We were at the lake

It seemed like my little vacation was never going to start. I was off work as of Wednesday, but because none of the kids could arrange their work schedules to be off any sooner than “early” on Friday, Mark and I decided not to leave until Friday either. There was much that could be accomplished at home in the meantime.

I spent most of Wednesday cleaning my parents’ house while it rained all day long, and then came home to do some cooking. On Thursday Mark and I finished the big “closet purge and reorganization” project, otherwise known as “nearly divorce court.” I had begun this enormous task the previous weekend and it ended leaving Mark and I feeling seriously fed up with each other. But the closets are clean and organized, the Goodwill has been well-stocked with everything we decided we could live without, and Mark and I are on speaking terms again. When Friday finally arrived, I planned to pack my bag for the weekend and make sure my own house was clean. (I hate going away and coming home to a dirty house. It must be cleaned before we go.)

My plans were slightly waylaid by the demise of the dryer on Friday morning. Mark did some investigating and quickly learned that it wasn’t worth the cost of replacing the motor. The dryer was very old and had been repaired many times. It already had more features that no longer functioned than ones that did. So a trip to the appliance store was squeezed in and I quickly picked out a new dryer. My only requirements were that it be large capacity and that the buzzer that signals the end of a dry-cycle could be turned off. (Day sleeper in the house!) I found one for a reasonable price and we were out the door within twenty-minutes with the promise of delivery for the following Tuesday.

Mark, Kacey and Connor headed for the lake not long after our visit to the appliance store. Brad and Heather left Fargo not long afterwards and began their drive to the cabin. I worked on the remaining laundry at home, shuttling loads over to my parents’ house to use their dryer. I finished cleaning, baked cookies and packed my bags. I checked the house over to make sure it was in good shape to be unattended for the weekend, double checked my packing to make sure I had everything I needed, and when Jake still wasn’t home from work, I went to the gas station to fill up the gas tank and get a car wash. Jake finally came home, about an hour and a half later than he had hoped, and he, Lucy and I hit the road just in time for the Friday afternoon rush hour.

The first hour of our drive was frustrating, but then the road opened up and we were really on our way. Jake had insisted on driving, so I got to kick back and relax in the passenger seat, helping navigate now and then. We talked, sang along to our favorite country songs, and enjoyed the scenery while Lucy alternately slept in the back seat or watched the scenery pass by out the windows. We made a stop at McDonald’s for some food and  to let Lucy out to stretch her legs and attend to other business. We finally made it to the cabin by 8:30 Friday night where everyone else was waiting for us.

And I was so exhausted that I was in bed and sleeping by ten o’clock!

We were all up early on Saturday morning, thanks to two dogs who were not only excited to be together, but to be in a place so full of new things to explore. I swear, Lucy and Dakotah were like a couple of toddlers, running from one place to the next and investigating every new taste and smell. And we, their people… we played right into it and catered to the dogs’ every whim. What can I say? They make us laugh and they reward us with complete adoration. How can we help ourselves?

The weather was beautiful and we spent much time sitting down on the new dock. The kids fished for hours and for once, the fish were biting. The dogs were fascinated by the water and the way the waves lapped up to the dock, by the fish that were being pulled from the lake and just happy to hang out with their people. Lucy still can’t be trusted not to run off, so we kept her on a leash whenever we were outside. But on the dock, she could be off leash as she quickly proved she wouldn’t leave it if any one of her people were there.

Dakotah practiced retrieving her “dummy” from the water. Heather would throw it into the lake and Dakotah would launch herself in after it, grasping it in her mouth and returning it to Heather. Lucy was fascinated and she clearly wanted a chance to give this dummy thing a try. Seeing as how she’s had very little exposure to water (except for her pool on the deck,) we took it easy at first. Heather threw the dummy just off the shore and Lucy would jump in and grab it and proudly walk it back to Heather on shore. After several attempts, Mark suggested that Heather challenge Lucy and make her swim for it. So the dummy was thrown a little further this time and Lucy heaved herself into the lake and began to walk out to the dummy. When the water became deeper than Lucy was tall… she went under water!

We all gasped, momentarily panicked, although anyone of us could have hopped in and grabbed her. But just as quickly, Lucy turned around, resurfaced and looked at us as if to say, “Where did the bottom go?”

