Get Your Laughs. On Me.

The sun has started getting to me. How else would you explain the following incidents?

1. I went out with Renee' to get a smoothie after our massages. We walk into Dunkin Donuts and I'm adjusting my skirt which is just an easy-breezy summer pull-on number. It is not, however, reversible. I wish it were because when I felt the inside of the seams on the outside, I screamed and darted to the ladies' room. The funniest part was that she was unfazed.

2. Joel and I were watching Stephen and Paul play tennis. Joel took the role of ballboy. I took the role of single spectator on the park bench. Park bench was plastic, lightweight, and not bolted to the ground. A ball rolls close to me, just out of arm's reach. I am on one end of the bench. I lean to the left. Lean a little farther. Lean....tip...tip the bench up....fall off...hear bench land with a bang...lay there laughing...and seeing the guys laugh at me. Love/nothing.

A Lovely, Lovely Birthday Indeed

Turning 43 wasn't so bad. In fact, my birthday this year was lovely. We are at Myrtle Beach. On the morning of the 26th, Paul agreed to take a walk on the beach with me. We talked about good stuff, holding hands, and I never once got the feeling he didn't want to be there. (Normally he doesn't enjoy walks because his stride is so much longer than mine and he's not a big talker.) This time I was the first to suggest we turn around and head back. Such a different scenario than last year when my hopes for birthday romance were dashed.

When we returned from our walk, I spread a blanket out on the beach and realized I had forgotten my Reader's Digest. He went all the way back to the condo for it, plus brought me bottled water and a towel. Then he went back for a workout while I soaked up the sun and listened to the surf while I read. The other kids were back at the condo, taking their good ole time getting up and around. Soon a family with a baby and a toddler sat near me under an umbrella. I must've been hormonal. After a few minutes of observing them and having flashbacks to when our children were that size, I had to blink away a few tears. They have no idea how fast time will pass, I thought, and thanked God that I had my whole family here and wondered if it would be the last family vacation.

Later that day, Renee' and I made appointments for a massage the next day. So I had something to look forward to.

That evening Paul took us to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville for dinner. Our family got the best table in the house, on the patio overlooking the lake at Broadway at the Beach. The menu looked so good I couldn't decide what I wanted. I settled on
Tilapia with Jerk BBQ sauce, gumbo, and salad, plus a Jolly Mon smoothie (strawberry/banana). The best part was having my whole family around me. I thoroughly enjoy their company. Again, very different from last year when tensions abounded and I was miserable. The Lord has healed my marriage in the past several months, and the results have had tremendous trickle-down effects on the kids.

On the way home from dinner, we stopped at Wal-Mart. We went separate ways and they somehow managed to buy stuff for me secretly. I knew they were getting cards; I could hear them cracking up in the next aisle over from where I was.

Back at the condo, I took a leisurely bath and folded some laundry. (There's a laundromat here. If you know me, you know I love laundromats, so washing clothes is a fun thing.)

When I opened the door to the dinette area, surprise! Pink roses in a vase on the table. And Joel handed me a stack of birthday cards. He made me open his first, of course. It features a spotted dog with bulging eyes and a humongous grin. It says "Dude" (crossed out by Joel), I am so excited it's your birthday..." and under it he wrote "I'm proud of you, I'm so plesed" and inside, "I could poop." Yeh, that's my boy. The older kids bought a sentimental one for me, with undeserved, kind words. Paul also gave me a beautiful card.

I'm hoping there's a card at home from my parents. They were in Kansas tending some rental houses, and I didn't get a call from them. That was the only raindrop on my birthday parade, but the rest of the day was (literally and figuratively) very sunny indeed.

Thanks to all of you who wished me a happy day via comments or email. It was so sweet of you.

Oh, and yesterday Renee and I got those professional massages. For me I chose 40 minutes for my back and neck, and 20 minutes for reflexology (foot massage). Man, did that feel goooooooooooooood!

Blogging from the Beach: Day 1 in Review

Since I completely forgot to bring a journal, I'm going to blog my memories of this vacation. The details are more for me to look back on and remember.

Preparing for this one took more than the usual effort. First was getting the basement dejunked (see previous post). That took a lot of time, willpower, and gobs o' grace. Second was a to-do list of significant school-related things that had to be squeezed in before I could leave. Wow. Can I say I have more respect now than ever for school teachers? I had some idea of how much planning goes into teaching a class of all same-aged kids, but NO idea how much hands-on stuff is required. My personal to-do list included attending a teacher in-service about the writing curriculum (I just know Julie and I are gonna be partners in crime), helping Cindy organize the art closet by making sure all 384 colored markers work, giving my new art supplies list to Jennie (the secretary), sending my history and geography year plans to Lisa (the principal), discussing discipline and room decorations with Cheryl (my co-teacher), helping the two of them throw out old curriculum-- a familiar theme--and watching them set up a teacher folder for me on the computer. I felt so official.

Then I came home and decided which curriculum to bring to the beach to work on. Now I know how it feels to not be able to just "get away from it all," professionally. But I also know that, besides mothering, there's nothing I'd rather be doing than teaching. It's the most pleasurable work I can imagine. (Lisa gave me a sit-down talk before accepting my commitment to the job. She said, "I just don't want you to think it's all pie-in-the-sky." I joked, "So you'd rather give me the pie-in-the-face?")

As for choosing the place to vacation, it was easy: Myrtle Beach has become a favorite of ours. Much less crowded than Ocean City, not gay like Rehoboth, family friendly like Outer Banks but with more to do within a five-mile radius. In particular, we chose to come back here to Myrtle Beach Resort because of the great amenities: Paul and Sarah did the research and I made the call to the owner. A very talkative, good-natured, Southern guy who gave us quite a good deal on this 3rd-floor oceanfront condo. It's small (only two bedrooms) but it's just our nuclear family this time (no friends) so it's cozy. The view is incredible from both the living room and master bedroom.

Play-by-play:
-Left house at 7:40 Saturday morning. I tried to get out by 7:30, but had to run back in the house for something. -OCD-about-security Paul had to go back in and make sure everything was as tight as it was two minutes earlier.
-The delay put us smack behind stalemated traffic on 95. An accident that closed the highway for a half hour.
-But we were all in good spirits--including Paul who tends to get a bit agitated when things don't go according to (his) plan. He concluded that, had we left five minutes earlier, it could have been us in the accident.
-Weather was gorgeous all the way down. Slightly overcast, perfect driving weather.
-No arguments except whether I should have coffee to speed me up (my choice) or skip it so I don't slow them down (their choice). I chose half-caf.

Having settled in for a half hour, we got a call from the the condo owner who just wanted to make sure everything was fine. I assured him it was, thanks. It was nice to have a welcome basket on the counter: a big yellow sand bucket filled with toilet paper, dishwasher soap, kitchen towels, and other goodies. It was a little touch I'll have to remember when we own a condo someday. When people are paying hundreds of dollars for a week in your place, give them five bucks worth of necessities.

It's My Twin's Birthday

Karen H is having a birthday today. We were born the same day, same year. She is the younger, funnier, smarter one of us.