ememby

Solid ground

Posted on August 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s about to be fall… at least here in the States. Friday Night Football. Saturday Soccer (and rugby in this house). Weekday school and weeknight homework. People back in the office after vacations (try as we may, no matter how old we are, there is a tendency to follow a school calendar when it comes to levels of busy-ness).

Our summer was dissected by our move – everything until July 1 (Happy Birthday to me!) was getting ready to leave our home of ten years in someone else’s hands and everything after that was turning this new house into our home. There wasn’t much time for “down” time but we still found it in the midst of all the ever-loving boxes (anyone want to come and finish unpacking for me – the wall is still hit).

I welcome the start of the season because it brings cooler temperatures and an abundance of new things (plus apples, pumpkins and an excuse for Saturday morning donuts – nothing goes better with fresh apple cider). The biggest deal is, of course, back to school – a new teacher, new classmates and (for this year) a new school. It’s exciting. It’s slightly anxiety-inducing. And it is busy. Oh so busy. But I say that about every season. Start of the new year? Busy. Spring with spring break and end of school. Busy. Summer vacation: still working, but fitting in vacations, out-of-town visitors and a multitude of fun plans. Busy. Fall (see above: busy). The holiday season* from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve? BUSY. In summary: Life is busy. It is ever-changing but always busy. Busy is always around, it just changes outfits.

My point – because I do have one: something (or someone?) is always always around. If you need some solid ground upon which to gather your wits or a respite in any size storm (even a drizzle) – look to God, cast your cares on Him. God is God; He is a rock – your rock and my rock. He is never too busy. He never changes. Forever and ever. He’ll get us through.

—

*Note: Costco had their Christmas stuff out last week. In mid-AUGUST. That seems a wee bit premature.

Monday Musings

Posted on August 19, 2013 | 6 comments

Two weeks from tomorrow Liam starts second grade. I am equal parts excited for him to start at the new school, more than ready for the enforced structure of a school schedule and incredulous that summer is almost over.
After 90+ degree days in July, August took a turn toward the fall temps and I have been in heaven. Sleeping with the windows open and hanging out on our deck in the evenings without breaking into a sweat. Love.
My brother and his family were up visiting from Texas the last two weeks (on and off at our house, then my niece’s summer place with the whole family, then back to our house) – it was the thing we’d been looking forward to all summer and also allowed us four days at the beach. I’m sad it’s over now… I’ve got nothing big on the horizon planned for the fall (though I know we’ll still be busy because that’s life – cue Frank Sinatra).
I made the mistake of drinking a Crystal Light with caffeine in it early yesterday afternoon which meant I could not fall asleep last night (because I am old). I made the most of that bit of unfortunate-ness by finishing a book I was reading (the second in the Divergent series – they are making the first one into a movie which I am almost positive I will enjoy more than Twilight and perhaps as much as the Hunger Games – if you like young adult fiction about dystopian societies, then I highly recommend the books), and handily I was still awake when the alarm in the boys’ room went off at midnight (Liam came in to woefully tell us he had “accidentally set it for midnight” and then I couldn’t find Jack because I had missed walking by him in our room in my rush to turn the stupid alarm off) but sadly I had just fallen asleep when Jack decided 2:00 a.m. was a good time to be awake (“I just can’t sleep mom, let’s cuddle”). I finally returned him to his own bed around 3:30, could not get comfortable for ages, kept envisioning someone breaking into our house and finally nodded off in the wee hours of the morning only to be woken up by Liam throwing open our bedroom door and telling me it was time to get up. Jack curiously wondered why I was still sleeping… um… All-in-all, not my favorite night of sleep – I miss the days of having infants when I could just nod off at any minute and would have no trouble falling back asleep after multiple wakings in the middle of the night… I mean, I was sleep deprived, but at least when given the opportunity, I could actually go to sleep.
There are no less than three baskets of folded laundry in our house at any given time. The minute I think I get all of the laundry done, I find new things that need to be washed – there has to be a name for this phenomenon, which is also related to finding ANOTHER dirty dish just after you have started the dishwasher. [Really, I think this phenomenon is called “life.”]
I had to put a baby jumper together last week for work so I could write the instruction booklet for how to put it together. Nothing looks less like you are doing actual work than putting together a child’s toy in your office. I momentarily felt a little sad I didn’t have a child to put in said bouncer/activity thing, and then I realized that having a baby would mean I’d be starting this whole whirlwind again and with Jack turning five in February, I feel like we’re finally getting out of it… like, perhaps things just get more manageable from here – or, at least a different kind of crazy that perhaps I can deal with… at some point the children start listening without my yelling my directives at them, right?
In a bit of small-worlded-ness, my friend, Stef, who moved back to the Cleveland area, lives just across the street and down from, Carla, a friend I went to high school with… what are the odds?
I have high aspirations for myself this coming school year… that I will have it all together and pay attention to the school calendar and always send Liam with the things he needs on the days he needs them. I also completed back-to-school shopping on Amazon… my favorite place to shop for all of the things…
One of my coworkers is in France for the month of August and another is in Switzerland for an anniversary trip… nothing makes one feel less exotic than looking at the places other people are… Simon reminds me that I have been to Australia and Kazakhstan (true enough, but I am not currently in either of those places and Grand Rapids, while cool, is not at all European, an area I have never traveled to).
How long do you think people will give me grace for having unpacked boxes around the house? I have lost the momentum and incentive for getting things unpacked. At this point, I would like to hire an organizer to finish what needs to be done, but I am not going to do that so instead… someone offer me a coffee or a night off from the kids and in exchange, I will keep unpacking. (maybe)
I LOVE fall and cannot wait to see our backyard as the leaves start turning. We are surrounded by trees on three sides and it is going to be lovely.

