Love My Life!

There were so many times in the first few months after Kipp's stroke that I would regularly say "FML", particularly in the car while I was alone and had time to wallow.  Now I can honestly say that for the most part, I Love My Life!  I have the best husband, no matter what his needs, he is the best!  My daughter, can be a pain, but she is still sweet at heart.  AND my son, Jaycob, is truly a great kid!  As the school year winds down (2 days and counting), I am reminded by my students of why I love my job, and now that I will have a little break, love the time I get to spend with my family.  I have to remember that this all could have changed 9 months ago.  We could have been the family that had the email announcing a tragedy to the school families, but we weren't, and for that I am really grateful.  My heart goes out to everyone who has to face an unexpected illness or death, but we are on the other side now and actually able to see that no matter what the future holds, we DO have a future.  Once again, for that I am so grateful!!!  I LOVE MY LIFE!

The Year is Wrapping Up...

At least the school year, that is.  Today is the last Friday of the year, only 4 more days next week.  I forgot how absolutely crazy this time of year is.  Not only at school, but at home with the kids wrapping up their school years as well.  Jake, and our whole family has been consumed with baseball.  The Stingrays placed second in North Park Minors, and went onto the Tournament of Champions.  Although fun, they lost both of the first two games, and have one more to go.  I really enjoy the break from work and home, just going and watching the boys play.  We have made some really good friends this year.  Jake is thrilled to have 2 neighborhood boys to play with, Kainoa and Sam.  I am also thrilled to have met Deborah, Kainoa's mother, who only lives 2 blocks away.  She is fun to chat with, and seems to have a really good view/perspective on life.  Our families seem to get along well, even Shelby has found an occasional babysitting gig with them.  I'm hoping these friendships continue for years to come.  I continue to be thankful for friends in all places, and a loving husband who makes my everyday special, no matter how hectic it is.

Friends in hidden places...

Had a great May!  So busy I haven't had time to breathe...or blog!  Celebrated, quietly, with my husband, our 20th anniversary.  So thankful we are together and happy.  Also this month, celebrated my son's 11th birthday.  He is so big and growing into a wonderful kid.  He has always been wonderful, just appreciative that he is still such an inquisitive boy with lots of deep thoughts.  This 3 day weekend, went to a birthday party of a co-worker's daughter.  There were a few other teachers there that I had kind of lost touch with, but realized that they are still friends, so I am thankful for those friends that have been dormant, but still there.  Happy May...13 school days left!

Girlfriends!

Love my girlfriends!  I don't have too many true friends, just work friends.  But in these past few months, I've realized which of those are really friends, and not just because we work together.  I literally have two friends that I went to high school with that have come through for me and I know if needed they would be there.  Other than that, most of my friends have come and gone over the years.  Now I seem to have made a few more friends that I've actually known for years, but just starting to become closer.  Last night those two ladies visited and had a glass of wine.  We chatted and had a pretty cool time.  I'm going to try harder to actually be a good friend and keep these two around for a while.  I haven't realized how important to have friends it is, so for those girlfriends, I am thankful!

Peaceful moments...

I love those peaceful moments that you get to yourself.  Every morning before work I've been waking up at 5:45, getting dressed and partially ready, making lunches (mine and Jake's), then taking advantage of the 20-30 minutes I get to myself.  Sometimes my husband or daughter wake up early and those quiet times to myself are gone, but most the time, like today, it remains peaceful.

In this crazy world, between work, husband, children and all the necessary household activities, it is rare to just have a little time to yourself around here.  So I am thankful for the morning times I do get to enjoy in solitude!

Humor

I love that my husband still has a sense of humor.  Even after all he's been through, he still manages to see the light side of things.  He's able to make a joke about his speech abilities (or inabilities) and hasn't lost the art of his sarcasm.  Today after driving home from his meeting with his work in which he was told he still couldn't return to work, he managed to joke about the nurse we met with and how the weather was going to be too nice to work anyways.  Although I'm having a hard time pinpointing a specific joke, there have been many, and I will always love and be thankful that he has the best sense of humor even on our darkest days.

Actually like the gray...

Although, not a particularly busy day, I did try to accomplish some work around the house and feel good about what I did.  I started by cleaning the disgustingly messy kitchen, unloading and reloading the dishwasher and scrubbing the sink.  Then after a rather stressful trip to HD, I threw in a load of laundry and folded the old stuff in the dryer.  The most difficult of all is that I dragged the elliptical machine down from the patio into the yard, sprayed it off, cleaned out all the mud and dust, then managed to get it back onto the patio, ready for use!!!  I even managed to go through the backyard and put lots of old crap into the garbage which goes out today, so now I am ready to get started on our backyard project of putting in gravel and flagstones.  I hope tomorrow is even more productive.

So grateful for the chance to get some things done during my spring break.  I love  yard work!