RUN!!! Do NoT Walk.... really you should listen to me

Holy Spumoni!

No, I did not forget about you all...

And, NO, I did not die, although it feels an awful lot like maybe I did and someone forgot to tell me.

I have been down with the FLU since Monday January 18th.

That is 2 weeks tomorrow and today, Sunday January 30th is the first day that I have not had to take a nap in the afternoon or early evening ...

Not because I wanted to, but because just showering and walking and breathing was exhausting.

As a result I have been off work for 2 weeks.
2 weeks of no paycheck from my nursing job.
2 weeks of no freelance writing job pay either.

You would think that writing, from the comfort of my sofa,
whenever I want,
or have the peace and quiet would mean that I could work even while dying from the FLU.

But NO!
Indeed when you have the FLU you cannot think, you cannot see and you cannot even breathe without excruciating pain in every joint, in every inch, of your body.

Even the hair on your head hurts AND it hurts your head because it suddenly feels like it's made of cement,
or at least as heavy as cement.

Actually, your pillow feels like it's cement too....

So, today I can think, sort of.
I can breathe without coughing, much.
And I have been awake since 10:30am...
Okay, I did get 7.5 hours of sleep last night which is the record since I have gotten the FLU.


To all of you I can only say...


Avoid the FLU  at all costs.


RUN Do Not Walk to the nearest ZICAM packet if you come into contact with, or start to feel like you have a cold because...

IT's NOT a COLD... it will sucker you into thinking you are just a little sick and then BAM!!!

You will be on you sofa for 2 weeks... and you will feel so bad you won't even care that there is nothing on TV during the day...

BELIEVE ME...
I know and I am trying to turn my horrible learning experience into something that will help
YOU...

so Please... listen and learn and HEED MY WARNING!

Well, I am off to watch the ProBowl and drink some more water...

The secret to over coming this crazy FLU?
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

At least that's what I think it is, but really?

Don't ask me, I just spent 2 weeks on the sofa hacking up a lung and sucking on an inhaler and Ricola...

Remember?

A day in the Life of BusyMom...

We went to Pennsylvania yesterday, my sister-in-law and I.
We left when I got home from work, she drove.
We went for the Christmas Gift and Craft Fair in Harrisburg.

This is the second year that we've done this.
This year her sister met us there and we spent the day browsing, shopping and having a good time.

I had to get some new links in a bracelet I got there last year.
The vendor wasn't there, but I found another one who, after I bought a replacement bracelet, decided they could add a few links to the original after all.
Now I have 2. I guess I'll give SmartGirl the new one too.

I got some glue. Really, serious glue- " The Last Glue You'll Ever Need" glue.
Really, that's what the guy called it and if it fixes the shoes the dog chewed then I will be sold on it for life.
I'll let you know how it goes.

I got a hanging planter.
It's made of copper wire and stained glass with a bud vase suspended in the center..
I'm going to put it in the kitchen window.
I'll let you know if that works too.

I got some shirts for the guys... I think they'll get a kick out of them.
Their ego's definitely will!

We ran out of time. The place is huge and I would have loved to spend more time but...

Back to real life.
The life of BusyMom.

I got home in time to get SIX and HeMan Hubby into the car and out the door to SIX's football banquet.
He got a trophy for his team being a finalist in the Division Championship....
The game his hand got shattered in.

Then he got another trophy.
MVP for Defense.
For making his presence known in that game, and every game of the season..
The coach said, " No matter what the score was the other team ALWAYS knew we were on the field with (SIX) taking them down"
Every one clapped. Everyone cheered. The defensive coach grabbed SIX in a bear hug and said...
"I asked you to give your all and you always did, offense, defense, special teams... you even gave up your hand, but you never gave up the points... You are THE MAN ! You are an awesome kid"

I worry that I make too many mistakes with the kids.
I worry that I'm not doing my job.
I worry that they will not become the wonderful people that I know they are...

Then someone else steps in, or several someones.
They teach my children, they praise my children, they make my kids feel good about themselves and...

I know that HeMan Hubby and I are not doing this alone.
It takes a Village to raise a child is what I've heard.

But I think that maybe what it really takes
 is a Football Team...

The Heartbreak of Defeat.... or the broken hand... take your pick

SIX broke his hand.
Badly.

Actually, he didn't break it, the kid on the other team did.
Or in the words of SIX, 'Thunder Thighs broke it".

For a team of 11 year olds, there sure were a lot of BIG kids on it.
And by BIG, I mean Thunder Thighs probably weighed in around 230.
No joke!

SIX is 5'5" and 107... just a little difference in size.
But SIX stopped Thunder Thighs from getting the touchdown ... which was good.
His team still lost... which was not so good.

The season officially ended with the play after SIX's hand got crunched... yeah, figures.
No more nightly football practice.
No more Saturday's spent at the field.
No more searching for elusive uniform pads and socks before a game.
That's what our team has to look forward to.

