July

I recently met with a friend and mentioned the character building vehicle we bought Ty. We wandered down memory lane as we both recalled quirky, not so safe cars from our youth. Her passenger door also flew open so she held a rope across her lap to pull the door closed during turns. She also had a boom box on the passenger seat because her radio did not work. She flipped cassette tapes while driving as a teen. Imagine allowing a young driver to cruise in these conditions now. Law enforcement would absolutely be involved. Then we remembered calling the radio station to request songs we wanted to record on our boom box. Those poor DJ's of the 80's had to hate us; all of us. 😂 The quality of those tapes was never in question. It was all about timing and getting the whole song recorded. We then launched into memories of tapes we spent hours curating only to have someone else tape over them. In recounting this conversation to Greg before he once again tore Ty's car door completely apart, he laughed, "and they wonder why Gen X is so resilient." No kidding. Our parents weren't concerned with our whereabouts, the safety of the vehicle we drove, what we ate any given day, how unfair a teacher might be or even how we spent our summers. Brilliant. They were absolutely brilliant.

We finally made it out to celebrate our 32nd anniversary with a shared sundae and quiet drive. This last year has been full of challenges and the quiet acknowledgement was about all we could muster this year. Even that arrived days later than our actual anniversary. It is what it is. 

Kate has started wedding planning and I have only cried once. This deserves an award. She has fallen for a dress and selected a venue. She will finalize plans in the coming months for a January 2028 ceremony. Her winter vision is stunning. I'm praying Mother Nature cooperates. 

I am feeling pretty short these days.

Ty turned 17 while everyone else was at work. He ordered Taco Bell via Door Dash and relished the peace and quiet. A perfect birthday for Ty is one spent in solitude. He prefers this. Never the less, I took him and Elijah to Top Golf on a different afternoon and he was also reluctantly celebrated the following weekend with the family. We then went back-to-school shopping at Boot Barn, which was a first for me. He is all set with work boots, jeans, dark tee shirts and hoodies. He looks the part of a diesel mechanic. 

Ya'll pray for Oliver. He is so stressed. 😂

Diesel too. It really is a "ruff" life.

I learned my Immediate Care Center is being closed to make space for more primary care doctors. I have wavered between anger, grief and resolve. The way human resources handled themselves was inauthentic and insulting but my team is united with all of us wanting to stick with our direct managers until our final shift. I'm job searching and disappointed to be doing so. I had the perfect schedule with a lot of flexibility and loved what I did for patients and my team.  So far, I am not seeing leads for positions within Norton that are going to be the right fit and have applied outside the organization. I have until September to work out next steps and for that alone, I am grateful.

6:30 am weekend commute: the fuzzy photo not quite doing the scene justice but I just had to capture it from the interstate.

Very rarely, Obi chooses to rest with me but when he does, Diesel has big feelings. 

Ty is now a licensed driver providing his own work transportation. I love and hate this season. New drivers make me a nervous wreck for months; however, hours spent chauffeuring them is also exhausting. He is the last one I have to add to our insurance policy, thank goodness. Holy premiums, Batman. I promised him I was as uptight about his sisters on the road alone and to not take my anxiety personally. I am just really bad at this part of letting go. Other drivers regularly demonstrate how reckless people can be and my child learning how to navigate around their risks terrifies me. Why can't we just put our babies behind the wheel of a tank?

Greg's cousin, Fred and his wife, Jen stopped by for dinner on their way through town. Diesel loved them as much as we do but he was a little more expressive in his love. Greg and I did not kiss anyone or lay our heads on their laps. We hope they understand. 

Kate and Kenna attended a wedding together after Makenna applied the wedding party makeup. Kate lamented the lack of dancing music at the reception and warned me how much she loves to dance at weddings. Apparently there will be moves I am not fully prepared to see at her upcoming nuptials. I have not decided if I appreciate the heads-up.

A rowdy brunch for fifteen family members celebrated Makenna's 26th and Ty's 17th birthdays. I made red velvet cake cookies for her and his favorite Lemon Ricotta Cake. It was a carb heavy brunch but there were no complaints.

