A Bit of Catch Up

Good morning! I’m not exactly waxing poetic this morning but a day that begins with a piece of cheesecake for breakfast can’t be all bad, can it?

The day began quite early for some of us. My alarm went off at 3:00 and all I had to do was get dressed and drive. My mother, Becky, and Jay all had to get up and get ready to go. I was setting the GPS when Paul came out and said if we could wait a couple of minutes, he’d go with us. That was kind of wonderful because I really was not looking forward to the drive. Granted, I went to bed super early (8:45) and I’d rather be driving after getting up at three than staying up until three, but I’m still grateful that I didn’t have to drive. We made good time and got to the airport at 5:02 which was perfect for the travelers whose flight was scheduled to leave at 6:06 (it may have been 6:08 or something close—remembering little details like that is Becky’s job, not mine). We were home before 6:30 and I went back to bed. I really wanted to go to Adam and Kim’s sealing this morning but I also didn’t want to be a potentially unsafe driver so I did not set my alarm and told myself that if I woke up in time to get ready, I would go. I woke up when Laura called me at 8:10. Not in time.

I think I’m still tired. Three late night/early morning trips to Manchester in ten days is a lot. The next one isn’t for two weeks and it’s in the afternoon. I think I can deal with that.

Anyway, we had a good visit, I think. Busy, but good.

Last Thursday we kind of didn’t do much. That was good because we didn’t get home until 3:30 in the morning. The flight originally was supposed to arrive at 11:30 or so but it kept getting pushed and pushed until it actually arrived around close to 1:00. Joanna and Zak went with me and we had a fun trip. I mean, you know, as fun a trip as you can have driving a huge van after you’ve been watching Harry Potter.

Friday Becky, Mom and I went to That $1.99 Fabric Store. Becky got some fabric as did I, but my mother did not. She did say that if she lived close to something like that, her wardrobe would be better. That evening, Paul and I went on a ‘double date’ with Becky and Jay. My mom got to stay home with the boys because Amena was at a sleepover birthday party with some friends.

I don’t remember what we did Saturday other than a bit of baking and other such things. I cut out a couple of patterns. We were going to go to New Hampshire to Madam Sherri’s but ended up not. The original plan was to go there, take a picnic dinner, and then go pick Laura up. Only two problems with this plan. One, it would have been a lot of driving. Two, Laura ended up missing her flight because she slept in. Instead of arriving at 6:something pm, she arrived at 11:30. Joanna was going to go but didn’t. She was going to be working when I needed to leave to pick her up earlier and when I had to leave later, she had to pick Zak up from work. Becky went instead and we had a nice drive up and a decent drive home.

I’m not done yet, but I am done sitting here for now. Have a terrific day!

Kittens and Cereal

Good morning! Today I am going to finish sewing a wedding dress. And Cedric is going to get home from camp. Again.

In other news: Kitty had her kittens last night. The trouble is she had them across the street in a bush. And she isn’t staying with them like she did the first litter so I’m not sure what’s going on with them.

In other news: we (Seth, Joseph and I) had an interesting conversation this morning. On the back of a box of cereal is a recipe and the picture of a sticky note that says “Luv U Mom! J” Seth first said, “L U V U.”

“Oh,” I responded before I’d seen the back of the box, “It probably is ‘luv u’ because people are too lazy to spell ‘love’ correctly or to spell out the word ‘you’.”

“Yeah.”

Then Joseph, who was actually eating the cereal, said, “Luv U? They don’t even know how to spell.” 

Thoughts

Good morning. I wasn’t going to write anything today but am kind of in the middle of a lot of things with no direct path forward. For example, it’s too early to watch a movie (in my book, anyway) so I don’t want to watch Harry Potter. I’m to the point on the skirt of Kim’s dress that I need things I don’t have to continue. I’m at a point on the bodice that I am rethinking the top layer because I want it to look good. This isn’t to say that I have nothing on my mind other than a bodice because other than that I have cleaning house to do and books to read, dinner to think about, etc.

BB gun cooperation with James.

And then there is life. As you probably have heard, Robin Williams died yesterday. Very sad. From what I’ve read, it appears that it was likely suicide and that he’d been battling depression. The reason I decided to write this morning is because of a comment that I saw on Facebook about really good comedians winding up suicidal. Is it really a surprise? To me, it is not. When I am hurting inside, it is quite easy to smile and put up a false front so that no one knows how I really feel or what I’m really thinking. Why did I not stay at church the last time I wrote? Because I didn’t want to have to put up a front and pretend.

Archery. This and soccer were his favorite things at camp.

Some comedians are really funny. Robin Williams is one of the few that I’ve ever really liked. Is it surprising that he suffered from depression? No. Is it surprising knowing this that he wanted a way out? No. It is sad that it happened, but it is also life. Sometimes people can’t see a way out or have trouble dealing with the hand they’ve been dealt. Sometimes, as I read in a blog recently (which I have been unable to find for the link), suicide is actually the brave choice, not the easy way out that we’ve kind of been conditioned to believe it to be. This isn’t to say that I believe suicide is a good idea, but I do believe that some people come to think that it is their only option. And it isn’t our job to judge the living or the dead.

Food for thought.

Hubbardston Troop 12. Cedric is third from the right in front.

