Around Here: Week 26 2021

 {June 20-26th}

Celebrating... Father's Day this month by spending the day with my parents in Wenatchee.  We met at the waterfront so the grandsons could all ride the electric scooters my parents bought to have at their house for them.  We sat on a picnic blanket and visited while the kids rode as far as they could down the way. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Then we went to my parents house, where Blake (my sister's husband) joined us, and we played a hilarious game of Never Have I Ever in which I learned my dad has been to jail.  Hah!  We laughed and took turns coming up with ideas, some of which had us cracking up. 

Taking... the twins to get their second dose of their vaccine and feeling so grateful that they are now protected.  

Talking... to my counselor about how wonderful it is that it's summer time and school is done.  We talked about boundaries and how important it is to listen over fixing or helping.  She reminded me that worrying ahead of time is not helpful.  What's coming will come, and I'll face it when it does. 

Hitting... 90 days for Logan weaning off his seizure meds.  He made it three months without medication and no seizures.  Oh I cannot even tell you how many days and weeks I dreamed of this day, not really believing it was possible.  Yet here we are.  He has officially outgrown his seizures.  Thank you, Lord.

Cleaning... Carly's room after neglecting it for a while.  I did a time lapse of her and I working, cleaning and folding laundry. It was fun to watch it all come together. 

Loving... our pool so much.  I am so grateful for it.  Sitting on the back patio, sunning and reading, is just the perfect summer activity.

Working out... with a friend multiple times a week.  It's HOT but worth it.

Reaching... the halfway point of reading for the year. I have read 29 books, 20 physical books and 9 audiobooks.  That is remarkably less than last year, but I am okay with that.  

Putting... together my summer stack of reading and sharing it with my Instagram followers. I love compiling the stack and dreaming of all that I'm going to read through the summer.

Listening... to JJ Heller's "I Dream of You Volume II" album and loving it so much.

Noticing... how long Carly's hair is suddenly! It's grown quite a bit since this time last year. 

Prepping... in the wretched heat in our garage for camping.  We borrowed a tent from Josh's sister and some other things from my parents.  It takes a village!

Reading... Good Company and listening to Good Morning Monster.  Good Company was a four star book for me.  I loved the drama of the family, and the setting.  But it wasn't exactly "un-put-down-able".  Good Morning Monster is an audiobook Josh recommended about five patients of a therapist.  Their stories are enthralling and entertaining.  It was also a four star read.

Dropping... my book in the pool when I took it in with me while I sunbathed on a floaty.  I was bummed that I dropped it, but was grateful it wasn't a borrowed book or a library book. Oops!

Learning... Grady is 100% German Shepherd.  My mom was so curious about his age and heredity that she ordered a DNA test.  Turns out he's a purebred! Who'd have thought? And he is three years old, which means he was a puppy when we got him.  We laughed about this, because we thought he was so big!  But looking back, he was pretty small compared to how big he is now. 

Receiving... a letter in the mail that let us know Wyatt has been accepted into our school district's excel program.  I am so proud of him! 

Also receiving... the twins' grades in the mail and feeling inordinately proud of us.  Jack got a 3.2 GPA and Logan had all A's, B's & C's.  I am so relieved (again. still) that school is over and the boys were successful.  What a long ass year that was!

Learning... so much about addiction as I listened to the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast with Glennon Doyle, episode 5.  The best piece of advice I walked away with is that your job as the person supporting the addict is to keep boundaries in place that protect the relationship so that when the person gets sober there is a relationship to come back to.  If we don't uphold good boundaries, it would be easy to burn out and have nothing left to return to.  Such a good listen if you have anyone struggling with addiction in your life. 

***

light of my life

I love this picture of Josh. 

He looks so happy. So joyful.

So light.

That's what he is to me. 

He is light. 

He lights up the room, 

he lessens the dark.

I am so grateful for him. 

I am grateful for him everyday, and in every way,

but especially I am grateful for him as my co-parent.

In every way that I fail as a mother, he excels as a father. 

I am weak in the discipline department. Too empathetic. Too much feeling.

He knows, though, that boundaries are what kids need and crave.

I am weak at high expectations when it comes to physical labor and hard work,

and he continually shows me that our kids can do hard things,

and do them well.

He balances me out, and our kids are so, so blessed by that. 

I may not get it all right as a mother, and that's okay,

but choosing him as my husband, choosing him to be their father,

that's one choice that I know I got right.

***

Happy Father's Day!

 Josh, for nearly twelve years you've stood by my side.  For seven of those years, it's been as a father, my co-parent.  As soon as we got pregnant with the twins, you've been fully committed to being the best dad you could be.

And thank goodness for that, because I literally didn't have enough hands to do all the parenting myself.  

Some days aren't pretty... 

Some days we are tired and grouchy and this whole parenting thing sucks us dry...

But other days? 

Well, other days it is smiles and hugs and all the good things.  

And like you said when you proposed, the good outweighs the bad.

 You've made some huge sacrifices for our boys (and myself) including finishing college during their infancy (still not sure how you made that happen!); moving to rural Alaska by yourself for six months to provide for them and allow me to be home full time; and more recently to starting and finishing your Master's Degree Program.  You are an amazing example of hard work, perseverance and sacrifice.

 They look up to you and want to be just like you.

I hope they are.  Because you are incredible.

Thank you for the love, the laughter and the lifetime of memories yet to come.

We love you!

***