I Chose the Moonbow

June 8th, 2009

I have no idea where to begin. I’ve missed writing so much during the past few weeks. I haven’t even been journeling. The chaos of the end of school year left me exhausted physically and emotionally, but there wasn’t enough time to recover. There never is, you know.

However, I’m not upset about the fast paced days we’ve been having around here because I’ve just spent the last four days having such a wonderful time with my dear friend, David. He leaves to head home to Chicago today, and I’ll miss him terribly.
We’ve stayed extremely busy, but not so busy that it didn’t feel like a vacation. We all went out to the falls Friday and Saturday night to see if we could catch a glimpse of our moonbow, and we did! I was thrilled! I hadn’t seen the moonbow since I was a teenager, and Screw and David had never seen it. Neither had the children. I was so happy the weather cooperated with us and the clouds cleared long enough for us to see it.
You really should give David a few days, and then make sure you head over to his Flickr site because he got some amazing pictures. He spent quite a bit of time teaching me how to utilize all the great options on my camera, and I loved it! I learned such things like how to take a picture, at night, without a flash, at just the right exposure. How to adjust lighting, get rid of shadows, and just a ton of things I can do to improve my pictures without buying a lot of expensive equipment. He, however, has everything you could imagine, and he knows how to use it. (totally pisses me off) I was so proud of myself when I snapped the following pic. Especially since I didn’t have a tripod and had to half prop the camera on a pole to try to hold it still for this twenty second exposure! I took a few dozen pics, but many of them weren’t great because twenty or thirty seconds really is a freakishly long time to try to stand completely still while holding your camera! I got this picture of the moonbow on Saturday night at about 10:30pm or so. It looks like the middle of the day! I love it!!

moonbow03To be standing there, watching this form with the mist from the falls sprinkling over me and the moon on the other side… you really should go see the picture David got of the moon, it’s amazing. It was a great experience, and I’m so happy we took the time to do it, even going back the second night just in case we could see it better. We did, and it was worth the exhaustion of staying up way too late!

So, let’s see, we saw a movie, saw a moonbow twice, took the kids to parks, grilled, took a walk around town, relaxed in a local coffee shop, lots of laughing and talking and just basically enjoying the company of someone who has been one of my best friends for 

many years now. I had a wonderful time, and I’ll miss him terribly when he leaves.

The summer continues, and it’s time to get back to work around here! Hopefully things will settle down a bit, and we’ll just enjoy the season. Although, I’m sure there will be plenty of responsiblity in the weeks to come, I fully intend to spend most of the next two months hanging out with the kids and having a good time.

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Northern Lights or Moonbows

May 29th, 2009

The husband and I occasionally joke about taking one of the many job openings in far away places in his field of employment. More than once we’ve discussed living in the wilderness of Alaska. I’m only half-joking these days. If you know me at all, you realize how dangerous it is to tease me about such things. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I’ve looked for happiness on a map. The only difference this time is I wouldn’t be looking for happiness, I’d be looking for sanity.
I realize there’s no such thing as a geographical cure for my life, but at the same time I’m not so sure it wouldn’t make things easier. When I lived in Europe, I remember still getting the middle of the night phone calls and hearing about all the family drama and trauma, but it didn’t get to me because I knew there was nothing I could do about it from there. Unfortunately I think at the very least I’d have to leave this continent because when I lived in Texas my family just assumed I could still get to them if they needed me.
I know it sounds awful. I sound like such a bitch. I’m just so tired. And I’m tormented. I’m faced with the knowledge that if I continue to take on everything that’s being asked of me, I’m going to lose my mind and my home life is going to continue to go downhill with no brakes. However, if I put my foot down and stop, it’s going to hurt and cause neglect to people I love and cherish. Unfortunately no matter how I spin it, there isn’t a happy medium in these particular situations. It just feels like such an impossible situation. I’m on the verge of tears every waking moment of the day. I’m even dreaming about my obligations and the drama surrounding them.
This should be a happy week for me. The man-child’s graduation is tomorrow. We should be celebrating. He’s an eighteen year old young man leaving high school for the real world. He could have already screwed up by now. The majority of boys around here do, you know. But not him. He’s graduating with honors. He’s never been in trouble. He’s sweet and respectful, and he’s serious about his future.
I should also be excited because Dave is coming down for a visit next week! I’m pretending he’s coming just to see me, but the reality is that he’s coming down to try to catch our moonbow on film. Not sure how that’s going to turn out considering we’re looking at a forecast of rain everyday of the full moon.
Oh, and today is the last day of school for the rest of the kids. The younger two only have to go in and pick up report cards. So my days are now officially even busier! I have no idea what we’re going to do this summer. Not sure how I’ll keep them busy and entertained, but I’ll find a way. They’re not going to be happy when they find out that they’re spending this day cleaning! I can hear their moans and whimpers already, and I haven’t even told them yet.
It’s time to wake them up and get them going. My chore list isn’t getting any smaller with me sitting here. I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.
Just hide the maps.

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It’s Friday, I’m in Love

February 13th, 2009

Question:  How many times can your area be declared a state of emergency in one month?
Answer:  As many freaking times as you can get it cleaned back up and everyone calmed back down.  Then, BAM!

I’m okay.  Really.  It’s Friday.  We’re all safe, if not so sound.  The storms have passed, the sun is going to rise soon, the coffee is good.  There are Valentine parties at school today to prepare for, and a birthday party to plan tomorrow. 

That’s right!  You read that.  There is school today!  Yay!  Well, almost “yay”.  Being that there was a tree through the roof of my car less than two days ago, and that takes us down to one car and a million directions to run in, having school today is going to be both positive and negative.

Our insurance company says that is considered “…an act of God”.  That just seems wrong to me.  God wanted to kill my cute little Mini Cooper?  I don’t think so.  I blame rap music.  (Don’t argue with me, dammit.)

It’s Friday 13th.  We have three of them this year.  How cool is that?!  I dare say my days leading up to today were the unlucky ones.  This day is going to be fine, great even!  If not, I’m going to pretend it is.  I can do that, you know.  My powers of denial and avoidance are unbelievable.  

It’s Friday.  I have four beautiful healthy kids, a slightly off-center adorable  husband, chocolate, coffee, and comfy fluffy socks.  What more could a girl ask for.

“Monday, you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday – watch the walls instead
It’s Friday, I’m in love…” 

*I almost forgot to tell you… as we were all standing around our little car, in complete shock, my seven year old very seriously said, “You all are soooo lucky I didn’t die in this.  You would have missed me soooo much.”  Uh huh… I have no idea where she gets that.*

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