We all cooed at her and patted her wet head and told her what a brave girl she was. Then Brad suddenly remembered something. “Oh, yeah,” he said! “I forgot that I had to teach Dakotah how to swim her first time! I’ll go put my swim trunks in and show Lucy how it’s done.” Before long, Brad was in the water, with Lucy in his arms. She was none too keen on going back in, but she let Brad hold her up in the water and within seconds, her little paws were paddling and she swam herself back to shore. We all cheered like the bunch of dog-loving doofuses that we are and I swear I saw Lucy smiling from ear to ear!

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When it was too dark to fish on the dock and the mosquitoes threatened to eat us alive, we’d head back to the cabin and watch funny movies that we’ve all seen a million times and we’d say the lines right along with the characters and crack ourselves up all over again. We slept at night on the ancient mattresses with dogs wandering from room to room all night long, unable to decide which people they wanted to snooze with. But we didn’t mind about the mattresses and the dogs, because we were at the lake, where everything slows down and there’s very little that has to be done at any specific time.

In the mornings we ate big breakfasts, like pancakes and eggs and French toast. For dinner, we grilled steaks over charcoal and buttterflied them for steak sandwiches which we ate with Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms, onions and steak sauce. Everything tastes better when you’re not watching the clock and you’ve got nowhere else to go and most importantly, you’re sharing a meal with the people you love.

The weekend, of course came to an end much too quickly. The kids wished out loud that the weekend could go just a little bit longer. It just wasn’t long enough. I felt the very same way and proposed that we start planning now for next year. And let’s make it a whole week next time. There was a chorus of agreement as we hugged Brad and Heather goodbye and headed back home.

Vacations are just never quite long enough. Guess that’s why we love them so much.

Recharged

We had a great weekend at the lake. The weather was beautiful! My kids had fun with each other, which is always such a joy to witness. They fished together, watched movies, talked with and teased one another. And there was so much laughter.  We played games and ate meals together and slept as much as we wanted.

The weekend was pure joy for Lucy Pie and Dakotah too!

It was just what I needed – a chance to be with the ones I love, a chance to take a breather from everyday life.

I took about 300 pictures. More coming soon!

 

Wasted

Yesterday was the most beautiful summer-like day. I’ve been waiting for a day like this for what seems like an eternity. It was perfect. Perfect cerulean skies with just a sprinkling of gauzy white clouds that didn’t stand a chance of getting between the sun’s rays and where I am. Perfectly warm … but not too much. The kind of day when the windows could be open, letting a light breeze carry in the scent of cut grass and the chirping of birds.

And I was home for it. By some stroke of luck, the handful of days I’d chosen to spend away from the office happened to land on this perfect day.

Except I didn’t even really notice it. I couldn’t see it until now. And now it’s gone.

See, I have this bad habit of saddling myself with every worry, every irritation, every little hurt until they are all I can see and all I can feel.  I know I should let go but instead I grip all this sh*t tightly and carry it around with me until I’m beyond miserable and so is everyone around me. So some things have gone wrong over the past week. And some things just haven’t gone the way I’d like them to over the past few months. And some days I give in to the temptation to keep heaping every unfair thing onto a pile and hauling it around with me.

Which is what I did yesterday.

I was relieved to go to bed last night and just escape my self-imposed misery. I slept with the window open, the only drawback of which was that I had forgotten how loud the train’s whistle sounds in the dead of night. And normally that’s a sound I take comfort in, except when it brings me back to that place of worry and anger and hurt and then I can’t get back to sleep because I can’t shut off my mind again.

And so there I am at three in the morning wondering what kind of things a person can do around the house that won’t wake up everyone else and make them think you’re a total lunatic for not going back to bed. Turns out there’s not much. But there is the internet. The internet’s a pretty quiet thing and not likely to alert anyone to the fact that I might be just slightly off my rocker. Turns out the internet is a pretty good place to find reminders that all that worry and anger and giving up a gorgeous day to self-pity? … Completely wasted and pointless effort. Turns out that in spite of all the sh*t … even the one thing that I can’t fix … it’s just not that big of a deal, really. I mean it is, but…

I’m going up north sometime today… as soon as a few things can be resolved or I can at least put a band-aid on them. All of our kids will be there and we’ll have a couple of days to be with each other … without the constant drone of alarm clocks and suburb noise and cable t.v. and ringing telephones. We’ll have a dock to sit on and a beautiful lake to look at and really bad beds to sleep in. But that’s beside the point. And with any luck, it won’t rain the whole time we’re there and we’ll probably get to go fishing and we’ll definitely get to enjoy a few meals together, watch some late night movies and just be us for a while before we go back to the real world.

