Category: Diary entries

This has been a very different Christmas season from any Dave and I have experienced in our 32 years together. For the first time since I was pregnant with our son, Josh, Dave and I were in our home, by ourselves on Christmas morning. For the first time, our daughter and her family were living in a different location. For the first time since their births, the grandsons all woke up in their own home and ran excitedly to see what was under the tree in their home.

Honestly, Dave and I weren\’t sure how we were going to like it–whether or not this empty-nest thing we\’ve wished for was going to be okay or not. I have to say, though, weird as it was, it wasn\’t bad at all. We had a quiet morning, just the two of us. This gave us time to prepare our minds for the rest of the day–jenni and the boys\’ arrival in early afternoon, visits to our own parents\’ homes, and all kinds of noise.

So, what we were a bit concerned about turned out to be okay. It was as it should be, I guess.

so last night our daughter picked up grandson #1 around midnight. hubby couldn\’t sleep because he had taken a 3-hr nap earlier and was wide awake. i was very tired, because i had been doing stuff all evening and had not taken a break. so after nate left, we went to bed. so hubby decides he wants to snuggle and talk. so far, so good. then he decides to play a game of \’pretend.\’

him: let\’s pretend we are marooned on an island (just watched Castaway), and we are sleeping on the beach. we\’re covered with coconut leaves (?). there are little sand crabs nibbling at your toes.

me: let\’s not pretend the sand crabs, ok?

him: ok. let\’s pretend the stars are out, the wind is blowing a sweet little breeze, and the fire is stoked for the night. let\’s pretend…….

me: let\’s pretend you\’re mute.

after five full minutes of LOUD belly laughing, he finally turned over and let me go to sleep. bless his heart, i love that guy. but DON\’T mess with my sleep.

i can\’t believe it\’s been so long since my last post. and life has certainly not been standing still during that time. do you believe that it will be Christmas in TWO weeks? i have to admit, i sure wish life would slow down just a tad. but, with church activities, full-time work, family responsibilities, etc., there doesn\’t appear to be a slowing down point in the near future. it\’s all a part of the construction, you know? every experience brings new teaching, new focus, a better understanding of who God is and how He is working in my life.

i read a saying the other day that goes like this: \”Everything works out okay in the end. If it\’s not okay, it\’s not the end.\” i like that.

my mom hurt herself really badly today in a fall. she\’s in the hospital right now, and i\’m not sure how long she will be there, but if you would take a moment to pray for her, i\’d so appreciate it. she\’s just not in good health, and i hate to see her in such pain all the time.

my daughter and grandsons have moved back in with us for a while. she\’s looking for an affordable apartment and a different job. another prayer request, if you please.

so, what has God been constructing in your life these days?

After 10 days of a swollen, bruised, painful foot, I went to my foot doctor. They x-rayed my foot and found that one of the bones has a hairline fracture. So they wrapped up my foot with a medicated bandage, which I have to wear for two days. Then I have to wear a \”boot\” for two weeks. I was a little concerned that they were gonna want to do something like stick a needle in my foot or something. I was NOT looking forward to that. Anyway… that\’s the update on the foot situation.

Of course, this means that all the stuff I had planned for this weekend will now not get done. sigh. I need a maid….

We never stop growing, you know? No matter what our age or life experience, God always has new \’stuff\’ for us; sometimes it\’s really fun stuff, sometimes it\’s not so fun.

I wouldn\’t classify my last few weeks as fun, by any stretch. Beginning in June, when I found out that the company I work for had been sold, along with its employees, to minor surgery, to my daughter moving out of our home and taking our three grandsons with her, it\’s just been … challenging. Over a weekend I went from being an office manager and running an office single-handedly to being \’new,\’ knowing nothing, feeling like a nobody, feeling un-needed and unnecessary.

My hubby is being so supportive. He\’s also being sensible, which I really need. Yes, really, I do. I\’m not being sarcastic. He keeps reminding me that this may be my new mission field. He\’s right, of course (he says he\’s always right!!). Every place a Christian goes should be considered as an opportunity to witness for the Lord and share the gospel. Can\’t do that if I\’m pouting. Better stop pouting, then.

On the really bright side, Nate, the oldest grandson, will be living with Dave and me during the school year. He will be in the 2nd grade. His school is only about 5 minutes from our house and about 25 minutes from our daughter\’s apartment. It just makes sense that he stay with us.

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You won\’t believe what I did. I was putting my lunch in the the refrigerator at work on Wednesday and knocked a can of soda off the top shelf. It fell right on the top of my left foot and immediately bruised. By lunch it had swelled to a huge knot on the top of my foot, so that I had to take my shoe off. I\’ve worn a sock the last two days. The top of my foot is completely covered with a bruise, and this evening I dropped my floor sweeper on top of the same foot. Ouch! It\’s still throbbing.