The other team?
According to SIX...
They're at home eating donuts by the fire.
Fattening up for next year.

You know, I think he just might be right about this one.

Home Coming Weekend... A Night To Remember?

TeenBoy had his first High School Experience this past week. 


SPIRIT Week came to a crescendo last Friday afternoon with a Pep Rally, followed by the JV then Varsity Homecoming football games.


Which they lost.


Again.


Like every other game this season.


But...
They did not give up.
They did not surrender.
They did not stop giving their all...


Even when their own fans stopped cheering madly.
Stopped waving banners.

'WIN IT'.... yes, they tried

Stopped paying attention to the game.

The JV players kept the Varsity guys pumped up...         

They soldiered on 
Fought the good fight...




Then went their separate ways as the crowds dispersed;
their classmates and friends all went home.


Only to reconvene for the Homecoming Dance Saturday Night.


TeenBoy experienced this Rite of Passage into Teen-dom
And he went with a girl... friend.
A friend who's a girl?


$200.00 suit jacket, $40.00 tickets, $35.00 orchid, and a tie...


And in the words of HeMan Hubby...


"All that money and all he got was a girlfriend?"


Yes.
TeenBoy is now 'in a relationship' with his date for the dance.


I know this to be true because...


It's says so on FaceBook!

Like, Love, Don't Totally Hate???

Writer's Workshop-

Once again brought to you by the letter 'M' for Mama Kat




This week's writing assignment : 10 Things You Love About Fall

1) SCHOOL- for the kids.

I just love when they are gone all day and the house actually stays clean for a while- please note that a while is code for until the kids get home with their wet, leafy-soled shoes and backpacks over-burdened with text books and binders and hoodies that smell faintly of wet dog, or teen boy... same difference... that will in mere moments be strewn hither and yon throughout the house as soon as their feet cross the threshold.

2) FOOTBALL- no explanation needed

3) It's NOT Winter

The sun is still shining when I go to work AND when I come home keeping up the appearance of summer days not so long gone by... easing me, nudging me, gently into the coming season.


4) HALLOWEEN!!!

Jack-o-lanterns, Scarecrows, ghouls and witches... my family fits right in!
And my favorite holiday of the year. No anti-climatic let-downs, grumpy relatives barely tolerating the other's existence, no finger-pointing or misguided clumsy attempts to make the warring factions declare a cease fire long enough for a 'Family' dinner... just kids dressing up, play-acting, laughing and having fun... pure unadulterated JOY shining out for all the world to enjoy.

5) Sweaters-

soft and fluffy, warm and fuzzy, haute couture or rough-n-ready campout gear... they just make everything better.

6) Colorful leaves-

reds, oranges, yellows and browns mingle in a dance as old as time as they flutter silently, wimsically, landing as softly as a hushed breath at my feet.

7) & 8) SmartGirl and SIX's birthdays

October 1st SmartGirl will be 26... with her college degree in hand, part-time student aide position at the local elementary school and a burning desire to find a 'REAL' job. One using her degree, getting paid enough to move out and pay her own way in the world... She wants nothing more than to be a Grown-Up... me too!

November 3rd will see the onset of SIX's 12th year. A year sure to be filled with teen angst and anquish... unless his grades don't improve rapidly... in which case he may find that his 12th year will be the "Year of Incarceration"... one in which he is doomed to spend his spare time staring at the walls of his bedroom, reading books (I know, a fate worse than death!) and doing "Extra Credit" homework...

This list is supposed to be 10 Things I love about Fall... but in actuality, I don't really LIKE Fall...

October is my favorite month, but only because if the warm and sunny days with a hint of freshly mowed grass and over-turned soil wafting thru the trees from the farm around the corner; the deer, with felted mini-antlers that eat the berries off the bushes in the yard; the last of the hummingbirds and butterflies that boldly come right up to me as I sit out back enjoying the sights and scents of the woods, the garden, the world around me that I call HOME.

Seconded by May with it's emerging greens, tender yellows and understated pinks and reds of the newly budded trees, flowers and bushes; the quiet of the mornings broken only by the staccato twittering and chittering of mated birds calling to one another from the nest; the call of tree frogs all day AND all night...

which leads into the months of June, July and August... resplendent in all their Summer Glory of color and sound and scent...

As each month takes it turn on the calendar, so each Season has it's place in our lives... And every Season has something to Love... all you have to do is look.

Anticipation Exhilaration Excitement... Just another Monday for me!

I sit.
I wait.
My stomach heaves.
My nails are ragged, getting shorted by the minute.
My nerves on edge.

The anticipation builds.

Will he come?
Will he be what I want, no, NEED him to be?
Will he be as happy to see me as I will be to see him?

What if he doesn't come?
What if I've waited in vain?
What if...

My internet is never fixed?
The cable connection is lost forever?
I miss ALL the High Def football highlights all season?

I sit.
I wait.
My stomach heaves...

What If?