Friday, August 01, 2008
Winners, Summer and Back to School Musings....
Well, the three winners for Fairy Foals were randomly picked today, over at Five Minutes for Books. Congrats to #36, Rhonda Mason, #17, Tangie and #26, Elizabeth. Hope you enjoy the book - I sure did. Happy news - I was contacted today to do another review for Sourcebooks, who published Fairy Foals. This time they're sending me a non-fiction book about a little autistic boy and his dog. I'm excited to have it arrive in my mailbox and jump into reading it. Again, they're going to give away several copies so watch for that in early September.
So August has arrived, the last month of summer. Walking the aisles of Walmart, or really any other store, I'm seeing school supply lists next to boxes of crayons, pencils, notebooks in every color under the sun, and of course, that real pocketbook drainer - the kid going to college who happens to need a small fridge, organizers, bedding, etc. etc. etc. Seeing parents getting their kids ready for school always brings back sweet memories, of our own kids, and even of my own school days. Seeing parents pushing carts with hundreds of dollars of supplies, and petulant older teens walking alongside makes me happy to be at this stage of life. I always feel like we got a raise this time of year, for all the stuff we don't have to buy! The first day of school when all those kids will bring home slips of paper with lists of all the lab fees, yearbook fees, club fees - goodnight, how did we ever pay for all that? But I do still love those boxes of 64 crayons with the cool sharpener in the front.
Our next door neighbor of twelve years phoned me last week, and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Bev, when you had a son who was 19, did you want to kill him most of the time?" When I told her absolutely, and that now he takes days of vacation and spends his own money to come and see us, she said, "then you're saying someday it's going to be okay?" "Right, someday it's going to be just fine." Still makes me glad we made it through those days, and are into the time of smooth sailing, when they've grown up and become friends.
We're busy this weekend with the usual stuff of summer, getting the house ready to be painted next week, mowing grass, weeding flowers, then company over for pizza and wings, and probably a lot of laughter and fun while we're at it. Sunday we're headed to the last performance of 'Annie Get Your Gun', playing at Pittsburgh's Benendum Theater - am I blessed to have a DH who actually enjoys going to a corny musical now and then, or what?! After a day or so of chores around the house it sounded like a nice ending to the weekend.
And finally, a week from today, just about this time, we'll be landing in Dallas for a week of house hunting. We've got three realtors at four lakes lined up to show us about twenty homes. Looking at all those houses online, I find myself wondering, 'will that house feel like the place to come home to for our kids?' 'Is that house the right one for us to make all those new memories in?' Memories of summers with lawn mowing, weeding, company over for pizza and wings, and even better yet - bringing home new grandbabies, or grown up grandkids, new friends, old friends... Is one of those homes the place where all of that will happen?
I don't know, but then the joy is in the journey - I need reminders of that now and then. Don't get in a hurry or I'll miss the joys that are still here, right now, at the end of this summer season. One day at a time, for all of us, even those with petulant, older teens getting ready to leave the nest.
So August has arrived, the last month of summer. Walking the aisles of Walmart, or really any other store, I'm seeing school supply lists next to boxes of crayons, pencils, notebooks in every color under the sun, and of course, that real pocketbook drainer - the kid going to college who happens to need a small fridge, organizers, bedding, etc. etc. etc. Seeing parents getting their kids ready for school always brings back sweet memories, of our own kids, and even of my own school days. Seeing parents pushing carts with hundreds of dollars of supplies, and petulant older teens walking alongside makes me happy to be at this stage of life. I always feel like we got a raise this time of year, for all the stuff we don't have to buy! The first day of school when all those kids will bring home slips of paper with lists of all the lab fees, yearbook fees, club fees - goodnight, how did we ever pay for all that? But I do still love those boxes of 64 crayons with the cool sharpener in the front.
Our next door neighbor of twelve years phoned me last week, and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Bev, when you had a son who was 19, did you want to kill him most of the time?" When I told her absolutely, and that now he takes days of vacation and spends his own money to come and see us, she said, "then you're saying someday it's going to be okay?" "Right, someday it's going to be just fine." Still makes me glad we made it through those days, and are into the time of smooth sailing, when they've grown up and become friends.
We're busy this weekend with the usual stuff of summer, getting the house ready to be painted next week, mowing grass, weeding flowers, then company over for pizza and wings, and probably a lot of laughter and fun while we're at it. Sunday we're headed to the last performance of 'Annie Get Your Gun', playing at Pittsburgh's Benendum Theater - am I blessed to have a DH who actually enjoys going to a corny musical now and then, or what?! After a day or so of chores around the house it sounded like a nice ending to the weekend.
And finally, a week from today, just about this time, we'll be landing in Dallas for a week of house hunting. We've got three realtors at four lakes lined up to show us about twenty homes. Looking at all those houses online, I find myself wondering, 'will that house feel like the place to come home to for our kids?' 'Is that house the right one for us to make all those new memories in?' Memories of summers with lawn mowing, weeding, company over for pizza and wings, and even better yet - bringing home new grandbabies, or grown up grandkids, new friends, old friends... Is one of those homes the place where all of that will happen?
I don't know, but then the joy is in the journey - I need reminders of that now and then. Don't get in a hurry or I'll miss the joys that are still here, right now, at the end of this summer season. One day at a time, for all of us, even those with petulant, older teens getting ready to leave the nest.
Labels: Glimpse of the Heart
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