Keep Praying

Thank God for small mercies. My cold is getting better, and I actually got some sleep last night. Actually, it's no small mercy, since for the last two years every cold has turned to double pneumonia and weeks on expensive meds. But this cold seems to be breaking up and going away on its own. I am thankful. And sleep... how we take it for granted until we can't find it! Night before last I fought with hubby at ten, and flounced off to bed to go to sleep. I tossed and turned until two, when he came to bed. Forget sleep. He began his own tossing and turning, and drove me out until 4:30. I rattled around the house, checking on animals, and children, and email. I went out on the deck and played with the flashlight, thinking maybe I'd catch some wildlife. But all I heard was the low booms of thunder in the distance. Finally at 4:30, in total desperation, I took two cold pills...hoping to clear my head and get to sleep. It worked, and I drifted off for about forty minutes, when an earsplitting thundercrack jolted me out of bed. The only person moving faster was my eleven year old son, who was already in my room by the time I ripped the curtain open to look out and see if the tree in the yard was still standing.

Yesterday I slogged around, feeling like I was swimming through Jello, with my head pounding. I took pain reliever every four hours and kept moving. Too much to do, too many children to attend to. I tried to keep the day as normal as possible, which meant keeping to the normal routine and seeing all the normal people we see through a busy day during camp season. I realized that's a lot of people. I felt like everyone was looking at me funny...which is silly since they weren't looking at me any differently than usual. (Which might be funny, now that I think of it.) Or maybe it was just because I looked like something the cat dragged in. I felt like something the cat dragged in.

So today was an improvement by far. The headache was gone, and I felt the effect of a full night's sleep. Nothing has really changed. Life is still shifting and sliding about on this new treacherous ground. The sad is still sad, and the weird is still weird. But with the subtraction of clogged sinuses and the addition of sleep, everything is under a slightly different light. For those of you who are praying...don't stop. Tomorrow will be a tough day.

I feel like dookey but my hair looks great...

Are these the words of a song I used to know? I find myself humming them, in a nasal, congested sort of way. If they're not already in a song, I probably ought to write one.

I have the post-party summer cold. It's still trying to decide if it's taking up residence in my head or my chest. Which means it's equally bad in both places. So I am this very attractive, snorting, snuffling, hacking thing right now. But I do mean attractive. Yessiree! I got my semi-annual haircut today, and I am looking fine. I am only quoting those around me, who have used words like "cute", "adorable", and "looks like a teenager". A very gray haired teenager mind you, but that's OK. Some teens are pretty gray. Boo keeps running her hands through my hair and telling me how much she loves it...which makes me wonder how bad I may have looked before. OK. That's just me being negative. It's my mucous talking. I'll go back to the cute thing.

The Social Event of the Season

What do you get when you mix picnic food, relay races, music and dancing, water balloons, a big bonfire, s'mores, fireworks, friends, and family? You get a jamming wedding party. Our eldest and her hubby were married about eight months ago, but their celebration party was yesterday. The weather was perfect. The food was yummy. We all had fun, and best of all we saw so many dear ones.

It's funny to see so many folk who are an important part of your life, all gathered together in one place. Some drive you crazy, some calm you down. Some need time to catch up, catch your breath, come up to speed...others don't need to say a word. Some make you want laugh and dance...others make your heart clench with the joy and the pain of seeing those old familiar faces.

Boo said she will always remember the day her big sister had her wedding party as one of the best days with her "new adopted family". Then she amended herself to say, "No, with my family." I think she got it right. It was one of the best days ever.

Life is Funny

Just when you think you have it figured out, your children throw a little surprise your way. The "twins" came home from camp, and the one I worried about most had a great time all around. The one I worried about least, had a horrible time. Boo was tired and dirty and weepy when she got home, but her week had been a resounding success. Our 11yo boy on the other hand...not so good. It was his fourth summer at camp, he knew three out of four of his cabin mates well, and his counselor is a trusted and much loved friend. The weather was great, and everything seemed to point toward a wonderful week. But there was one unforeseen, unplanned for problem. A new boy. A new boy with behavioral and maturity issues. A new boy with a foul mouth, and a bad attitude. And if you had asked me, I would have thought that our son would have taken it in stride. It's not like he's not used to having to roll with the punches here at home. But maybe that was the problem. Maybe I assumed he could handle anything, since he rolls so well here. But maybe he was thinking of this as his own little vacation from the stuff he deals with day to day.

Apparently junior boys tend to drop to the lowest level, instead of trying to drag their buddies up to the higher one. Apparently potty humor and disrespect for your counselor is considered cool in some circles. Our son was appalled. Apparently intentionally bombing your team challenges is also considered cool. Our competitive son was livid. Apparently stealing from your cabin mates and lying about it is OK too. Our son was out two weeks of allowance money. This all culminated in our son asking to come home early. Dad said no. Dad reminded him that he would be letting his counselor down, so he took him a bag of chips, and encouraged him to keep up the fight for one more night. And he did...keep up the fight. He ended up in his first physical fight ever. The new boy and he got into it, and spent some time rolling around pulling hair and pinching. Dad said, "That's not what I had in mind son." Our son said, "Dad, I tried to be his friend, but he just wanted to be a jerk."

And Mom knew he must have been pretty unhappy all week. His belongings were intact. Only one pair of socks were missing. He was showered and sweet smelling. His teeth were clean. He even had snack shop money left over. He came home and cheerfully helped unload and sort the dirty laundry, and then politely requested to go take a nap. Poor baby! Where is my dirty, stinky, boy with an attitude? I talked to his discouraged counselor. I tried to let him know, sometimes things just go this way. We agreed thoroughly about one important thing. This baby boy has outgrown junior camp. It was that one last year, that was really one year too many.

But next year is coming, and the twins are already making plans for teen camp. You have to be at least twelve to go. And I have bins and stacks of laundry all over the living room floor, as I get their older brother ready for his stint at teen camp this week. He'll be moving on next year too. He'll be working on staff. I know life is full of surprises, but I have to say...if my 13yo gets into a fight at camp...well, it's just never going to happen. He might blow something up, but he'll never fight.