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Saturday will be busy. Two of my youth fellas are coming over to help move the furniture around from upstairs and downstairs. After the big stuff is moved, then I have to put stuff away. Then later I have to keep the boys for jenni while she works that evening. Yep, the day will be busy, but if it\’s all moved by bedtime, that will be great!

Enough for now. How\’s your life going?

Recently my dear hubby and i attended the Meineke Car Care Bowl game in Charlotte, NC. In their stadium brochure, they list what items are acceptable and not acceptable to bring into the stadium. Sure I was within the guidelines of what was acceptable, I willingly opened up my purse for the lady to scan. Then she said to me, \”Ma\’am, please remove your fanny pack and place it on the table so that I can inspect it.\” I looked at her blankly for a second before replying, \”I\’m not wearing a fanny pack.\” She reached over, pulled open my jacket, and took a look. Quietly she said, \”I\’m sorry, ma\’am. My mistake.\”

Of all the nerve…..

My daughter is spending a few days with a friend here in town. She has her boys with her, so it\’s very quiet in the house. It\’s almost so quiet I don\’t know what to do with myself. Last night I sat in my chair and snoozed through a couple shows. Tonight, as you can see, I\’m playing on the computer.

So this is what life would be like if they didn\’t live here–quiet. No noise, no mess, no wild little boys who, at the end of the day, are just so precious to me. It\’s good, this few days of quiet and rest. It\’ll help me prepare for the chaos that most surely will come when they all return to the house. Perhaps I will find myself to be more patient by the time they get back home. Perhaps they will be different… nah, forget that.

I guess I\’ll go fold some clothes or wash some dishes now.

Or maybe I\’ll just take a little snooze here in my chair.

Ah, decisions, decisions….

i haven\’t written anything in a while. it\’s like my brain is taking a vacation from writing ideas. so what to do? just sit in front of an empty screen? it\’s what a lot of folks who write say–no matter what, set aside a time each day to write and STAY there, even if you don\’t write anything… so, i\’m writing something. happy now?

seriously, i have adopted a new mindset for 2007; LOVE THE LIFE YOU\’RE LIVING. does that sound simple to you?

I\’m going to use the verse by Paul, \”I have learned whatever state I am in to be content.\”
(now what state am I in again?)

more on this later.

Dave and I haven\’t had an extended vacation in about three years, mainly because of finances. So when my aunt and uncle offered us a week in their time share at Myrtle Beach, we jumped at it. We arrived around 8 p.m. Sunday evening, but because of a \”computer glitch,\” our reservation was not in the system. oops!Stay calm, don\’t panic. We had our confirmation information in hand, so of course they had to make accommodations for us. We ended up spending our first night on the 10th floor in a side apartment with an ocean view, but not the oceanfront room we had requested. However, because the mistake was theirs, they cleaned up the room which had been vacated late that night and by noon on Monday we were in our oceanfront room, staring out at the rolling waves. Ahhhhh. Monday was a bit overcast, and the waters were as gray as the sky. Since we are a little older, we didn\’t rush down to the beach and throw our blankets on the sand. We opted, instead, to lie on our couches in our sand-free room and stare out the window. This way we avoided all the sand and humidity, and enjoyed the beach from the comfort of our room.

This morning, I awoke early and decided to watch the sunrise. I sat on our balcony and watched as the sun lit the sky, first in a small stream of light across the top of the clouds and then in great brilliance as it rose over the clouds. I taped it to show to my grandsons when we return home next week.

Today the ocean is a beautiful blue, and calm. Through our glass doors I can hear the ocean as it washes up on the shore. I hear children\’s voices as they play on the sand. Dave and I watched a para-sailor out in the water a bit ago. It looks like fun, but since large quantities of water and I don\’t mix, I\’ll just enjoy the fun vicariously. And we watched as a young married couple attempts to enjoy themselves while keeping their two young and very active children in their sights. We chuckled at this, remembering very well those years for ourselves–and thankful it isn\’t us this week. We still haven\’t gone down to the beach. It\’s very warm today, and quite frankly, I\’m enjoying sitting in my air-conditioned room way too much.

We\’ll venture down to the beach before the week is over. I have to gather some shells as a memento of my stay, as is my habit whenever we go to the beach. Right now, though, we are catching up on some much-needed peace and quiet. No kids to keep up with or entertain, no schedules to manage, nothing to do but what we want to do–I could get used to this!