This slice seems to have flown by... maybe it is because it is now done. I know in the past there would be days that I would struggle to find something to write about. This time around, I didn't recall having that difficulty. My struggles just circled around getting home to late and then trying to write.
I really enjoys getting to read about the personal lives of my extended family, my co-workers. It is fun to learn more about them and their amazing stories. They definitely have a knack for writing and are so very good at it. I hope that with each year that passes, my writing improves. Each year I am less intimidated by the writing process. I always hope that I will continue to write after this ends and I hope that does happen! Until next year...It's been a slice!
4 Comments
I'm sure you are wondering who is Janet. Well, Janet is my mom, my right arm and my co-parent with my children. My mom "kind of" moved in with me about 9 years ago. "Kind of" meaning she stays in my house, in a room of her own about six nights a week. She goes to my sister's one night a week to help her with weekend sports transportation and to visit with her kids.
She has been with me through thick and thin and I can't imagine doing all of this on my own. She navigates the carpool texts for morning drop off and after school pick up. She makes all of our lunches EVERYDAY. On days that I am running late, she will drop off at practices, pick up from school sport practices and just about anything else a parent would do. Let’s not forget how she helps get the puppies to their hair appointments or helps make dinners for us. Janet is an amazing person and yes I do think everyone should have a "Janet" in their life. My friends at work will make fun on me, saying "did your mommy make your lunch?" My response is always a very, very proud "YES!" I think she enjoys doing all of these things for me and my children. I think my kids are lucky to have such a loving and caring grandparent, who has been such an active person in their lives. The elementary school knew her better than me. She would walk right in and I always had to show my id!! LOL My mom was a single parent from the time I was about 10. So part of me thinks she is just making up for lost time. The other part of my thinks she doesn't want me to get bogged down with the little things and focus on my children. She knows far too well that they grow up and move on. She picks up the pieces where I just can't. I am forever grateful for my Janet. I know I would be lost without her. Last night my youngest had a friend sleep over. They are dying for the new Mortal Kombat game to come out. So they played the beta version that came out early. Played a variety of other video games to pass the night. My oldest even gave up his Xbox account so the two younger guys could play Fortnite with each other. (I have to admit, I had a proud mom moment with that one.) They are running around the house giggling and laughing with and at each other.
Then the boys moved on to watching Mortal Kombat movies and lots of popcorn. I secretly love that they don't hesitate to have friends come over. I love knowing that their friends feel welcome and comfortable in our home. This has always been very important to me. Growing up, we didn't really have friends sleep over that often. I hope that we continue to have a home where giggles are echoing throughout the house. (Especially, into their teen years.) My doorbell has been broken for forever and I can't say I even really knew it. When you have little yappy dogs, they let you know someone is at the door long before they get to the bell. Seeing how it was broken into pieces, leads me to believe it didn't break recently. Instead of buying a replacement doorbell that matched what I had, I bought the Nest doorbell. I think it would be great to help my mom know who is at the door. Not to mention keep me in the loop with what is going on at my house.
The Nest doorbell has been sitting on my counter for WEEKS, I was intimidated by how hard the installation would be. So there is sat... and sat. My neighbor and good friend, Jackie came over to chat. I told her I still haven't installed it yet. She immediately encouraged me that it would take minutes to install. So I jumped up and got to it. It really was so easy to install, it took less than 15 minutes. Now that it is up and running, I get non-stop updates on movement in front of my house. I kind of feel like a stalker looking at the live feed and then checking every notification on my phone. I kind of can't wait for my kids to have friends over playing basketball and I can startle thm by talking to them through the doorbell. I am sure the novelty will run out for me and I won't check it as often. I do feel reassured that there is a little more sense of security that I can check when we are not home. Or for when the snow plow barrels over my mailbox again next winter! Lol I had asked my kids what I should write about for today. My youngest starts laughing and said "your naps." I totally agree, I will write about my naps! Who doesn't love a good nap? I tell them that naps are healthy for you, not sure if that is true, but it is for me.
I don't sleep well through the night for a variety of reasons. So if I have a day off of work, I definitely don't mind squeezing in a 20 minute. I love curling up in my king size bed snuggling my puppies with my blanket pulled up to my chin. If the sun is peering in my room to warm my face... even better! After having four boys running around (my two and two nephews) and a catching a movie late last night, todays nap was a bit longer. I actually had my eyes closed for about an hour and twenty minutes. It was lovely! I try to convince my sons to also take naps sometimes. I think it is good to shut off your brain for a little while to reset. So even though my youngest thought it would be funny to write about naps, I think it was a perfect topic. I will continue to take naps when I can and I would encourage you to do the same! :-) This was a great day to be outside. The sun was shining, the air was crisp and the company was awesome. I love spending time with my kids and my nephews. We follow the winding paths, I let them lead the way. My only request was that we try to stumble upon a canyon.
