Aw, and they said it would never last.

Neither one of us looks like that anymore.

They also figured I was pregnant. 
But since we didn't have a baby for 7.5 years, I think most of our detractors figured it out.

46 years ago today a couple of really young adults got married.

We had no idea what we were doing.
There are days we still don't.

It's interesting and not necessarily in a good way to realize that we really are on the downhill side of everything.

Huh.

Okay then.

Blogger won't let me answer my comments today. I can approve them, but can't see them afterward. Weird.

Not sure why, but can't do it on my phone or my tablet, either. So maybe I can access them tomorrow.

I will have more photos, hopefully better ones... but haven't hooked up the big camera to the computer yet.

Bob's camera decided it wasn't going to work for him and he used my big camera instead. So I had the little one. I did take photos, but not as many as I would have liked to. It was kind of a busy day.

I gave away the rest of the flowers (had two bunches that I didn't use) on the local FB 'Buy Nothing' group. Gave away the platter that looked like a flower, too. The other platter belonged to my maternal grandmother, so that one stays. I use it every year for our Thanksgiving dinner. Rarely anytime in between.

Meanwhile, it's after 9 and I am up at 5 and even though there is a nap built into my schedule, it's not enough of a nap that I wanna stay up all night.

So more photos coming soon, answers to your comments, too.

Zzzzz ya later.

Anniversary

It's not that it wasn't on my mind.

Another year has passed, and as of November 1st, it's officially 38 years since Eric and I got married. When we got married, I didn't consider the future much. I knew I loved the guy. That's it.

That hasn't changed. He's still my favorite person. I have no regret about marrying so young or about the person I chose to spend my life with.

But I didn't consider what that life sentence actually meant. :)

I was considering the passage of time as I always do. Being astounded about the amount of time that has passed.  Similar to my thoughts about having babies before we actually did.

When we wanted to have a baby, we thought about a sweet little creature that snuggles up by your neck and makes squeaking noises. A little cherub with soft baby hair and chubby tiny fists. Itty bitty feet. Cute little voice and nothing but love.

And yes, we got that. But we didn't consider vaccinations. Introduction to solid food. Toilet training. School and dating and braces and kids learning to drive... well, I pretty much didn't think of any of that. And that they grow up and they go away. They get married, they fall in love (I guess in reverse order... haha) and BAM! They're gone. Having lives somewhere else not with us.

Oops. Digression. Something I do very well. Hey, everyone has a talent.

When we considered getting married, I didn't get much further in my thinking than being able to be with Eric all the time instead of having to say goodbye to him every evening.

I didn't approach marriage OR parenthood with deep thought, although I've put a whole lot of it in since then.

We have been fortunate in our relationship, we grew up together instead of growing apart. My initial liking for him has never faded. Instead, it's grown stronger and the realization that he's one of the best people I've ever known has grown, too. I'm so glad that we found each other. That we balance each other and that we're willing to be what the other person needs, regardless of how much it changes from day to day.

He's a great friend, a wonderful partner. Dad and friend to his children, a person of integrity and depth and heart.

So 38 years ago, even though I wasn't actually thinking clearly, I did the smartest thing I've ever done.

Boo

Did I scare you?
I know it's been awhile since I checked in.

Since I last showed up here, several things have happened.

I was still not feeling well the rest of the week. In fact, I am not at 100% even now, although I'm functioning pretty well.

On Tuesday morning, Eric and Alyssa drove Bob to the airport. EARLY. His flight was at six AM, meaning he wanted to be there about five. I went back to bed after saying goodbye. I was still not feeling very good.

I went to see my doctor on Monday morning and we discussed the whole situation. Another day or so and I would have been dealing with tests and other crazy things, so I'm glad things slowed down when they did.

I had an opportunity to ask her about the instructions found on my bottle(s) of Imodium. The instructions are to take two tablets with your first, um, problem, then one each time you have the same problem. But not to exceed six in a 24 hour period.

