Headed to see Motown

Set up with movie

Ready for Uncle Jimmy

Parents going out!

Headed out

Scouts and gymnastics

Day to divide and conquer 

Then cheer on Steelers

Friday Lunchtime

Making soup for lunch.

Hanging out in the kitchen -

Common occurrence.

Happy New Year!

Family and friends.

Eyes open, looking forward.

Filled with love and hope.

Hardly irrelevant

Things can go along so nicely for a while and then suddenly it seems as though everything changes.  I am overwhelmed with change right now, and that somehow became very evident today as I was reminded that if I am not changing, I am irrelevant.  On some level, of course, I get that - I am a teacher.  But when nothing seems to be staying the same - from things at home to friendships to seemingly everything at work including my relationships there - it can become a little much, you know?   I truly have gotten better at embracing change.  But sometimes, I miss things that used to be.  And it hurts to think that I might be irrelevant.  

I so looked forward to seeing my kids today as they got off of the bus.  Despite how they are changing, they are still willing to give me some good hugs.  It is hard to feel irrelevant when I am with them.  And I do love the fall leaves changing.  And running.  So today I decided to forego our usual after school routine, and instead loaded the bikes in the car and headed to the park.  

It is hard to not feel a little better when I can go for a run on a beautiful fall afternoon with my kids riding their bikes alongside me.

Random great thing about my kids...

They generally let the dog out and/or in without even being prompted.  Elly goes to the door, indicates she needs to go out (or come in) and the kids just take care of it.  In the rare instance when I catch it and they don't and I am in the middle of something, a quick "Can you let the dog out?" is all that is needed.  No complaints.

When you feel like you are in the middle of a hurricane, you've gotta take the small victories.

And it turned out pretty okay.

I finished reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green last night.  Even though I was pretty sure what was coming and I braced myself as best I could, despite any (or no) resolve, I cried and cried.  And I thought about the Universe.  I have a love-hate relationships with books like that.  I read them few and far between.

I went to school with puffy eyes this morning.  No make-up could help.   But I truly enjoyed my classes today.  The kids - with the exception of one - were great.  It is some other stuff that happened at work that I am really trying to not take personally that kinda put me on tilt.

And then there was the doctor's appointment after school that went pretty much as expected, but not how I wanted.  And the hour drive home. 

But on the way home, I got to talk to one of my best friends - who I don't talk to nearly enough.  And I made it home before I thought I would - because the doctor was on time and efficient and I didn't hit the worst part of rush hour - and so I was able to stop and see the last parts of Everly's gymnastics class.  And Cortlan was nearly done with his homework - a record for him.

We had pizza for dinner.

And after dinner, with my work clothes still on, and the closest-to-the-door footwear I could find for the occasion - my pretty mud boots that have yet to be worn in the mud and, in fact, still have the elastic thing that attaches the two boots to each other - I went to the covered porch area to cut John's hair.  It started to drizzle.  While we were covered and protected from the rain, Everly seized the opportunity to get her rain boots and rain jacket on and grab her umbrella.  And Cortlan was sitting in the wagon that is now too small for him, reading out loud from Tie Your Socks and Clap Your Feet - a book of mixed up poems by Lenny Hort that he asked his teacher if he could bring home from her classroom because he so wanted to share it with us, and she let him.

And I looked around.  And I thought about how, sometimes, the Universe just wants to be noticed.

And I noticed my beautiful, silly, full-of-personality daughter playing in the rain with her eclectic assortment of rain gear.  I noticed my deep-thinking, passionate son laughing and reading to us while sitting in a wagon because he couldn't wait to share with us the funny poems that he discovered.  I looked down and noticed the blue poncho over my husband's shoulders.  And the elastic between my pretty mud boots.

Happy, Universe?  Yeah, I feel a little better, too.