We’re all okay. We’re not sick. We have a place to call home and we have plenty to eat. All the other sh*t will work itself out eventually.

It’s still dark at the moment, so I don’t know if I’ll be graced with another beautiful day like yesterday. But if I am, I won’t forget to appreciate this one.

Out of Office

I took some time off from work this week. I’m going to spend a couple of days at home catching up and taking care of some things for my parents, then spend some time at the lake with my family. I know I need the break because even a few days of chores before going off to play sounds appealing to me. Today was my last day in the office until next Monday. Woot! Woot!

The company I work for was recently purchased by another company and we are now a subsidiary. My coworkers and I have all had to learn to adapt to change, which has come in waves over the last few months. Last week, our computers were moved from our old network to the new company’s network. There are many positive changes, but everything looks, feels and behaves differently than I’m used to. It seems to take me three times as long to do the same work. I know I’ll find my groove soon enough, but sometimes it’s hard to be patient. Thankfully, we are all given as much leeway as we need to figure out the new stuff.

This afternoon, as I was winding down for the day and getting ready to head home, I remembered that I wanted to turn on my out-of-office message so that any clients trying to contact me over the next few days would know that I was unavailable for the remainder of the week. But when I clicked the option to compose a message, I received an error stating that the action couldn’t be completed because the server was down. Of course, I didn’t believe the error message, so I checked with a coworker to see if she would have the same problem. She didn’t. Her out-of-office message assistant worked just fine.

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One of the really nice perks of working for this new company is that they have a phenomenal help desk. All I have to do is dial a four-digit extension and someone is there to help me with whatever problem I might have. I don’t even have to identify myself. The help desk knows who is calling! So I called to ask for help with my out-of-office problem and I was assisted by a very nice guy named Tom.

Tom asked permission to remote into my computer and I handed over control. He looked around at my settings, tried various things, shut down Outlook and opened it up again, all to no avail. He created a new email profile to see if the out-of-office assistant would function, but that didn’t work either. He explained what he was doing and proposed various theories as he searched for an answer. He really seemed to know what he was doing, even though he couldn’t find an immediate answer to my problem. He then asked what time I was done for the day. “About ten minutes ago,” I said.

“Oh, well then,” he replied. “I’m here late tonight, so I can probably get it figured out before I go home. Once I know what the problem is, I’ll get in touch with you so you can test it to make sure it’s fixed. What time will you be in tomorrow?”

“I won’t be. Actually,” I said, “I’ll be … out of the office … tomorrow…?”

I swear I heard him slap himself on the forehead. Of course,” he said! “Hence the reason for your call!”

“Uh-huh,” I laughed. I assured Tom that I could probably survive without the out-of-office auto reply this time and that I would connect with him again on Monday, when I’m back in the office.

At least all this change and frustration comes with some laughs.

An Author in the Family

My cousin, Mike wrote a book. And I am just so proud of him! When my mom called to tell me that Mike was a newly published author, I wasn’t surprised.  For as long as I can remember, Mike has been a talented musician who plays more instruments than I can count. He’s a singer too. And a songwriter. And a sign painter. Suffice it to say that Mike is very artistic and creative. So it only made sense that he’d written a book.

Stranger in a Small Town is about a high school boy, Chris, who has lived all of his young life in New York City. When Chris’ father accepts a job transfer, his family is forced to relocate to a small town in Iowa. Chris has to learn to face his insecurities and adapt to small town life in place that feels completely foreign to him in comparison to the big city life to which he’s so accustomed. The story provides an inspiring message for young and old alike. Be yourself and be proud of who you are. You never know what good things might come when you are true to yourself.

Stranger in a Small Town is a great read for young adults, but adults will enjoy it too. (Face it. We’ve all been through the high school experience. We can relate!) And it’s a nice, relaxing read. I bought and downloaded a copy to my Nook one evening and finished it the next morning. I could see a lot of Mike’s personality in the character of Chris, especially in regards to his passion for music. And anyone who reads this will see familiar faces in the friends Chris makes in his new neighborhood and at school.

To be honest, I was a little jealous that my cousin had published a book. I love to write. For a while, I thought maybe I might someday write a book. Then I convinced myself that I am not the kind of writer who writes a book. And besides, you must have a story idea to write a book. I’ve never had one. I decided that I’m the kind of writer that simply journals about my life and my days. And that was that. Besides, there’s my job to think about. And the family. And a household to keep up. Who has time to write a book?

