Feeling A Little Devious

I've got a secret! I've got a secret!

And I can hardly wait to let my family in on it this coming weekend. Well and some of my friends this Tuesday evening. It will be interesting to see the reactions I get.

You see I've done something I never thought I'd do. Not going to share it with you all, my dear readers, until after my family has had a chance to get in on the secret first.

Then the cat will be out of the bag, so to speak.

So that's all I'm going to say about it right now. Look for my post next Saturday or Sunday after I return home from the family Christmas in Oklahoma. It will be then that I'll share my secret with you - and let you know of the priceless reactions from said family members. I'll treasure them for a lifetime, I'm sure.

Just a little devious that way. :-)

Happy Holy Terror Holidays

A busy weekend is fast approaching.

Today I've taken advantage of the first free weekend we've had in quite a while to get some things accomplished around the house and to relax and rest without being sick or running around sick.

I've also had alot of rehearsing to do.

For the last three plus weeks I've been fighting an extreme cold and laryngitis. During Thanksgiving, for four days I couldn't even talk - at all! Of course, my family was probably most grateful to Heaven above for a relatively quiet and unperturbed holiday. But I digress.

So just at the time I begin to get sick, my choir director asks me to sing a song with the choir for Christmas Eve services. I was also asked to sing praise team for last Sunday, of which I had to switch with someone since my voice was barely functional even then. I was also asked to do a reading again for Sunday the 19th.

Then Wednesday night at rehearsal (where I still could not sing but went anyway to listen and get down more music in my head at least), I discover that the Christmas Eve song I'm supposed to sing has been scheduled for Sunday the 19th. I've been listening to it since receiving the music but have not been able to actually sing it until today, though it is still only somewhat. What's more is that the Sunday I switched out last weekend with the fellow soprano was for the 19th.

So that means on Sunday the 19th for services I am doing a reading, praise team, and singing with the choir a song I have yet to be able to practice with them and the other soloist live and in person. We'll get to do that hopefully for the first time this coming Wednesday night at choir rehearsal.

Then Thursday morning my son informs me that his Christmas choir concert at school is scheduled for next Wednesday night. He's also doing something special for said concert so that means I have to be in two places at once.

Oh Happy Holy Terror Holidays indeed! I wish at the moment human cloning was legal.

So if next weekend isn't packed enough already, we're heading down to Oklahoma that Friday evening for a Christmas Open House for my parents' church and then our all family Christmas gathering on Saturday before heading back up here Saturday night for Sunday services. I pray my voice is fully recovered before then.

It may be a busy weekend, but as I said before I'm not turning aside any opportunities the Lord puts in my path.

There's got to be a reason for it somewhere...I hope. :-)

A Thanksgiving Remembered

Thanksgiving day is dwindling - it's hard to believe it is almost over, it came so fast.

Drove back from my sister's in Oklahoma tonight all by myself. It's been somewhat of a tradition for the past eighteen years.

Since I've been in banking, I've almost always worked the Friday after Thanksgiving and taken off time at Christmas - a trade-off, if you will. During those early years, I never had a babysitter to watch my son that day, so my mother started coming back with me either Thursday night or would bring my son back and drive up Friday sometime after Thanksgiving. Then we'd spend time that weekend getting our tree, decorating our house, and doing a little shopping if we felt brave enough to tackle the crowds.

So even though my son is grown, my mom still comes back with us for the weekend to help us get ready for our Christmas - this year because I have school. It's become one of our many family traditions now.

Today we had a wonderful time at my sister's, ate a ton, took a nap, watched a movie (An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving) while the guys watched football. One of my nephews was home from Minnesota and a niece and great-niece were there from Arkansas, so I knew my son would want to hang out with them for awhile. So I said goodbye, will see my son and parents tomorrow, and chucked myself home for the night.

Sometimes I love the drive all by myself. The night sky was beautiful tonight and traffic wasn't all that bad amazingly enough. Tonight was a time for thinking. Just another month and it will be a year since our lives fell apart with my mother's cancer. But looking at her today, her hair is thick and getting longer all the time. She's regaining more and more of her health each and every day. Maybe someday soon I'll be able to look at her without worrying anymore or feeling the need to see if she's doing alright. It's really hard to believe it's been almost a year. So much has changed, and yet there is an element of peace in the family once again.

And THAT is something well worth giving thanks for this Thanksgiving.

Summertime in Season

The summertime season is officially in full swing.

This past weekend we had alot of fun with the family down in Oklahoma. Sunday evening we weren't even halfway home and my son was busy on his phone, texting his friends to see who wanted to come and hang out overnight. Ben was the luck of the draw.

So Monday afternoon Ben's brother, Will, comes over to pick him up and they decide to have another sleepover. I'm still not sure if it is supposed to be my son, Will AND Ben or just my son and Will. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

This evening my son invited his long-time buddy, Andrew, to come over. Suffice it to say, he's going to be sleeping over tonight too.

Though not to be outdone, Marcus showed up a bit ago and the three of them are in the family room tearing through some video game with "The Prestige" to watch later.

I went for a walk.

There's something absolutely wonderful about a late night walk in the summer, with the stars twinkling in the blackened sky, the wind whispering in the trees like the secrets of a best friend, and the hush after a busy day. I feel closer to God in those moments.

But then I get back home to the chaos of three teenaged guys playing shoot 'em-up on the Wii.

Yes, summertime has begun.

The Storm Before the Calm

This week we've had a flurry of activity.

Since I'm starting the new job next week, I've been trying to squeeze in appointments and excursions as much as humanly possible. So with dentists, doctors, car maintenance, hair cuts, and whatever else we can squeeze into one week, it's been a little nuts.

So call me surprised when my son springs on me the desire to have his annual back-to-school party tonight. Since we're also going to try and squeeze in a quick run down to Oklahoma to see my niece and great-niece coming in from Arkansas, tonight was the only available evening for him to have this fling.

The gang of five began to arrive around four-thirty today. I'd just returned from filling out all my new hire and benefits enrollment forms to face running to pick up soda and snacks and order three large pizzas.

Good thing Pizza Hut was running a special!

Since this is his annual tradition, I'd never deny him this end-of-summer ritual. But I'll be kinda glad to see the weekend end and Monday to roll around. Then I'll start my new job and he'll start school the end of next week.

Sometimes schedules can be a blessed thing. It keeps the crazy desire for sudden activities in check. Feels like the storm before the calm.

We Have Returned!

Holy cow, it feels like we were gone forever.

Well, at least longer than ten days.

Last night we returned from our family gatherings and events of the past week and ahalf, exhausted but happy. My nephew's high school graduation went smoothly and he had a good showing at his after party. As usual, my sister cooked up a storm and made a wonderful cake.

I'm hoping she'll agree to make my son's in a couple of years.

Wow! Just had the realization again - my son is next in line to graduate. Hmm, sounds like next in line to the throne or something, but there it is. It's so hard to believe that he's so close to heading off into the sunrise.

After returning to my parent's post-graduation, we ended up alot busier than I'd planned. My middle sister and her husband are moving this summer for my brother-in-law's job and so my sister and I drove an hour and ahalf on Wednesday to spend the day looking around at houses and getting the lay of the land. They'll actually be closer to me upon moving, so I expect to see alot more of them once they get settled. Ended up staying the ENTIRE day, but we got alot accomplished.

Thursday and Friday were a flourish of cleaning at Mom and Dad's, while my son helped my dad paint their fence. Looked really nice once they were done for the day. Later on Friday my sister and I once again hopped in the car and drove three hours into Arkansas to pick up my niece and great-niece. We always have so much fun in the car because we'll usually sing at the top of our lungs and act silly, though we're somewhat hoarse by the time we return.

Saturday morning I got to wake up to my oldest niece, who drove in from Colorado to attend the family reunion. I hadn't seen her since her college graduation and move to Colorado, so it was such a precious time to spend with her during the family reunion catching up on her life. Saturday night the two of us stayed up until somewhere around two in the morning just talking.

Four hours of sleep does not a night make!

Sunday after lunch I got to take a motorbike ride with my cousin out into the Oklahoma countryside. Then it was time for my son and I to return home.

Our kitties were so happy to see us - and we them. Now it's back to the grindstone!

They're On Their Way

My son called a little while ago to tell me that they'd crossed into Oklahoma on their way back from their Memphis trip.

Just a few more hours and he'll be home. Said he had some awesome news to tell me when he got back. I asked him if they won the grand prize contest trophy, but he wouldn't say anything more.

The little stinker!

So now I have to wait until around midnight for his return to find out this great news. By then I may be too tired to care.

Naaaah! I'm so excited for him - I just know they won.

He did share with me that their teacher told them that the school was going to require them to attend tomorrow morning.

Say what?

Their schedule (approved by the school, mind you) showed that they were excused from school tomorrow since their return would be so late. He's got an important forensics tournament Tuesday that I will be participating in as a judge (oh the power!). Those kids are going to desperately need some sleep.

Unless they won the grand prize. Then I can understand their desire to be present for accolades when the results are announced at school tomorrow.

So I have to wait a few more hours to discover the results. Great - now I won't be able to sleep either.

Brewing and a Simmering

There's a story brewing in my mind.

It's been a long time since I wrote anything of significance. My brain is about to burst with a new story idea, but I would really like to go back and work on some of the other novels I've already started. Finished one about a year ago. I'd really like to get another one finished sometime this year.

However, there's a new story that has been simmering for the last several weeks. I've resisted putting it into the computer but it's about time to go ahead and at least get the story started.

Think I'll work on it at the annual retreat.

Yes, it's that time of year again - time for our annual writer's retreat!

Several years ago, our critique group began an annual tradition of going to a lovely campground down in Oklahoma and renting their cabins for the weekend. Each of us had a cabin all to ourselves so we could write and gather together to eat and share stories.

Last year seemed especially productive for me. I had several short story ideas I'd saved for just the occasion. Been thinking I'd save this new novel idea to start at the retreat, but now I'm not sure. Seems like it's been so long since I've had any real productive writing. The job switchover to a new company was enormously time consuming.

Now that I'm being released from that job, I'm excited to see what I might be able to come up with during my down time. Just hope my down time doesn't last too terribly long. Need a job to pay the bills until my writing begins to payoff.

But I'm struggling with the fact that the retreat will be an expense that I really shouldn't do while I'm without a steady paycheck. Plus my son's final Europe trip payment is coming due the first of February.

Feel in a bit of a quandary. I can't stand the idea of not going to the retreat. But I really shouldn't spend the money when I can't afford to. But then if I get a job now, I won't be able to go because the new job will rightfully take priority.

What to do - what to do.

You know what? Right now I'm not going to worry about it. I'm still going to plan on going, I think. I'll deal with a job if I get a job by then. If I don't get a job by then, I'll see how the financial situation is a little closer to that time. No need to worry about it just yet.

And my story? I don't think I'm going to wait on it, now that I think about it. My last week on the job is quickly approaching. I'll have some time on my hands then, so it will be a great opportunity to get a headstart on the story.

I can always work on it more at the retreat. Looking forward to the writing time. Hurry up Friday!

Smooth Sailing

In a couple of hours we'll be heading down to Oklahoma to visit the family. I'll probably be out of commission for a few days, unless I'm actually able to commandeer the computer from the kids.

Doubtful.

So our Christmas continues with (thankfully) clear skies and clear roads. Just the wind is present today to tickle our ears and noses.

It's Kansas - what can you expect?

So here's once again wishing you continued blessings with your families and friends as the Christmas season winds down and the New Year approaches.

Hopefully we won't have anymore strange roadway episodes with four new tires. Smooth sailing, you here?