Monday, June 16: Dozed off last night before 9pm and decided to take myself off to bed shortly thereafter. I went right to sleep again, woke when John came to bed, stayed awake long enough to say prayers and then went back to sleep. I woke this morning at 6 a.m. and felt rested and ready for a week.
Oh, the optimist that I am!
I left on time. Traffic was fine. Arrived on time. Henry was all smiles. Caleb seemed fine. I just knew it would be a great day.
What I didn't count on was a 5-year-old little boy who had decided that today nothing was going to be easy. Did he set out to make the day hard just especially for me? No, not at all. He was just in a contrary mood. If I said 'Come' he refused to budge. If I said, "Don't move" he couldn't stay in a single spot for anything. So it went.
He finally asked if he could have lunch. It was a good half hour from mealtime, but I thought food might be helpful and asked if he'd like a snack. Indeed, he did, and he followed immediately on the heels of a hearty snack with a proper lunch of which he ate every single bite. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd just been plain old hungry all morning long.
Truth told neither boy was up to their usual this morning. Henry took a nap mid-morning which he does occasionally and then he had his lunch. He spent the rest of the afternoon lying on his back in the crib. He didn't sit up nor talk and chatter. Just lay on his back and played with his little book, quiet as a mouse. I remarked upon his quietness to Katie when she came out for lunch. "Yes, he does spend a day that way now and then."
Cody came in early today. I took my cue and left him with the boys. Everyone was fed and changed and rested. John wanted me to run by Walmart and pick up his glasses. Apparently, Georgia has recently changed laws about glasses. A 'licensed ophthalmology technician' must be on duty to do just about everything except clean your lenses. The technician was 'out'.
I wandered around to the bed and bath section and looked over rugs. I've been very unhappy with the rugs I bought for both bathrooms and decided to see if they had anything I liked better. I found some I liked and felt were reasonably priced. I went by the women's department and picked up two t-shirts. I don't know why I bought V-necked t-shirts back in the spring.
They are very immodest it seems to me, at least these days. They seem to be much lower than they were in my youth. I don't mind them as much if I can put a tank top under but I'm not willing to add an extra layer of clothing this time of year. I found two crew neck shirts to piece out my 'work' wardrobe (jeans and t-shirts work best).
Then I went into the grocery section and looked for a few items such as celery, lettuce, stuff that I thought would help round out meals this week. Needless to say, the wait for the technician to return was expensive. And fruitless because they refused to release his glasses to me, insisting he must come in and let them check the glasses...I assured them that he would be in to have them adjusted and if he had any other issues but no they wouldn't release them.
At home, I found a letter from the company that firmly contradicted the information I'd heard this morning from the agent. I made a call to her. She was given the run around. Back to square one there. I can see that we must go through this little season of financial frustrations just now, too. Ah well.
Tuesday, June 17: It was a long day today. Why was it so long? I can't say. Caleb was better behaved today. He didn't argue. He wasn't rude. He just went right on doing whatever he chose to do instead. After two and a half hours of struggling, I asked myself, "Is he doing harm in any way? Is what he's doing beneficial to him?" Well, the first answer was a definite "No" and the last was "Yes". It wasn't what I wanted him to be doing but he was using scissors to cut paper into shapes. He was using his imagination to create things. He was using a paintbrush as a pencil to trace letters. He was writing on a paper towel rather than a sheet of paper. So, I just stopped fussing and let him go.
It was a long day with Henry, too. He didn't nap though he was genuinely sleepy. I tried to hold him, but it was like wrestling a wild animal today. Remember how quiet and relaxed he was yesterday? Today he was very active indeed.
At 10:30, I looked at both boys and just shook my head. How on earth had time not moved forward? Why wasn't it past lunch time already? And I promise you at 1:52 I absolutely was sure I'd never make it to 3pm. At this point, Caleb had awakened Henry from his very brief nap climbed into the playpen. The two boys were playing laughing and cackling and screeching. Henry was LOUD about it too. Then he got up on his hands and knees and crawled, actually crawled, across the pen to reach Caleb. Little stinker. It's official. He's now a mover.
On my way home, I went by Kroger. I'd received another email from the manager at the store, and he said I was to go to customer service to get the last of the register fiasco handled. The store compensated me an additional $10 as well, which was nice of them. But wow, oh wow. In the end, I had earned $31 from that initial visit. It took two visits to customer service and three emails between me and the store manager to get it all squared away. The store was courteous and helpful, and they did compensate me the extra funds which I'll use.
Then the refund we've been looking for arrived. Praise God! Just last night, I prayed about all these minor financial aggravations I'd been trying to sort out and asked God to please just sort them all out.
I left Kroger and stopped to get an unsweetened iced tea. I just needed something more than water. I swear there was not 2 tablespoons of ice in the tea...Why is it in winter when you order a drink, they pack it in so tight you barely have room to put liquid but in summer they barely cover the bottom of the cup and then pour warm tea over the top.
I happened to have ice in my Yeti tumbler, so I just poured half the tea over that. Boy was it refreshing! The air was hot and oppressive. As I got nearer home the sky got darker and darker. We were not supposed to get rain at any point this week. Guess what? As soon as I walked into Sam's it poured torrential rain.
I had a piece of leftover birthday cake at Sam's. Gosh but that was good, too. I'd gone by Sam's to pick up a bag of vegetables he'd set aside from his garden. I stayed and he chattered away, stopping to say how happy he was that I'd come by to 'visit'. Well, I'm glad it rained, and I had stayed if only because it made him happy.
The children (Millie and Isaac) had survived their dental work yesterday which was fairly major stuff, especially for Isaac. His cheeks were flushed and swollen. The new dental work was all done under anesthesia.
Sam was putting together a pan of vegetable soup as we talked. I could look past him out through the kitchen window to the pouring rain and was reminded of what John said this morning as I was leaving, when it was foggy. "I know it's summer and I know it's warm out there, but doesn't it just look like autumn fog?" I kept thinking how wonderful that soup would taste tonight with thunderstorms raging. He was especially proud that everything in the pot, but the beef and the carrots were from his own garden.
I didn't come home until nearly 5pm. John had mowed the yard today, happily before all the rain began. Tomorrow night Caleb is coming home with us to spend two nights to have a 'sleepover' as he keeps calling it, lol. Katie and Cody plan to paint their main living area while he's here. I doubt I'll have a chance to write much over the next two days.
Thursday, June 19: Yesterday was Sam's birthday. He stands over 6 ft. tall and is a good-looking young man of 41. It's a long, long time from the day the photo below was taken, the day he got his first haircut. (I think the photo shown is the before shot, but I may be wrong. Those bangs look pretty straight.)
He's been through the fires these past few years. He lost his job nearly two years ago. He went back to school with his sights set on a new career. He's had other troubles, the sort too many of us have had and didn't want but there they are.
That girl in the picture is a long way from the woman I am now, too. I would have been about 26 at that time. I was a year away from undertaking a huge journey in self-improvement and personal growth. There were truly difficult times ahead. What was behind me was the third of three nervous breakdowns. I was starting to be angry at the world around me for the hand I'd been dealt and tired of people who expected me to 'just accept things the way they are.' I was on the verge of making some bad decisions that sank me lower still and then finding I had nowhere to go but up once more if I'd only start the climb.
We look at pictures of people and never know what they've just been through, nor what they are about to go through do we? It's what makes me look very closely at the historical family photographs. Like the one of my great grandmother below:
If I had my guess, I'd say she might be younger than I was when the above photo was taken. I haven't worked on the genealogy pages that dealt with her in years now. That will be my next task once I finish this current family line.
Was Della already married here? Disillusioned with the man who came and went as he pleased, stopping off just long enough to get her pregnant and then leaving again? Was she already a single parent? And what did my great grandfather even look like? I don't think I've ever seen a single photo of him. What attracted her to him?
I was blessed to know my Great-Grandmama. In her late years, she laughed easily and had bright blue eyes that shone with joy. She never remarried after she and her husband divorced. She had a hard life, but somehow, she'd not grown bitter nor let poverty spoil her outlook on life. Maybe, like myself, she went through the fires that refined and grew her and, in the end, felt peace about the life she'd led.
I've reached that point in my life. I'm not quite the merry soul that my Great-Grandmama was, but I'm at peace about my life.
One day my son will look back on these recent years of his life and he too will be glad that he went through this fire. But it's hard to be grateful when the flames are still actively surrounding you.
I am at home, today. Caleb came home with me last night. He was a handful just at first, but then he settled in and played happily. He went to bed last night and I heard him yawning within ten minutes. Then he went to sleep and slept until about 6:30 am. He's played outdoors freely for hours. He's played indoors. He is down for quiet time just now.
I had a whole hour and a half outdoors today. That hour and a half drained me because it was hot, but goodness it was good to be outdoors with my hands in dirt, improving my spaces as much as I can. Not a lot done really when I stepped back to look at it all, but I worked hard and steadily and what got done took all of my time. I cleaned out the bed next to the back steps again, moving the big, galvanized bucket of gladiolus to a less conspicuous part of the next flower bed and bringing the half barrel planter of coreopsis closer to the entry end of the porch.
I managed to trim out trees that have insisted on sprouting in the second flower bed, then spread one bag of mulch. I planted some impatiens I'd rooted, found a volunteer Touch me not to plant in a pot, accidentally pulled up a shoot of lantana that was attached to a root, so I took that to transplant in a spot that is sure to be sunny, and totally in the way of mowing and weeding and life in general.
That last bed, where I transplanted the lantana is a HUGE mess. I have so much work to do that end of the yard. I nearly tackled it today, but I was drained from the work I'd already done. I sensibly stopped, drank a tall glass of lemon water, then showered. And after a brief rest period, I baked cookies for Sam's belated birthday 'cake'. He asked me at Christmas to make him a batch of Russian tea cakes.
Of course, Caleb could hardly stand seeing me make cookies and he not have any at all. I explained they were a gift for Uncle Sam but assured him I wouldn't send them off without his getting a chance to try them. I made BLT's (I always add cheese) for lunch today. It was the perfect summer sort of lunch after a busy day in the house and yard.
I know Caleb is happy here but he's happier at home. He asked me to call last night so that he could speak to Mama and Dad and Not the Mama. Yes, he misses them, but I've missed being home. I am so happy to have this extra day at home this week. I do truly love my own home best and prefer to be in my own space following my own routines, cleaning my own house, puttering in my own yard.
This weekend, I won't be home much. We have Outreach on Saturday morning. We have church on Sunday, then we want to visit Taylor and John wants Katie to give him a haircut. I'd love to be at home all weekend long but alas, it's not to be. Perhaps next weekend...
But now I'm jumping ahead. I'd much rather enjoy now.
Saturday, June 21: Friday was a harder day for whatever reason. Caleb didn't want to do work sheets. He kept saying he felt tired. But suffice to say that as glad as he was to go home to his family, he also hated to leave our house and said once again how much he wishes he lived here. I think what he likes about being here is the freedom he has to play outdoors.
Katie is understandably cagey about his being outdoors at their home. There is no backdoor and the back yard is impractically small. The only place to play is in the front yard and while they do have some depth, the house sits on a busy street. The front yard isn't fenced in. There's no way he can go outdoors on his own to play there. When he got home on Friday he wouldn't even go outdoors to play. He didn't want to do any work either, but he plowed through three of the five worksheets before he completely quit.
Katie eventually came out of the office and took his temperature. He had a low-grade fever, nothing I could feel by hand. I made an executive decision to let him rest on the couch while I made lunch for him. He went to bed and took a nap.
After I left Katie's, I ran by the bank to attend to matters there then back to the grocery store to (a) find Key Lime Pies for Kate's birthday and (b) pick up a few sales items along with something super easy for supper.
I've done very well with my cash grocery budget. I had a bit left after Week 1. I spent that and a good bit of Week 2 funds on Friday. I want to get one thing more from this week's grocery sales: Milk for the freezer.
