The Family

This Summer Vacation is a Full Time Job

kanniduba5 Comments

And I’m not complaining! 🙂

Each day looks similar to the one before:

Be up and moving, showered (if the shower is able to be used—a hit and miss proposition) and dressed, cars out of the driveway, doors unlocked, lights on, Mister out of his underoos and into clothes, and coffee brewing by 7:15 am…a number of guys start showing up…1, 3, 5, 7…we never know. Load the cooler, serve up coffee to the ones who drink it (only a couple…the rest prefer to take their caffeine in a can.) Touch base, answer questions, ask others. The day proceeds…cleaning construction dust, taking care of laundry, trying not to be in the way, keeping Legos out of the doorway so no one kills themselves, trips to Lowes for paint, lights, paint, mirrors, paint, paint, paint, and more paint. Trying to fit in fun with the kids in between playing referee…(THAT job is getting old.) Answer more questions, running errands to the store, chiropractor appointments, volleyball camp, basketball camps, viola lessons, piano lessons, gymnastics…seeing the teenager off on various adventures, laboring over every single solitary decision I make as she begins the painful process of learning to fly on her own. More refereeing, more questions, more paint, and lots more dusting and vacuuming. Cooking (not so much) husband traveling (quite a lot.) Guys leave around 4:00, house is quiet, evening settles in to a regular routine…except a new one that involves only one toilet, one sink (the kitchen one) and one shower that may or may not be operational on any given day…finding showers to use elsewhere (a trip next door or a trip to Mom and Dad’s?? Who have we inconvenienced the least in the past few days??) Collapsing into bed at 8:00 to keep the Fibro in check…Mister getting up in the night? Maybe, maybe not. Too tired to even dream…and it all begins again the next morning.

Gotta tell you, we are having a GREAT summer in spite of all the chaos!

Our annual vacation to Ocean City, New Jersey two weeks ago with my parents and sister’s family was a wonderful break from all things stressful and we couldn’t have enjoyed it more.  I even managed to get up to see a few sunrises!  The first was by far the most beautiful of the week.  All alone on the beach, with my coffee in one hand and my camera in the other, taking peace and renewal from the sea and sun.

Evenings have become our favorite time…we return to the beach after a family dinner and enjoy the sunset and the quiet.  On one particular evening we were treated to a rainbow out over the ocean.  That’s something you don’t get to see everyday!

Another brilliant sunrise, this one taken from the front window of our beach house:

 

And yet another sunrise, this one shared with my two daughters…precious moments to remember.

More to tell and a lot more photos to share, but One Fine Summer is in desperate need of an update, so I’m going to hop on over there for a bit.  I will be back with more from our vacation soon.  (Of course “soon” is a relative term.) 🙂

I Speak for the Trees, for the Trees Have No Tongues

kanniduba5 Comments

Sadly, our beautiful maple tree that is surrounded by our deck, the one we have watched grow from a wee sprite to a towering shade tree, the one we have protected and loved, had to sacrifice one of it’s large limbs this past weekend.  Zan did the surgery himself.  The tree still looks beautiful, and now it won’t impede the roof to the new addition, but we were still sad to take such a drastic cut.

Mister enjoyed playing with the sawdust:

And he comforted our dear tree after the surgery was over.

Hard to believe this is the same boy who antagonizes his sisters at every opportunity.  When Teen Girl saw these photos she said, “Aw!!  He looks like a sweet boy in those pictures.  Too bad he’s not like that all the time!”

‘Nuff said.

Life’s a Box of Chocolates

kanniduba13 Comments

One day at a time.
That’s how I find myself getting through these past couple of weeks…one…day…at…a…time.
It has been an emotionally charged couple of weeks. The kids are finishing up school so crazy schedules, finals, moving up ceremonies, special events, have all been clamoring for attention. The renovation started on Monday, so chaotic is an understatement. Head on over to One Fine Summer to see what has happened the last three days. So much! So exciting!
My sister in law and niece came to town Sunday through today, adding some much needed distraction and fun into the crazy.

And last Tuesday it was discovered that I had a lump in my left breast.

Can you say sideswiped? Blindsided? I felt like all the air was sucked from my world. Life has a way of doing that to you now and then, doesn’t it? Kind of like driving in winter. Everything’s going along all peachy keen, and then you hit a patch of ice and spin out of control before you even know what hit you. Monday, life was good, exciting, looking forward to all the neat stuff ahead of us. Tuesday was terrifying as my doctor said he was sending me for tests and passing me along to a breast surgeon. Wednesday was even more terrifying as my mind worked itself through all the possibilities and obsessed on the whatifs my family could be facing. And then Thursday I got my strength and faith on and wrapped it around me like a warm cloak. Pushed it all to the back of my mind, prayed through my anxious moments, and enjoyed the ensuing chaos of my world.
Yesterday afternoon I went for my ultrasound and diagnostic mammogram. The news was good… it looks like I have fluid filled cysts. Still waiting for word from the doctor with next steps and the bottom line, but at this point I am breathing a little easier than I have in days. I will not feel a sense of relief until I hear the all clear. Even then, I feel vulnerable like never before. Life has a way of reminding you that now is all we have for certain, so we had better enjoy every second of it. 🙂

I saw a quote today…it was painted on a sign in front of a house I passed. It said:

Inhale.
Hope.
Exhale.
Hope.
Repeat.

Apropos, no?