Time seems to be in hyperdrive

Yesterday Sam stayed home with a sore throat and headache. He slept most of the morning. I went up to check on him and could hardly believe that he will be finished with middle school in 8 days. I remember vividly being 14 years old. I remember being in 8th grade, running track and the friends I made then and have recently reconnected with via Facebook. How can I be 43 years old already? My life has rocketed into middle age. I am a mom, wife, friend..... How did that happen? He will be entering High School in the fall and, could at age 14 qualify for a "school driving permit". How can that be? Sam is my oldest. He was the first to do so many things. I remember taking him to preschool at the Science Center, dropping him at the Downtown School. I just laid down beside him and snuggled with him. He was always a very cuddly baby. I know that I am beyond that snuggling now, but time seems to have gone by so fast, I wanted to take advantage of what may be one of the last chances. Sam has grown into a sweet young man and I want to foster that as long as possible. His teachers seem to enjoy him and he has made some good friends at school. He will be entering Southeast Polk High School, his dad's alma mater. This time of life seemed so far away. I am down to 4 Christmases until he graduates from High School. Wow. I feel like I am running out of time to shape his character and help him learn how to make his own decisions. I pray that Scott and I are able to leave a legacy with each of our boys so they are able to successfully leave the nest and make a difference in this world.

Good Bye Dwight K. Beattie

So this morning I found poor Dwight looking to be stuck at the bottom of one of his "tubes" in his Habitrail. I have been concerned about Dwight's health for quite some time. I am pretty sure he had the 'mange' or at the very least a problem affecting his fur. He has acted lethargic and just not very active..... Today it became official that he was gone. I checked on him again about noon and he was still in the same position....stuck in his tube. I didn't want to have to tell Nick about Dwight, but he actually took it very well. Sorta shrugged his shoulders and that was that. Scott, Jake and I went out back, dug a hole and place Dwight, tube and all, in his eternal resting place. Now we are down to Ted and Wrigley. Still haven't replaced the fish. I am sure I would kill them off, again. I think we will stay down-sized for now.

30 years ago today.

It doesn't seem possible that 30 years have past since the great eruption of the most symmetrical mountain in Washington State. I remember it being a Sunday and apparently, it was my Grandpa's 72nd birthday. I am sure we went to either a buffet for lunch or brought home a bucket of KFC. Either was a favorite of Grandpa and my dad.

I don't think I appreciated the level of damage that occurred May 18, 1980. I was 13 years old and we didn't have the degree of ash or destruction at our house as they experienced in Portland or Yakima. It is a day that will live in history forever. One of those, I remember where I was when.....

To shun or not to shun.....

Facebook, is it bad or somehow a lifeline for me. I have reconnected with so many friends from my past lives. College friends, high school friends, even a friend I knew as a pre-schooler. It has shown me how small the world is by the "common friends" I have with others. I have times (more often than I like to admit) when I feel very isolated in my life. Facebook has given me an outlet for friendships that would never exist without the internet. However, it does seem to monopolize my time and even my thoughts periodically. I have friends who have viewed Facebook as such a negative that they are giving it up for the summer, maybe longer. I do have this blog, but with very few followers. I am not sure if I feel the need to be perceived as interesting or funny.... Maybe I just love the connectedness I feel to people. I do not want my boys to feel they are unimportant because of time I spend.

I love that I can "cyber-watch" 24 and American Idol with friends from Ohio and Florida in real time. I love that I can have responses from my sister in Cali and my mom in Seattle simultaneously to my photos or comments. I originally started my page to share photos and our life with my mom across the miles. I didn't even use my full name. I changed to using my full and even maiden name after a few months. Now there are connections with sorority sisters I would never have looked for or spoken to if not for Facebook.

I do have to say that living my life as if it is a "status update" is unnecessary. I do want to give Facebook its proper place in my life. My home may never be completely organized or clean at the same time, but that has less to do with the time misspent on Facebook and more a reflection of my to find something else "more important" to do. My ADD tendencies come into play. I have the best intentions and vision, but am never quite able to make all the pieces come into place at the same time.

I see my friends' need to break ties with FB as honorable. The question I ask myself is do I feel guilty because I am not feeling that devoted to being FB free? Should I make this blog more public so as to have connectedness through this, instead? I want to make this summer enjoyable and memorable for my boys. I guess if my "need" to be on FB interferes with that, I will make changes, but for now, I think I will stay a friend.

New Specs for Sam.

Isn't he darling? New haircut, new glasses, braces.... Sam said he was amazed at how much better he can see. Nick tried on Sam's extra pair of glasses and said the computer screen looked clearer. Sigh....

It is my weekend off not sure what I will be able to do, but the unit keeps calling begging for help. Wish I could have a guilt-free weekend off.

Ted was just out swimming in the water left in the sand trap, again. He definitely likes his exercise. Hosed off in the yard, but also had a dig in the mud earlier in the afternoon and left his mark in the freshly cleaned (last week) "office" carpet. He is soooo Marley.

Dinner awaits.

May Rains.....

It has been stormy the past few days. Hard to get Ted out for a good walk when it is raining. He would be fine, but I am a bit more picky about the weather. This week is not as frenzied. I do have a few meetings at school, but it is calming to not have the nightly plans to attend to. Sam needs to get into an Optometrist to have his eyes checked. I am convinced he will need glasses like his dad and nearly every member of his families on both sides. I am sure he will look darling in glasses and I will be so glad that he will be able to SEE. Sort of a bad parenting moment when I realize how bad his eyes seem to be. He has continued to be a voracious reader and continues to do very well in school, so the lack of being able to see doesn't seem to have slowed him down academically.

Nick is excited about his "end of the year" activities. He can't wait for Springbrook and the Graduation. He is really very funny. I will be curious to see how he transitions to 6th grade at Spring Creek. We are going to need to be an avid advocate for him initially to make sure he doesn't get behind. He still loves Legos and Wii Games. He has to be forced to go outside most days.

Jake has been a bit under the weather. He had a fever over the weekend and even threw up one night. He seems better, but every now and then he will complain of stomach ache or just being very tired. Hope he bounces back.

For Mother's Day Scott took the boys to the Farmer's Market to buy gifts for me. They got a really cute Hoops and Yo-Yo card and Nick made me a homemade bracelet. They made me brunch and then took me to dinner at Fong's Pizza after spending the day in the yard. I truly felt loved. Nick really wanted to "dress up" for dinner. He bought a new shirt and tie to go with his blue sport coat. He even wanted new shoes. He claims he has a good sense of style. I Love him. We ended up going casual to Fong's. He will have to save his new clothes for another time.

I am woefully behind in the laundry and house cleaning department. I need to get on that. Same story, different day.