The Cunningham Family: Around Here: Week 45 2022

{November 6-12th}

Dahlia tubers

Fun with Snapchat filters- haha!
Teenage Carly, Boy Carly and Baby Carly

Bathroom Word Therapy:
I'm sick. It sucks.
~by Wyatt

She's obsessed with pony tails thanks to her Barbie dolls.
I'm not mad about it.

Wyatt picked a mini toy as his prize.
It was He-Man, which he didn't care about, but I think is so cool!

Thanks for the pic, Ainsley.

Obligatory teen selfie on my phone. Love this kid.

Starting... Wyatt on oral steroids after a week of no progress on his illness. He hasn't had oral steroids in a long time, so I feel okay making this decision. They make him hungry and emotional, but it's a decision that had to be made.

Laughing... at Carly's joy while eating leftover spaghetti and meatballs. I thought her brothers got a lot of enjoyment from good food, but her happiness was next level. "Mom! This is sooo good!" haha!

Enjoying... Carly and her cousin Liesel's sweet faces and giggles as they Facetime on the weekends. Those girls are the cutest besties, playing silly games and doing role play in Roblox.

Feeling... my heart squeeze each morning when Carly runs out after Josh to hug Daddy "one more time" before he leaves for work. On Monday it was especially cold so he carried her back to the front door, and I caught it from our driveway camera. Goodness I love those two.

Starting... Monday off on the wrong foot when I discovered we'd had a leak from our garbage disposal that had gone unnoticed. It was SO gross to clean up and I was so grateful when it was said and done.

Loving... Carly's answers to her teacher's question sheet for conferences. She feels smart in reading when she is reading Junie B. She feels smart in math when she does it with her teacher. She feels smart in writing when she writes small. (How cute is that?!?) She smiles when they a have a party. And she wants to learn more about pumpkins. She later went back and wrote that she also wants to know why we have to use vowels. My little smarty.

Digging... up my dahlia tubers afer our initial freeze made the stalks & blooms all slimy and grey. I was so grateful for Josh's help as we were in a race against both time in terms of the deep freeze we knew was coming, and the dark night that was imminent once Josh got home from work. But we got it done and I feel so relieved.

Voting... and dropping off my ballot on Tuesday. I had to do a lot of research, but I think it's important. While I was dropping my ballot off, I also mailed some letters Carly and I had written.

Acquiescing... and staying with Carly at bedtime most nights until she is almost asleep. Every month that passes, I am aware of how fleeting time is, and I just don't want to take it for granted.

Getting... some bad news about my grandpa and the fluid that was building on his lungs. It turns out that he has small cell lung cancer and that he doesn't want to pursue treatment. I understand why he doesn't want to, but it's also hard to hear. I love my grandpa, and there will never be enough time with him. The lung cancer isn't his only cancer- he also has slow growing bladder cancer; skin cancer; and lymphoma, plus end stage alzheimer's. Some days he's pretty quiet, but other days, we get glimpses of him, and those are my favorite days.
I got to talk to him on the day I got the news, and he was fully himself. I told him I loved him so much and he said, "Well, I try to be alright." Haha.
I talked to Grandma after that and she mentioned that lately Grandpa just wants to sleep, especially since the time change, and he goes to bed so early. I asked her if she was lonely and she said, "Yeah, I guess I am." It made me so sad for her.
When we hung up, I couldn't stop crying. I am just so sad for Grandma (for the work load she carries caring for grandpa on her own, and for her loneliness) and for Grandpa (for his illness and the times when he's not himself). I texted grandma as much, and her text back meant a lot to me.

"Don't cry for us. We had a good life, and are not too bad off.

We have all you grandkids and your kids, to love and enjoy,

and we are blessed. Look where we live, all is good!"

Using... my Sad Songs album on YouTube music to let the tears flow freely. Sometimes, you just gotta get it out, and my sad songs list (curated by my sister and me) helps me do that. Do you also purposely listen to sad music when you're upset?

Speaking... of music, have you listened to "The Good Old Days" by The Mayries & Ron Pope? Gah. Cue all the tears.

Dealing... with a very, very sick Wyatt on Wednesday after subbing for a half day. This poor kid. His cough and utter exhaustion are the worst.

Heading... to bed early Thursday after working for a half day for Carly's old kindergarten teacher who lost her voice during parent/teacher conference week! I took her class for two days so she could save what she had of her voice for those conferences. I was happy to help, and bonus for me, I love her class!

Getting... a Christmas tree during a magical trip to Home Depot with the kids. Hah! Our tree only half lit up last year and was old and mangled, so we threw it out, knowing we'd need a new one this year. So we grabbed a tree and then also hit up Walmart for some things on my list, like a little mini-tree for Wyatt's room. It's so rare for the six of us to go anywhere together like that, it made me happy, even if my fourteen year olds were dying of boredom. I was especially overjoyed that Josh said yes to a half-flocked/half-glitter covered Christmas tree. It makes me so happy and is so pretty!!

Signing... up for my Master's Degree after mentioning to Josh that I wanted to get my Master's in education to become a teacher. The same day. Haha! I guess once I decided and told Josh, that was it. I was sure. So I looked into Grand Canyon University's program and was impressed with both how quickly someone reached out to me, and how the program looks. It's one class at a time, which feels really manageable with my life parenting and subbing and running our household, and I will be done in less than two years. (If you're considering GCU for a degree, please let me know, or reach out to my admission counselor, Christine 602-513-4371. She was so helpful, walking me through each step, and making herself available if I had any questions along the way.)

Knowing... that I wanted to be a teacher after a kindergarten position became available at Carly's school and I seriously considered saying yes if it was offered as a long term sub position to me. I haven't wanted to work or be away from home (at all!) since I gave birth to the twins. So knowing that my heart was saying yes to this new possibility helped me realize that the classroom is a place where I feel useful and energized. I love teaching. I love the students, the staff, the environment. I think it's where I am meant to be for what my sister calls my second act now that I don't have any babies to be a stay-at-home mom to.

Taking... Logan to a bonfire one of his friends was hosting. He had so much fun and it felt like yet another quintessential small town teenage boy milestone. So different from how I grew up in the city.

Allowing... the twins to get Snapchat after getting all A's and B's on their first quarter of grades freshmen year. They have been begging for Snap for, I want to say, two years? So to finally get it feels like a dream come true for them. They won't have any other social media yet. Just snapchat to start and we'll see how that goes.

Reading... The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot, and The Midnight Library, both of which are sweet, but deep reads. I may need to switch to something lighter for a bit while life is heavy.

Laughing... at Wyatt and Carly burying each other in all the blankets we have downstairs. They were up to their chins in layers.

Stressing... about our washing machine breaking down. I was trying so hard to get all the laundry done before a string of sub jobs I have lined up early next week, and this really threw a wrench in my plans! So stressful!!! It wouldn't wring the clothes out, wouldn't lock, wouldn't unlock... I ended the week unsure what I was going to do, and thinking I'd be spending a good portion of a day next week at the dry cleaner. Grrr...

Grateful... Wyatt ended the weekend feeling better. Those steroids got right to work on his tired lungs and I'm so glad.

***

Looking back on some memories: