Oopsie

 Funny story.

I've been stressing for weeks about my health insurance and the income limit for the past few weeks and caught up with my financial advisor a week ago. Last night I wrote a check to pop into the mail this afternoon, but found I had a couple more questions for him. I shot him a text after I pulled into the parking lot at work.

"Do I need an account number on the check? And do I make the letter to your attention? Or doesn't it matter?" (Totally official. Ha ha!)

As soon as I pushed send I realized I hadn't sent the message to the finance guy, but someone totally different. LOL! I shot off a quick, "Oops! Wrong person. Ha ha!" but not before my friend Dan, who is also my chiropractor, saw it on the other end. He thought someone from his office had sent me a bill. Ha ha!

Oh, my! I must be more careful.

Sunset at the Lake

 I'm tired, but I'm on a blogging run, so here it is...

It was gorgeous today! We were blessed with a summer day at the end of March. I had to work late, of course, and was tired when I got home. I thought about going up to my bedroom, but by April 1st, in not so unusual NY fashion, the weather is forecast  supposed to be cold and blustery, with snow! Winter has not given up quite yet. No surprise there...

Since my people had gone out, presumably to enjoy the beautiful evening, I went out too. Where did I go? I went to the lake. (No surprise there either.) The parking lot was full. Multitudes walked the pier and gathered to watch a much anticipated glowing sunset. We were not disappointed. 

And Then It Was Monday

 I didn't sleep well last night, but tossed and turned instead. It could have been the little bottle of grape juice I drank just before turning out the light. Or the half a box of Stoned Wheat Thins crackers... I have enough on my mind to keep me awake, but it typically doesn't. Normally, I sleep, unless I ingest too much sugar. Good thing I got enough sleep on Saturday. Ha ha!

I made it through the work day, passed out and received a bazillion hugs, made lunch, and changed a few stinky diapers. Sounds just like what I done for most of my life and I like it.

I had an appointment with my favorite chiropractor at six and from there I went directly to the pottery studio. Someone had left some pots to dry on my new shelf. They were removed to a nearby table and a note was left to explain why. I had a small amount of clay in my possession, so I wedged it up and tossed a couple of pots myself. The clay is soft, very soft. The first one flopped, but the second one looked pretty good until I tried to take it off the wheel head. Maybe it will be okay. It looked alright once I got it onto a board to dry. (I'm so not ready for an advanced class. Ha ha! Someone encouraged me in that direction and, well, here goes nothing. I'm a little nervous though.)

I arrived home this evening just in time to give Number Nine a hug and kiss before he went to sleep for the night. Perfect timing.

Bits and Pieces

* I haven't kept up with blogging well lately. I've been distracted. By my own brain.

* Baby shower yesterday for Number 16. Her arrival is expected to be around the end of April. The rarity of granddaughters makes them a little exciting.

* I had an entire week of going into work at 7:15 am, but this next one is spring break and I'm back to 9-6. I can do this. One day soon we will be back to normal again. I hope.

* Last week was emotional. I wasn't teary or sad, just feeling off. Not sure why. The weekend has been good. I met two friends for coffee at Panera Bread on Saturday morning, went to the baby shower, took a very long nap, and stopped at the lake just before sunset.

* Church this morning. I considered going to the pottery studio this afternoon, but decided to stay home and sort through junk in my room. I even vacuumed. Ha! I am releasing belongings a little at a time. This is hard. But not as hard as it used to be. 

* Planning to hit the pottery studio after the chiropractor tomorrow evening. Got the stuff in my car. 

* Maybe I'll write a couple of blogs this week. Maybe.

This Weekend

 The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! What a weekend! It was so beautiful today that Sergio and I opened up the garage and dragged the picnic table out into the driveway for today's gathering of my kids and grandchildren. (It's my birthday tomorrow...) The afternoon was filled with food, fun, and action. They are loud, they are crazy, and they are wild. They are also mostly boys. Ha! It was beautiful and I am blessed beyond measure.

Yesterday was also lovely. My friend Gail picked me up late in the morning and we drove toward Syracuse to take part in a Quarter Auction fundraiser. There were plenty of lovely things to bid on, and we bid on plenty, but the drawings for the winners were random and we didn't win a thing, Ha ha! It was still fun and I would definitely do it again.

Back to work tomorrow. I stocked up on Birthday Cake Oreos to bring in for a treat.  I'm still counting birthdays backward and I'm all the way down to 33 again! It's quite fabulous!!! 

Bits and Pieces

 * We had some unseasonably warm weather last week, but by the weekend the temperatures had dropped back down to normal. I could be disappointed, but I know the fruit farmers are relieved and so I am too. Saturday was cool but sunny. I went for a long walk along the Cayuga Seneca Canal with my sister Priscilla and her brother and sister in law. Then Priscilla and I went to Sauder's, ate a late lunch, and bought some treats.

* I stopped at the lake Sunday afternoon and found an icy wind blowing, but the lake ice had melted. Cold wave battered Only the shore and pier were still dressed in ice and snow.

* I changed my clock early Saturday evening and woke late for church. On Sunday night I set my alarm to rise early this morning, and then woke up with barely enough time to squeeze in a shower. (But I did anyway.) I was so tired at work that I went to sleep on my break, and didn't hear my alarm then either. Thankfully I was not late getting back in.

