Out of the office!

Just fyi, I will be gone for the next few days. My mom is having back surgery and so we'll be stationed at St. Joseph Hospital in Bloomington for the next couple days. So don't think I've forgotten about blogging, just away from my office for a few days. And if you think of it, say a little prayer for my mom - I know she'll appreciate it.

Old Friend Week!

It must be old friend week! I had the distinct privilege of meeting up with another one of my oldest and dearest friends quite suddenly yesterday. After my breakfast meeting with an old friend Saturday, I tried to track down another friend - and it seems "by coincidence" (which, of course, I don't believe in) she was traveling from her home in Minnesota down to Tremont to visit her parents. So I called her parents' home and left a message and voila! Yesterday we got together in between my appointments and had a wonderful "catch up" visit. She's the kind of friend who, even though you haven't talked for years, after the first sentence, it's just like you've never been apart - it was wonderful. During the course of the conversation she asked me how I had resisted the urge to be bitter after all that had happened to me and I told her that, of course, I have had my moments (actually hours or days) fighting that, and that, in fact, I had just had a very whiney encounter with those kind of emotions recently, but that one thought always brings me back to my center and that thought is this: I have my children. They are (and undoubtedly have always been) my motivation to continue on, to be mentally healthy (as much as a pre-menopausal woman can be mentally healthy!), to pursue my Christian walk, etc., etc. They are worth everything to me - my best friends, the people I would rather spend time with than anyone else. Keep your exotic vacations, your fancy cars and nice houses - I ended up with my kids and a relationship with them that means more to me than anything else you could offer. When I looked up at my friend, she had tears in her eyes and I realized at that moment, once again, just how lucky I am.

Breakfast meeting

Today I met an old friend for breakfast. I hadn't seen this friend for literally a lifetime. We used to be together all the time - almost 24/7 sometimes because we were in a couple of singing groups together and traveled together for a while. (I always say we went "on tour" and Mal laughs at me!) Over the past 28 years or so, our lives have gone separate ways. As we reminisced and talked about other old friends, I heard myself saying things like, "no - I meant to send her a Christmas card" or "gosh - what was his last name" and "she was in my wedding - no I don't know what she's doing now". It just made me think about all the tons of people whose lives have weaved in and out of mine over these past 51 years, all leaving distinct marks and memories on my heart and life that I have lost touch with. Where are they now? What's going on in their lives? I don't know for the most part. It made me laugh to remember old fun and funny times, yet sad to realize that I had let most of those relationships fall to the wayside. Of course, some of that is the course that life takes - we get married, we have jobs and children - new responsibilities take over and time becomes a huge factor. People move away, etc. But it really made me stop to think of those that I was very close to (or thought I was anyway) that I would like to re-kindle communication with. That's my new goal - to hunt down and find a few old friends and check in with them. Have people that are important in your life? Don't let them slip out of touch just because of the everyday hassles of life and time. Real friends are hard to find - hang on to the ones you have.

Spontaneous drumming!

Spontaneous drumming filled the air at my house tonight. Just a few of us banging our hearts out on our drums, and, of course, eating some wonderful snacks!

Surgery

Today my mom and I went to see her neurosurgeon. The surgery on her back is scheduled for next Thursday, April 1st. I am so glad this will soon be over and done with for her and I know she's going to feel alot better and enjoy her summer. She has done all the other steps to put off the surgery in hopes of not needing it, but it has become necessary. (You know how we always believe that surgery is a last resort - we try all other avenues first before doing the invasive surgery adventure.) This time we only had to wait one hour to see the doctor. I feel like I should help that office get under control - ha! So say some prayers for her and keep her in positive thoughts next Thursday if you would. I know she'll appreciate it.

A Morning at Home!

This is my home (at least part of my living room). I love spending time here.

This is Pockets resting after we played.

This is Pockets - just daring me to try and get his bone.

This is us playing, but Pockets moves too fast for my camera!

And this is his favorite squeaky, squishy bone - yep, the same one that Apollo "plays" when we have parades through the house, while everyone else is playing shakers and drums!

Today my "work day" doesn't start until 1:00, so I had the seldom experienced opportunity to be at home by myself all morning. I love to be home sometimes - and today, I feel sooooo productive! I got up, took Tan man to work (his truck's in the shop), took the garbage to the street (because we forgot it last week, I wanted to get it out early), folded a load of laundry, put in another load of laundry, made a grocery list and a to do list, ate a bagel (while watching Joyce Meyers on tv), caught up on e-mails and facebook, made two massage appointments, unloaded the dishwasher, re-loaded the dishwasher, played with Pockets (really that only took about 10 minutes and we were both worn out!), took some meat out of the freezer for dinner, researched phone plans on the internet, hung up 2 battery operated "tap" lights in my pantry (so I can actually see what food's in there!), and cleaned out that cupboard where all the plastic ware is. Now, if you know me, you know I hardly EVER throw out a plastic container - Cool Whip, sour cream, you name it - you can wash and re-use it. It drives my kids nuts. And typically when you open up this cupboard, something (usually a lid) falls on your head. So today (and my kids will be so glad to hear this) I cleaned out that cupboard. If it has a lid, the lid is on it and it is stacked neatly on the shelves. If it doesn't have a lid or if it's a lid without a container, it is headed for the garbage. So if you kids have anything without a lid or a lid without a matching container, let me know soon, because these things are going to be history! Now I'm off to the shower and to work, but I'm very thankful for this morning - just some time to catch up on some stuff and be in quiet for awhile. Hope you get a chance to just "breathe in" a little bit this week, too.

It's Monday already!

I can't believe how fast the weekends fly by - even with the bad weather! Friday night you already know I went to the Mennonite Relief Sale, then Saturday I worked all day, then headed over to the spaghetti dinner/Ron Davis for Sheriff fundraiser (which you already know about, too). All that leaves is yesterday. I ran to the store, cooked lunch, ate with the kids (my favorite thing to do on a Sunday - I love it when we get to be together), watched a movie and did dishes, and voila! It's Monday! I've just been thinking today (now don't get worried those of you who had a massage today - I wasn't distracted from my work!) again of how quickly the time seems to be going - maybe it's my age, maybe it's the level of happenings in my life - I don't really know, but all the same, time is flying by. Here we are talking about Easter already and it's only a couple weeks away. The first quarter of 2010 is almost over - how can that be? I guess it just serves to remind me that I need to make every moment count, as they move on past me at a high rate of speed and those moments can never be re-captured.