In other news, Cedric and Seth both had fun at camp. I didn’t write while Seth was gone because I just didn’t feel like. I sometimes think I don’t worry enough but the whole time Seth was gone, I experienced the whole ‘sick with worry’ thing. All about his toe. It was for naught, of course. He came home fine and had a lot of fun and is ready to go back next year for the entire week.

Cedric had fun and I think really got to know some of the boys in the troop. That’s nice. When we went up Wednesday to get Seth and stay for some of the family night activities, Paul was showing up where he stayed with the church troop when he was assistant scout master and telling us which boys were there. At least one of the times Daniel went to camp was at Camp Wanocksett. I think they went to Treasure Valley once as well and I’m not sure where they went the other year. I’m really glad he was able to go to Wanocksett at least once because it, in my mind, at least, creates a link to his brothers.

This week Cedric is at camp with the boys from church. I was just thinking that it’s nice the church has a camp, it is a lot less expensive than Wanocksett ($100 versus over $200). However, Wanocksett is about an hour away from us. Treasure Valley is half an hour away in the other direction. The camp the boys are at (and that Amena was at two weeks ago) is an hour and a half away. Some people who are there this week are travelling from the Springfield area, Pittsfield, and other points west and southwest. They have to travel longer than we do.

Have a wonderful day.

What a Day

Good afternoon. What a day today has been and it isn’t much more than half over.

To  begin with, we had YW presidency meeting this morning so it meant Cedric and Seth needed to have all their stuff together so I could take it to church and not have to make any trips home before taking off for camp. All the boys were ready so I took them all. Never a good idea but today particularly not.

On the way, we picked Hans up which was fine and I didn’t mind at all. As soon as we arrived, Joseph had to show Hans what the buzzer by the door does. Children. As soon as I walked in, Bishop Carmack asked if I’d heard the news. What news?

Mary Newton and her daughter Rachel were in an accident on the way home from Girl’s Camp yesterday afternoon about 2:00. They aren’t sure exactly what happened but they hit an RV.  I just looked it up online and the car was a mess. Another person died as well. Life is so short. I did not know Mary well but she was in the Stake YW presidency and had come to visit with us (Gardner Ward YW) upon occasion and see how we were doing and if we needed anything.

As we were about done with our meeting, Joseph came to tell me that Seth was bleeding. That is nothing new; blood is just part of life. It seems especially so with boys. I told Joseph to tell Seth to bring his blood on over to where I was so I could take a look but we ended and I went to find Seth. He was in the boys bathroom so I told him to go across the hall to a classroom there. I looked and his toenail was sticking up. He had a run-in with a door and it peeled his toenail right off. He ended up pulling it off the rest of the way. My first thought was to take him to the hospital but with it off and no cuts or anything, there isn’t anything they really could have done so I decided to take him home, find my phone, and decide what to do.

On my way out the building, Paul and Amena were just arriving so I told Amena about Sister Newton and her daughter.

Once home, I got some water ready with Epsom salt for Seth’s foot to soak in while I looked for phone numbers. (My phone was in the boys’ room where I’d left it after helping Joseph with his tie.) I sent Jamie Pitney a text after calling the house and not getting an answer. Then I called Carignan’s and Scott said that they’d be able to handle anything at camp. He is a nurse and the staff at camp are very qualified. Jamie was of the opinion that Seth should go as well.

After Seth’s foot soaked, I had him put it up on a chair and let him play Plants vs. Zombies while I was making phone calls. He kind of thought he should stay home but at the same time, really wanted to go to camp. When I told him that Mr. Carignan thought he’d be okay and that they could take care of his toe and that Mr. Pitney thought he should still go, he decided he would go. He’s a pretty resilient boy; I’m sure he’ll be fine.

Jerusha had volunteered to take Cedric if need be. Once it was decided that Seth would still be going, I asked if she could also take Seth. I could have taken them but with the news of Mary and yesterday being the third anniversary of our accident, I cried most of the way home and I didn’t really want to do that all the way up and back from dropping them off. I don’t want to add any numbers to the statistics.

I collected more socks for Seth and got some bandages, gauze and tape together for him and got some snacks for him and Cedric. I got their papers and wrote a note saying that Jerusha could sign anything that I’d forgotten to. Seth got some socks on and found that his black and white shoes are hard to put on without feeling strange on his toe. I suggested my purple crocs which he ended up wearing to get outside. On the way back to church, which took a long time because I’d forgotten to put the extra socks in his tote and we had to go back, he got his black and yellow shoes on which are a little bigger.

While I was waiting for Jerusha, I went in the church because I wanted to talk to our new YM president. That didn’t work out so well but Kim Miller did remember the Divergent books which was very nice and I had a good visit with her and some others about Harry Potter. I went out to take the books out and because the Peterman’s were both at church and Seth was up rummaging around in his tote. He showed me that he could run and everything. So, I don’t think his toe will really bother him too much.

Once the boys were off, I decided to just come home. I’ve had a headache for three days now and I didn’t really feel like sitting in church pretending that everything is okay. It’s easier when I’m talking to someone but not really any more fun.

And now I’m sitting here. I need to get the grill going soon for our lunch/dinner of hamburgers and sausages. Also some onion and tomatoes sliced.

Have a wonderful day; be safe and remember that happiness is a choice.