Turning My Frown Upside Down

Am I a man of my word or what?
Well, no, I'm not.
I'm not a man, that is.
But the "of my word" part---yes.
I said I'd meet you back here
in a better mood/frame of mind
....and here I am.
(insert large smiley face)

It has been a busy weekend, but it has been very enjoyable. I am so exhausted right now. As soon as I get done speaking with you, I am climbing into the old hay sack. I don't know if my head will even hit the pillow before I am asleep.

Want to know a weird thing that is making me happy right now? I feel like I'm getting a cold. Now that is not what is making me happy. What is making me happy is that if I do indeed get sick, I can take drugs to feel better. It feels like I've either been growing or feeding somebody for a long time. But I'm not now. It's just me again. My body is my own. Bring on the NyQuil. Of course, now I probably won't get sick ever again. Not that I would mind that. But it makes me happy to know that if I feel like I need medicinal intervention in my life, I have that option.

Saturday evening Lloyd Dobbler and Big E (even bigger E than before---he's had a birthday, you know) wound up staying longer than they had planned at the boy scout thing--which ended up being a goat rodeo (does anyone else use that figure of speech? Is it just Lloyd Dobbler's original little phrase and if I use it now it is making you think that there were cub scouts trying to ride a broncing billy goat? He always says it's a "goat rodeo" if some situation is crazy or unorganized and out of control--like this particular boy scout weekend turned out to be.). So I loaded up the three babes that I had under my jurisdiction Saturday evening and we went to a fall festival type thing at the home of a new friend of mine. We had such a nice time. It was just a handful of families at this home out a few miles past the middle of nowhere. When John Denver sang "Country road, take me home," he was singing about the road she lives on. It was like a little adventure just getting to her house.
(Oddly enough,
out in the middle of NOWHERE in Tennessee,
there was a Buddhist temple
a few miles down the country road from her.)
Lovely K and Sweet T were completely enchanted with the very cool zip line these new friends have. And they rolled pumpkins and shot at apples and played hide and seek in the dark while Baby J and I sat by the bonfire. It was just a simple, relaxed evening. This "new friend" of mine is so relaxed and laid back and takes every thing in stride; I wish I was more like that. Her fourth child is now two and a half and she told me the other day she just now feels like she's getting back into the groove of things.
This gives me hope.

This morning at church
I got to see someone I love love love and rarely get to see (Hello, M.O.T!) and that was so cool. This girl and another girl her age have been like little "pets" of mine for several years. I used to do Bible studies and read Elisabeth Elliot books with them when they were teens at our church (that was one of my favorite things ever!). You would think that I actually had a hand in making them the wonderful Christian women that they are now by the way I feel about them, but I didn't. And yet I could not be more proud of them, though, if they were actually my daughters. It just encourages my heart to see them as young wives and new mommies doing their best to follow God. I wish I got to see them more often.

After church today, Lovely K and I jumped into a car with my good buddy and her daughter and we sped off to The Big City at top speed (stopping only to wheel through the drive thru at Steak and Shake) to see a production of Pride and Prejudice. It was a really nice time. I love plays and theater and all that goes along with that. I think that was the first play that wasn't aimed at a juvenile audience that I have taken Lovely K to see. Of course I had to explain to her that the Mr. Darcy she saw on stage today could not hold a candle to Colin Firth from A&E's production of Pride and Prejudice. And if you've never seen that, you should be ashamed of yourself. Go get it right now and watch it.
It's the greatest.
It's the Muhammad Ali of movies.
It floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.
And that's really
what you want from a movie, isn't it?

Guess what?
Fall break has been extended.
Kind of.
We're having "halfsies" this week.
We're easing on down the road as we turn our feet
back to the educational path. I think it's going to be
beautiful weather this week and I want to take advantage
of that. We are going to the pumpkin patch one day
with a group of homeschooling friends. I am thinking
we need to go on a picnic one day too.
I just want to carpe the diem on these
beautiful, warm days of autumn.

How's that for less griping and negativity?
I hope you had a lovely weekend, Dear Reader.
See you around!