Apparently Mike has time, and he managed to write a book while juggling his music, job, family and household. I never even tried to write something more than a blog post. Maybe I could. Maybe I can’t. Really, it might not be a bad idea to try to find out for sure. And that’s what Mike’s book is all about. It’s about putting energy into the things you love to do (whether those things are “cool” to anyone else or not) and how it’s almost inevitable that more and bigger opportunities to improve and use those talents will come along.

So Mike has inspired me. Maybe I’ll think about what would make a good book and at least give it a try. Vampires? Wizards? Nah. Been done. 50 Shades of… nope. Scratch that.  How about zombies? Nah. Already in the works. Organ donation? Bowling….? Heyyy! Now there are a couple of ideas! So while I start thinking about that…. You go read Mike’s book. (You can pick up a copy here, here or here. And read about Mike and how he decided to write a book and what it felt like here.) And whether you do that or not, follow Mike’s lead. Go throw yourself into something you love. You’ll be happy you did.

The Mystery of the Mint Oreo

It was a dark and stormy night.

Okay, so it was dark because the sun went down. And it wasn’t exactly stormy but it was probably raining off and on because it did that a lot last week.

Mark and Jake had already been gone for a few days, off fishing with Brad and a group of other dads and sons. It had been a long day at work and I was happy it was Friday with an entire weekend stretching out ahead of me. Kacey was off on a date with Connor and I had the house and the Netflix menu all to myself.

I was immersed in an episode of my latest Netflix addiction. This one has eight or so seasons, so no chance of running out of things to watch anytime soon. I was prepared to watch until I could no longer keep my eyes open. Suddenly, as so often happens in the evenings when I’ve settled in and relaxed, a sugar craving struck me. The food supplies had dwindled. They don’t last long with an extra kid home for the summer along with her boyfriend who all but lives here. But I was pretty sure there was still a package of Mint Oreos hanging around. I paused my show and wandered into the kitchen to go forage in the snack cupboard where I discovered there were, in fact, a good supply of the mint-creme filled sandwich cookies.

I grabbed a few and headed back to my comfy chair in the living room, diving right back into my show. I enjoyed my first cookie in two bites. YUM! I do love Mint Oreos. And very quickly after the first was gone, took a bite out of the second cookie. As I was immersed in the drama on television, it took me a moment to realize that something was not right with the cookie. It didn’t immediately break apart as I bit into it. There seemed to be a reluctance on the part of the creme filling to separate in half. It was almost as if the filling had hardened into a leathery, fruit roll-up type substance. It occurred to me that something wasn’t right and I lunged out of the chair and straight to the kitchen wastebasket, spitting the remains of my cookie into the trash. I was vaguely aware that I should probably throw the remainder of the package away too, or at least inspect the cookies to see if we got a bad batch, but I was lured back to my show and the cookies went forgotten for the time being. Sometime later that evening, I awoke in my comfy chair having fallen asleep in the midst of another episode. I dragged myself to bed and didn’t think about the cookies again.

Saturday arrived and I was busy. I started my day with a walk outside with Lucy. Then I cleaned house and did laundry and finally showered sometime after noon. I was just getting ready to dry my hair when Connor arrived to hang out with Kacey. As boys his age often are, he was hungry. He knows where to find the frozen pizza and he took one out and preheated the oven.

Connor was finishing his pizza just about the time my hair was dried and I was presentable to leave the house. I announced that I was going to pick up a few necessities at Target. Kacey said, “I’ll go with you.”

I looked at Connor, wondering if he would tag along too, but he informed me he would stay at the house and keep Lucy company while we picked up what we needed. I’m sure his stomach needed a rest anyway after he had eaten almost an entire pizza on his own. Kacey and I weren’t gone long and were back home again within a half hour. As we were unpacking our purchases, Connor watched a ball game on t.v.

“Hey,” he said, getting our attention. “Did either of you two happen to eat a Mint Oreo that tasted kind of funny?”

“No, why,” Kacey asked?

“Maybe,” I said, eyeing Connor with suspicion. “I had a couple of cookies last night. One of them didn’t feel right so I spit it out before I could taste it.” As I was talking, it was dawning on me that Connor definitely knew something about the funky cookie. He loves to play practical jokes, especially on Kacey and Mark.

