How did this happen? Where did 40 years go? How is it possible that I have been here that long? It doesn't feel like it's been 40 years, but the numbers add up. How depressing. I know, I should look at my 40th birthday as an opportunity to reflect upon my life, to take stock of where I've been and what I've accomplished, to chart a course for my future so that I might do all that I wish to do in this vapor of a life. I don't wanna do it. I don't even wanna think about it. Who has time? I never stop going or doing or moving. I'm tired. I just want to give it a rest, give ME a rest. But alas, there's no rest for the weary. Just to prove my point, let me give you a rundown of the last week and a half:
Sunday, April 20 - Following the conclusion of our annual meeting at church, we left town at around 1 p.m. for what should be a 12-hour drive to Maryland to see our first grandchild, little Anna Laura. We got to Richmond around midnight and God blessed us with an absolutely wonderful hotel room.
Monday, April 21 - We drove some more and arrived at our destination (Chickfila in Bel Air) at 1 p.m. We got to see our oldest son, Ace, who took us to his house where we got to see dil Karla and their precious little girl. She is adorable!! I've got pictures on my computer, but haven't figured out yet how to get them posted onto my blog. Stay tuned. Liz gets home Friday and I'm hoping she'll help me out this weekend. She's a blogging pro!
Tuesday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 23 - We visited with our family in Maryland. Thank you to our dil's family, the Humes, for not just giving us a place to stay, and feeding us, and putting up with our weirdness, but for giving US THEIR bedroom with a beautiful master bath and everything. We are so undeserving, but so grateful!! We spent most of our time arguing over who held Laura the longest, and who should get to hold her next, and why the aunts and uncles felt shortchanged. I called it "Grandpa's Perogative." Frankly, he just wouldn't give her up!
Thursday, April 24 - We began our trip home to Georgia on what should have been a 12 hour drive. We left at 6 a.m. and arrived home just before 9 p.m. I will say that we make lots of stops to stretch our legs (and our backs) and we stopped and ate lunch and ate a nice supper at a Mexican restarant close to our home (like 10 minutes) because there was NO WAY I was cooking!
Friday, April 25 - I got up at 6:45 a.m. in order to get to our homeschooling group's annual Used Book Sale. It was a successful sale, I think, and I had LOADS of fun hanging out with the other moms and just yakking!
Saturday, April 26 - We got going early because Em and Rache both had soccer games. I love watching my kids play sports. Unfortunately, I'm a little BOSSY and feel I must help the coaches by coaching from the sidelines. I don't think my children particularly appreciate this tendency of mine. The rolling eyes and "Awwww, Mom" are a dead giveaway! By the way, my oldest son, Matt and I were privileged to eat Varsity hot dogs and onion rings for lunch because they were catering a car show there at the church where the soccer games are. YUUUUMMMMM! I really feel like it was about time for an "oil change" for me!! After the games, we went back to the house where I "got to" do laundry! Then we took the kids to meet their Dad and my dear hubby took me to dinner at Red Lobster (my place)!
Sunday, April 27 - We went to church, and then had lunch at church followed by communion. We left the church at 2:30, got home just after 3, took a quick nap, and my hubby left to get the kids while I fixed dinner. Then to bed!!!! How wonderful!!
Monday, April 28 - We actually had a slow day. We were at home most of the day getting our school work done, followed by Rache's soccer practice from 6:00 until 7:00, a "quick" drive across the county, and the boys' softball practice from 7:30 until 8:30. Home by 9:30 and in the bed!! How wonderful!!
