...and we're off...!

In a few hours we are beginning the journey of a thousand miles. Off to drop our boy at West Point.

Is everything done? Let's see...bills paid, yard mowed, mail stopped, newspapers stopped, dog and garden care arranged, police and neighbors notified, suitcases packed...what else? I'm sure I'll remember at least one more thing after it's too late. Still to do: clean out fridge, clean out car (that's M's), pay one more bill, pack bathroom bag, and do some errands on the way out.

I'm feeling rather overwrought, overwhelmed, overworked, overloaded, overburdened, and overstressed, but I will probably feel a wee bit better after we are on the road. No more decisions to make.

If I can adjust my attitude a bit, this can be an adventure. Lots of fun on the way, but at the end...the Trail of Tears.

Tuesday

Happy First Birthday, Gingerbread Cookie! Our last grandchild and no more on the horizon for awhile. It's almost sad how fast they grow. Truly, like the Bible says, life is just a vapor. I hate it that we missed her birthday party Saturday, but that's what you get when things are like they are. We will already be passing through there tomorrow on our trek to West Point, and with the price of gas being the exorbitant $3.80+ that it is, we just can't justify two trips.

And speaking of our boy... woe is me... tonight will be his last night in his own little bed.

My whole perception of *me* is about to change, and change is painful! Even when it's good. And here I vacillate between "confidently ready" and "a nervous wreck." Which one is the *real* me?

One Week To R-Day

Today I took the last green link off the countdown chain. Next week at this time we will be on our own, wandering around West Point, waiting for the swearing-in ceremony, which will be our last glimpse of our boy until...? If by some far and away chance we do manage to see (and recognize) him in a sea of 1,000+ "new cadets" (Is that the right term now?), there will be NO acknowledgment, and definitely NO contact! So, in a way, I hope we don't see him. Then we don't have to pretend we don't see him.

M is off on more last suppers and last visits and last errands, and I am frantically trying to do every last-minute thing around here. Laundry and packing most definitely. Make sure all the bills are paid up ahead of time. Stop the mail. Stop the newspaper. Mow the yard. Clean out the refrigerator~well, at least there won't be any more cooking going on in there until...oh...sometime next month! More last things than last minutes, I'm afraid, and I'm sure there are a good plenty I haven't even thought of yet. Probably one thing I really don't have time for is sitting around p/reminiscing...

Exciting and anxious times around here this week.

And Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Summertime!

All around I see/hear all manner of people celebrating all manner of summer joys and summer fun. But summer is my hands-down, no-contest, very least favorite time of the year. Is that because I live in Texas? I'm not sure, but, whatever it is, I just don't get it.

This:

My favorite things about summer:
1. summer storms;
2. sleeping with the windows open;
3. waking up to rain on my face and the smell of petrichor;
4. mowing the grass (very early morning and very late evening);
5. early mornings before the sun warms up (before 8 a.m.);
6. farmers' markets;
7. fresh food from the garden;
8. a walk in the early morning (see #5);
9. kidlets' birthdays;
10. ?????

was mega brain-taxing!

While this:

My least favorite things:
1. heat;
2. humidity;
3. sweat running down inside my clothes;
4. sweat, period;
5. higher electric bills;
6. a hot kitchen;
7. mosquitoes;
8. a breath-takingly hot car;
9. daylight "saving" time;
10. the sun staying up past bedtime;

was a no-brainer.

Must be something about the...duh...HEAT!

One More Week

This time next week, we will be seeing Texas in our rearview mirror. Not really. This time next week we won't have a rearview mirror, and Texas will be so far behind, it will be just a fog in my muddled mind.

So this is the week of lasts. Last weekend at home, last Sunday at church, last time to lead singing at church, last visit to CTC, any number of *last suppers.* The countdown chain is short, with just a few more links to go, and it's all, well, rather final.

What a dilemma. My head is proud and happy and honored that he is going. WEST POINT! WOW! Whoever would have thought my little homeschooled boy even had a chance. But West Point apparently knows a good thing when they see one.

And then there's my heart. My heart doesn't really want him to go. How can he go?! He's too little. There is so much stuff he doesn't know about yet. He doesn't know...ummm.... or.... umm...??? Well, maybe he does know a thing or two.

Roots and Wings...If only I could get my head and my heart on the same page.

Cool Front

YES!!! Yesterday evening a cool front came through and lowered the temperature 10 whole degrees...all the way down to 90! And now I hear from our faithful weatherman Rusty that we can expect cooler temperatures by the weekend: High temperatures down in the mid-90's... And just think, only three more days until summer. Now that's something to look forward to!

Tomatoes Are Back...

...at McDonald's and Burger King! I wonder how long before Green Onions are allowed back at Taco Bell?