“Connor, what did you do?”  I was suddenly very creeped out with the fear of what he could possibly have done to that cookie. I had put it in my mouth! I couldn’t even imagine what he might have done and why, but I was assuming the worst.

“Connor Dane, YOU TELL ME RIGHT NOW!” Connor was looking sheepish while simultaneously trying to hide his smile and I couldn’t help but laugh. I was hit with the full realization that Connor had somehow tampered with one of the cookies. He must have checked the package of cookies while we were gone and saw that someone had fallen victim to his prank.

Connor was fast-talking now, trying to justify what he had done. “I thought Mark was the only one who ate Mint Oreos…”

Kacey interjected, “My dad is probably the only one who doesn’t eat Mint Oreos!”

Connor continued, “So I opened up one of the cookies and squeezed toothpaste into it. Then I put it back together and stuck it in the middle of the package.” (The cookies were gone just about to the middle of the package when I had taken a few. I definitely got the toothpaste cookie.)

“CONNOR,” I yelled with mock indignation. “You are SO lucky I didn’t actually eat that cookie!”

“Yeah, Connor,” Kacey chimed in! “What were you thinking?” My dad’s gone for five days! Next time you try to play a trick on him, you might want to make sure he’s actually here to be your victim.”

Clearly, Connor is not a very smart practical joker, but we love him so I’ll forgive him. Mark got a good laugh when he heard how I’d become the unsuspecting victim of the ridiculous prank. As for me, just as soon as I can figure out how to make Connor unknowingly eat a brussels sprout, I will consider us even!

Finally, the Sun!

The weekend weather was beautiful, almost as if we were being rewarded for putting up with a week of clouds and rain. When I opened my eyes Saturday morning, bright sunshine was peeking around the edges of the pleated shade in my bedroom window. There was only one thought on my mind and that was to get out there! I brushed my teeth and pulled on a pair of my workout capris. Lucy seemed to understand by the way I was dressed that I was going outside and she did not want to be left behind. She sat whining by the front door until I slipped her harness over her head and hooked on her leash. Then she pulled me out the door and took me for a walk.

It was glorious! The sun was such a welcome sight and the scent of lilacs filled the air. Lucy raced along sniffing the ground every inch of the way. We crossed paths with other walkers and runners. And I realized how friendly morning people are. Everyone greeted us with a smile and a cheerful “good morning!”

Up in the northern part of the state, the wind was making it difficult to take a boat out on Lake of the Woods. The fishermen opted to call it quits a day early rather than sit around in their rented cabins wishing they were fishing. Mark called to tell me they were heading home and should be back by dinner time. But they weren’t feeling sorry for themselves. They caught their limit of fish and had some great father-son bonding time.

The mighty fishermen

By the time I’d finished my chores on Saturday afternoon, the clouds had returned and temperatures had dropped. It was early evening before the guys got back home and by then, it was raining off and on, but we weren’t upset. The weatherman had promised that Sunday would be the best day of the weekend.

And it was. Lucy and I again started the morning with an early walk. She is so fun to watch as we travel along our route. She’s like a curious toddler, not wanting to miss a thing. There are so many scents to sniff and so many other dogs out greeting Lucy as she walks by. On our way back home today, there was a Rat Terrier barking from behind a chain link fence. He jumped furiously to get our attention, as if his barking weren’t enough! He launched himself in the air with all four feet, his body remaining level while he sailed upward and his head bypassed the top of the fence. Over and over he jumped, trying to get Lucy’s attention. He was such a funny and impressive sight!

Later in the day, I had lunch with my pal, Rose. Rose and I first met when we were six years old and have managed to stay connected all these years. Lately though, we’ve been more likely to communicate over email than in person. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. So we scheduled a lunch date, with no real plan as to where to go until this morning.  I suggested we go to Stillwater, a neighboring city full of history. We ate our lunch at a crowded outdoor restaurant with a view of the St. Croix River. Afterwards, we wandered the streets of downtown Stillwater among crowds of other Sunday visitors, browsing antique stores and talking non-stop for several hours. Before we headed home again, we walked along the river, making our way back to the car.

Boaters waiting for the lift bridge to rise

Lifelong friends

We’ve been waiting for a day like this for so long. And it was amazing!

 

A Week of Rain

Kacey had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. When asked what she wanted for her gift, she said shoes. She’d had her eye on a particular pair for quite a while. We had to order them online to get the exact style she was looking for. When they were delivered to our front door a few days later, she squealed in delight.

