What a weekend!

My heart is full and overflowing.
Another son has left for a mission for our church.
To celebrate, we took many photos, spent time together as a family in the temple, took more pictures and tried to just BE together.
One acquaintance with 4 sons often said to me, "That is one reason I could NEVER be a Mormon. I could never let my sons out of my orbit for 2 years-it's barbaric!"
I know how weird it seems.
But look at his face, that body language, that confidence.
He's ready to change the world. Why would I stop him?

This is a nineteen-year old goofball boy who still takes genuine joy in audible flatulence and wants me to scratch his head and back every single day. 

I will miss that for a while. (The latter, not the former.)

But I truly, truly wouldn't have him miss this for any amount of back-scratching or keeping him in my orbit.

Take Luck, Elder Nuss. I love you!

Friends stopping by

The boys he grew up with. 

The last moment in the airport. I waited till he couldn't
see me to cry. 

With the sibs and his pal from high school

He's in the air right now. 

 

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Adventures and Good Times

I made my first bike trip to the grocery store on Wednesday and it went pretty well. I used our old Kiddie Kart trailer and it worked like a charm. This trailer is very easy to haul-I hardly felt it behind me, even with 20 or so pounds of produce on the way home. I feel like I could haul a lot more if I needed.   I always really liked it for the kids, so I'm glad we kept it. Next week I want to try riding to one of the farmer's markets, even though I'll have to take a longer way to avoid roads. PS, I will be SO glad when this project is finished. I found myself right in the middle of the construction and it was highly annoying. Fortunately there is another path to the store that was untouched, but I can't really ride to the lake, which is one of my favorite routes.

I did forget my bike lock cable so my brilliant solution was to stash the bike completely behind the store, out of sight, then I cleverly wove all my bungee cords through the spokes of the wheels and frame, then dashed into the store for my few needed items, secure in the knowledge that by the time any would-be thief had untangled all the bungee cords, I would be back to the bike. Either no one even noticed the bike or my brilliant plan worked, Bwahahahahah.

The next time I went out I did remember my lock, so hopefully it will quickly become a habit. I've co-opted an old kid's backpack as my cycling pack and the lock fits in there nicely. So far, I love the freedom of being on a bike-no parking worries, wind in my face, etc. Gorgeous.

Thursday was a scouting trip to a new photography location: Turf Valley. A friend is getting married on Monday and asked me to take her wedding photos, so we went and looked around. It was fun to talk with her about what she wants and get a sense of the location. I've known her since she was 3, so it is pretty special to be part of her day.

Yesterday was a day for celebrating as I went  a high school graduation at which several kids from our church youth group were being honored. I got my ticket from my darling friend Amanda, and I'm so glad I got to be there to cheer her on. It was a major triumph and a huge day for her.

Afterward was a bridal shower for the friend mentioned above. It actually kind of takes a lot of motivation to get me out to a shower but this one was a can't-miss and so I went and it was awesome. Friends I haven't seen in months were there and it was comfortable and fun. As usual, I may have talked too much and laughed too loud, but I sure had a nice time because we were all laughing together.

There are some more sweet times to come as we spend today and tomorrow together as a family and then send Sam off on his mission on Tuesday. I should have lots of photos to post!

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Outside

It is finally starting to feel as if spring has properly come.

Yesterday I rode my bike to Savage Mill instead of driving and it was wonderful to feel that air blowing past my face again (especially since my hip didn't hurt a bit).
My wild hope, now that my only driving-around car is the truck, is to start running some local errands when I'm by myself on my bike. I set 5 miles on certain roads as my radius (pretty much meaning NOT Guilford Rd. between Vollmerhausen and Oakland Mills-scary).
LIbrary, post office, Weis, Harris Teeter, Savage Mill, here I come pedaling.
I'm even hoping to use our old kiddie-cart that we never got rid of to haul some groceries home occasionally.
We'll see. Me and my big plans.
But those gas station receipts  are making me really sad.

I found my first ever pair of cycling shoes that ACTUALLY FIT my feet.
You have no idea what a triumph this is. I have always loved riding my bike and ever since Eric taught me the power and efficiency of clip pedals (you can PULL up as well as PUSH down when you pedal), I've enjoyed riding that way but oh, those skinny little Italian racing shoes drive me nuts.  In recent years, there have been more sneaker-like shoes for mountain biking and commuters, but alas, still too narrow for my short fatties.