Tuesday, April 29 - MY 40TH BIRTHDAY!!!!! I planned to sleep a little late, but I got a phone call from Bets, my bestest friend since junior high, who told me to go out on my front porch. Huh? Okay. There were 2 gifts on my front porch, a bag containing some wonderfully luscious bath stuff and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood dvd from my friend Mary. And a green flower pot with red polka dots (from Bets) that says, "Well-behaved women rarely make history," which explains why nobody knows my name. When I went out on my front porch, I got the full view of Betsy's handiwork: she had decorated my yard with 40 doodads!! Windsocks, twirly thingies, butterflies, and all sorts of stuff, including a decorated poster that referred to my advanced years. What a busy bee she had been. She had left Atlanta at 5:30 a.m. JUST TO DECORATE THE TREES IN HER BEST FRIEND'S FRONT YARD!! I really need to get her married! Needless to say, we took the day off (from homeschooling) and I spent it gabbing with Betsy. Thanks Bets!! And thank you to her accomplices, two of my other bestest friends since junior high, Mary and Carla. Thanks gals, you're the BEST!! Let's do supper soon!! My husband also did his part to make my day, sweet man that he is! He put balloons on the mailbox and a sign on the front door. He left me a card on the kitchen counter with a sign that said, "Caution: 40-year-old having senior moment!" ANd when he got home from work, before he took me to dinner, he helped me get dressed by decking me out in red beads, blue "40" beads that proclaimed "Behold the ageless wonder," a purple hat, and a purple cane that has the following attached to it: an "Old lady xing" sign, a pink "get outta my way" horn, some "dirty old man repellent (which, btw, I DO NOT intend to use; I like dirty old men, if I'm married to them), a string with A support hose tied to it(in case only ONE of mine gets a run in it, I suppose), and a rearview mirror that says "Hello Beautiful." Needless to say, I drew some attention my way at O'Charley's, especially since my cane has a springy thingy at the bottom that makes a springy thingy sound EVERY TIME I put the cane down. What really got me, though, was the number of people who asked me, "Ohhh, is it your birthday." No, I dress like this all of the time. Thank you for all of the birthday cards and wishes. I love you all.
Now, as for taking time to "take stock" of my life, that's not for me. I guess I'm just too busy living it. May God bless my next 40 years as he has my first. To God be all the glory.
Love,
Donna
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Field Day!!!
Yesterday, our homeschooling group had our annual field day!! It was wonderful!! This is something I organize and execute for our group every year, because I just love doing it for the kids. We have such wonderful young people in our group. I love being around them!! I love their fun-loving energy, and in the 4 or 5 years I've been doing this, I can't remember a single time I've had a problem with ANY of the kids!! They are a joy to be around, and are inspiring to me!! We had all sorts of fun games, including running and hopping races, the 3-legged dash, the wheelbarrow race, crabwalk, shoe relay, sponge relay, tug of war, and a medieval game in which the kids had to knock a bottle off a box guarded by another kid with bean bags (Thanks for that one, Katie). Then we had snacks, and we ended the day with a HUGE water gun fight, which, by the way, seems to be the kids' MOST favorite part of field day. It is fun to watch. The idea is to get as wet as possible while getting everyone else wetter! The bigger guys resorted to dumping the refill buckets on unsuspecting heads!! I had a "battlefield" laid out in the grass, and the kids had to stay within the battlefield in order to shoot their water guns or to be shot by others. This was mainly a way to protect us parents from getting soaked. I will say that I got more hugs from these young, wet people after the water gun fight than I have ever received in my life. But, hey, a hug is a hug!! Thanks, kids, for a great afternoon!
Blessings,
Donna
Blessings,
Donna
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Another Birthday at our House
Yesterday was my husband's birthday. He is now 51-years-wise, and the best-looking man I've ever had the pleasure to admire. We've been married now for 7 years, and every day I love him more. Money's tight right now here at our house (I know we're not in that pool alone), and when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he told me he wanted to take my "infamous" taco soup and my homemade wheat bread to his office to share with "the ladies." And he wanted grilled chicken sandwiches, french fries, and chocolate chip cookies for his birthday supper at home. I aim to please, so I spent a total of about 6 hours in the kitchen on Tues. and Wed. fulfilling his birthday food desires. It was worth it for me; I hope it was for him. Yesterday, I took the kids to his office with a traveling birthday party, including a birthday cake and song, a pink clown tie with polka dots to wear around his neck, a balloon bouquet with a birthday balloon and 3 red heart balloons, and me in a hot pink and black pantsuit. He said later his favorite present was me. That's my man!! He has a sweet lady in his office who also celebrated her birthday yesterday so the cake was for her too, and she got a purple lei to wear around her neck.
Jon and Liz, our two college kids, came home for his birthday, and we had his chosen dinner. I hope he enjoyed his kinda quiet birthday. He says he likes things quiet, which is difficult to achieve with 6 kids in and out, 4 of them living loudly at home. Hope you enjoyed your birthday, sweetheart!! Iloveyou!