The weather has been full of rain. The new shoes sit in their box on Kacey’s bedroom floor, not yet worn. She says that she has wanted these shoes for so long that she refuses to take a chance on getting them wet and ruining them. She’s sprayed them three times with waterproofer. Still, she’s taking no chances until things start to dry out.

All week long, the skies have been gray. The sun comes out here and there, but mostly its dull skies, thick clouds and rain. The wind blows endlessly, tree branches swaying side to side, back and forth. Pink crab apple tree blossoms past their prime  float away in the wind, dropping like snow onto the pavement. When I open the patio door to let Lucy out in the mornings, the wooden deck and backyard grass are still soaked from the nighttime rains.

Today there was bright sunshine streaming down from a sky that felt heavy. The wind refused to die down. After noon, weather reports warned of heavy storms in nearby areas.  I worried about Lucy at home all alone. Poor dog  is afraid of thunder! But by the time I got home from work, the sun was still shining, the wind was still blowing, and the heavy stoneware vase on the front step was laying on its side, shattered. I salvaged the decorative branches that had filled it and tucked them away in the garage. I scooped up the landscaping rocks that had added weight to the vase and tossed them back into the front garden, then picked up all the broken pieces and dumped them in the trash barrel.

Kacey came home from work as I was wandering the back yard with Lucy, tossing her ball, patting her head, and asking her why she keeps sneaking into the tomato garden. (She offered no reasonable explanation.) I joined Kacey up on the deck and we watched big puffs of clouds clump together and sail across the sky, moved along by the persistent wind. I asked, “Tacos for dinner?” She said, “Yeah, that sounds good.”

I chopped onions and tomato at the kitchen counter while the ground beef defrosted in the microwave. Kacey sat at the table and chatted with me while I got the fixings ready. The kitchen radio was tuned in to the Country station and we sang along. Baby you’re a song… You make me wanna roll my windows down … and cruise…  We got a little loud and too late, remembered we had slid the patio door open to let in some fresh air. I wondered if the neighbors had heard us from where they sat out on their deck. They probably think we’re weird. Oh well.

I heard about Kacey’s work adventures while I fried the meat at the stove. Lucy scratched the screen door to go out and then remembering she missed her people, scratched it again to come in. Kacey absently reached for the door and accommodated Lucy each time. Darn dog is wearing holes in that screen.

I was putting the taco seasoning into the ground beef when there came a frantic plea from the dog to be let back in. Kacey slid the door open once more and said, “Hey, it’s raining out!” But the sun was still shining brilliantly. Lucy doesn’t like to be rained on, but Kace and I stepped outside to marvel at the sunshower that was happening in our neighborhood. It was a quick, little shower and by the time we sat down to our taco dinner, the sky had turned threatening.

The heavy rain came then, splattering off the canvas canopy on the deck and forcing us to crank shut the living room windows. Lucy warily watched the drops pelting off the deck. The rain was keeping her away from her playground and she wasn’t happy. It was over though, by the time we cleaned up dinner. There were still some interesting looking clouds up in the sky, but the worst of it was over. I realized then how green all the yards are. The grass is lush, the trees are full. And there was a hint of a rainbow to the east.

The weekend is here. There’s more rain in the forecast for Saturday, but Sunday holds the promise of sunshine. Finally, maybe, a nice day to enjoy being outside and celebrating spring! And maybe Kacey can finally wear her new shoes!

While the boys are gone fishin’

I bowled last night, really badly. I would mentally go over all of the mechanics of throwing my ball, position my feet in my spot, stay low, roll the ball forward while following through, hit my mark… Everything should have been perfect, right? Or at least respectable, right?

But it was far from perfect. I can’t tell you how many times I watched my ball head for the pocket, just where I wanted it, and then it would suddenly hook in the opposite direction. Instead of hitting the head pin and taking down the rest of the pins, I was hitting the ten pin. Or worse, landing the ball in the gutter. At one point, I stood there after throwing my ball, just looking down the lane and thinking, “How in the heck did I even make the ball do that?”

Almost to the end of our first game, I threw up my hands in defeat, looked at my teammate, Preacher Dave as if it was his fault and said, “I give up. I hate this game!” Dave said, “No you don’t. And lemme see your ball.”