Today we went to Outreach. I seriously considered just staying home today but as much as I didn't want to go back to Warner Robins today, I did want to be with John. I was blessed by the worship music and the sermon and the fellowship. We've made it a habit to grab a lunch on our way home but today we decided to drive over to our county seat and buy local. It was good. A bit pricey, but I'd have spent as much in Warner Robins, and this is helping local people stay afloat. It's not the sort of lunch we'd buy every day or even once a month, but we enjoyed it today and got lunch and dinner off it.
John has insisted we have a 'rest' day all afternoon today. I have read other blogger's posts, worked on entering genealogy notes into my files, rinsed and neatly stacked dishes, put away clothing, mended a couple of things. But nothing really laborious or difficult. Nothing that took more than minutes. Just enough to keep me from feeling any one thing had gotten monotonous or become work.
Tomorrow will be another busy day. We will go to church, then over to Katie's. I'll take her birthday pies, her gift. We'll run by and pick up the missionary mail. I'll message them with what they need and then, it's time to settle to work at home. I will need to plan meals, including breakfasts and lunches for the week. I would like to bake loaf bread, and a loaf of zucchini bread. I'll need to sort out the fridge and make sure I'm not missing anything that might spoil over the next week. I'll need to bring the checkbook up to date. I'd really love to get outdoors and look over plants, pot up a couple of fig trees for a friend of Kate's. I'm not going to fool myself into thinking all of this will get accomplished. I'm just extremely hopeful. And you never know when five minutes is just enough to get a job done and dusted.
Sunday, June 22: At the end of yesterday, I made a short list of things I thought I'd like to get done. I accomplished more than half. I quit at 6pm this evening, when our dinner was ready. I have bread rising and the oven heating to bake it. The sink is full of dishes. I don't care. I'm tired. I've done a good bit of what was on my list. Last night I prayed that God would give me the time and energy to do what I could. I've done it.
This morning, I unloaded the dishwasher and put away dishes while breakfast cooked. I hauled a chair into the kitchen after breakfast and sat down in front of the fridge and sorted that out. I made pimento cheese for sandwiches later this week. I gathered the things that needed to go out the door with us this morning. I got the checkbook squared away. I got the bed made and all of my clothing put away. I even managed to swish the back bathroom and reset it. I gathered trash from the various cans about the house. None of these tasks took long and I fitted them into moments between doing other things.
We had a great service at church today. Then we headed over to Kate's. John wanted to get a haircut. Kate wanted to celebrate her birthday with us. We were in a time crunch and so we chose to celebrate the birthday. Her actual birthday is on Tuesday. But we could gather together today, and it was a nice little party. We ate pizza while Henry was fed apples and blackberries which he liked so well he didn't let any slip from his mouth at all!
This afternoon when we returned, I pulled squash and onion from the fridge to start cooking. I want to make a squash casserole this week. John doesn't care for squash, nor for zucchini, but we've both on hand. I made a salad for my lunch tomorrow. I'll take a can of tuna with me to finish that off. I packaged up the ground beef I brought home, and the hot sausage I'd mixed with ground pork to tone it down and vacuum sealed those for the freezer. I made supper and handwashed the dishes that needed to be handwashed.
I didn't get to the zucchini today. I wanted to grate several of them and use some to make a loaf of chocolate zucchini bread. I decided that just needed to wait. It was too much to take on tonight.
Sam brought over some blueberry cinnamon rolls made with his own homegrown blueberries. We'll have those for breakfast in the morning, probably with a boiled egg each. I have my lunch salad ready to go and I'll probably make up tuna salad for John before I leave in the morning. We have enough fried chicken for a meal. I think I'll make the squash casserole to go with that. I have a handful of broad beans that I'll cook with some potatoes. John will be happy with that. And that is Monday's meals planned.
I have mushrooms, coleslaw mix, zucchini and some lettuce in the fridge that I need to use this week. I had thought I'd make Parmesan crusted Zucchini chips as a side dish one night. I think John will eat those without issue. I don't know what I want to do with the mushrooms. I chopped a cup of them this evening and mixed up with our hamburger meat for burgers tonight but there are lots more to use up. They are tiny ones, not big enough to stuff. I'll figure out how to use all of these when I'm less tired.
It's time to take bread from the oven and let it start cooling on the counter. I hope I remember to wrap it and put it away before I head off to bed tonight.
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