my first day of school

Okay, I have been depressed over my homebound state long enough. Last Thursday, I decided to embrace sloth-hood. I tok my pain pill, decided against showering that day & lay on the couch guilt-free, watching old ER re-runs.

The phone rings...
"Hello"

It is my NEW principal.
"Why arent' you here?"

"Because I'm here"

"you didn't get my letter?"

"What letter?"

"We are having a special education meeting,but I guess we can fill you in later"

"oh,no, give me 15 minutes & I will be there!"

So, with hair fluffed with instant spray & a long dress to hide my hairy legs,perfume to cover my unshowered funk & my brain slightly more fogged than usual, I stagger in 20 minutes late to make my first impression on the new staff.

my principal introduced me & said I was recovering from surgery.

I dont' know where she got that from. I had mentioned I was having back problems & I guess I looked rough enough she extrapolated from there.

I didn't disabuse anyone of that notion.

I even felt kinda post-op.

Everyone was nice.

Even with the inauspicious beginning,I think I'll like it there!

Hey,stuff happens...so does joy...no stress here!

 

sleeping sickness

These are weird things my husband has done in his sleep...

One night, before I went to bed, I tied up the garbage & placed it in front of the washer. "Now,Tom, " I said in my best wifely tone,"make sure you take that out before you go to bed."

The next morning,Mariah had an odd look on her face,"Mama",she said slowly"did you wash anything last night?"

Upon looking in the washer, I found the last night's trash. It had been washed.

Hey,dont' talk about my housekeeping, my garbage is cleaner than yours!

another time...

I came into the kitchen & Tom had opened 4 cans of bean dip & was applying them neatly & fastidiously to the counter.

so, I asked him what was he doing.

He replied, with eyes wide open, "Frosting a cake!"

Another time...

Mariah was little. we were watchng tv. Tom had been in bed for awhile.

He walked in,lifted up the couch cushion, peed all in it, carefully replaced it & went back to bed. 

our 102nd birthday party

we had our annual birthday party this weekend. Tom is 53 & I am 49,hence it is our 102nd.

I am so lucky to have the friends I cherish. I am in awe that people like Stacey will drive 2 hours to come to my party.

There are people I only see once a year,but they come like migrating birds, home to us for our birthday.

I held babies while their parents swapped stories of staying at my house when they were kids.

My great-nieces & nephews played ,making stories of their own to tell about Uncle Tom & Aunt Marti's house.

My grown nieces and nephews jokingly argued over who was my favorite...I tell all of them they are my favorite & caution them not to tell!

It was an evening full of love.

(still can't add pictures!)

Murphy

Well, I registered my baby for high school.

While she was in orientation,I wandered the halls, thinking of how innocent I was when I enterd these halls & how wild I was by the time I left!

She will attend a high school that is so old,not only did I go there,her grandpa went there & he was 90.

our city is one who takes great pride in its antiquity.

Caitlin & I were laughing at all the speeches people were giving about how you will never forget that you were privileged enough to attend Murphy, how you will forever bleed blue & gold, how it is the best school in town.

Yeah, what hype, we said. 

 I took her T-shirt.

I still know the alma mater by heart.

I guess,once a Murphy Panther,always a Murphy Panther.

I am trying to add pictures of my sweet innocent child before she is corrupted by high school, but I keep getting a message that "we are sorry, we cannot upload your albums, please try again later." Anyone else having problems?

teenage girls

All of our girls are notorious for stealing each other's clothes.

This is not done with any malice or subterfuge.

They have been sharing everything since they were born.

We taught them that .

We're sorry!

Now I hear them tallking ..."where did you get that shirt?"

"Caitlin gave it to me."

"Does she know she gave it to you?"

This is the catch phrase for everything!

Gotta love'em!

They'll arrest you if you kill 'em!

I'm Back!

well, friends & neighbors,it has been a while!

I am recovering physically from my herniated vertebrae enough to sit at the computer to make an entry &recovered emotionally enough to admit I am not superwoman  & the earth did not stop while I wan't able to singlehandedly keep it spinning.

I also didn't want to write until l could process my experiences long enough to gain some positive insight.

while I recouped , good wishes form Madman ADHD ,Kori at ladyish28,dear Marie at galadriel9200 and Cyndygee from The world of Cyndygee kept me going.Cyndy was an inspiration as well as a giver of practical advice. Pennie at A Pennie's Worth is like a trip to church ought to beKaren at Karbare4x4 told me great stories tokeep me form getting bored.if I started to feel sorry for myself a visit to ckays1967 soon ended that and lurkynat's comments cheered me up. (If anyone wants to volunteer to teach me how to hyperlink,now is the time)

also, during this time , I learned that a tooth that has bothered me since April, that I had spent 500$ trying to save,had to be surgically removed afterall. well, my daughter Mariah ,who is just the sweetest blonde Southern belle you would ever want to meet until you mess with her Mama, called the poor endodontist who did the root canal daily until he sent me a check for the full amount of his services!

The Moral here is...Take care of your kids & one day they'll take care of you! All that getting up with them during the night & staying up waiting for them to come home at night does pay off!

The first picture is of the day I hurt my neck, also with a Moral....hmmm, Maybe "Pride comes before a fall?"...No,let's be honest here..."Don't let beer & enthusiasm make you think you're 15 & can play with the big kids!"

I am feeling really good these days.

I will be moving to my new school next week. (Tom & Caitlin will be the brawn , I will be supervising) and I am not nervous a bit. I've done this for 21 years,I can do it again! weird,since I always get a bit jittery the week before school starts. I guess after you learn to accept that when you drop something while  wearing a neck  brace, it is gone forever, then you can cope with things likemoving a classroom .

I have adjusted. My summer plans changed drastically from traveling & beaching to what's on tv & how long can I stay in my pajamas, but hey, I was blessed to have so long to recover & how many people of my age get to rest for 6 weeks? My family has been great! Mariah announced last night,"Hey I unloaded he dishwasher & no one even told me to!" When I ungraciously mumbled something about her wanting a medal, she brought me my pain meds & handed me a catalog.'Here,just circle something you want." Anytime I have a dire need for Avon, I mention housework to Mariah & here come the catalogs! Grumble enough & she drugs me. it's kinda like being in a mental institution!

It's a real experience to be injured & have Caitlin around to take care of you, which somehow inevitably involves doing cartwheels over my prone body! At least I'm not bored!

Poor Tom  is so appalled at my inability to frolic that he has spent the last 5 weeks asking hopefully at least every hour if I am "feeling better?"

It won't be long now...before I enter the real world again!

what might have been

Maybe if he'd kept the panties on his head, we would've won the election!

This is a life size cardboard cut out I "liberated" from the Democratic Party Headquarters after the (sigh )election.

John enjoyed the Mardi Gras festivities with us.