Around Here: Week 42 2024

 {October 13-19th}

{Have you ever lived with a teenage boy?
Do you want me to describe it to you?}

Jack & his girlfriend are adorable.

{Can you spot the birds?}

Peeling... apples as a family and then chopping them up to store in the freezer for use throughout the fall and winter in cakes, breads & muffins. I am so grateful for Josh, Carly and Wyatt's help doing this massive job! 

Running... errands to Walmart and Winco. Having those things crossed off my list feels so good!

Meeting... the school nurse who told Carly she looks like her grandma. It was neat to meet her and hear hear say that Carly looks like Carol did as a little girl.

Listening... to Burn by Peter Heller, which is not at all what I thought it would be. 

Watching... more Gilmore Girls and Love Is Blind. Also watching Brave with Carly, which was fun since she made an arrow with our neighbor girl Addie and a bent stick they found. (They're so cute and creative!)

Making... pretzel rods dipped in melted chocolate chips and covered in sprinkles, then set in the freezer to harden. They were a huge hit with the whole family!

Thrilled... that Hadley finally laid with me. She always lays with Josh and the boys, so I was so happy she finally snuggled with me!

Wishing... that time would slow down.  Time is just moving too fast and I'm behind on the blog and behind in my journal and behind on my to-do list and I just need everything to move a little slower so I can get more accomplished each day!

Grateful... it's been over a week since Jack's last suicidal thought.  For him that mostly manifests as "I don't want to be here" crossing his mind, especially when things get hard. So it feels really good to be moving away from that. 

Loving... the absolutely adorable ghosts Julie made and gave to Carly.  They're so cute and Carly loves them!!

Walking... my friends through heartache and it's been impacting my dreams. Their scenario is playing out in my own life while I'm sleeping and it makes me really empathetic to their plight because even for pretend it's dang stressful! 

Trying... to help Wyatt heal from his cold with lots of water, the humidifier, Dayquil & Nyquil, plenty of kleenex and vaseline for his sore nose. 

Working... at different sub jobs in bits and pieces.  An hour here, three hours there. I love being at school though. I swear I feel like a celebrity when I'm there. All the kids shouting my name and waving. I know that sounds really vain... but the reason I love it is because I must have made them feel seen and loved at some point, and that makes me feel really good about what I do there. 

Attending... book club at my friend Becky's with only three of us there, but it was so good.  We talked about all the heavy things we're all facing, and somehow sharing with each other just made the load feel lighter. I am so grateful for them. We also read (and discussed) a really good book this month called "After Annie" and I loved it. 

Trying... my hand at poetry after dropping Carly at school in the mornings.  I've been inspired by Mary Olivers' Devotions (a fantastic book that is a collection of all her best poems) and I am having so much fun with it. I will try to share some here. 

Frustrated... with one of my teenagers who was trying to skip with a friend. But when his friend tried to call him out of school, the school knew it wasn't my phone number and so the absence wasn't excused. Oh, teenagers. Why don't you just trust that your parents will likely find out and do what you're supposed to?!? {exasperated sigh}

Spending... way too much time chatting with an older relative who offended, like, everyone in my extended family. I found myself creating a boundary not to take another phone call with them because I just don't have the bandwidth (or the patience. or the desire) to deal with that kind of bullshit right now. 

Turning... on our small fireplace heaters downstairs for the first time this season. They create a nice ambience and also heat it up down there pretty nicely. (Our thermostat is upstairs, so it's always warmer upstairs than down.)

Heading... out to the local pumpkin patch Saturday Night for their haunted maze with Josh's brother & his girlfriend, plus his sister and her two boys and one of their girlfriends. We had a great time, with lots of laughs (and not too much screaming) and ended the night eating and talking at Shari's. It was so enjoyable and really good for me to get out of the house. I've been feeling kind of defeated, depressed and overwhelmed by it all. So it was a much needed date night. 

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