The Wedding, The holidays and The New Year

Post wedding, straight into the holidays and finally things are slowing down enough for me to remember that I set up this blog. The wedding was wonderful and I can honestly say that it was the most perfect day ever for a wedding. The bride was beautiful, the groom adorable, the mother of the bride a bit frantic and frazzled but everything went beautifully!

We rolled straight from the wedding into the holidays and of course, because of the wedding I had spent exactly zero time shopping for Christmas. It all came together in the end though and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. We were so happy to have time to spend with Marshal and Stephani before Marshal leaves for the UAE for six months. This Christmas Eve marked our last one for a long time. Time to do something different! But there were dinners out with family, long chats by the fireplace, music playing, baking and cooking and our house was filled with our wonderful family and great friends!

I have finally had time to sit and read a book or two and am spending some time deciding what to do next. Down to visit Cares and Jay next month and visit Miss Lisa while I am there. Planning another big trip to visit the DH in Alabama and visit some dear, old friends there! Then over to Texas to visit my girl Vicki and some other old friends. Then home to await the our youngest's graduation from high school.

The big question for me is, then what? Who knows! I am rediscovering old friends, old passions and new ones, enjoying time with my children and their companions, waiting to spend more time with mine and dreaming about the next part of my life! Let the adventure begin! And where is my gold watch?

Back Home

Well, ten days of travelling from state to state to state. Moving sofas, playing nanny to Carter, seeing movies, going to Relief Society Enrichment night in another ward, reading, finding myself with my van car seats in three different states,etc. The list goes on.

I have to commend the boys for taking care of the house so well. Things were pretty much in o.k. shape when I returned. Good job guys!

I realized, again, how much I hate unpacking and putting things to rights after a trip. I also realized how important it is to stay in touch with family members no matter how far away they are. Like my friend Lisa, my children are spread all over the nation and sometimes all over the planet. Weekly phone calls, cards, remembering birthdays, Facebook, emails, etc. are all wonderful ways to keep in touch. As children grow up and leave these tools become even more valuable. So in that vane I got a new cell phone, one that allows me to text message easily. So as I take my next step into the world of modern technology I began to wonder, is this really the direction we want our lives to go? Or is it just silly to fight the inevitable? Will we continue to develop psuedo ways of communication like email and texting and really think that they will take the place of a good old fashioned phone call, hand written letter or personal visit? In ten years will we spend more time with the ones we love or less, because we think a quick text message is communication?

I have breakfast with a dear friend of mine at least once a week, unless one of us is traveling. Now that is communication! Talking out our concerns, sharing laughs and even at our distingushed age, giggles. Planning shopping trips and movie dates. We share our memories and our futures together. Can any of this be accomplished via texting or Facebooking? As the technology speeds up our ability to communicate I have to wonder...are we really communicating at all?

As for me, I will use the technology to send quick messages and jokes but, I will also continue to plan visits to loved ones that live far away and even those who live a bit closer. I am convinced that while the technology allows us to keep in touch, it does not allow us to be in touch. It cannot replace the soft touch of my daughter's hand over the breakfast table, the smack talk with my son in law over football, the sweet moments I have share with my daughter in law and son over shared meals and pedicure appointments. It cannot replace the motorcycle ride my eighteen year old shared with his big brother. It cannot replace the simple conversations I have shared with each of my children in person, being able to try and read body language and facial cues that I have seen since their childhoods. Nope, I like technology but real person to person contact is still the only real way to make and maintain a connection with people. Facetime...not Facebook time is really the most important and best way to communicate with each other.

Out of Town

SLACKER! that's what I am a slacker...at least on this blog. Things slowed down for a minute after the wedding and then, true to form, started right back up again. Car issues, leaves falling, plumbing issues, car break in, etc. the list goes on and on.

For the next few days I have left my boys, 18 and 22 alone at home to watch over the homestead and fend for themselves. Psssst don't tell the neighbors! I am playing nanny to Carter down here in VA while his mom visits England to see Leah and Rik, who are expecting their first baby. I am loving it. We went over to MD last night to visit Carolin and Jason and got to help them get ready for their new arrival...no name yet, puppy! Yay, another grandpuppy. Pretty soon I will have more granddogs than kids. I wonder if that will make Christmas cheaper or not...hmmmm.

Going home on Friday to spend some time with my girl Sue over the weekend then back to VA to bring Carter home to his Mama. Then jetting over to MD to see Cares and J again, and bringing some of our dog stuff that we no longer use. Then home on Monday. Whew!

See what I mean! No rest for the wicked...oh I mean weary (Hah!) Now, moving onto Christmas...

My Day Today

Today was a typical day for me...

1) Dr.'s office for a blood sample
2) Bank
3) Post Office
4) Dry Cleaner's
5) Library (usually my favorite stop of the week but today I owed fines)
6) Hair Dresser's to pick up hair stuff
7) Michal's (a craft store) for stuff to finish up decorating the house for Fall
8) Grocery Store (this is my least favorite so I put it off until the boy's think they are going to starve to death)

Then back home to put all that junk away... Some parts of my life have changed drastically,like, the laundry...Maddock hauls it down to the basement, Micah sorts it, washes it and hauls it back up, I fold it and iron it, then we all put our own stuff away. Much easier than when there were five kids and tons of laundry. On the other hand, there are days like today that seem so familiar that I come home feeling like there should still be more people living here. Then I remember, the ones that live here are boys and that alone explains the $180.00 in groceries that will be gone in less than two weeks. Someday, Maddock will stop growing and soccer season will be over and he will quit eating us out of house and home. I'm not ready for someday, not just yet.

Post Wedding Week

This is the first week in months that I have not been consumed with wedding plans. Seemed strange at first but I believe I am getting over it. First a little light housekeeping and some cooking. A little shopping, finish my overdue library books, get the boys to take care of the lawn (no small feat indeed!) Spend time looking at some wedding photos and generally just taking the week off, even though there were two soccer games during the week.

Celebrated by birthday this week with loads of notes and FB messages from sweet friends. Some fizzy apple bubbly and graham flavored fish crackers, lunch with a good friend and breakfast with another and dinner out with my youngest. Some weeks just rock!

The older I get the more I appreciate the little things in life like, shoes that fit really well, so you buy two pair of them, phone calls from my kids, dinner out with friends and family, a really good book or movie, and a clean house! Oh! and my new beautiful ring from my hubby! Jewelry always makes it a good day.

So the wedding was a success! The only beautiful day of the week! The bride was stunning, the groom ecstatic! The mother of the bride exhausted! And that was only the ceremony! The receptions were marvelous. I will post more photos once we get them!

I just can't believe she is old enough to be someone's wife! Today she posted an email to me and I didn't have a clue who Carolin Shepard was. I almost deleted it! Things change!

Seven Days

Seven days...what the heck! Where did the week go...the bride is sick, the groom is hanging tough and the mother of bride is doing great! My blood pressure is finally down, I lost eleven pounds and for some reason am calm and collected. Seems strange to be so calm, I must be missing something.

Oh well, as long as they are married by the end of the day I'll be happy.