MySpirit: 2005-09-11

Vacation

I'm getting the itch to go somewhere. Hubby and I are planning on taking a trip this year as our anniversary gift to each other (hey, better than a trash bin, eh?) I've been thinking of several different destinations, but cannot decide on which. I'd like to go on a cruise. I'd like to go to Las Vegas (I'm not a gambler, nor is Hubby, but I'd like to go just to see the bright lights and say that I've been.) I'd like to go to a big city like Chicago or New York. BUT----I don't like to fly. I'm terrified to fly, actually. Not because I fear dying, but because I fear the thought of going down, knowing the end is near, and waiting for the pain of the crash. That, and leaving my children orphaned is keeping me out of an airplane. We could drive to Galveston and hop on a ship, so this might be the best option. Really, just driving anywhere will probably do.

Another BIG problem is childcare. My in-laws are becoming grouchy in the kid department, so I don't want to leave the kids for a long period with them. Hey, if you're reading, Fr. Shane, I have an idea. You could come and stay a week in my house, with full responsibility of my six children, then just TRY and go back to your parish and preach against contraception. I promise, you won't be able to do it!!!!------wink--------Just kidding. No hate mail, please. Maybe I'll hire a sitter and have my aunts come. This would split up the day-to-day busy tasks for my mother-in-law. She could be here a day, then someone else, then her, etc. etc.

Do you have any wonderful vacation spots you'd like to share? I'd love to hear. Hector, I know you've been on a wonderful business vacation---I can't afford where you've been, though. AND-can you imagine me on a flight like that???????? Miss, can I have another one of those cute little bottles of vodka.........................

The Best Gift Ever

Today Hubby comes home. He's been in Nevada all week on business.

I've been busy today, making the house look like the kids and I haven't been on vacation. Sad thing is, the vacuum smells like something is burning inside, so the floors don't look as nice as I'd like. Maybe I'll be brave and try it again, but I don't do well with fire engulfed appliances, so maybe I should just wait until I can get it fixed. Actually, it's probably time for a new one. Grand... maybe this is what I'll get for my birthday.

Hey, here's a thought. Let's tell about our worst gift ever. I remember one Christmas when I was newly married---probably married for about three or four years, Hubby hid one of my Christmas gifts out in the shed. I new it must be very special if he was making sure I didn't see it. So, on Christmas morning, this gift of mine was the last one left----still in the shed. He told me to close my eyes and he went to get it. When I opened my eyes, I honestly expected to see something clear and sparkling---diamonds of some sort. IT WAS AN OUTSIDE TRASH BIN. I almost cried. But, that was when I was young and romantic. Now I'm a realist---get me a vacuum if I need it. You, Dear Hubby, will be getting a new tube of hemorrhoid cream.

What are some of your "favorite" gifts?

My Mother

Today as I was returning home, early in the morning, from dropping off my oldest child at band, I was listening to my new CD, "The Best of Bread." You remember that, right? Well, this is one of the albums I grew up on and listening to it takes me back to my childhood. I can remember putting the record on the record player, nestling the needle just-so on that first black groove, and hoping that I didn't bump and scratch. I remember the feeling. I remember the sounds. I remember playing the music and dancing while I was dusting the furniture with Pledge. That was my job. I liked to dust---most kids do, I've found. Well, as I pulled into the garage, the song "Everything I Own" began to play. Immediately tears welled up in my eyes. I began to cry, shoulders heaving, head in hands----the whole bit. Why did this song grip me so today, I wondered? Well, it didn't take me long to figure it out. Tomorrow is my mom's feast day. She died 8 years ago----September 15, 1997. She was 44 years old. I was 27. I am an only child. I miss her still, so wonderfully. Wonderfully? Yes, that's the word I choose to use. It's wonderful as she touched me so deeply. She was wonderfully caring. Wonderfully generous. Wonderfully FUNNY!!! It's wonderful, as her life was so great, that I still miss her so much. The pain is less, yes, than it was after the immediate shock. But, the pain is still here, real, aching. The only pain I can think of that would be worse would be losing a child. Which, this is exactly what my grandparents had to feel when my mom died. I feel really bad for them. I remember my grandpa standing at the big window in the lobby of the intensive care unit. He knew mom was going to die----we all did. His broad shoulders were shaking. He was crying. It was not fun to see. As I sit here, tears streaming down my cheeks, nose so clogged that I cannot breathe, I have to stop and remember something I heard today at my daughters' school. This really puts things in perspective, and although I know my pain is real and justified, I also know that I'm a middle aged woman who can cope and know that my little sufferings will make me stronger. There is a small boy, a refugee I guess, who is now attending the elementary school here. I was in the office today, putting together notes for the kids ice cream social next week, and this little guy came in with a "stomach ache." Of course his stomach hurt------his mother has not been found, yet. His family was victim to Hurricane Katrina. This small child has bald spots on his head-------most likely from stress, twisting his hair for comfort. Yes, as I sit here, tears now have stopped. I can breathe via my right nostril. I can know that there are others out there who will suffer MUCH more than I, and this makes my heartache much more bearable. I'll pray for this little guy. I'll offer up my suffering for him, that he will be reunited with his mama. I'll ask my "St. Mom" to pray for him, too. She'll be good at it.

What a Day, Already

It's only noon and I've done so much already:
7am: Took Philip to band.
7:45-8:10am: Took other kids to school.
8:20: To post office, mailed three packages and four letters
8:30-9:10am-Exercise at Tan & Tone America
9:15-10:15- Put supper in crock. Made flyers for soccer parents. Printed out soccer schedules.
Put all soccer games on calendar.
10:20-10:45-Shopped for Ice Cream Social items for elementary PTA. Picked up catechist
book from church.
10:50-Picked up Kathryn from pre-school.
11:00-Picked up Paul from pre-school.
11:20--Lunch
11:40-12:15-Sat outside with kids and planned out first two lessons for 2nd grade
religious education class that starts this Sunday. I'm co-teaching this year.
12:20-present: Blogging----Everyone needs a break, right?

The rest of my day will go like this: 2 loads of laundry--washed, folded, and put away.
Supper. One child to swim practice. Two children to soccer. Dishes. Vacuum family room.
Clean bathroom. Help with homework. Rosary. watch the news. Bed.

So, what's your day like?