* Summer is on the way and I am making vacation plans. (I'm kind of excited.) I've never planned a real vacation before, especially not a solo vacation. This one will take me back to a piece of my childhood. It's a rare and beautiful opportunity that I don't want to miss.

Working and Weekends

Last week was exhausting. Who knew two year olds had so much tenacity? I hit my limit when I "lost" a child about ten minutes before her father was due to arrive... I was sitting against the wall with my back to the half door gate that leads to the preschool lavatories while one small child was playing with the latch. I shooed her away and told her to stop playing with the door. As I stood up, I glanced over the door and saw a wet diaper abandoned on the floor beside the closest toilet. I found it odd and wondered if the preschool teacher still had a child in her classroom or if one her little ones had left something behind... I followed my own little ones to the opposite side of the Older Toddler room, but instead of three small friends, I could only see two. I returned to the bathroom and called out for my missing child, a little bit of panic welling up inside, and at that moment she appeared from around the corner of the third stall. Ugh!

Working full time makes weekends precious. I often enjoy spending time with friends, going for walks, stopping at the lake, or taking a drive on Saturdays and Sundays. This past Saturday, aside from taking a short trip to Walmart and Target with Hannah, I stayed home. It was a wonderfully lazy day. 

On Sunday after church I filled my gas tank, did my grocery shopping, and took myself down to the lake. It's still cold and icy, but the little area where the creek empties into the lake is finally visible. I took some time to check the rock covered beach for beach glass. At one point I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and walked smack into the side of the little footbridge over the creek. Saying I was stunned is a little bit of an understatement. Ha ha! I put a nice scratch on the bridge of my nose. Mostly I was totally embarrassed, although I don't think anyone actually saw it happen.

Late Sunday afternoon I met a friend for something to eat. We spent a couple of hours sitting in the local Panera Bread eating and talking. It turned out to be a rather nice weekend after all.

Linda

This evening I learned that one of my blog friends passed away on Monday. Not everyone knew that Linda was ill, but she had told me in a private message a year or so ago. She and I have both fought completely different, but unseen battles. We are warriors.

Tonight my heart is sad. In one way or another time eventually takes everything we hold dear and until it takes us, all we are left with is memories. Tonight I treasure the memory of Linda, her blog, her Instagram account, and the afternoon visit we shared at her house one September day a little over four years ago...

I Stayed Home Yesterday

It was a tough weekend. 

 Saturday marked seven years since my mom's passing. I didn't cry much at the time. I was mostly numb. Being her primary caretaker during the final three years of her life had been a challenge, not because she was difficult, but because untraveled roads and unfamiliar territory come with fears and failures. It wasn't easy losing her to dementia a little bit at a time...

Sunday brought a different kind of stress when I woke to a message from someone I love dearly. We are on opposite sides of the same trial and meeting in the middle is pretty much impossible. I'm not sure what this will mean in the future, but I pray we are one day able to do what today looks to be unattainable. 

Since I've not yet mastered the ability to hear another person's words without my body overreacting, I'm afraid I went into full alert. After a week of little to no sugar, I found myself buying a big slice of chocolate cake from the Wegmans Bakery. (A friend told me cake has no sugar. I knew he was lying, but decided to take his word for it anyway.) I don't know how chocolate, and especially chocolate cake, help in times of dire distress, but it was all I could think of to help in the moment.

I woke up between Sunday evening and Monday morning with a horrific headache. I considered getting up to find a pain reliever, but couldn't drag myself from the bed and went back to sleep instead. By morning I had a full-blown, throbbing, tension headache. I hauled myself out of bed and down to the shower where I stood trembling in pain, waves of nausea washing over me. I knew I couldn't go to work and function. Even driving would be dangerous. I sent my boss a reluctant text. I had never called in sick. 

As I showered I also filled the tub with hot water and let myself have a good long soak before getting out and putting my pajamas back on. Upstairs I brushed my wet hair, put a towel over my pillow, and crawled back into bed. The pain killers I'd taken before getting into the shower slowly began to work. Although they took the edge off and I stopped shaking and feeling queasy, the pain in my neck and shoulders remained. By early afternoon I sent my favorite chiropractor a text. He gave me a hug, adjusted my neck and upper back. When I came home, I took some Benadryl and turned the light off early. I heard my phone chime a time or two but didn't even look until morning when I saw he'd sent me a text at 8 pm asking how my headache was feeling.

I woke this morning headache free with just the sore muscles of a previously knotted up back and shoulders. I was assigned to the older toddler room for most of the day. Five little girls, all two years old. I haven't spent an entire day in the older toddler room since I first started at the daycare almost four years ago! I'll admit, I felt a little overwhelmed to start with, but we did just fine.

Now if only I can remember tomorrow is Wednesday and not Tuesday...

(I needed a photo, so you get one from last week when they all decided to sit along the outside of the building. I don't think anyone's really looking at the camera...)

Loss

Every direction I turn I see loss. Today it feels hopeless all over again, but I know that once the tears are done falling, the sun will shine again. Somewhere in all of this mess there is something good.

I've been scolded for what I post, but I didn't get us into this mess. I simply happen to be included in it.