Some of the paths were winding up, down and around. We finally found a canyon, but first we had to make our way down steep stairs and cross a creek. They were of course most worried about getting their shoes muddy and wet. I was worried about breaking a hip (jk). The cliff still had a hint of snow and water falling from the top. The sight was beautiful but even more wonderful was hearing their laughs and giggles as we made our way through the state park. The day trip spilled into a sleepover, so the fun continues.... Driving home from baseball practice, not sure really where we are but just following our path home. Ryan and I talking about what our plans are for the week and the rest of this rainy day. That's when I see it unfolding...
"Crap, crap, crap" I say under my breath. I see the lights start flashing on the police car driving in the opposite direction. Ryan asks "What’s wrong?" and I said "Well, I am about to get a ticket." The police car has now swung around me and I have come to a stop. As she approaches my car, I already have my license and insurance cards ready for her. She very politely asks me if I know what the speed limit and of course I had stopped directly in front of the sign. I smile politely and respond with "35" and point to the sign with a slight chuckle. As she looks about the car she comments, "You were doing 47 and does everyone have a seat belt on?" I respond with "of course, his dad is a police officer." She smiles and comments that she will be right back. As we wait, I explain to Ryan that it is my fault and that it has been 16 years since I actually got a ticket. I smile and didn't want him to know that I was a little shaky... it is nerve wracking to get pulled over. As she walks back to my car, she hands me a piece of paper with my license and insurance card. With a smile on her face, she said “I just wrote you a warning, have a great day." I said the same thing to her. Thank you to the kind officer. A year and a half ago, I started running. Well, running is a loose description of what I would say I am doing. I use an app on my phone to help me become a runner, build me up to running a 5k.
The first time around it worked to get me to finish a 5k, I wasn’t fast and didn’t die. I will say I was sick as a dog and should not have run. It was about 5 degrees out and had snowed. I couldn’t breathe but I did it and I may have been passed by a women 25 years older than me. But my son and I were determined! He did great, again I didn’t collapse- so it was a win-win!! That leads me to where I am today... starting over again. There have been a few start overs since that 5k. I am back on week 1 day 2. I don’t think I love running yet. My friends who are runners make it look so effortless. Despite looking so effortless, I realize how much they put into it. I completed 2.18 miles of walking/running today. My legs feel like bricks hitting the ground and I may have inhaled a few swarms of nats. My arms don’t seem to move like real runners do. I try to remind myself “nose to pockets” as I swing them back and forth. My son learned that from one of his fitness coaches. I try to remember to have smooth breaths in and out to stay in control. I know I will never be fast, but I’m ok with that. I just want be better than I was a year ago and even better in a year from now. All in all, I feel good and I am happy to be starting over again. I had many pets growing up, but never wanted any as an adult. Especially after I had children. Pets are a lot of work and you need to be home to spend time with them, feed them and clean up after them. As my children were getting a little older, they started to ask for a puppy.
I caved with some small pets. We had a fish, goldfish and beta fish that we won at family fun nights. Then Sara gave my kids her class pet, Lizzy a gecko, which my children adored. Once Lizzy passed away, we gained another gecko and named him Cubbyblackhawk. Once he passed away, then the puppy questions came up again. I explained that until I was done wiping their behinds, there was no way I would get a puppy. Well, once they were proficient with wiping their own butts, we could start the search for the perfect hypoallergenic dog (my youngest is also allergic to dogs). We found a breeder and waited patiently until our new pup was 8 weeks old. She was adorable as all puppies are. We named her Dakota Ivy, she instantly became part of our family. I couldn't remember life without her. She will be five this year and still seems as puppyish as the day we got her! Four and half years later we opened our hearts to another puppy. He is now 10 months old and is every bit of a puppy. He earned the name Tucker Clark. He is learning every day that it is ok to be loved. Tucker wasn't pet, taken outside to play in the grass or given treats prior to us getting him. As much as I didn't want dogs and I get annoyed with their accidents. I couldn't imagine our life without them. They are my comfort when I need it the most. They are the companions for my children when I can't be. They mean so much to our family and I hope they feel as loved as they make us feel. The week we all look forward to and desperately need at this time of the year....
SPRING BREAK! I have such a long list of things that I need/want to do over break. The list is too extensive for the short time will allow me to complete. Despite it being time from work, there is still work to get done:
#makingmemories |
AuthorI have worked in social work for over 25 years. The past 19 years have been within an elementary school setting. Archives
March 2022
Categories |