Getting back to Normal

It has been a busy summer with work, travel, company. So busy that we haven't even gone camping. What is more summer than camping? Now school has started for my high school senior and we saw the college boy off this week. Today was my first day off in a long time, ALONE. I accomplished much in the way of paperwork and clean up. I feel like life is getting back to normal-thus the title of this blog entry.

This month has flown by at work because nearly everyone has gone on vacation. That has left me working extra shifts to cover, and when I am there we are shorthanded, so there is also extra work for me to do too! I did manage to paint Noah's dresser that he was taking to college. I was really pleased with how it turned out and wondered why I didn't do that a lot sooner. I had the cute new twig drawer pulls for years! Noah and I were supposed to do it together, but guess who wound up doing 95% of the work-ME. Because he didn't have much invested, he wasn't too bothered when he dinged it up moving or when the paint job was ruined when the drawers stuck (like his momma told him they would). He also assured me that his new queen bed would go up the narrow staircase at the house. Instead of grabbing the spare queen box springs that were sitting at the house when he went down a few weeks ago and trying it out for size-he was too busy having fun-he eyed it up and made a poor judgment call. I wasn't too concerned that we couldn't return the mattress. I told him before we purchased it that if it didn't fit, I was leaving it at the house and it was his problem to deal with. Regardless, there were some tense moments when it wouldn't go up, and after all this his momma decided to wash her hands clean of caring so much for her dear firstborn son. I looked around his college room and then thought back to my college room. No comparison. Obviously things are more important to me than they are to him. Because of this, he lacks the appreciation I think he should shower upon me. Maybe there was some wisdom in my parent's decision to do so little. Regardless, I don't think it will take long before he "hits the wall" and comes looking for a bailout, which I have told him upfront will not be happening this year. The expectations and responsibilities have been made very clear and he had his year of grace last year. I think that is what he will need to learn and grow up, but it upsets me that he is probably still going to put me in that position by asking. Anyhow, I still have a lot of concerns for Noah. He is living in a house with three pampered privileged boys. Two of the boys are over 21 (which doesn't really matter since the third boy's parents provide booze for him). The campus is large and I still think Noah would function better at a smaller school. He doesn't have enough money. Keep him in your prayers. Me too! It's not easy letting go. Nate too! He is not starting out with his usual hopeful attitude. He's being pretty negative and getting into bad habits already (staying up late, not doing homework until morning). The good thing is he has a pretty easy schedule this year, but he has no wiggle room. He must pass all of his classes to graduate. He has work study the last couple of hours. He is learning how to install car stereos and do upholstery work for vehicles. He has filled out a couple of applications and had a couple of interviews, but no job yet. There are also many opportunities he lets pass him by...... He has his last driver's ed class tomorrow, but says he isn't scheduled to drive until mid-October! He's not happy about that; he's not happy that we won't just give him a car........he too has a lot of growing up to do.

I continue to lose weight. Right now, I am 57 lbs down-10 to go! I've gotten sloppy about writing things down this month, but am encouraged that I seem to be doing ok. We start back in the fall, and with new determination I hope to reach my goal before the end of the year. Things have slowed down and I have a feeling these last 10 lbs will be the most difficult. I don't want to settle though! Fall will bring new challenges with new people joining. We had another bible study reunion. We invited our beloved director of women's ministries to speak. She is such an inspiring, beautiful, wise woman of God. She will be moving to Texas soon and I will miss her dearly. I have a frame on my nightstand that has a copy of something that Anne Graham Lotz gave to her. It is the words-Not Somehow, but Triumphantly. That is how Nancy has lived her life and that is how I want to live mine too. I have agreed to lead a grief group in the fall. I am really nervous-it should be another growing experience (we never stop having them). I went to the dermatologist this week and he froze a bunch of growths. I was trying to get him to take a large red mole off that Mya didn't like (and she let me know nearly every day she was here), but that didn't work out this time. We have to do this delicate dance back and forth, to communicate with each other in a way so that he can charge my insurance for the procedure. Oh, I almost forgot-I got a new fridge! I did measure and it still barely fit! I am liking it very much-a side by side with water and ice on the door. Our old one had so many pieces and parts broken, it was going to cost as much as I paid for it to replace them. I'm glad we did it now, they are phasing out the color Bisque, which is what all our new appliances are. As it is, we didn't have many to choose from.

Well I've got to get going and hit the sack. Driver's Ed comes early tomorrow morning and I've got to shower and make my "hussy" self up before meeting a friend for breakfast. Keep in touch!