August

I started the month with a job offer. My new gig is allowing me to stay with my ICC team until closing; offering part-time training around my existing work schedule. I'm gone every day and some of those days are still 14 hours long. I am exhausted. However, working for a company that values loyalty to current management is setting a positive expectation for the future. 

Ty started his junior year August 4. He attends the local career technology school in the morning and has elected to tackle his core classes virtually in the afternoon. The compromise so far is a good fit.

Makenna started her first year in fourth grade. She is team teaching with a work bestie and loving the camaraderie.  The stories coming out of fourth grade are no less alarming than what was shared in third but the constant is Miss Baughman's love for her students. As her mom though, I would prefer to see her in a classroom with younger children where she is less likely to get hurt by a student as big as she is and prone to swinging at people when they are upset. 

First spirit day of the year. Only the universe knows what they will wear next. But the Mt. Tabor Tigers were represented well. 

Austin returned from his first day of third grade elated. He'd had the best first day ever. His teacher is sweet and he has friends at his table. It's going to be a great year. 

Que Sarah McLachlan music 

View from a helicopter 

Lauren, Dean and Austin spent the first week of August in Florida where Lauren drug them onto a helicopter. On their last vacation, she scheduled an excursion to swim with sharks. Both encounters terrified Dean. I'm guessing he will not be taking her on vacation again anytime soon. But as it turns out, they are going to be a bit too busy for vacation.....

This pose was Austin's idea 💙

Someone has decided to reveal the secret we've all been keeping. While on vacation, a baby bump popped out, expediting a joyful announcement. By the end of the year, Austin will have a little brother and the whole family is delighted. However, Austin has needed reassurance that he will not be required to drop out of school to help care for the baby. The fact this was a concern amuses us all. How sweet. He will make a great big brother. 

Evan playing along with Erin's idea but quietly contesting, "we don't eat on the floor. Why are we doing this?" 😂

Erin and Evan have been approved and have submitted their profile for potential birth parents to view. The adoption process has already been extensive but having a finalized portfolio makes it feel so real. We cannot wait to see these two as parents. Erin has lofty plans involving world travel and exposure while Evan prays he doesn't drop their child. Everyone processes fear for the unknown their own way. 🫢

This shot is an ongoing joke from when Erin and Carlyn were 13 and took pictures with spoons using Carlyn's dad's camera. Carlyn's mom and I send the girls a similar photo whenever we have the opportunity, including but not limited to,  from weddings we've attended together. Evan totally did not get it. But that's okay, he played along. 

This guy is not adjusting well to all the schedule changes. He misses his people so some previously broken behaviors have resurfaced. Suddenly he is in the trash, shredding Ty's school work and rearranging pillows throughout the house when we leave a room or step outside. No one loves this. But why does he look like a man laying claims to his girl in this picture? Frankly, it's a good thing he has redeeming quirks because no one is overly thrilled with him some moments. 

Yoga mat support group president. 

Five days into the school year, he spiked a fever. Movie theater plans for the guys were canceled and Mimi got to snuggle. Diesel did too. Having him curled on my lap while pictures were sorted was the best. I hate he was sick, but it's been a very long time since he cuddled for an afternoon. 

Erin found old slides in one of the photo boxes. It was a treasure hunt for memories and glimpses of their grandparents before they were grandparents. And in the middle of it all, the cradle my grandpa made for my babies and grandbabies. It's now in a future nursery at Erin's house. 

Grandpa Dale on the floor with Baby Makenna

Makenna and I attended visitation hours for Nanny, a beloved member of her childhood. The stories shared had us all laughing and wiping gentle tears as we recollected shenanigans and sweet moments. We returned home for a planned afternoon around photo boxes gathered from Dale and Carol's. It was an incredible day of stories, laughter and memories. 

Kristil and I exchanged multiple texts about all the pain relieving tools we were packing and named our girl's trip, Thelma and Louise: Geriatric Edition 

The original glass house in Jamestown 

The ferry we were repeatedly told we needed to experience because it was free. The amount of laughter we shared over this exclamation was not normal. But, "it is free" will forever be our tagline.

James River

Yorktown River Front 

She said we are so good at selfies, we could be influencers. 

Sunset on the free ferry across the James River 

The evening on the ferry was the only moment we weren't melting in the heat. It was beautiful. The young man between us was the entire purpose of our road trip. He'd recently moved to Williamsburg and his momma wanted to take him some furniture. He was a delight and most gracious host to our Geriatric Road Trip.

This was for Kristin who insisted upon evidence of shenanigans.

The New River Gorge Visitor Center was the perfect place to stop for a walk on our eleven hour journey across interstate 64.

A few months ago, Kristil mentioned needing to take furniture to her son in his new home in Virginia. It's a nine+ hour drive before stops and she was expressing some hesitation to the large rental vehicle and tackling it alone. I easily volunteered to join her and put in for a vacation week before thinking to ask her what part of Virginia we would be visiting. I had no idea we would be going somewhere worth visiting on its own. I loved touring Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and the Yorktown River Front. The intentionality of how well the communities were planned around historically significant landmarks was seriously impressive. I can imagine how gorgeous it will all be for the holidays. A fall drive through West Virginia would also be incredible. When I started my new job, I contemplated canceling this trip. I'm glad I didn't. The break, joy and experiences were exactly what I needed near the end of a very stressful month of balancing two jobs and getting Ty back to school. The week away was a gift, a beautiful gift. 

Since we were already channeling our inner Thelma and Louise, we crossed several state lines again and made our way to Dayton from Williamsburg to surprise Kristin at her ribbon cutting ceremony for the deli she bought this year. Keeping that secret as she called for updates to our trip was not easy. Chris had the guest room ready and Greg was able to join us Friday evening after working just across the river from Cincinnati. We all had a great evening together.

That Saturday, on our way home from Dayton, Greg and I stopped to process life in a restaurant. There has been a lot to work through so far this year. In some ways, we are pretty solid but then there are days it feels like we are standing in a canoe. I'm ready to land firmly on the dock for a bit. 

Photo credit: Ty

Me too, Oliver. Me too. 

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.