Leave it to KEEN to be my rescuer. I feel like they have a mold of my foot in their factory because all of their shoes just work for me, which is really saying something. When I found that they had cycling shoes, my heart leapt.  Now I can clip my feet to my pedals and yet still feel the blood pumping in my toes. Joy.

The yard and garden are wonderful right now-the weeds are small, the earth is damp, and the bugs are not too big and squishy yet. The peonies and roses have been glorious. The time spent patrolling and puttering is quiet and contemplative, but yet my mind is active because I'm thinking constantly of what comes next, what I need to do today, what I can change, etc.. I love the moments I can spend there.

Right now we are harvesting:
Spinach
Lettuce
Parsley
Thyme
Cilantro

In the summer we'll have:
Slicing tomatoes (brandywine)
Canning tomatoes (roma)
Grape Tomatoes
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Peppers
Cucumbers
Pod Peas
Green Beans
Carrots

Then hopefully in the fall we'll have:
Pumpkins
More lettuce and spinach
Broccoli

I hope you have some good outside times today!

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Better

I'm still fighting something, but I feel a bit better. I'm taking my vitamins and have tried to rest whenever I had the chance. I had a few commitments that were really important to me, so I was glad I felt good enough yesterday to make it through the day.

Yesterday morning the boys got back from their annual father-son campout with dramatically uncombed hair and smelling of smoke and trees and fresh air. I was especially happy to hear the stories of my big boys playing with the little boys-of Xavey and Daniel and Preston and other piling on top of Eric and Johnathan and Sam and Evan. It's one of those sweet I-must-have-done-something-right moments when I know that my kids' hearts are big enough to love other people's kids. It's important to me. I was loved by so many special adults and older kids and I remember how it felt to be important to someone who didn't actually have to love me, but instead chose to be my friend. 

After they got home I headed out to teach a sewing class for a group of women. I was expecting about 10 people for the class, so I printed handouts and designed the class for a medium group and even asked a friend to come help me teach. Only 2 people showed up for the actual class, plus 1 who came to sit and sew. I have to admit I was a bit  disappointed for a quick moment because of how hard I had worked to prepare. It was tempting to think that I could have been home in my bed instead of there teaching a class that didn't even bother to show up. But fortunately, I serve in church because I actually love these people as much as I love God and really, whether faith comes into it or not,  it's just one of those things that when you choose to volunteer for something, you have to give your all, even if it doesn't go the way you thought it would. Usually, something comes back to fill up any empty spaces you might feel. This happened for me almost immediately and the temptation passed quickly away--in fact it was a lovely afternoon. The 2 who were there to make the project I had prepared were friends that I really enjoyed spending the time with in a more personal way. My sweet friend Julia who came just to help me made me feel loved and valued by her willingness. I noticed that she got to spend some quality time with Deb who came just for the company and it was all very cozy. Lisa is a new friend and Brenda is moving away soon so it I'm truly glad it went this way and we got the chance to sit by each other and sew for 3 hours.

The afternoon was spent getting groceries for today's big birthday celebration for Sara, Sam and our pal Stephanie, then, with only a brief break to change my clothes the evening went toward helping out at a youth dance with kids from all over central Maryland. It reminded me of how much I love being among teens and seeing their goodness, even at a dance. It was so nice to chat with the girls from my congregation in a different setting than when we as leaders are trying to teach them or help them accomplish their various goals. It was good just to watch them play.

I got home tired but satisfied. This morning I slept a little late, got the cake made for the Birthday Trifle, and just finished giving the Birthday Ribs their rubdown with fragrant spices. I will pop them into a slow oven just before I leave for church. It will be another full day, but full of all the things that are important to me-family, friends, faith, learning, caring for my loved ones, hearing them laugh together, and all that.  So it can only be a good day.




Here's what I've been watching while I rested this week.

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Blegh

I came home from a youth activity last night, sat on my bed to wind down and fell asleep, in my clothes, glasses on, the whole bit. I proceeded to have bad dreams about all sorts of odd things and woke up feeling rotten, still with my glasses on my head. Head pounding, sore throat, body aching, swollen lymph nodes all over my body, tired beyond belief, etc. Yuck.  I suspect it is just allergies because I have no fever or anything, but man, talk about the proverbial freight train. I definitely feel like it just hit me.

Naturally I had a whole day planned and went through with some of the more important plans (thank you ibuprofen), which was a good thing, and I still have to get Ev to a PT appointment, but then I am crashing for the night. I'll put a frozen lasagna from my emergency stash into bake for dinner and Hit. The. Sack.

I will think about that blessed sensation and it will get me through the rest of the afternoon.

I say again, Blegh.

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