After a night off from writing the stories of the day, you would have thought I would have gotten to bed earlier. You would be wrong but that would have been a logical and smart thing to do. Unfortunately, there were other things to do like watch the Husker Volleyball team beat Pitt to head to the championship game And truth be told, I hadn't take any photos all day, so I snapped one of that cute little deer that I bought for Miss K to have for an ornament and took the night off. The Final Four Volleyball games were incredible. We are looking forward to watching the Huskers play for the National Championship tomorrow. So this photo was taken shortly there after. It was after midnight, so it qualifies as day 17. She has had so many late nights this week as she moves her way through finals week. Here she is writing and editing for her AP Language class. It is an exceptional class with an exceptional teacher - I have seen the most tangible learning in her that I have ever seen. It is not an easy class and she has had to work really hard but she will walk away with some of the most impressive writing skills that I have see from her. A great college prep course, to be sure.
In the morning, B was one of the first ones up and came down ready to chat and ask questions, as he does. And he reminded me that I needed to remember to write the story of this "sweater". He calls it a sweater because it says "#sweaterweather" on it. We ran to Hy-Vee for an emergency purchase of pizza rolls. Big B has turned into a full fledge teenage boy with the insatiable appetite to go with it. Lately, his "snack" has been a plate full of pizza rolls which does not slow down his consumption of meals and perhaps more pizza rolls later. As we walked in, this sweatshirt was stuffed in a bin off to the side but the mere sight of it grabbed him like a tractor beam. He made a beeline for it, turned to me and said - "I must have this. What do I have to do to get this? Chores, transfer money from savings, sell a kidney?" B has a tendency to spend money faster than he gets it. Even when he has a job, he still manages to spend as fast as it comes in. So naturally, he had no money. Typically, I am a mom that loves to let a good natural consequence do its job. But this time of year makes me such a softy and I knew that he would wear it like crazy. Nothing goes with pizza rolls better than a Chester the Cheetah Cheetos "sweater." The above photo isn't great - it is an odd angle as I shoot from my comfy coffee drinking chair - but I just loved that Teds is looking at him like he is nuts.
The morning continued with this happy girl loving on her puppy before heading out to school for the day. Poor Teddy just never gets any attention! K does so well in the mornings. I am not sure if she is just a morning person or if it is the fourth kid in her. But she gets up, gets dressed, gets her snacks and water, makes herself breakfast, does her own hair, and always has time to snuggle up to both mom and Teddy. One of the beautiful things about having four kids is it builds independence and responsibility easily as we couldn't do everything for them even if we wanted to.
I took vacation from work today which left me free to take this pretty lady to the airport. Those who know her will know just how many times she thanked me for taking her to the airport and how many times she apologized before asking me. Little does she know, I would move mountains for her. First of all, it is a delight to get to spend 20-30 minutes in the car with one of my favorite people. Secondly, to say I owe her a few favors would be the understatement of the year. The last couple months as I tried to do more than my capacity could manage, this woman and her hubby held me together. They provided the safe space for me to process, think through, and problem solve the challenges that came up. When I turned up sick, it was this beautiful friend who went to be with my mom so she wouldn't be alone. When I needed to feel all the feelings of the last two months, she was my shoulder to cry on and the one I could speak to both my fears and frustrations knowing she would hold it in confidence. To have someone that knows your heart well enough that you can be 100% authentic with even your less than desirable thoughts is a gift very few people can give me. To say I am thankful for her is just not a strong enough statement. Finally, after so many months of people doing things for me, I just feel SO happy to do something for someone else. So really, she was doing me the favor.
Off she goes! I hope she has a great time and I am little jealous of her quick get away!
All of the above happened before 10am - and I didn't take another photo the entire day. With a day of vacation in front of me, I was not going to lose out on the opportunity to get as much Christmas prep done as possible. The faster I move through that to do list, the sooner I can get to some true time to refresh and renew. I am looking forward to it. Don't get me wrong, I love the hustle and bustle of the holidays but I also love the quiet moments that allow for rest, connection, and renewal.
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