Lesson No.1

I had the privilege to spend a week in Portland last week.  Radio silence on the blog, as I was not really privy to "free time".  It was a fun week of seeing family, but most importantly, watching five cousins for a week while their parents got their first trip together sans children in twelve years! 

The week was - awesome...an eye-opener...exhausting...mucho fun...enlightening...rainy...busy...
I did learn much.  It has been a long, long time since I have done an overnight with kids on my own, let alone five.  They were terrific and super helpful.  With an early-bird little boy and a night owl big sister, there aren't many hours when all five were asleep, so I am looking forward to catching up this weekend...maybe.

SO - LESSON NO.1 - there seems to be a children's gripe about Mom or Dad saying "maybe" when they really mean "no."  I get it now, from the other perspective.  When you're busy and in the flow of the day, a child asks, "If we ______, then we can get two pieces of candy."  I know that doesn't look like a question; it is really only part question, mostly assertion of how it is going to be.  When she comes asking for the two pieces of candy I never said they could have (not even a "maybe"), there is a huge pouty sigh.  Several times over there are questions of "can we ___?" for which I just don't have an answer.  I have no crystal ball to tell me if the weather will be right, or if the little brothers will be awake from their nap, or if all the chores will be done on time, or...  So many life circumstances that I can't predict; therefore, I cannot say "yes" for certain.  If I do, they will remind me over and over again, leaving me to wonder if I can turn ten minutes into thirty or infuse them with a full night's sleep if they stay up late.  When time has run out or the weather has turned to rain, I'm not a liar when the "but you said we could ____" comes out if I only said "we'll see". 

More lessons to come, maybe.

IT HAPPENED!!!

As of October 9, 2014, we are IN THE NEW HOUSE!!! 

Our new bed arrived yesterday morning.  Of course it would be rainy and muddy, but Thomas got that  cleaned up.  The rain and mud didn't and haven't let up, so I made several trips in the truck through the mud to bring over food and toiletries from the trailer - and a spoon for my cereal.  Thomas and I set the bed up last night and pulled out the new sheets and bedding.  He thinks the little pillows are pretty frivolous, but couldn't fathom the four extra king-size decorative pillow shams.  Too many pillows for his taste...

We still enjoyed pizza and Bones in the trailer before we went back to work on the house.  And then we had to go back to shower, since I hadn't brought over the shampoo.  The back and forth will continue for a bit, I'm sure, as we empty out the fridge and move over the other dresser.  We'll also need to do something about this mud in a hurry.

BUT it was great to wake up in the house this morning.  When we went to bed, it was 67 in our room and raining outside.  We left the ceiling fan on low and the bathroom window open (still venting the subtle smell of the floor wax).  And when we woke up, it was raining again and still 67 in our room - 65 on the thermostat by the sliding door.  I enjoyed a bowl of cereal at the table (instead of standing at the counter).  AWESOME!!!

So if you can't reach us by phone, it's because that hasn't moved over yet either....

Thank Goodness for the Rummage Sale; aka Oops...I Did It Again

Once again I owe great thanks to Mom and Pop for coming to my rescue.  I needed to be in Springer around 9:45-10 am this morning, so I slept in a little and went for a walk up the road.  It's been a long while since I got in a good-for-me walk, as I usually come home and change into work clothes to chip away at another project.  I slipped on my sweats and enjoyed an overcast morning, greeting the neighbors horses and taking in the views. 

I timed it just right, so I would get home with enough time to shower and grab the recycling to drop off in Springer, too.  When I got back to the trailer, I was surprised when the know didn't turn.  I didn't bring keys or phone or anything, and I wasn't going to lock the door behind me.  Stunned, I walked around the trailer, confirming what I already knew - the only open window has a swamp cooler hanging out of it, and I am not strong enough to pull it out by myself.  Shucks!

I double-checked to make sure there was no spare key in the car, and upon not finding one, decided to jog to Mom and Pop's.  I let my mind wander - what if they're gone for a doctor's appointment, what if they ran into town to the store; they don't have Sofia on Wednesdays, so they could be anywhere!  What would I do if they aren't home, which neighbor could help me take down the swamp cooler - there's plants sitting on it inside the window, I don't even have a phone to call anyone....could I wander around Miami for a day and nobody would notice?  I could hang out at the firehouse, and there's a phone there....Uh-oh - Pop's truck isn't in front of the garage!  Maybe he's at the firehouse; I'll check there real fast.  Not there either; maybe Mom's home and he's at the water tower.  Please be there, please be there, please be...HIS TRUCK IS IN THE BACK!!

I am sure they were as surprised to see me as I was relieved to see them.  Sofia was there, as the woman who watches her on Wednesdays hits the Cimarron Rummage Sale as soon as it opens, which was today.  Thank goodness, or they really could have been anywhere.  But they were home and my heroes, and Pop even offered me a ride home to make sure the key worked.  I returned the favor and helped load chairs from the school for the firehouse into his trailer later that morning in Cimarron.  Easy work compared to wandering around town for a day!  Hopefully there is only one more night of sleep in the trailer.  Moral of the story is to get him a key to the new house and maybe even hide one somewhere on the property!