Despite Ty's efforts to protect his new favorite cookies, there were no leftovers.

Realizing we were nearing the end of summer break already, I requested a day with Austin to finally check out some locations featured in our annual cultural pass. We explored fossil beds and two museums. One taught about local climate and how the Ohio River was formed. The other explored New Albany's role in abolishing slavery. Austin had a lot of thoughts as we ate a late lunch at home together afterwards. He is growing up so fast and I love any opportunity to spend time listening to his running narrative.

Makenna spent her birthday weekend celebrating with friends using a throwback to Y2K theme. They had a blast. The following Monday she had her wisdom teeth pulled and text me she was putting them under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. I reminded her that there were significant fairy service failures when she resided under my roof so to not anticipate a return on her investment. Her life is full of disappointment. 

The final weekend of July had Greg in Ohio helping clear his parent's home and barn for closing while I worked. The property has officially changed hands. The experience was challenging in that he felt like he was taking and selling belongings while his parents were just down the road. Reconciling the situation was at moments, tough. He brought home boxes of photos, his adoption paperwork and a few small mementos for the kids to sort through. But overall, most everything was sold because no one in the family has memories associated with anything in their latest house. The log cabin sold with all it's belongings six years ago, taking with it, all the memories we associated with tangible items in their home. Greg visited his parents before hitting the road for home and quietly acknowledged his mom's silent tears. She has weathered some pretty major life changes this year. 

I leave you with my favorite image of the month, taken by Makenna of Fred. He was bewildered by her bath and backed up on his hind legs while she roared with laughter. I'm so glad she captured the moment because it cracks me up every time I look at it.

June

Dean proposed to Lauren on a sunset riverboat cruise with not only our blessing, but Austin's full endorsement. They are building a beautiful life together. To prevent influencing Dean's plan, we waited until after the proposal to share our engagement story with them. Greg also officially popped the question on an evening riverboat cruise in 1993. Like Dean and Lauren, there were conversations ahead of time and collaboration on the ring; the difference for them was Austin's involvement. His enthusiasm was essential for Dean and this is just one reason why we love him. He stepped up when he had no obligation to do so and now cannot imagine his life without either Lauren or Austin. 

I guess the wait staff chooses to avoid refills in this Mexican restaurant. We cracked up when our Pepsi was delivered. 

We found a way to knock out some of Ty's required driving hours with a June road trip to visit friends just outside Bloomington. While Kate and I talked with Amanda, Anna and Ava, Ty got a complimentary driving lesson with Ren. We seriously miss having them close. Two hours each way has apparently been just enough time to make these gatherings infrequent. It's sad because they quite literally were like family before they moved from just down the road. We all worked and worshipped together for years. So much has changed in the three years they've been gone and catching up on all our lives was wild. Time flies. 

The road trip was a blast as I eavesdropped in on the kids' stories about school, friends and pranks. Ty, the quiet one, is hilarious and left Kate gasping in shock more than once. They talked through their core memories of parachutes and obstacle courses in PE and how special some elementary school teachers were. Then they laughed about the things other students did to harass the permanently irate among high school staff. Listening in to what amused them and how they wished they could have responded opened my eyes a bit to the perspective of the obedient. Yes, outwardly they are compliant but boy do they know the score. 

Ten years ago, Kate attended her first concert with big sis, Lauren. They saw Justin Bieber for their birthdays that year. This month, they took off for a Megan Moroney concert together with just as much build-up and excitement. I love their relationship. 

Apparently road trips that cross paths with Buccees requires a stop. We both found the experience overwhelming and overrated but the mission was accomplished.

See that arrow? My husband was there.

The capital building is being restored and Greg's team gets to be a part of keeping crews safe. For a guy who is not a fan of heights, he is being stretched in this OSHA gig.

