Enough is Enough (yes I'm actually complaining about the heat)

 This blog post is going up later than I usually write them.  The day started early with my morning van run.  The van hesitated to start and then the nasty check engine light appeared on the dash.  So, I quickly scurried away to the garage and exchanged it for a sub van.  I did manage to get all three boys on time and deliver them to school.  My daughter's district is off today so when I arrived home she was still sleeping.  Teenagers, right?  The school I drive for had an early dismissal so it didn't feel like it was long before I was back on the road.  On a regular day I'd be on the road right now.  

Yesterday was the football game instead of tonight so tonight will be enjoyed by cooking dinner, mowing the lawn, and then relaxing.  Early to bed because we have to wake up early tomorrow to watch both the son and daughter in a cross country race.  I think it's so cool that high school and college will be racing in the same location, just at different times.  This time of year is busy but that's okay.  

If you've followed my blog for awhile you'd know that I am a huge lover of summer but I must confess that this year I am finding myself eager to get the fall decorations down from the attic.  I don't decorate for the seasons until the season officially starts according to the calendar but I think this year I'll wait until after September 11th.  My American decor stays out until then.  I have always been a lover of the heat but this year it has really affected me.  I'm not sure if it's hormonal or something else, but being in the heat makes me feel like I am going to pass out and it drains me.  I'm just one month away from turning 48 so maybe my body is changing.  Ugh!  Let's not talk about that.  

So, as much as I love summer I'm ready to see it pass.  We are experiencing weather in the 80's and it still feels like summer.  I mean, technically it still is.  This year I'm looking forward to all things fall and all things Christmas.  I'm excited for it but don't worry, I will still complain about winter, though.  That's a season I always felt I could live without.  But we take the bad to help appreciate the good, right?

I've noticed some of the blogs I read have left the blogsphere and I think that's because Blogger has been acting up for some.  The most recent issue I'm having is not being able to leave comments for others.  So, if you are a blogger who normally gets a comment from me and you aren't, well that's why.  I have been blogging for a long time and have no intention on stopping but I hope I don't have to be forced to change platforms ... again.  

Well, if you've made it this far in my mumbling - THANK YOU.  I hope you all have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.  My son will be coming home.  (insert excited face here)

My Butterfly Bush

 Good afternoon and welcome to the second day of September.  Even though we are inching closer to the official start of fall the weather in my area has stayed hot.  I guess that's how September always begins.  Right now I'm sitting on the couch next to my dog while the sky outside gets darker and thunder can be heard pretty close by.  I hope the rain passes before I have to leave for work and I especially hope it's all clear by the time my daughter runs her cross county race this evening.  Dinner is in the crockpot and I've been spending the day exercising and cleaning.  Last night we had a pretty violent storm that scared our pup.

Lately, there's been so much devastating news that I catch on social media and I just want to step away from it.  My goal as of the last few years has been to avoid all the outside noise and focus on creating a peaceful home.  I pray for this world but I know we will not experience true peace until Jesus comes back.  I pray that happens soon, too.  

So, instead of focusing on the violence of the world and the loud crashing of the rain I can hear right now, I wanted to show you my favorite thing in my flower bed.  It's called a Lavender Butterfly Bush and it has spread so tall and wide that it's taking up so much space but it offers a place for us to receive some beautiful visitors.  

We get bees, moths, small butterflies and my favorite Monarchs.  I've seen orange and I've seen yellow.  

My husband snapped this picture for me.  

I've always loved flowers and butterflies so getting the two to mix is so fun.  

Are you excited that the Ber months have started?  You know ... SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER and DecemBER!  I'll admit as much as a I love the summer season this is also my favorite time of year.  We are preparing for slightly cooler weather and the holiday season.  What I don't like is the season that follows fall.  I just don't.  In those months this bush will be dead and there will be no visitors to it.  But I know it will come alive again in late spring.  

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little post about my butterflies and I hope even more that September is good to you!  God bless!

Those First Few Weeks

 

This school year has started off quite odd.  At first, we lost one of our bosses to a terrible car accident.  She was a lovely woman, just days away from turning 74, who loved the Lord and every person she came in contact with.  One of my students who I take to elementary school has been rerouted to a different van company and that has her, her mom, her nurse and I very heartbroken.  Today is my last day with her.  On Monday the other school I drive for will begin and I will be waiting for them to give me a new elementary student(s) at some point.  Being a van driver means who I take to school is ever-changing.  My son has been doing well with college and bonding with the cross country team.  His classes officially start Monday.  I know he's having fun and doing well but I am missing him a lot.  I have never gone this long without seeing him.  

This week we attended the fall meet the team night.  Brianna and the marching band gave a preview to the show and then she joined in with the cross country team so they could announce their names.  We listened to the athletic director give his usual chat about making sure all students have their grades passing or they cannot participate in the sport, they ran through each team and then we headed home.  This is going to be a busy season of attending Friday night football games to watch our girl play her mellophone on the field, then run in cross country and then head to whatever town my son will be running in his collegiate invitationals.  It will be busy and it will be good.  

The temperature here in Pennsylvania has consistently been hot with another heat wave expected next week.  With having the days to myself it's been giving me a chance to get a lot of reorganizing done throughout the house.  It also gives me a chance to kick back and do some reading.  I set a goal of reading 50 books by the end of the year.  I just finished book 20.  That's not looking promising.  

Yesterday my husband had a minor surgery on his thumb so he's been home and currently resting.  Tonight is the first football game of the season right here at home so our evening will be busy.  I'm going to take a guess and say we don't win this one.  

I guess that's all there is to update as of now.  Enjoy the weekend! 

First Time College Mom

 "They grow up fast!"

I've heard that so much in these eighteen years of raising kids.  I've felt it too.  I remember putting Matthew on the school bus for the first day of kindergarten and aching to have the little baby back.  I remember helping to get him settled into a new routine of middle school and aching for that little baby back.  Then when it came time for high school, the aching felt a lot more intense.  By graduation, it hurt more.  

But nothing, NOTHING, had ever felt more excruciating than this.  

We spend 18 years teaching our children how to be independent and self-sufficient adults and when that time comes it feels like a gut punch.  I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I did not expect just how much it would hurt.  Then again, I know that it is time.  He's ready.  I cannot hold on forever.  You know, that umbilical cord needs cut at some point.  He's going to do just fine and I'm going to continue being proud of the man he's destined to become.  

I love being a mom and if we can be honest I loved being a mom to little ones.  I miss the little ones.  The teenage years and young adult years have been quite trying for me.  Some mothers ease into each stage just fine but I am struggling.  Yet I know, it's all going to be okay.  

So, there he is - my theology major.  The biggest part of my heart.  Always.