The sun is out today. Maybe it will dry up all the water - or not. Central Iowa is once again experiencing flood conditions. This just happened 2 years ago and 15 yrs prior to that! Things aren't quite as bad in 2008, but they're pretty close. We have the run-off from Lake Red Rock on the outskirts of Swan. It has crept all the way up West St. and half our city park is flooded again. The water is all over Hwy 5, which is our only way to Des Moines. So, now we have to detour through the Palmyra Township, which adds a good 10 minutes to our drive. Thursday should be the worst day. It's been dry and sunny all week and if that continues, then things shouldn't be as bad as they could be.
Last Wed. night Paul was called to go fix our neighbor's AC. They are such nice people. A couple of weeks ago, the husband, James, stopped his truck on the road and talked to me for a bit and it occurred to me then that I really ought to make more of an effort to go visit he and his wife. So, I got home from church Wed. and I ran over to their house while Paul worked on their unit. Well, I had to detour since the rottweiler down in the Swan "slums" was barking at me, salivating, and I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't jump the fence and eat me. So once I walked clear around, I got over to their house. Charlotte and James were thrilled to see me, which made me feel so bad. I should have made an effort long before now to go visit with them. They both have such severe health issues and are pretty much home bound. I know they're struggling financially, but on top of paying Paul, Charlotte pressed a ten dollar bill into my hand and told me to go buy ice-cream for the boys! I am going to make an effort to visit with them more often. They're lonely. I walked away feeling pretty convicted about how I let my busy life get in front of ministering to others.
I have decided that I just don't care about Iowa's gubernatorial race anymore. After the primaries when Bob Vanderplaats lost, I thought that I would probably be voting for Branstad this fall just to ensure that Culver doesn't win again. But I've changed my mind. Two things happened that changed it for me: Bob gave his first post-election interview last Friday on WHO radio. I listened to the whole thing and was filled with utter disgust for Branstad. Bob was not trashing him, simply relating things Branstad had said to him and now there's no way I'll vote for him. And then Branstad went and picked a Sarah Palin wanna-be for his running mate. It's laughable, how he is trying to appeal to another side of the voting public, by picking a woman, a conservative, and very attractive, to boot. It's not going to work with me. I have decided that I just do not care who wins this election. I can't see that Branstad will be all that different from Culver, anyway. And it bothers my conscience greatly to think of voting for someone for whom I have deep disdain and mistrust. I've always been more of a pragmatic voter. After all, elections are held for the purpose of electing someone and I've always thought it pretty silly to write in a candidate, knowing full well that a third party will not win. And, I suppose, overall, I am still more of a pragmatist. But not this time. Like I said, I just don't care anymore. I'll vote, but it won't be for Chet Culver and it certainly won't be for Terry Branstad. I don't know who I'll vote for.
I've been having some good success lately with my "cheapness." I've been on a mission to cut expenses around here and I shared recently how I bought all these little 1/2 C containers and have been making my own individual fruit, yogurt, and pudding servings. Here are some of my other recent successes: homemade bubble bath, dishwasher detergent, taco seasoning, baby wipes, buttermilk, evaporated milk, and waffle mix. I bought a cheap binder this week and I'm going to type these household "recipes" up and put them in the binder so I can keep them handy. Not everything I have tried has worked out, but I'm pleased with the amount of success I am having. I actually did come in under budget when I did my bi-monthly grocery and Walmarting this past Monday. Now, I don't think that is solely because of my penny pinching ways, but it was a nice feeling since I usually go over!
I should get back to my to-do list - and my children. Sam has been especially demanding lately. He screams when he doesn't get his way and expects his brothers and me to attend to his every whim. When we don't do his bidding, he throws a tantrum. When we were in Council Bluffs over the weekend everyone kept making comments about how cute Sam is. It's just the hair. I think human beings are naturally drawn to blond curls. But I don't even see the hair anymore - all I see is this little dragon monster who wants to engage in a battle of wills with me every single day! Every single suggestion I make to Sam is met with, "No! Don't want to!" He refuses to eat his cheese unless it's a perfect square. If a corner gets broken off, he claims it is "broken" and won't touch it. He won't potty train, insisting to me that he is "empty" every time I put him on the toilet. But yet, two minutes after I get him off, he's wet his pants - again. He makes messes that he won't clean up. But if I scold him, then his chin quivers, his mouth turns downward, and he cries and cries, so then I feel terrible and end up spending a lot of my day holding him (all 38 pounds of him) and assuring him that everything is ok. I feel like a first-time mom all over again! He is just so unlike I remember the other boys being when they were two! It makes me wonder if we've given him so much attention that we've spoiled him a bit. Or maybe he's just two - that age when babies turn into little boys.
And I suppose, as I think about it, age two is not a whole like unlike age 13. That's when children start pulling away, while at the same time still desperately needing you, as they try to step into adolescence. It's a raging stream that they need to cross. You can't carry them across, but you can be right behind them in case they slip. So, every so often, they're turning around to check to see if you're still right there and you're nervously hovering, wishing you could just scoop them up and carry them to safety, while knowing it's a process that they have to manage alone.
So that's probably what is going on with Sam. He's shedding his babyhood and stepping into boyhood, trying to figure out just what he can get away with. He's only two, fortunately - there's still plenty of years left of hugs and childhood fun with him, as long as I survive age TWO!
Off to make lunch for the troops and to make sure that I only serve Sam a perfectly square, unbroken piece of cheese (oh and another one of his quirks - he insists on eating the same lunch every day - a piece of bologna, cut up, the cheese, and chips. But I get in trouble if I put the chips on his plate. Those have to be served on a napkin, placed to the right of his plate.) Am I creating a monster?
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