy dog. For now his rambanctious atheticism is therapy for a nine-year-old boy after a stressful day at school. The dog doesn't mind the motor-mouth and he THRIVES on having Joel toss things around! (One morning before breakfast Joel said, "Mom, I haven't bonded with Reilly yet." I said, "What do you mean? You've been bonding since February." He said, "No, I mean this morning. Can I let him out of his crate to bond with him?") Those two are members of a mutual admiration society.

• Sarah and Steve visited a different church yesterday. I inquired how they liked it, and they said it was very friendly welcoming. "You can't sneak out if you wanted," was how they put it. I asked about the music, and Steve said it was cheesy and started laughing. Sarah, too. I mean, shoulder-shaking snorts. The song contains a line about people suffering with private pain. Both of them just LOST it. There they were, visitors on the front pew, starting to giggle about the cheesiness, but the clincher was the image of people with "private pain." Oh, my children. Is this how you were raised??? I'm so glad I wasn't there. I'd have been doubling over.