Only problem with that is that the explosions were happening six times in twenty four minutes at their worst. Not a good experience. Ugh.

She said that the main danger from taking too many is that it can have the opposite effect. Which is also not good.
"I have geriatric patients who do this all the time," she told me. "And then because things have slowed down, they worry and take a laxative. Apparently they think they need to go every day, and if they haven't, it causes them to mess with their system in a way that's not necessarily good for their health.

So yeah. That has 'passed'. Ha.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All week last week the kids were just bouncing off the walls. And each other. One of the craziest weeks in memory at this job.

They were disrespectful to each other, weren't listening to me, and were physical, crabby and moody and loud. And physical. And mean. And pushing each other around both physically and verbally. I saw actual bullying, three boys ganging up on a fourth. A big surprise, as the boys who were being mean generally would never even consider behaving that way.

The worst part was that the kid they were yelling at hadn't even done anything.

Timmy had brought his book outside and left it on a bench. The wind was fierce and there were leaves and papers and other debris blowing around. When it was time to come in, he walked over to the bench to get his book and found it on the ground. Harry* was the closest person to the bench, so Timmy started yelling at him. "Why did you throw my book on the ground?!!?!"

Harry looked mystified. "Huh?" he said. "I didn't touch your book!"

And then the two Davids joined Timmy in yelling at Harry. They were about six inches from his face, shouting at him. Of course I intervened. And because it had been witnessed by every child in the group, I talked to the three boys in front of the group.

"First, Harry didn't touch your book, Timmy. If you've been paying attention, you know that it's very windy out here. Your book fell on the ground because you didn't weigh it down with anything and you walked away and left it. It's not okay for you to yell at Harry about it. And YOU two," I said, turning to the Davids, "You two have NO business joining in. It's not your book. You had nothing to do with it. All three of you are behaving in an appalling manner. What's it called when several kids gang up on someone like this? Anyone?"

A chorus of "Being a bully/bullying/being mean."

Yeah. That. "And do we do that here?"

Another chorus. Most of the kids said no, except Bill* the class clown, who yelled out an enthusiastic YES.
He thinks he's funny.
And sometimes he actually is.

But he hasn't figured out when to keep his mouth closed yet. I have high hopes that eventually, he will.

I turned to him and said, "Bill. If you don't have something to contribute to this conversation that's helpful, please keep your opinions to yourself. You're not helping with this at all. Did you not notice that Harry is feeling bad and that these three," I gestured toward them, "are causing ugliness in the middle of our group? You shouting out an inappropriate response in the middle of the mess isn't appreciated or wanted. I'm not really thrilled to hear this from you."

He knew better than to say anything else. But he'll do it again. Because he's Bill.

Timmy spent the rest of the afternoon beating himself up. Every time I looked over at him, he was looking down, looking sad. I did go talk with him about it, and told him that the incident was closed. "If you can remember not to do that to someone again, then you've learned from it, Timmy. That's all I ask."

He didn't brighten up a whole lot. One reason I try not to be too hard on him is that he is much meaner to himself than I could ever be to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


And I have more to say. Lots more. But today is our 35th wedding anniversary and we're going to go out and do anniversary-type stuff.
So you'll have to check in tomorrow for more.

35 years. Huh.

An anniversary of sorts

35 years ago today Eric and I decided to get married. There was no touching proposal, there were no flowers or sentimentality.

Instead there was a day spent in the small town of Ouray, Colorado. Festivities of a small town 4th of July coupled with an amazing display of fireworks, which we watched lying on a blanket on the hood of our car, leaned back against the windshield. And while basking in the remembered warmth of the day and the discovery of how deep our friendship had become, we realized we were going to end up married.

He bought me a little tiny ring that day. I still wear that ring on a chain around my neck.

And he's still the best person I know.

Rainbows for Everyone!!

I work with a broad cross section of humanity.
All women at this point, although we've had a few guys on our team in the past.

We're all very different as individuals. It's interesting to me when I stop to really ponder it.