On a funny note, last night, my 9-year-old daughter Rachel was watching the White Fang movie we had checked out of the library. She called me in to watch a dogfight (real dogs, not airplanes). She said, "Mom, watch White Fang fight that boxer." I informed her that the dog fighting White Fang was a pit bull. "Mom, it's a boxer," she insisted. I reiterated to her the fact that the dog was a pit bull. "Well, Mom, the man in the movie called it a boxer," she advised me. "I know," she said, "It's a pit bull playing a boxer!" I can't argue with that logic. Hollywood!!
Blessings,
Donna
Jon and Liz, our two college kids, came home for his birthday, and we had his chosen dinner. I hope he enjoyed his kinda quiet birthday. He says he likes things quiet, which is difficult to achieve with 6 kids in and out, 4 of them living loudly at home. Hope you enjoyed your birthday, sweetheart!! Iloveyou!
On a funny note, last night, my 9-year-old daughter Rachel was watching the White Fang movie we had checked out of the library. She called me in to watch a dogfight (real dogs, not airplanes). She said, "Mom, watch White Fang fight that boxer." I informed her that the dog fighting White Fang was a pit bull. "Mom, it's a boxer," she insisted. I reiterated to her the fact that the dog was a pit bull. "Well, Mom, the man in the movie called it a boxer," she advised me. "I know," she said, "It's a pit bull playing a boxer!" I can't argue with that logic. Hollywood!!
Blessings,
Donna
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Today is Buddy's Birthday
Hello friends,
Today is Buddy's birthday. Those of you who know our family are probably asking yourselves, "Who in the world is Buddy?" That is precisely the question I got from my husband when I called him this afternoon to inform him that we would be having a birthday dinner party for Buddy tonight. Buddy is my recently-new-to-9-year-old's brand new stuffed dog. He's cute, really. And he can bark, and growl, and whimper, and suck on a bottle (not sure why), and he came with a cute little stethoscope which makes his heart beat really loud when you hold it up to his glowing red heart. I know what you're thinking...pretty impressive, huh?!? Rachel spent $30 of her birthday money to purchase Buddy from Target last week. Since that time, Buddy has been everywhere we have, including church (he was well-behaved and quite attentive). Rachel informed me this past weekend that Buddy's birthday is April 1, that he would be one year old, and that he would be expecting a birthday party. Apparently he had shared this expectation with her. I reminded her that Buddy was stuffed and could not do the typical birthday activities, like open presents, blow out candles, or even actually eat his own birthday cake. She was undeterred, and told me not to worry, she would help him. At this point in our story, I think I need to go back a bit in time and tell you about a conversation I had with her on her 9th birthday, which fell on March 19 this year (well, uhhmm, every year). The night of Rachel's birthday, after we had come home from the Mexican restaurant where she wore a HUGE sombrero while the staff sang "Happy Birthday" slightly off-key and with a definite Spanish accent, she had some trouble getting to sleep. I automatically assumed it was due to the dessert at the Mexican restaurant, which, by the way, one of the waitresses had smeared on Rachel's nose at the end of the birthday song. After Rachel, the human yo-yo, had crawled back into bed for the 10th time, I decided I had to get down to the bottom of the problem (and I don't mean a spanking, though the thought did cross my mind before I remembered it was her birthday). I went up to her room, sat down on the bed beside her, and shot straight, "What's your problem?" She looked up at me with those big, beautiful, brown eyes, and asked, "Mom, it won't be my birthday anymore when I wake up, will it?" I agreed with her that it would not and asked her if that's why she wouldn't go to sleep. "Mom," she said, "Nobody will remember me tomorrow." Melt. There I was, putty in her hand, soft as a bunny's bottom, backbone gone. I took her into my arms, hugged her tight (until she told me she couldn't breathe), and told her I would remember her tomorrow, and every morrow, and would love her every one. She kissed me on the cheek, told me she loved me, rolled over, and went to sleep. I will remember that moment until the day I die. I do have an idea of why she felt that way. She is the youngest of seven, after all, and does get overlooked sometimes, no matter how hard she tries not to be. And I will say that my husband made a point of telling her for days afterward, every day, that he remembered her. But back to my Buddy story. I think she must have been feeling forgotten