February 29

Once every four years this day comes along...it seems like there should be some type of celebration for this day. But no...it's just another day. It is very anti-climactic.

For me, today was just another get the kids out the door to school, go to yoga, pick up a prescription for Hannah, go to the grocery store, have tomato soup for lunch kind of day. Oh, I did manage to eat a hand full of Peanut M&Ms and wash a few loads of laundry. Nothing out of the ordinary, I wish I felt inspired to celebrate this leap year day with some fanfare. My mind is blank...the crock pot is cooking dinner, Hannah has a game tonight...it's just another day. When it comes around again...Hannah will be 18. Wow...now there's a sobering thought...time goes too fast. I better start planning now how to celebrate February 29 in 4 years. Hannah loves food so it will have to be Italian or Chinese since Cinco de Mayo celebrates with tacos and enchiladas. If I start now, it will be spectacular!

Thursday

I think my mind is turning to dust...before my body. I woke up the other night and couldn't sleep. I pondered events going on in life...big ones, little ones, and wrote a clever, funny blog in my mind while I lay there in the dark. I have completely forgotten the subject I decided to blog on...not even one of my observations is retained in my brain. I keep waiting for it to come back to me. It has been 3 days now...I think my thoughts are gone forever. Is this what growing old is like? If so, I'm not really a big fan of aging.

On the bright side, I just saw the sweetest sight...Matthew's bus pulled up at the same time his sister's let her off. He walked over to get her and they walked home side by side. They are sweet. I pray I remember their names at the end of today...Yes, my memory is fading that fast.

Atlanta Hockey

"He delights to show mercy." Micah 7:18

This past weekend was a horrible mess. I spent the weekend thinking "Why did I come?" I should have sent Greg and stayed home with Hannah. Later, my thinking became "We should have all stayed home. Greg and I should have went to our church's marriage conference. Why did I allow hockey to be a priority over our marriage?" I let myself think "It's the last weekend, I can see Karen..." Worldly thinking at best. Well, the weekend was a nightmare due to parent drama, the boys lost all of their games, and Karen didn't come after all. I drove home defeated. Wondering how can I be this old and involved in such stupid drama?  I prayed and prayed for a hockey family that thrives on drama to move, please move them God...take them away so we can enjoy hockey...Chicago was sooo much fun (they weren't there) and this weekend was an absolute horror film. I pity the refs, I pity the ice rink staff, I pity the coaches, and I pity the kids who see and feel the effects of bad parent behavior.

I woke up this morning resolved to put Greg in charge of all future hockey trips to stay away from this craziness...resolved to go to yoga...but for some reason, I paused and decided to watch our pastor's message from yesterday. It was an absolute life saver. Exactly what I needed to hear to take the focus off of how I feel and refocus it on doing what is right. Next year, we will put the brakes on whatever is taking place and attend the marriage conference. I will pray for the family that brings the drama. I will pray for next year's team. I will allow God to transform me and keep Him as my focus point and block out everything else that is going on around me.

I hate everything that happened this weekend but I know God allowed it. I know I have learned a bunch of lessons about life this weekend and I know I do not ever want to experience making choices without clearing it with God first...if I had prayed and not done it my way...

I am sharing the link for the message...perhaps you need a helping hand on relationships also...perhaps you might enjoy a laugh...Pastor Chris can pack deep wisdom with a laugh. It is a gift from God. Hallelujah.

 https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/uncommon-commitment

And if there is any doubt that God is omniscient...here is what was written on my cup from Chick fil A (I received it before going to the first game. I had to look up the verse "Cast all of your burdens upon Him because He cares for you.)

Perfect, no?

Greg had these waiting for me when I got home last night. Perfect, no?

Friends Divided

Nashville Predators v. Boston Bruins..Michael v. Matthew...Game on.

Matthew was invited to attend last night's game in Nashville. He was so excited. He had asked for tickets to see the Bruins play for his birthday but...he needed a new hockey travel bag...priorities. So why Matthew hung out in a box watching the Bruins play...I cleaned the toilets. Such is my life.