We have a couple grandmothers, more than a few 20 something college students, some mid-30s housewives and at least one gimpy 54 year old.

Different families, too.
Single moms raising children, married man/woman couples, single, unencumbered individuals, empty nesters.

None of us socialize outside of work. The only thing we have in common is our jobs. I like everyone just fine, but we don't spend any time together when we're not required to. That works for me very well. I have had jobs in the past where the staff really was like one big family, but the way we're set up, we just don't spend time getting to know one another. We're all on our own little islands for a majority of the time.

Yesterday afternoon I was asked by one of the grandmas, "What do you think about the new Supreme Court ruling?"

From her disapproving tone, I knew which case she was referring to.

"Well, I don't really care, actually. I think it's fine."

"Hmph. It's certainly not a lifestyle *I* approve of! I mean, I guess it's their business, but I don't understand it."

Ha. As if they need your approval!!

She had asked me what I thought. I decided to tell her.
"As far as I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't accept my entire family, regardless of their orientation, can kiss my ass. Excuse me, will you?"

I walked over to where a couple boys were once again stealing the money from the cash register while the girls had their backs turned and dealt with the situation.

She figured out all by herself that topic was over. :)

One of my coworkers is gay, she lives with her partner. Between them, they have three kids. Grandma still hasn't figured it out, although the coworker takes all three kids with her when she leaves every day.

I am glad to see her in a relationship. She's been lonely a long time.

I ask, in all honesty, how does that affect you, personally? Generic you, of course... since the people who read here have open minds and open hearts.
How does someone's love change yours? Threaten your marriage? Contribute to the downfall of our country?

We'd be a lot better off in our country if people would just butt out when it's not their concern.

And now that we've opened the door to finally realizing religious institutions have no fucking business in government, how about them starting to pay taxes?

:::tap tap tap::: is this thing on??

I have a bunch of stuff to tell you, but not enough time to tell it all in one sitting.

I can see myself being back to daily blogging in a week or so, though.

The last two weeks have been just nuts. I took the week of August 18th-22nd off work to do some cleaning/dehoarding of the domicile. We rented a drop box so we could dispose of a ton of things that have been sitting out back... old furniture etc.

I never really thought about it, we've never had furniture to dispose of before. But last fall about this time, my cousin Kathy moved out of her great big house and into an RV full time. She sold or gave away a great deal of what she had. We were the recipients of a sofa, two end tables, a big comfortable recliner and a rolling TV stand thing. That's currently in the spare bedroom with the printer inside and the modem etc on top.

So anyway, we had this big-assed sectional. Totally worn out, dirty with dog grease up the back (Maggie rubbed on it constantly and left a big black streak.)
You can't very well cram the sofa and various parts into the garbage can to haul away. We don't own a truck to haul it to the dump, either.

So it sat. A bunch of other things sat, too. When Matt moved out, he left things that also needed to be thrown away.

So the dumpster was a necessary thing. I ordered it on a Thursday, it showed up on Friday morning at 7:25 AM because why the hell should I be allowed to sleep in? And the guy picked it up the following Friday, also a little after 7... because again, why the hell should I be allowed to sleep in? Gahhh. Beeeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep while he backed up. Then SLAM and CRASH and SLAM and beeeeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep... I guess if I'd gone out in my t shirt and gummy hair and yelled at him I'd be the one who looked bad, which strikes me as unfair because HE was the noisy asshole... but whatever.

So we had a ton of stuff hauled away.

Then on Friday the 22nd we picked Bob up at the airport. Matt called me at a little after 9 as we were on the way there to ask me to make Amy's bouquet.

She specified 'predominantly yellow and white with some blue'. Okay. Any idea how many colors of blue there are in the ribbon section of Michael's? Holy crap. I just chose one and hoped for the best. Since you've seen the wedding photos already, you know I picked the right stuff.