again, which is why Buddy needed a birthday party. Then again, maybe she only wanted cake. In any case, plans for Buddy's birthday party began yesterday with menu planning. Rachel insisted on steak, since dogs love steak, as we all know. So today, we went to the grocery store (no, I didn't make a special trip; I was going anyway). Rachel must have been praying because yesterday I'd told her there was NO WAY I was buying steak for Buddy's birthday party when NONE of our human family had ever had steak for any of our birthdays. While Krogering today, we found two (count 'em...two) round steaks on sale as manager's specials, which basically means that they had to be sold today or donated to the pound for real dog food. I bought the steaks. Rachel had also chosen macaroni and cheese for Buddy, since he loves it SOOOOO much. Rachel still had some of her birthday money left, so she bought a birthday balloon for Buddy (Scooby Doo, which I personally felt was very appropriate) and a matching birthday candle. She also bought some "snacks" for the party. I agreed to buy the cake (chocolate angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream topping it off). When we got home, I started dinner while Rachel decorated. Of course, Buddy could not be in the room because it was going to be a surprise party after all. Rachel put a vase of paper flowers she and her sister had made in the middle of the table, surrounded by off-white cloth napkins spread out very artistically. She covered the napkins with Cheddar Cheese Goldfish, Cheddar Bunnies, and laid out a Baby Ruth candy bar for each person at the table. Of course, Buddy had his own chair with a balloon tied to it, and his own Baby Ruth bar. We all signed a card for Buddy, and my 15 and 13 year-old sons even wrapped up some quarters to give to him. Rachel wrapped up the stuff that came with him and put it by his place at the table.
But I think the best gift was from my daughter Emily, who wrote him the following poem:Happy birthday, Buddy!There's no one good as you.You've been actin' kinda funky.I guess you have the flu.But that does not matter,Your owner's just the same.Your family's also very weird,But so what? Who's to blame?She's good!!! Anyway, when my husband got home from work, I had the steaks grilled, the mac and cheese ready, baked beans out, and salad makins out. My 15-year-old son lamented several times that we hadn't even done this much for HIS birthday!! "I mean, STEAK!?!" he exclaimed. We all sat down at the table and had a wonderful meal. Buddy seemed to be enjoying it tremendously (he had his face stuffed down into a pile of Cheddar Bunnies)!! After dinner, Buddy opened his presents (with some help from Rachel), and seemed to be well-pleased. And then came the best part!! We lit the Scooby candle, stuck it in a piece of chocolate angel food cake, and sang Happy Birthday to Buddy. He blew out the candle (with some help from Rachel). And we all dug in. As we sat back in our chairs, stuffed and satiated, reflecting on the past year, my 15-year-old spoke up, "Mom," he said, "Did I mention that tomorrow is Wolfy's birthday?" Aaaaarrrrrggghhhhh!
Blessings,Donna
Today is Buddy's birthday. Those of you who know our family are probably asking yourselves, "Who in the world is Buddy?" That is precisely the question I got from my husband when I called him this afternoon to inform him that we would be having a birthday dinner party for Buddy tonight. Buddy is my recently-new-to-9-year-old's brand new stuffed dog. He's cute, really. And he can bark, and growl, and whimper, and suck on a bottle (not sure why), and he came with a cute little stethoscope which makes his heart beat really loud when you hold it up to his glowing red heart. I know what you're thinking...pretty impressive, huh?!? Rachel spent $30 of her birthday money to purchase Buddy from Target last week. Since that time, Buddy has been everywhere we have, including church (he was well-behaved and quite attentive). Rachel informed me this past weekend that Buddy's birthday is April 1, that he would be one year old, and that he would be expecting a birthday party. Apparently he had shared this expectation with her. I reminded her that Buddy was stuffed and could not do the typical birthday activities, like open presents, blow out candles, or even actually eat his own birthday cake. She was undeterred, and told me not to worry, she would help him. At this point in our story, I think I need to go back a bit in time and tell you about a conversation I had with her on her 9th birthday, which fell on March 19 this year (well, uhhmm, every year). The night of Rachel's birthday, after we had come home from the Mexican restaurant where she wore a HUGE sombrero while the staff sang "Happy Birthday" slightly off-key and with a