Breathing, Writing, and Mothering

You know, I had really thought this week was going to be less busy than last week, but halfway through it, things are not looking too good for that. I need some time to slow down and breathe! I find it so hard to believe that someday I will be gray-haired (well, that part I can believe), stooped, living alone, and wishing for company and trying to find things to while away the time. How nice it would be if I could just spread some of this busyness over the next few decades. I'd never have to worry about how to fill my days, that's for sure!

I did well with last week's FaithWriters. So well, in fact, that they're going to publish it! Here's the link: http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level4-previous.php?id=39410 I wrote about feeling inadequate in light of the Proverbs 31 woman. I told Paul about this story and he commented, "You totally stole that from your own life!" Yeah, pretty much! I have to come up with another one for tonight. It's ok. I know what I'm going to write about. I'm just hoping we keep our electricity so I can it. I guess I can always use my laptop, though. There's tornadoes and bad storms right now to the west of us.

And my FW interview went up this week. Here it is: http://faithwriters.com/blog/2011/05/09/interview-with-member-sarah-heywood/ My mom said it is "Erma Bombeckian" in style. That's good, since Erma is my number 1 writing inspiration! I was just thinking this week that I want to get a copy of every book that woman ever wrote. I've read them all multiple times, but I don't own any.

Mother's Day was very nice this week. The day before I got pampered at Valley Church. We had a speaker that I liked, but had me scratching my head at some of the things she had to say, too. But that was ok. We all got 15 min professional massages. We got spa treatments where our hands and feet got babied while we rested with warm packs around our necks and cooling pads over our eyes. We got hand massages. We made bracelets. They had drawings and I won a basket full of home spa stuff - all Beauticontrol things. I won some gerbera daisies potted in a cute yellow pail. They're still blooming, too. I've just never had anyone pay that much attention to me and desire to minister to me in that way. I came away feeling incredibly blessed!

For Mother's Day I got my lunch out, cards, and a gift (a pizza stone and cookie sheet - suppose there's a message there?). Then Paul gave me a very special gift. I'm going to write about it soon. It's not that I can't now, but I'm still battling some internal things about this. I know - makes me sound all mysterious, doesn't it? I've got a secret and I'm not telling... It's not that. Paul and I are on the verge of stepping out in total faith to do something that probably sounds crazy. I'd like my readers to consider me to be somewhat sane until I start talking about this publicly. So, give me a few more weeks of that! In the meantime, I've got a whole lot more empathy for the Biblical Noah.

I got Kristi's and my hotel room booked this week. Three months from today and we'll be in Michigan!

Something disturbing...I was in a Christian book store this week. Well, it was Family Christian out at Jordan Creek - no need to protect their privacy, I guess. Up near the front of their register they had a DVD. I don't remember the title, but the actress on the front was dressed completely inappropriately for a Christian movie. It wasn't that her dress was just cut a little too low. But her chest was pushed outward and upward, leaving nothing to the imagination. You'd like to think that you're not going to have to encounter something like that at a Christian book store, but apparently you do. I grabbed the DVD and asked the clerk about it. She looked at me blankly. So I pointed out to her my objection. She just shrugged. I should have hunted down the manager, but I just left. It's irritating and it's sad at the same time.

I had a city council mtg last night. Wow - this one got a little heated. People sure are different when they get a little power. I find the whole process very frustrating and it makes me want to just go find an acreage where I would have NO neighbors and no responsibility. Yeah, well, I think people can find you, no matter where you go, unfortunately.

We've had a heat wave this week, but the temps are slowly falling now - thankfully. I say, "thankfully" because Paul doesn't have our AC hooked up yet. That's rather ironic, considering that he has spent the last 3 days, rushing around putting in and fixing other people's air conditioners! Yesterday was pretty awful, but we got by with fans. I had the boys sleep downstairs in the living room, too. Today started out hot, but some storms rolled through, which really helped. By this weekend we could be back into long sleeves again! What's that I heard about Iowa having bi-polar weather?!

David and Sam set up our little slide and pool yesterday and spent all afternoon cooling off in that. I feel bad, though, because both boys ended up sunburned. I never even thought about getting out the sunblock. I think this is definitely a check mark in the "bad mom" column!

Ben's IEP meeting is this Friday morning. Prayers would be appreciated about that. We need to hammer out next year. The only sticky point I see right now is figuring out his transportation next year, since I am not too wild about the idea of him riding the school bus. We're also going to have him attend that last hour that he's been coming home during this year.

Found out today that a girlfriend is expecting twin babies on Christmas Day. And she's older than I am. These will be babies 5 & 6 for her, should the pregnancy survive. My friend has had a lot of trouble carrying babies, though, in recent years.


I thought I would be thrifty today and instead of buying hashbrowns for a recipe, I grated my own potatoes. That took a lot of work. And now I see that my hash brown casserole is gray. I guess people buy the bagged ones for a reason! Live and learn...

Off to eat, help Ben study for a science test, drop some stuff off at my neighbor's, and write a winning story for FaithWriters. Just another night in Paradise...