And because I felt like I couldn't just leave it at a bouquet, I sat here at the table and spent nine hours on Saturday the 23rd doing flowers for the wedding. I spent about a hundred dollars on flowers, wires, floral tape, ribbons etc... Amy said that they'd priced flowers and just one corsage was 40 dollars. I was glad that Matt asked me to do something I understood. :)

I did the bouquet, a boutonniere for Matt and for the best man (who was a girl) and for the officiant who is Matt's best male friend. Three months ago, Matt was his best man, actually. I did corsages for the matron of honor, Amy's mom, my mom and my daughter. Then, when Matt and Amy were over for dinner I asked Amy if there was anyone else she wanted me to make a corsage for. I ended up making one for her grandmother, too.

Here's a box of flowers for you to see...

tools of the trade... I haven't forgotten how to do this even though it's been a long time

The ribbon for the bridal bouquet and behind that, the little newsletter thing from my cousin's daughter's wedding on July 5th. THEY did the whole schmear. Little newsletters, can cozies, formal wear...

For the matron of honor

I want to tell you about the wedding, too. It was really sweet and designed by them FOR them. I am pretty sure the lack of religious ceremony bothered a few people, but I think the ceremony and the little extras were just perfect. They seem so happy and make such a sweet couple.

Saturday morning (two days ago) Matt and Amy came over at 5:30 AM and I drove them to the airport to catch a plane. They're currently honeymooning in Orlando. I hope they're having a wonderful time.

It's pretty crowded in our driveway. My car, Matt's car, the car we rented for Eric, Bob and Lyssa to visit Eric's sister (that's a whole 'nother story.. one that will take ages to write down) and Eric's work truck.

Busy busy.

I got my site set up for Tuesday morning's school opening.
I managed to get out there last week and meet our new principal. He seems like a nice guy. He has a child in a before/after school program. He asked me something I've never been asked by a principal before... "What can I do to help you grow your program?" Which bodes well for the future, I think.

Anyway, I am done rambling for tonight. Shower, bed. Ikea in the morning, Eric and Bob are going out hot dog roasting tomorrow. BORRRRRING but I will probably go, too.

I thought maybe I should add a couple photos...

My parents. The one on the left is my mom. :)

Bob, the father in law from heaven is on the left.
I may have mentioned that he has NEVER said a single negative thing to me about how we live our lives.

My amazing husband. He doesn't like being photographed (neither do I, really)
since we're both not the wispy little creatures we used to be.
But let me tell ya, he's an amazing man. 35 years together and still best friends.

It really did happen!!

Me with the baby of the family. :)

The Bride and Groom

Had to use the bouquet for a photo.

They are a lovely couple, you're right. :)

Bride Bouquet

The Groom modeling the right way to hold the bouquet

Tomorrow's the wedding...

I have the clothes I'm planning to wear.
We got the house presentable.
Eric has to go find something else to wear, as the stuff he bought at Kohl's isn't going to work, too small. (I *told* him...)

My parents arrived in the late afternoon. They brought me a WHOLE BOX of peaches from Kimberly. Kimberly is not a person, it's a town in Eastern Oregon. And they grow wonderful peaches there. It's a once a year thing... and I really, really look forward to it.

They also brought two large cantaloupes, which are currently stinking up the kitchen. After I shower, I am gonna cut them up and toss the stuff the hell out of here!!

I cooked a spaghetti dinner and we had a nice visit until about 8:30. Then they went off to their motel and we cruised to the airport to pick Bob up. He's the same as always, perhaps a little less hair on top.

He sat in my kitchen and ate a spaghetti dinner at about 10 last night. His flights got goofed up and he ended up missing meals all the way across the US. So he was a hungry guy when he got off the plane.

Matt called me on our way to the airport. Evidently it had just occurred to them that Amy doesn't have flowers. They asked me to make her bouquet. Thank goodness they asked me to do something I know how to do!! I spent a couple years doing exactly that when I lived with my grandparents. Something I can actually manage. Yay.

So this morning I am going to hit the shower, get my mom to her hair appointment (I hope I never reach the age where I want my hair all floofy on the top of my head and think it looks good that way... really.)