definite Spanish accent, she had some trouble getting to sleep. I automatically assumed it was due to the dessert at the Mexican restaurant, which, by the way, one of the waitresses had smeared on Rachel's nose at the end of the birthday song. After Rachel, the human yo-yo, had crawled back into bed for the 10th time, I decided I had to get down to the bottom of the problem (and I don't mean a spanking, though the thought did cross my mind before I remembered it was her birthday). I went up to her room, sat down on the bed beside her, and shot straight, "What's your problem?" She looked up at me with those big, beautiful, brown eyes, and asked, "Mom, it won't be my birthday anymore when I wake up, will it?" I agreed with her that it would not and asked her if that's why she wouldn't go to sleep. "Mom," she said, "Nobody will remember me tomorrow." Melt. There I was, putty in her hand, soft as a bunny's bottom, backbone gone. I took her into my arms, hugged her tight (until she told me she couldn't breathe), and told her I would remember her tomorrow, and every morrow, and would love her every one. She kissed me on the cheek, told me she loved me, rolled over, and went to sleep. I will remember that moment until the day I die. I do have an idea of why she felt that way. She is the youngest of seven, after all, and does get overlooked sometimes, no matter how hard she tries not to be. And I will say that my husband made a point of telling her for days afterward, every day, that he remembered her. But back to my Buddy story. I think she must have been feeling forgotten again, which is why Buddy needed a birthday party. Then again, maybe she only wanted cake. In any case, plans for Buddy's birthday party began yesterday with menu planning. Rachel insisted on steak, since dogs love steak, as we all know. So today, we went to the grocery store (no, I didn't make a special trip; I was going anyway). Rachel must have been praying because yesterday I'd told her there was NO WAY I was buying steak for Buddy's birthday party when NONE of our human family had ever had steak for any of our birthdays. While Krogering today, we found two (count 'em...two) round steaks on sale as manager's specials, which basically means that they had to be sold today or donated to the pound for real dog food. I bought the steaks. Rachel had also chosen macaroni and cheese for Buddy, since he loves it SOOOOO much. Rachel still had some of her birthday money left, so she bought a birthday balloon for Buddy (Scooby Doo, which I personally felt was very appropriate) and a matching birthday candle. She also bought some "snacks" for the party. I agreed to buy the cake (chocolate angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream topping it off). When we got home, I started dinner while Rachel decorated. Of course, Buddy could not be in the room because it was going to be a surprise party after all. Rachel put a vase of paper flowers she and her sister had made in the middle of the table, surrounded by off-white cloth napkins spread out very artistically. She covered the napkins with Cheddar Cheese Goldfish, Cheddar Bunnies, and laid out a Baby Ruth candy bar for each person at the table. Of course, Buddy had his own chair with a balloon tied to it, and his own Baby Ruth bar. We all signed a card for Buddy, and my 15 and 13 year-old sons even wrapped up some quarters to give to him. Rachel wrapped up the stuff that came with him and put it by his place at the table.
But I think the best gift was from my daughter Emily, who wrote him the following poem:Happy birthday, Buddy!There's no one good as you.You've been actin' kinda funky.I guess you have the flu.But that does not matter,Your owner's just the same.Your family's also very weird,But so what? Who's to blame?She's good!!! Anyway, when my husband got home from work, I had the steaks grilled, the mac and cheese ready, baked beans out, and salad makins out. My 15-year-old son lamented several times that we hadn't even done this much for HIS birthday!! "I mean, STEAK!?!" he exclaimed. We all sat down at the table and had a wonderful meal. Buddy seemed to be enjoying it tremendously (he had his face stuffed down into a pile of Cheddar Bunnies)!! After dinner, Buddy opened his presents (with some help from Rachel), and seemed to be well-pleased. And then came the best part!! We lit the Scooby candle, stuck it in a piece of chocolate angel food cake, and sang Happy Birthday to Buddy. He blew out the candle (with some help from Rachel). And we all dug in. As we sat back in our chairs, stuffed and satiated, reflecting on the past year, my 15-year-old spoke up, "Mom," he said, "Did I mention that tomorrow is Wolfy's birthday?" Aaaaarrrrrggghhhhh!
Blessings,Donna
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