6 Comments

Posted in Life in general, Random

Seven

Posted on August 8, 2013 | 4 comments

Dear boy (despite how you may feel, you are still a boy and I just might lapse and call you my baby at some point in this post – deal with it)… Today you are seven! SEVEN! If I write it enough, it starts to not even look like a word, which is appropriate because I still cannot believe it’s been seven years since you arrived in our lives. It seems like forever ago and a quick, bright flash all at once. Improbable.

Here are seven things I’d like to tell you to honor your seventh birthday:

1. I’m so proud of the things you’ve accomplished this year. You fought through your fear of the deep water and survived swimming lessons (though you still tell me you really hated them – but you can swim so that’s the part we focus on).

You lost your first tooth (and quickly after that your second and your third).

You completed first grade, better coming out than when you went in. And you learned the art of telling a story (nevermind that all your stories involve some form of superhero and/or monsters and/or light sabers).
2. You are an amazing reader, a skill I hope serves you as well as it has me! I loved and still love to read. And I love hearing you read… it’s incredible to me that you went from reading song titles on our car stereo to flying through second-grade level books.
3. I hope you always love learning and experiencing new things as much as you do right now. You soak it all up and spit it all back out to us (even when we don’t have time to listen – I wish we had all the time in the world to listen to you).

4. You have a big heart (and a big temper – that goes hand-in-hand with feeling big feelings). You either love something or you hate-ity hate it (though we only hate things, not people, except robbers, because they are the worst; dumb “heady heads” you would call them).

5. I love that you still give me hugs and cannot hide when you are completely thrilled with how things in your life are going. Don’t get too cool for either of things, I forbid it.
6. You are a kind and generous friend. You would happily give to others what you have and not expect something in return (though you are not shy about asking for something that you want from someone who can give it to you). I love more than I can tell you that your BFF was the kid that came into your class knowing hardly any English and you became his friend and helped him navigated the starting-to-be-rocky waters of first grade. That is the very best thing you can do for someone, help make their difficult times a bit easier. 7. You are awesome to hang out with and I love the time we get to spend together, just the two of us.

And I know that dad and Jack love the times they spend with you, too. Remember to always love them – they are the only dad and brother that God gave you and the men that will always stand by you.

Happy Birthday, notorious LSB! You are all sorts of awesome!

4 Comments

Posted in Family

Friends

Posted on August 5, 2013 | 3 comments

At 35 years old I’m still trying to figure out where people go. I feel like I often want something different than what the other person wants (that’s part and parcel with being a person who has too much empathy, I’m always worried I’m making the other person uncomfortable with my needs or hoping they are happy with where the friendship is at, etc… instead of just being the best version of myself and accepting that not all people have to like me as much as I like them, if at all). As an act of self-preservation, I tend to stop trying or rather, only giving back when I am first given to which is (frankly) a little more selfish than I’d like to be in life but it does protect me from getting my feelings hurt. But, it ~~kind of~~ makes me a crappy friend because I’m always worried about losing that friendship so I don’t give it my all and shy away when I feel like things are out of balance.

Don’t get me wrong, I have lots of friends (not bragging, just saying it like it is). I have good friends I love spending time with and friends who I have a wonderful give and take with – people I’ve known for years and people I’ve known a short time – all of whom bless my life in many, many ways; who I can’t imagine not having in my life. But I’ve kind of always wanted that one special friend, a sister-friend – the person who just knows me and so much of what goes between us is unspoken – the kind of friendship where you never once question if you are on the same page because there simply isn’t a book. But the thing with sisters is that they are born into and I only have brothers (who, along with being not-sisters, are also a couple decades older than me) and my husband (who again, not a lady) so I sort of missed the sister train and I have been looking for a way to get on for most of my life but I seem to be a person who just takes short trips. As you get older, it’s harder to board that particular train for the long haul (to continue the metaphor) because you don’t have the time to invest in the background of the friendship – the basis that sets the context for the rest of life going forward. When you make friends with people who already have families who take priority (just as mine does in my own life), you have less time available to log those hours that lead to the unspoken part of friendship. Who knows, maybe 20 years down the road, I’ll have that sister-friend in one of the people who are in my life now and she will have read this blog post and rolled her eyes at me (because I am totally rolling my eyes at me). Until then, I’ve got a position open for the part of sister-friend*… I make great margaritas, killer desserts and have a slightly off-kilter, irreverent sense of humor; am also slightly needy.