And... off to Michael's and to a flower shop to get the items I need for Amy's bouquet.

Tonight my parents and Bob and Matt and Amy will be over for dinner. Should be entertaining, noisy, and nutty. Alyssa is cooking, I get the night off!!

I'll get out the camera(s) and take some photos for posterity.

And tomorrow I get to become a mother in law. Although I have to say that Amy's been part of the family for a year already.

I'm determined to be a good mother in law. Meaning that I'm not going to tell them what to do or question the decisions they make. They're smart people, they think things through, and they don't need my input.

But how did I get old enough to have a son who's a husband?

Hm.

Famous Feet and INforMAtion. Hmph.

I have had some difficulty finding something to wear for Matt and Amy's wedding, which is, as I begin writing this, exactly a week away.

I finally found something to wear at the outlet stores up the road. A turquoise-y colored skirt with inset lace panels and a white shirt with a lace inset. I will need to go grab a camisole, as it's not exactly a heavy shirt, but it's nice enough.
The girl in the clothing store asked me for my phone number. I asked, "Why?Are you going to call me?"

"Oh no, we just get your phone number and email address and stuff to tell you about special deals!"

I wasn't sure if she was stupid or she thought I was. Either way, um, no.
"Well, I'm not giving you my email address," I told her.

She looked surprised and I think a little insulted. Not that I care.
I managed to pay for the transaction without giving blood or email address.
Then, Lyssa and I wandered over to Famous Footwear. I'm not sure why it's famous. :)

As we were walking over the store, we got behind some people who were loitering along with cigarettes. I started to feel sick from the smell. We stopped a couple times to let them get ahead of us, but for some reason they took that as a signal to stop TOO. And blow out more clouds of foul odor. Yuck.

When I walked into the shoe store, the smell of rubber and leather hit me like a wall. Within three minutes, I had a full blown migraine. Goodie.

So we picked out some sandals.
Lyssa found hers quickly.
Not me, though.

Writing it down is a lot easier than the actual activity. I had to try on four or five pairs to find something that works. I wear big orthotics and men's shoes most of the time. It's not as unwieldy and clumpy as it sounds, though. I found some New Balance shoes that are mostly blue, added some tie dyed laces in pink and blue and they're quite comfortable. If you don't know that they're men's, you'd never guess.

But. Because of the amount of time I've spent wearing them, my feet are wider than they used to be. Problematic when shopping for womanly shoes.

So I found some. They're not the right color, I wanted white, but they will be comfortable for me and I'll be able to wear them all afternoon and evening without discomfort, which is far more important than having them be a certain color. Only someone who's had horrible foot pain would understand. If you haven't, I hope you never do.

So we got in line. Along with about 6 other people. ONE line. One register open.
And she was trying to get everyone ahead of us to sign up for their frequent shoe fucking card. "You can save FIVE percent!!" she chirped. "That's a great deal!!"

And son of a bitch.. they were doing it. I stood there trying not to barf on my shoes while a guy with a heavy accent tried to get her to spell his name properly and then waited another agonizing three minutes for her to get his email address right.

I figured in my head that I'd save about $2.50 if I were to sign up. It was worth a 20 to me to just get the fuck out of there, but she tried anyway.
"No, thank you." I told her.
"Are you sure? You can save FIVE PERCENT!!!!"
"No. Thank you. Let's just get done."

Annoying as hell.

I don't worry about giving out my personal information, I'm sure there are a few people out there who don't have access to it, but for the most part, we're all out there, ya know? My objection is to the process itself. There were at least six people waiting in line to complete their transactions. Harassing each one was taking TIME...and I was trying to maintain long enough to get outside and take more than the flat and shallow breaths I was taking to avoid sucking more of the horrible smells into my lungs. Heat is really, really bad for migraine pills, and I don't carry them in my car for that reason. I knew I was going to have to drive home after I got my damn shoes. And the perky little bubblehead behind the counter wanted INforMAtion!