M and I are off to Atlanta today. I am so excited to see my bestie, Karen. The best thing about travel hockey in my opinion...catching up with friends and family. I may not get to vacation like my friends and my dream to see Europe will have to wait until the kids graduate college. But seeing Miss Karen, the Dearys, Mom and Brother...I'll take it.

So when Matthew graduates and his friends are getting cars and vacations, I will look at him and say "you've already lived the high life"...oh wait...I'll be using a walker by then...hmmm.

Well...it's Thursday

I am trying to catch up from Chicago (laundry, grocery shopping, dry cleaning, washing the car, etc. ) and suddenly, I realize "It's Thursday!" and I need to get ready to go to Georgia...tomorrow...yikes! It is entirely possible one suitcase still needs to be unpacked...I may just leave it and call myself packed...

This weekend, we are dividing and conquering...M and I go to Atlanta...H and Greg stay home. H has a few games and teacher assistant duties for the figure skating side of the Rink. Roo is helping with our church (Marriage Conference weekend and she is serving...Greg and I should probably be there but duty calls, so next year...this year I will miss the drive-in movies and jazz cafe'...sigh, that is a whole other subject so I will get back on track now)

I am taking the Atlanta trip and will sneak in a visit with my wonderful bestie and M is excited to get to sit in the front seat. It is the little things in life that make him happy. However, that could change...he is off to the Bruins and Preds game in Nashville tonight. He is going with his BFF, Michael, and they are sitting in a box. I am thinking he needs to serve at the Rescue Mission next weekend to keep perspective.

Actually, I am really excited my little guy gets to see the Bruins play tonight. He wanted tickets for his birthday but he also wanted a travel bag for hockey. He got the bag. (His coaches were giving him a hard time for having a bag that rolls so now he has the official travel bag that is carried on the shoulder. His coaches are happy. Personally, I prefer him pulling the Bruins bag behind him and save his shoulder...his shoulders will get quite a beating just from playing hockey, why add to the problem? What do I know? I am just a mom.)

So...next post...could be tomorrow...could be Saturday, might be next week.

On the road again...Sing with me...Just can't wait to get on the road again...

Home Sweet Home

After driving through 500'sh miles of snow, slush, rain, we have arrived at home. I love home. It has my bed...

Lots to write about...no time to write. Hannah has a skating lesson and a hockey game so I am going to throw some pictures up on here and hope something sticks.

Suffice it to say, it was a good weekend...even though we lost all of our games...we were down an entire line due to illness, a broken toe, and a game suspension...BUT the boys had fun, I got to see my family, and we had lots of time in the car to bond as a family.

One thing I hate about posting pictures on my blog...they never end up in the proper order...sorry...it is a potpourri of pictures...with no sequential order.

Museum of Science and Industry

Hannah and the tornado 

Touring a German Sub captured in WWII. H had the idea to see this. I love my otter daughter. She has the best ideas.

Chicago

Chicago, Chicago that toddling town
Chicago, Chicago I will show you around
I love it bet your bottom dollar you'll lose the blues in Chicago, Chicago
The town that Billy's Sunday couldn't shut down

The big hockey tournament is upon us. The house-sitter/cat-sitter is arranged (Roo). The laundry is washed (not packed...I'll get to that later). Matthew has been coached by classmates with darker melanin to call it "Shy Town" and not look black people in the eye or he will get shot...the silliness of 6th graders. Hannah is excited to go to the Holocaust Museum and see the German sub at the Museum of Science and Industry. (Greg is equally excited about the Science Museum) I am just thrilled at Hannah's interest in the Holocaust Museum and German Sub...she has inherited my love for history in addition to my blonde hair. It's a nice feeling.