He inspected it quickly while I pouted and in an exasperated voice, informed me, “Your fingertips are coming loose.” (Fingertips are rubber inserts that fit inside the finger holes.) I was aware of their looseness, but had simply been pushing them back down in the holes for several weeks with no ill effects. But last night, they began inching up over the edge of the finger holes, enough that my ball went sailing in the other direction when it rolled over them. I got the guy in the pro shop to glue them back in after game one. He brought it back to me in time for game two, told me I should be good for the night, but to come in early next week to get new ones put in. I then threw two strikes right off the bat! Too bad I didn’t realize this before I threw my first game in the trash! BUT… as always, I had fun. And that’s all that matters. (Translation: We lost.)

Meanwhile, Mark and the boys have gone off on a man vacation. They’re spending a few days fishing on Lake of the Woods, way up north where I suspect it’s still cold. I suspect that because Brad sent pictures and in them, it looks cold!  But it seems apparent that there is some male bonding going on as evidenced by the good humor being displayed by the subjects in the photos.

Brad says: “Dad’s fish… Excuse me… Dad’s sorry excuse for a fish.”

Brad says: “Jake’s fish. Look, I got him to smile and show his teeth!”

Jake is smiling! With his teeth and all! I know he’s having fun if he’s smiling with his teeth.

Kacey and I didn’t get to go on a vacation this week. We’re consoling ourselves by eating pancakes for dinner, watching girl shows on Netflix and we’ll probably throw in a little retail therapy for good measure. Maybe I should buy a new bowling ball.

Memorial Day Weekend

While many take advantage of the three-day break to go off and celebrate the unofficial start of summer, my time is being spent at home. Mark is on the night shift this weekend, otherwise we might have gone up north to his parents’ cabin at the lake. But the weather hasn’t been very cooperative as far as outdoor activities go. It’s been overcast, chilly, and raining off and on. If we were at the lake, I’d want to be outside, sitting on the dock dipping my toes or tossing out a line in the hopes of catching a fish. With this kind of weather, I’d have been cooped up inside the cabin anyway. I could have read books to my heart’s content or watched a string of movies, but I know in the back of my mind I would have been thinking of all the more productive things I could have been doing instead.

I took the absence of any kind of weekend celebration as an opportunity to catch up on things around the house. And I needed to. The natural order of the household has shifted lately. This seems to be due to the combination of Jake having a new job, Kacey returning home from school for the summer, and visits from Brad and Heather (plus dog) several weekends in a row. All of these things make me very happy, but the state of the house has suffered as a result. I start to get a little crazy when the house is a wreck and I can’t relax until things are at least somewhat back in control.

So I’ve been cleaning, tackling a mountain of laundry, putting stray belongings back in their places. The week’s grocery shopping is done. I did some cooking and delivered meals to my parents and to Mark’s. We’ve had family dinners at home all weekend long. (I love it when Connor joins us for dinner. Last night he ate three of the steaks I grilled and couldn’t stop telling me how good my twice-baked potatoes were.) I’ve enjoyed the comings and goings of all of my kids. Maybe except for the time when Lucy woke me from a sound sleep while barking excitedly at the sound of someone tiptoeing in the door after an evening out with friends. I guess I should be grateful for her guard-dog skills.

Kacey, Connor, Mark and I watched a movie together - Pitch Perfect, about a group of college girls who compete as an a capella singing group. The movie provided an abundance of juvenile humor, including a couple of scenes involving vomit that I could have done without. But it made me laugh and the musical scenes were energetic and fun. And it didn’t hurt that the movie gave a shout-out to the John Hughes feel-good movies that I used to love so much. Still do, actually.

The sun has been scarce this weekend, but the rain hasn’t been much so far. (Today could be a different story.) Many of the neighbors have been out working on their yards. The grass is green and newly planted gardens are beginning to offer some much-needed variety of color. Lucy has been learning how to walk with Mark outside of the fenced back yard and around to the front. He’s cautiously teaching her to obey her fenceless borders and she’s learning, little by little.  He keeps a close eye on her as she’s figuring out how this works. There are a lot of dogs in this neighborhood and she so badly wants to go play with them all! But even in the back yard, Lucy can enjoy canine company. Her new friend Gracie loves to run and chase along the fence with Lucy until they are both worn out. Sometimes they just sit quietly together and I have to wonder what’s going through their minds.

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Today there’s a crock-pot chili in the works for dinner. I might give the interior of my car a good cleaning. Or I might just allow myself a lazy day. Life is good.

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And to all of this country’s veterans – thank you for your service!