I also don't like the assumption that we're going to just hand over our email addresses etc. If I want something, I will go and buy it. I don't generally buy anything that I don't need. If I have an impulse to buy, I'll handle it.

Don't get me started on the whole catalog thing, either. I hate that when I buy something from Amazon or another online retailer, they take it as a license to bury me in catalogs. Those catalogs go straight into the recycling. I wonder if they knew that, would they continue to pile them on?

So anyway, I have something to wear. I will find the jewelry that belonged to my grandmother and wear that with my sort of dressed up outfit.

I will look almost respectable when my son gets married.

Endings and Beginnings and Sinking Fast

Remember when you were a kid at the start of summer vacation?

I'd wake up on the first day of vacation and literally see allllll those days of vacation time like a road, unrolling before me. So many possibilities!!

I spent a great deal of my childhood immersed in books. The season was unimportant. But during the summer, I could spend a whole day reading.
Anything I wanted to.

My dad is still one of my heroes for that. :)

I didn't have to put my book away to get ready for school. I didn't have to leave the book in my room so I could catch the bus. I didn't have to suffer through a whole day of "learning" so I could get back into my book again.

So I liked to read. I still do, although a great deal of the reading I do now is online. I still read voraciously, but I guess I'm reading mostly non fiction now. Because of course if you read it on the internet, it's true.
(Abraham Lincoln said that.)

I rode my bike.
Hung out with my brothers in the front yard. We shot each other with imaginary guns, shot our friends, died a hundred times before lunch. The more dramatic, the more better. ;)
Visited friends.
Went swimming.
As a family, we went camping and fishing, too.
The expanse of time ahead of me on the first day of summer seemed infinite.

My favorite part then and now (besides not being regimented all day long) was sleeping in. Not having to get up early. Heavenly. :)

So I confess to still seeing summer as an endless expanse of days to goof off in. Oh sure, my responsibilities are different now, I am getting ready for company in two weeks (MY SON IS GETTING MARRIED!!!), I have a job, I do the regular stuff of laundry and dishes and sweeping the larger chunks of whatever off the floor... but still. It's summer.

I looked at the calendar this morning. There are fifteen days of summer program left. Ten of those are work days for me, I am taking a week off just before the arrival of friends and family for the wedding. Cleaning the house. Doing laundry. SLEEPING IN.

I wouldn't take that time off at all, but the way vacation time works with my employer, if you don't take your vacation time, you lose it when it rolls over again on your anniversary date.

I'd prefer not to lose that time, really. I have more than earned it. Most of my vacation time used in the past five years has been for surgery. Cleaning the house will be a treat compared to that. The mild pain in the ass of mopping a floor is pretty mild compared to the white-hot agony of a sliced and diced knee, trust me.

I'll probably end up going out to my school and meeting with the new principal during that week, as it may be my only opportunity to do so before the chaos of a new school year starts. It's super important to establish a decent working relationship with everyone on the staff at the school. Fortunately, it's not difficult. They're all great people and realize that we're all on the same team. The kids are the winners of the game, though.

I usually buy a bag of fun sized Crunch bars ('crunch' week... get it?) and drop one off in everyone's mailbox with a little note on the first day of school. I also stop at Winco and get the large boxes of individual bags of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies and try to get those set out in the staff lounge on the first day for the teachers.

::making note to self to email my manager so she can purchase those items for me.... I usually end up buying them myself:::

Say what you want about public education. I have issues with the system myself, as I think we do a grave disservice to our children in institutionalizing their learning. I think they'd learn better and thrive more in a less regimented lifestyle.
Whatever.
I can't change the system.

Hell, I'm not even a day care fan.
I think if at all possible, children should be with their families.
If one chooses to send a child to school, I think a parent should be home with them before and after. But those same children have to be fed and clothed and most of the time, that means that either Mom or Dad (or both of them) need to have employment that takes them away from their family.

So while not a fan of day care, I am a huge fan of kids in general, and I'm glad that when they're with me, they're with someone who genuinely cares about them. They're going to be in day care anyway. It may as well be with a person who puts them first.