Greg called in a panic from the road. He was almost to a job site in Frankfort when he realized he did not have his laptop. I woke Ty for another road trip. On a whim, we then decided to just keep driving and surprised my parents with our arrival in London, Kentucky. We only stayed long enough to walk around the neighborhood and observe how much has been rebuilt in the year since the tornado. I did not cry this time but am still overwhelmed by the devastation. My sister's house has been completely rebuilt and the young man who bought her property, has family constructing a house next door. It was refreshing to see some color and life in what looked like a war zone not so long ago. 

The family who lived here lost their lives. Their home was across the street from Theresa's. I could not step away from the blooms along the bare foundation without taking a moment.

The only original piece left on Theresa's old property was the basketball goal. Ty says, "of course." But vibrant flowers where lives were lost feels profound. 

Ty's car is becoming a real character building project. From replacing the screen in the dash, the missing sun visor, to intermittent air and finally this month, a passenger door that won't stay closed, we are often laughing at the absurd. We learned on our road trip we could use either high heat, or no air at all. It was anything but comfortable on that sunny, eighty degree day. Now the door is being held closed by bungee cords until we have time to get into the mechanic. So once again, the car is parked until safe to operate. With one big update to Evan, the original owner who cared nothing at all about the car's quirks nodded along until the door issue, "oh, now that is new." I think I know why we got such a great deal. 😂

Oh Obi. He is beyond comfortable now and as amusing as ever. He, like all other cats, loves Ty and goes along with just about any game Ty is willing to play. From lazer pointers, to fetch with a piece of balled up paper, Obi is down. But he really likes my camera and clearly, my camera likes him too. He seriously is as pretty as he is naughty.

Friends invited us to join them at the local splash pad for an afternoon and they played for three hours before I had to call time to get him home.

Lana asked him where he gets his height and he quickly answered, "from Dean." He caught my smirk and argued, "well it's not from the Baughmans." I chose to accept his logic. It makes me smile. 

An adorable little boy in glasses knocked on the door one afternoon and asked Kate if he could walk Diesel for five dollars. Kate smiled and told him she couldn't let him walk our dog because he is so strong, he pulls her dad. He covered his mouth as he giggled. She wanted to offer some assistance so she pointed out our neighbor with the gentle, old dog. He had started there and apparently the gentleman who lives there gave him five dollars for asking. The little con man then waited expectedly for Kate to also pay him for asking. Kate told him she didn't have five dollars. He was willing to return later. I'm dying. It was a shakedown; a very cute shakedown. 

Lauren and Dean hosted Father's Day this year and we all enjoyed several hours gathered together. The laughter when this group hangs out is loud and amazing. Their property naturally lends itself to long walks, meandering conversation and relationship building. The simplicity is perfect. 

Ty started work at Boot Barn with his favorite coworker this month. They both laughed at me for requesting a first day photo. Someday, they might appreciate my eagerness to celebrate moments often overlooked. Maybe. But they grabbed breakfast together on their way in and I think having her there helped ease his first day jitters. When I picked him on on day 2, he was behind the register, talking with customers and had sold a couple pairs of boots. He was in a great mood and happy to have landed a job. He is talkative after work and we enjoy hearing about the people he is meeting and his thoughts as he processes new experiences.

Kate and I met my mom and Aunt Kay at the Kentucky Castle for the lavender festival. Calling the shrubs around the castle a lavender field was a stretch, but we enjoyed the afternoon together once it stopped raining. 

Greg's mom gets her nails done every Wednesday and I'm often shocked by her selections. Her nails were always natural until someone started painting them for her at Brookhaven.

Greg and I drove to Logan County, Ohio for his family reunion. I hadn't attended one in fifteen years. Seeing all the young adults I remembered as kids with little ones of their own was fun. One tiny guy leaned over with his hands on his knees when he talked to me, as if he had to lean down to make eye contact. Absolutely adorable. At one point, I told my father-in-law I thought he looked very handsome in his blue shirt. He smiled and thanked me for the compliment and then patted my arm, "you have gotten prettier and nicer with age." 🤨 I'm not sure who he thought I was because I don't think either of those observations are true. But long story short, kids and the elderly, with all their brutal honesty, are my favorite.