Laughter and Loss

After unloading the dishwasher, I demanded he clean his room and locate my missing bowls. The boy lives in a trashcan.

Saturday Ty asked if he could go grocery shopping with me. Flattered he would even want to, I quickly agreed. Lest anyone believe he had chivalrous motives, as soon as we walked into Aldi, he declared he was in charge of the snacks. Apparently this is not my area of expertise. 

Kate's latest art project using white lead on black paper. I'm so glad her schedule once again allowed an art class. 

During that same shopping trip, Kate text asking me to pick up toothpaste and her observant brother asked if she ever got her braces off. Five days had passed since she had them removed and he hadn't noticed, despite several conversations and meals shared across the table from one another. Dear future daughter-in-law, please don't hate me. I tried. I really did. 

The dog literally ate my homework. I walked away for less than a minute. Sigh. 

She was supposed to be celebrating her first anniversary this weekend but has instead filed for divorce. Her life is not what she expected and we are all still processing the sudden changes in Noah after four years of what we believed was a healthy relationship. He was someone we all loved. We are saddened by the choices he made and the way he expressed his brokenness. The specifics are theirs to share but the severed marriage has a ripple effect we are continuing to navigate. Our girl will come through this storm stronger for it. We just wish we could have sheltered her from the intensity of the pain. 

Piper, Ty's hamster died suddenly Wednesday. He was heartbroken. We had a small funeral for her away from Diesel's digging paws that evening. These little guys leave big holes in the hearts of those who love them. 

But in far more fun news, Erin is celebrating the final decision to include her in a study abroad program in Africa this Christmas. She is excited about the stamp in her passport and the big step toward her global health care career. And whereas we are excited for her, it's not without a bit of trepidation. Africa? This seems extreme. Never the less, we are pretty proud of our goal driven daughter. 

At work, I run a variety of phonics based drills and one of them uses cards at random to produce nonsense words following a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. I was running through the drill as quickly as the students could call out the word until one yelled the answer to f-u-c. This, ladies and gentlemen is how I will lose my job. That poor kid was as shocked as I was. There simply is never a dull moment in elementary school.

Fall!

Fall arrived on schedule Thursday and I was absolutely delighted. We dropped twenty-five steamy degrees and I comfortably wore a light sweater. My new schedule allows for thirty unstructured minutes each day and I spent them in the sunshine inhaling my lunch. I'm grateful for the picnic table outside my classroom and the peace it offers my rushed breaks. Slipping out there with reading groups is a highlight and the kids know it. They sweetly suggest it most every day and if there is any way I can pull off an effective lesson outside, we all win. 

Our local ice cream stand is closing for the season in a few weeks and they advertised my favorite sherbet. So I served spinach salad for dinner and slipped out for dessert. Black raspberry has only been offered a few times this year so I worried it wouldn't be back again before next spring. It was absolutely worth the indulgence. My driver was pretty cute too. 

The best memory from this week was our video call from Austin offering a Crumbl Cookie review. "This chocolate cookie? When I saw it, I knew I was going to eat all the crumbles. It was so good. It was bust'in." He was so animated and expressive, we all melted and offered a review of our own. These cookies are dangerous. Very dangerous.

Diesel has been pretty reactive when we touch his paws. He needs his nails trimmed again so we are trying to prepare him for the process. Hopefully a little less drama will surround his next pedicure. So every time we cuddle, we discreetly play with his feet. He has stopped noticing. We hope to tackle the trimming soon. 

Kate's braces were removed this week. She has retainers until December and will then wear Invisalign to shift the tooth that was originally lodged in the roof of her mouth. Her orthodontist is very particular and expects perfection. However, he also respected that her anticipated eighteen months in braces rolled beyond two and a half years. She was over it. They compromised. That one tooth will eventually meet his expectations. We are delighted by her beautiful smile , even if he closed the front gap I happened to adore. 

The weekend holds promises of cooler weather and good books around necessary errands. It's precisely what is needed. 

Sweater weather has arrived. Amen. 

Doctors, Tea and Hal

I had to burn yet another furlough day and wasted it cleaning and grocery shopping. Toss in two doctor's appointments and I decided to indulge in an overpriced tea, my first of a few this season. But the little monkey sticker made me smile and Diesel loved the brief outing. I guess the day wasn't wasted after all. 

Erin needed a quick headshot update and it was my pleasure to spend an afternoon snapping some photos and having lunch with her. Isn't she lovely?

I pulled her away from homework when the house revealed the sky was a perfect golden light. She humors me, redneck tee shirt and all. 

Kate: "Hal loved my dad jokes. They killed him." Hal is going home this week but we have had a delightful time with him. 

Diesel, dog model.

We enjoyed a brief reprieve from the summer heat and humidity this week. Dinners on the deck and open windows were welcomed fully. Fall has begun to appear and so the house has been adorned in recognition.

Ty and I occasionally have breakfast together in my classroom. I've found he is capable of conversation an hour after waking if the content is of his choosing. I take what I can get.

Our momma bird returned to her nest again. We kept seeing the couple with two of the little ones in the yard but I was pretty startled to find eggs again. We now have babies. This is the fourth set since first discovering the nest in the spring. 

Thursday I met a podiatrist who put a very long needle into the top of my foot. Despite this, I liked him. Here's to hoping the steroid does the trick because I am ready to resume evening walks. 

Thank God it's Friday. I looked like this after work. It is what it is.

Rumor has it a local principal shared a video of the teacher's lounge she created for her staff. It has a massage chair, bubbling fountain and dim lighting. She calls it the Zen Den. Someone decided our less than ideal lounge needed a name too. 

Our sweet grandson met a friend today at the cardiologist while getting his final checkup for orders to Hawaii. An all clear on his heart should hopefully produce the official paperwork soon. His daddy allegedly reports for duty in less than two months. Oh the efficiency of our government...

Celebrating Dad's 70th

Hal was a perfect model in Dad's observatory. If inclined, check out his new blog header. It reflects his humor. 
Rick's Blog

We all gathered for a few hours in London to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. I borrowed Hal, the legendary skeleton from a friend to update Dad's blog header. It was a fun little project and Dad thought that was the extent of his celebration. He was genuinely surprised and the chaos that followed was as it should be when all the kids are together. Every grandkid was there and we know fully that those opportunities are limited. 

Aunt Theresa served the cake. Austin literally bounced off the walls. 

All the grandkids in one shot with mom and dad. This is extremely rare and going to be moreso once Lauren and Taylor move to Hawaii.

The whole gang. My parents with my entire family and Theresa's. 

My dad's brother, Roger and his wife drove down from Columbus, Ohio to join the celebration. It's been more than a decade since Theresa and I last saw them.