The public school staff I've met during the course of my job are amazing. They're all very different personally, but all of them are united in their love of children and a wish to make a difference. Within the constraints and limitations of the system, they are making a big difference in the lives of a lot of kids.

I mentioned I'm not a fan of public education. And I'm really not. But the people who work there are laboring under some pretty oppressive circumstances. You couldn't pay me enough to teach public school.

So on tap for today?
First, a shower. It's nearly eleven. I got up at 6. And 7:22. And 8:15. I made a smoothie, took some aspirin, sat here at the computer watching my husband prepare to replace the kitchen sink and get started on that job. He has pulled out the old one. Made in 1959. It's on the back porch. Our brand new stainless steel sink and faucets and drains are strewn across the kitchen floor. It's mildly entertaining, who knew there were so many creative uses for the word 'fuck?

So yeah. That's my life right now.
How's yours?

Moving day.

It's moving day!

Matt is outa here.

To commemorate the occasion, I plan to have lunch with him. And then cheerfully wave goodbye.

I won't sit and cry over it. Seriously. He's heading off to 'the future'.... that misty concept I never, not once, considered when making the decision to have a baby. Babies are a right now sort of thing. But then they grow up and become people. And they meet other people. And they like those other people and would rather live with them than with their mommies!!! Can you imagine???

:)


I am happy for him. I think he's made a good choice of a person to marry, I plan to be the kind of mother in law that doesn't stick her nose into every little thing. I won't criticize her. Or him.

Unless it's called for. ;)
And no, not really. I will allow them to have their lives and try to be decent and supportive and kind and just... love them.

But I will miss having him around.

It will be strange.

Happy Birthday Baby!! And oh. Oops. Thought I'd mentioned it.

There is a beautiful girl in my life. Her name is Alyssa, and today she is 20 years old. I don't know how that is possible. I really don't. I've heard so many times over the years how fast time goes, and when my kids were small, I didn't really believe it.

I was wrong.

So happy birthday to my beautiful, smart, quirky, hilarious, adorable, loveable, huggable, wonderful daughter, Alyssa. Who is also my coworker... and does a HELL of a job with kids. She has a natural talent and empathy and is the best assistant I've ever had at my site. I do not say that lightly, I have had some excellent ones.

I miss you, Sweetheart... it's so strange to have you be away from home on your birthday!!

And speaking of beautiful.....

Matt's been dating this beautiful girl for, well let's see... almost a year now, I think.

They're moving in together at the end of this month. He has a diamond for her, and although they haven't set a date, she is THE ONE.

Her name is Amy. Matt has liked her for years and years, although they weren't in touch. They sang together in choir when Matt was a teen homeschooled weirdo in public school choir. :)


Amy was here for Thanksgiving dinner. That was our first official meeting.

She came again at Christmas. An excuse for me to tidy up the hoard a bit. I'm going to have to seriously work on that if I want to see much of her, I think. :)

She's a lovely girl, has a beautiful smile, a great laugh, and yes, she's good enough for my son. I have no reservations about it. You know how sometimes women (moms) look at the person their son has picked out and say things like, 'well she's great except for ___.' or 'Well, it doesn't matter to me, he's the one who has to live with her.'

I suppose one or both of those things *could* be true, but I don't feel that way at all. She obviously loves him, he's nuts about her, they can talk about anything and everything and are the best of friends. I know Matt is happy with her, and I'm assuming that she's happy with him, too. They certainly spend as much time as possible together.

After their first meet up (coffee at Starbucks) he came home and said, "Well, even if nothing comes of it, I have a new best friend."

(I know... awwwww.)

I thought maybe I'd said something here on my blog about him getting married, but it was pointed out to me on Facebook that I actually haven't mentioned it. Anywhere.

So consider this your official notification.

My son is getting married. We think she's adorable and perfect for him, and wish them a future filled with everything good and just enough stuff that's a pain in the ass to help them appreciate the great stuff. :)