What kind of friendships do you want/have in your life? Sister-friend(s) or lots of good friends? What are you missing?

*Not to be confused with sister-wife, that I am not into.

3 Comments

Posted in Friendship

Wednesday Randoms

Posted on July 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

Since I just did a search term post but saw this referring search term, I have to share it here rather than wait to share it in six months when I do another post: “there are two things i would rather do in my life” [I am dying to know who the person is that can’t think of TWO things they would rather do in their life and instead had to Google the phrase with the hopes of stealing someone else’s idea. Also, rather do that WHAT? Breathe… shoplift… have children… eat watermelon]
Thank you to the person who commiserated with me this morning (when I dumped my newly-purchased coffee granita all over the counter) by telling me they did the same thing last week but unfortunately instead of dumping it on just the counter, their drink went all over a woman in a business suit. She was not pleased. Also, thank you to the kind barista who refilled my cup, clearly I needed the caffeine.
I returned a dress at Macy’s today and when the cashier commented on what I good deal I had gotten, I almost decided NOT to return it, even though I have no intention of ever wearing it or needing to wear it. This is the moment I will look back on and realize that I successfully avoided becoming a hoarder by making the choice to still return the dress.
I also got a free 10-day sample of Clinique’s face lotion, but as a requirement for getting it, the woman had me sign up for a consultation in two weeks to go back and tell her how the lotion worked. I have no intention of going back for this appointment. And I highly doubt the tiny tube she gave me will possibly last ten days… they must have used people with very tiny faces to determine the amount they should dole out.
I made sun pickles this past weekend – I could eat a whole jar in one sitting; they are practically a health food (aside from the sodium). They are also SUPER garlic-y… you’ve been warned if you see me.
I had to laugh when I went in our [shared] work bathroom today – no, I did not see someone from the gym changing their clothes – but in one of the stalls, there were three empty toilet paper rolls and a newly opened one sitting on the holder that was holding another empty roll. Along with the gym, we also share the building with a driving school and they are very busy in the summer so we have a multitude of teenagers coming through but in all the people it took to use four rolls of toilet paper, not one person thought to throw the empty rolls away or put a new roll ON the holder. Sigh. This is why other countries are ahead of us… their teens have common sense and the ability to do simple tasks for themselves.
I had to pick up a laptop from a client’s Help Desk this morning and when I introduced myself to the IT guy at the desk, he said, “So you’re the infamous Michelle Bennett from [my business]…” I simply replied, “Nice to meet you.” It would concern me more if I didn’t know there was a person in their department with the same name as me and people fairly regularly get us confused via email… I assume that’s what he was referring to and not some other reason for him to know my name, like, “Oh, you’re the person who can never remember what you need to do when you have to change your password and then need to re-log onto your laptop and it won’t take your new password.” That would just be petty on their part.
I feel like “Don’t hit or bite anyone” is a warning I shouldn’t have to say to my kids any more, and yet, that’s exactly what I told Jack today when I dropped him off at daycare. Last week he bit a kid and then immediately told the teachers that the kid bit himself… um, really?
When I answer the phone at work and there is a long pause before a recorded message starts, I always hang up. Does anyone listen to those messages and say, “Wow, that sounds like a great opportunity, I’m going to stay on the line and wait for a customer service representative to ~~exploit my stupidity~~ take all my information and get me to sign up for something I don’t need.”
I unpacked the rest of our bedroom boxes last night and in the process pulled a bunch of stuff out of a dresser drawer that I had put in there over a bunch of years and determined that I have too much jewelry (especially since I mostly wear my everyday jewelry at this point) but I can’t figure out what to get rid of (see: hoarder tendencies). So now it is all sitting on top my dresser and I am betting it is making Simon’s eye all twitchy when he looks at it.
Jack’s love for numbers continues to grow… almost every question he asks is related in some way to a number and he has started doing simple math, for example: “How many bags of Popchips are left?” “Six.” [we had 9 originally] “So we have eaten 3 of them?” I could like to claim responsibility for this new interest or intelligence, but like most parenting wins, this one came about by sheer luck and happenstance.
Liam turns seven next week… how does this happen? He’s also obsessed with potty talk and farting… sigh.
My brother and family from Texas are coming north next week – we cannot wait! My college-age nephew may be less excited when he learns the boys are hoping he will have a sleepover with them… they promise to go right to sleep.
We skipped out on the beach last weekend – it was only a high of 70 (as opposed to the 95-degree weather we’d had the week before).
I was walking out of the grocery store last week and a little girl was sitting in a cart next to my car while her mom unloaded groceries. As I approached her, she cheerfully shouted, “Hi!” and when I responded, she continued with, “My mommy is really angry.” Her poor mother looked up, shocked but I just smiled and said, “Oh, I understand, I’m a mommy, too!” We’re all in this together.
That’s all the news worth reporting.

ememby

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