Mental-Pause

I am smiling my way through the book called "Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause". Ah yes, the sisterhood of the forgetful [what did I come in here for?], the hot flashes [Mom, what's a hot flash?], the weight gain [whoa! where did this spare tire come from?! do I really weigh as much now as I did when I was 9 months pregnant with my kiddos?], the mood swings...
The next generation thinks I'm hopelessly 'old' and the husband sighs "How much longer?" The MIL marvels at my new internal thermostat- me of the formerly 'always cold' variety, now of the fan-blowing-on-me-all-night-positively-melting variety. This too shall pass. At least that's what they tell me. I can't ignore it, can't fast forward through it. Nothing to do but laugh. Here is a poem from the book to help with that-

KEEP THE CHANGE

There once was a woman

with worries galore,

who went to the doctor

as if at death's door.

 

"Now tell me your symptoms,"

the doctor replied.

And here's what she said

as she trembled and cried:

 

"Early one morning,

I went number one,

and I heard some clinking,

and when I was done,

 

"I looked in the toilet,

and guess what I saw...

a small pile of pennies,

and I was in awe!

 

"And then the next morning,

I heard the same sound,

and there in the toilet,

some nickels I found!

 

"And on the third morning,

I saw a few dimes,

and after that quarters

a number of times!"

 

"There's no need to worry,"

said old Doctor Bliss.

"A woman your age

will experience this.

 

"It's really quite normal.

I know that it's true.

There's no need to fear

what has happened to you.

 

"See, you're nearly fifty,

and this isn't strange.

To put it quite simply,

you've gone through the change."

-Albert Van Hoogmoed  

Christmas Vacation

Some of things we did on our Christmas vacation...

We got up at 3:30AM Saturday (22nd) and drove across a couple states to get to a family gathering. Besides the usual Christmas festivities, we had a 1st birthday party for the nephew in the evening. Fun stuff!

 

When everyone else headed home, we packed up and headed for the sunny south. We drove all night and into the next afternoon - 19 hours later we arrived at the in-law's house. We were in bed by 8PM that night to recuperate! I have to admit, the long drive wasn't as bad as dreading it. I do believe the children can finally travel peacefully.

 

Good fishing weather was forecast to be in short supply so R & JS got up early the next morning to go along. But there was more pulling in of boats that day than of fish. It took so long to fix boat motors that they couldn't go way out where the good fishing is- but they did get to fish in the bay a little. JS caught 7 or 8.  

 

Tuesday was Christmas Day. Around the table with family. 

Mom is never happier than when feeding her family. 

Lots of corn hole was played...

...and candy gathered from the annual Pinecraft Christmas parade.

Sure doesn't feel like Christmas when you're in flip-flops! Or barefoot.

 

We get a lot of mileage out of these little scooters we bought for FL.

 

 If it wasn't for table games, what would the Millers do? I am a misfit in this family!

R & JS playing Rook with the sister & BIL.

 And then there is shuffleboard... if you can manage to get a court.

(If you've ever been there you know what I mean.)  

 

It totally slipped my mind to get a picture of the Hillcrest gathering. There has never been so many alumni in FL at the same time before [of our "group" anyway]. The ones with the nice big rental house hosted us for a cookout. What's not to like about grilled burgers in December!

 

The famous 'Super Bowl of volleyball' was held on Friday. Our main interest was the team including the nephew. Good job, C!

It was chilly in the morning, beautiful in the afternoon -until it started to rain around 4. The games went on despite the rain. BYOU [Bring Your Own Umbrella]. We didn't have one so we went home.

 

Saturday morning we had an early birthday celebration for JS. He chose homemade pancakes over going out to eat. What "Grandma" didn't tell us was that she didn't have a griddle, so we fried them in frying pans. Plate-sized M&M pancakes and 9" cream sticks go pretty good with 17 yr olds though.  

 

 What is a trip to FL without hitting the beach at least once? Too cold to do more than dip our toes this time around.

Then we went to the airport so JR could watch planes. Engage him in conversation about aviation and he'll soon blow you out of the water. Unfortunately, it was the wrong day- not many flights that afternoon.

 

By Saturday evening we had accomplished everything we wanted to do on our vacation and we would've been ready to head home. (Originally we had planned to stay till Tuesday morning.) We stuck it out Sunday yet, but that 44* temp with a sharp north wind... we were DONE with FL! If we're gonna freeze, let's go home where there is at least snow to go with it. The only advantage to staying was the free concert in the park Sunday afternoon.
   We headed north Sunday evening at 9:45. Stopped in SC for breakfast with Hillcrest alumni we haven't seen for 19 years. It was great to catch up. When we got a call in the afternoon informing us it was snowing & blowing at home, we thought they were "pulling our leg"; we had dry roads all the way to the state line. The closer to home we got, the worse the roads. Grateful to -finally- arrive safely Monday evening. Of course, it didn't take long for our boys to head out to a youth New Years Eve party that lasted till 4:30AM, but this old mom & dad were totally devoid of energy to watch the new year roll in.
   Now we are enjoying another week of vacation at home -before it's back-to-school time. It's going waaaayyyy too fast.