Here's the Latest

Around here, you never really know what you're going to get.   One day you wake up and find, you are suddenly a pretend Grandma:

The Boy is taking a class at school called Teen Living.  It is designed to help them see what a terrific life they live NOW and how hard it is to be a grown up.  It is  more drawn out than Reality Town, where they just get a reality check.  This is Kami, his flour-sack "baby".  He was given her last week, and she is to be taken with him everywhere he goes.  If he leaves her hone, he has to pay for a babysitter.  Real money, to care for a fake baby. Oh, and he is required to get up at 2 AM each night and "walk the baby" for 15 minutes each night.  The point the teacher is making here is that babies take a lot of effort.

The Boy has made a LOT of effort for this baby project.  Just wish he'd translate that effort to Geography or Geometry or English.  But there are no fun projects like this, apparently, in those classes.


Another day you might be reading your scriptures, preparing for a Sunday school lesson, when The Girl comes home looking like this:

The Girl showed up looking like this after a long afternoon with the other juniors and seniors on the Youth Court.  The YC kids were "victims" for the city's CERT training.  CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team, and the city was holding CERT Training with the "real victims" to help the CERT folks really have a sense of  the what if--scenarios.  So, don't worry; it's fake.


Other times you just get a little reminder to slow down and enjoy what life offers you:

Friday night we rounded the northern end of Deer Creek reservoir on our way to Midway with a couple of cars of Young Women and YW leaders for an overnight Camp Committee leadership training and planning retreat.  This was the view.  In person, it was even more beautiful.  Pink skies, snow capped mountains, and a calm lake surface surrounded by fall fields...it was lovely sight.

Sometimes, you just never know.

741--A Year in Review

No, I am not going to give you a medieval history lesson focused on the year 741. This is blog post 741. And it is my birthday. So, for my own entertainment I thought I'd review the past year as a way to end my annual blog book.

Come on back tomorrow, as I'll still be blogging, but on my birthday each year, I slurp my posts into a virtual book and have it literally printed and bound. I count it as my journal for the year. And today is the day.

Being 40 wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. It still wasn't like being 23, but not all the death and destruction I thought I'd encounter.

I have noticed, however, that being 40 gives your body reasons to start to physically fall apart. In the last few months my knees have been giving me trouble--stiff and sore and odd pains going up and down the stairs. Oh, and the metabolism has basically stopped. Dangit.

Emotionally being forty is the bomb! I don't really care what people think of me anymore. It is nice when I meet people and they like me, but if they are rude, insensitive, belligerent, or arrogant, I just don't care. This is who I am, people. Take it or leave it. That is a hugely refreshing feeling.

Mentally, I feel just as sharp as ever, until I head into a room and forget why I am there. Luckily these "senior" moments are fleeting, but they do still unnerve me when they happen. I think there are too many memories in my head too by this age, so I can't seem to recall all the things that happened in the years past as easily. I am sure they memory is still there, but I have to work harder to recall it.

Socially, I have the best of both worlds--good friends in every facet of my life, and good relationships with my family. I love seeing the overlap in friends that once were only PTA or school friends, and now are also Swim team friends, Strawberry Days friends, lunch time friends, or girl's night out friends. And the best part is that I'd rather do stuff with Genius Golfer and the kids most of all.

Spiritually I know I have much to learn, but I feel like I can believe and be faithful unabashedly as a forty-year-old. I love that I am still looking for miracles and find so much gratitude when they manifest themselves in my life. I stand with firmer faith in a Heavenly Father who loves me as my faith is tried and tested and then I'm blessed for it. I understand a little more each year the magnitude of love my Savior has for me and the everlasting gift of His atonement that I can make use of in my life. More and more I understand that the Gospel is true and I love it.

Being 40 has it's perks, and I'm learning to love this time of my life. Because, really, what other options are there?

Follow Up Friday

I am so happy to see Friday dawn today. It have been a long week. It was a long week already on Tuesday.

As I rewind the week in my head, I thought I would give you the update on what has happened, or what was going to happen. Then you may have a lingering doubt or wondering--free weekend.

Monday this week, The Girl had her first day of Swim team at the HS. Being a newbie HS parent, it didn't dawn on me that the HS bell schedule is a half hour earlier than the Junior High. It was also early-day-out which vexes me repeatedly each week. I had told my kids that I'd pick them up at 12:30 at the end of lunch. That would be great, but the HS's 4th period class begins at 12:07, at the beginning of the lunch time for the Jr High crowd. DOH! Yes, they were late, but we got that figured out for Wednesday and even got a bit of a carpool going too with the other swim moms.

Tuesday I got to go to the temple with the ladies in our YW presidency. That was nice. I haven't been to the temple with friends, or husband for that matter, for a while. I have been going on my own, when the time opens up so I just run up. It was nice to go in a group and feel the added camaraderie with these good women.