The kids will get to meet their uncle and see their grandmother again. We will be probably get our butts kicked in hockey...but I think it will be a good long weekend all the way around...pictures will be posted as I get the opportunity...I hope...sometimes my phone doesn't like to release the picture to my blog...if that's the case, I'll post on Tuesday.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday and Today

How to commit the perfect yoga faux pas...weae silky undergarments with slippery leggings and those bottoms slide right down...Fortunately, I had a sweat jacket I could tie around my waist to prevent me from looking like a hoodlum with my pants below my bottom and my underwear hanging out for all the world to see. From now on, only cotton items should be worn while taking yoga. Lesson learned.

Today, big fluffy flakes are falling from the sky giving the world a peaceful ambiance. Unfortunately, there isn't supposed to be a lot of accumulation so off to school the kids go. Phew. (Yesterday, M was picking a fight with H and my crazy mom emerged. I decided to list M on eBay and return to my serene self...not really...but I did think about it.)

Sunday Funday

Sunday Funday lived up to its name... Sort of...M won his game, H cheered for the Special Olympics (Okay, she stinks as a cheerleader, she was on her phone when I went to get her picture) M excelled in his helping at the Special Olympics. Lauren rocked her baptism and brought her own Fan Club. I had a sick stomach all day but I hung in there, immediately switching to pajamas and a horizontal position with a book when I walked into my hermitage.

Posting pictures/video...my bed is calling my name and my stomach, eh...not so great...

I will share that I have now scratched 3 things off my "Bucket List." I learned how to do the scoresheet, work the penalty box, and last night I took on the clock. I don't like the clock...electronic devices and me go together like oil and water. My tutor was a bit late (she was across the street drinking beer...and didn't invite me...I guess the word is out I don't drink beer and two sips of wine is equivalent to three bottles of wine for someone else. I am a very cheap date. The other parent who is a clock master was not there...sigh. I could have used his help.

When my fearless leader was AWOL, one of the other parents tried to help me. To my relief, he was as clueless on how to enter the team names and such as I was. And in  my defense, I did go to YouTube on Friday to figure out clock details and score keeping...all I have to say is there is a lot of different types of clocks out there and Vermont has a screwy system for score keeping that involves math. No thanks, I'll just write the time of the penalty from the clock and skip the graph and subtraction.

The one video that fairly resembled our clock had no sound and was really dark. (Here I have to confess I thought I wasn't using YouTube correctly...then I read the nasty comments and realized it was not a blonde operator user error, it was a really bad video that should be removed.) Back to Laurel and Hardy and the clock set-up, He read the complex instructions, I pushed buttons. I have no idea how we did it but I did get the scoreboard set up correctly. After that, my tutorial was fairly uneventful until the last few minutes when the opposing team scored a goal with an empty net and I made the mistake of looking over to see how to enter it on the scoresheet...the puck was dropped and I didn't start the clock fast enough for the Atlanta parent working their penalty box. As if we were going to score 4 goals in those 2 1/2 seconds (he insisted it was 20 seconds but considering the puck only moved about 2 feet, I took umbrage with his accusation). And due to the...gosh, I can't think of a sufficient word to describe the Atlanta parent...let's just call him the, oh never mind,

Suffice it to say, my order of preference for helping is 1. Sin Bin 2. Scoresheet and 3. the clock and the clock only if every other parent is missing from the Rink due to a Zombie Apocalypse.

I think I need to dream bigger for my "Bucket List" in the future.

Sweet Dreams, my bed is calling my name...loudly.

You call this cheerleading??? Hang up the phones!

Warming up...the videos all loaded out of order...and I'm going to bed so I refuse to fix this...

 Yes, I steal peoples' posts with a screenshot...they write much nicer things than I do

I will admit the baptism was the highlight of my weekend. Two years ago, I tried bribing Roo with a free lunch to get her to come to church with us...her brother and sister were relentless. Roo even said "The Mormons have nothing on those two" after one of their pesterings...look at her now! My heart is full. I believe I mentioned the bucket list...my real life dream is a row at church filled with my children, their spouses, and their children and Sunday dinner together...a simple dream, I know. It is my idea of a Sunday Funday though...