Wednesday, The Boy had his early morning dermatologist consultation. Sure enough, the lipoma is ready for removal. The new doctor even told The Boy that after the retelling of his last lipoma removal he was surprised that I could even get him to come in and see the doctor about it. He was reassuring in the fact that he will use the happy gas, a la the dentist's office, and we'll get some topical numbing gel and the stick of the local anesthetic will help The Boy feel almost nothing. Plus this doctor is more grandfatherly and very gentle. Good thing. The "surgery" is scheduled for October 5th.

Yesterday, was a full and busy day, but everything worked out OK. My PTA Council meeting went just fine. I still have a lot to learn--like I skipped over the representative from the district who is assigned to our council and visits with us each month to relay information from the superintendent and the district. Ooops. We kept the meeting to an hour, and I made it to Tammy's in time. Her morphine dosage has been moved to every two hours, but double the amount now. She was sleeping through most of the day yesterday, and her already quiet speaking voice was also becoming slurred. When I was relieved of my duties there, I ran back to the Junior High where I sit on the School Community Council and we had our first meeting. Another hour or so and finally headed home. Have I mentioned that I am glad I don't have to work full time every day?!

Today I have an appointment to give blood--since my attempt last week was foiled by slightly too high blood pressure. I try to stay with the schedule our stake keeps and then I can always give with the blood drive they host. I'm only a week later, so I should be fine to donate again in December when the stake hold their next one. Then I need to kills wasps that are living in my decorative birdhouse in the flower bed and it is Sucker Sales at the Junior High so I have a shift for that. Then it is my turn to drive the swim-bus to the high school again. And I think I should have time to pull out the sewing machine and repair my cute cotton purse I washed yesterday and shredded the lining seam while dying the white T-shirt and bra I wore to exercise in bright yellow! The dyed items are also soaking in a color removal bath in the wash.

You wish your life were this exciting, don't you?!

I am just grateful for the health I enjoy to do all this, the fact that I don't have to work, and the opportunities that I have to help in our schools and with my kids. Not everyone can say they have all that. I am rich, if also a little tired.

Much Rejoicing?

The kids go back to school today. (And there was much rejoicing.)
Genius Golfer has a job interview--and it is local. (And there was much rejoicing.)
Dad in California is in some more advanced stage of kidney failure and will be in surgery on the 13th. (There will be much rejoicing when this begins to help him.)
I have finally determined to see about transferring The Boy to another school for the remainder of the year before he looses any more prep for Junior High. (There isn't much rejoicing at all on this one--except that there is a chance we can catch him up before it is too late.)
Oh, and I have a full day of laundry on tap, but time for lunch and a stop at the Gas 'n Sip, of course. (Much rejoicing.)

Live, from Reality Town!

This was the funniest activity I have ever done at the junior high. Genius Golfer had some fun too. In fact, he was getting into it before the day was over.

We worked the "Car Insurance" table. Just slightly more interesting/exciting than the "Utilities" table. But pretty funny for us!

Prior to coming to the gym, the kids had filled out their career aptitude tests and base on that and their GPA they were assigned an occupation and then randomly, they received a personal scenario. This would include info on whether or not they had a spouse or children. It gave some background as to what their spouse did that may or may not add to their monthly income. It also indicated what kind of education they (and their potential spouse) had already. This scenario had them step into a 30 year old's situation.

The kids came into the gym with their booklet and a checkbook. They were required to stop at each booth or table and get it in initialed by one of the adults there. Anywhere they stopped and bought something they wrote a check then we did the math in their check register in their booklet. That way they could always see their balance. For some, this was a rude awakening.

The kids had jobs that ranged from artist, professional athlete, animal trainer, or fashion designer to neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeon, pediatrician, lawyer, or veterinarian. The lowest incomes to the highest incomes--an many in between.

The kids had several choices at the "Transportation" booth. There were about 4 bars in three different age ranges, with the corresponding prices. They also had a "Bus Pass" option there. We saw several kids who would come to us for insurance after "buying" the most expensive and blinged out car/truck only to see them 20 minutes later when they had to sell their sweet ride to buy their family food and got a bus pass instead.

The best part of our booth was the required spinner. They told us which car they bought and then they had to spin to see if they had "no tickets" or if they had "2 tickets" and that would almost triple their insurance. The older, more sensible cars had lower insurance and the newer, faster cars had higher insurance rates. It was great! My favorite was the cool studly kid who would spin right after his slightly less cool and less studly friend got "no tickets" only to land on "2 tickets" himself with his tricked out ride and his insurance is almost as much as his housing expenditure! I loved those ones.

It was a really fun day. I'll let you know what The Girl's results were tomorrow. She is a bright kid, but we need to encourage her to aspired to a better career, or she'll be living in or basement forever! But that is a story for tomorrow. Stay tuned...same bat channel...slightly earlier bat time.