p is for pace yourself July 25, 2008

Taking things one day, one event at a time right now.

I just finished two weeks of Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute.  We had 27 students and finished triumphantly yesterday with very positive comments from the parents and displays of retention and purpose from the students that amazed me.  They were a tough bunch.  All my gratitude to my teaching partner, Sue, who brought kindness and donuts each day, and brought out the mom-voice only when necessary.

Today is an 8 hour community summit – discussing issues that face our community and brainstorming effective ways to address the needs.  It will be a long, but productive day.  I think I am facilitating a group in the afternoon, but mostly just there for support.

Chris has made great progress in the last couple of days.  He has one more swim lesson this morning and then is officially unemployed for the next year!  He finally has his official ticket and lots more items checked of the giant “to do” list.  We are also deep cleaning his room and sorting through his belongings and so far have bagged up piles of stuff for donation and garbage.

So many fun events to look forward to:  a week off work, the arrival of BFF from Florida on Saturday, and Kate’s return only a week away.  Always looming in the distance is Chris’ departure.  He is so fun to have around right now, that although I know sending him is the right thing to do, I find myself wanting to hold on.

Is it my holding on that keeps me awake, or the to-do lists, or the fatigue…only sleeping 4-5 hours a night and I am definitely a 8-9 hour girl.  Vacation is timely and begins today at 5 PM!  Woot!

m is for michigan favorites July 13, 2008

I love walking through the shops in Saugatuck, fudge from Kilwin’s, the view of the lake from Oval Beach, driving along the lakeshore and oogling big houses, freshly picked Michigan blueberries, old Bethany Beach haunts, Redamaks, Oinks, and the outlets in Michigan City.  And I got to see them all today on the most gloriously sunny, breezy, perfect Michigan Day.   I have a grateful heart.

And now back to reality.

g is for grand rapids July 11, 2008

Good Morning from Grand Rapids where John, Chris and I are here to attend the Rotary Youth Exchange conference.  We arrived last evening after an easy drive through three states.  It was bittersweet as we passed exit after exit of memories throughout Harbor Country.  We thought of all the burgers we’ve eaten at Redamaks, picking blueberries, the beach at Bethany, blue moon ice cream at Oinks, climbing Mt. Baldy in Saugatuck, and the list went on.  Ahhh, Michigan.

So here we are in Grand Rapids.  John and I chose a hotel over the dorm, and after seeing lots of parents carrying in their fans, decided wisely so.  We dropped Chris off at the campus of a beautiful little college here and he immediately found a friend from home, a “rebound” student who just returned from Germany.  That was the last we saw him.  Today and tomorrow are filled with general sessions, information meetings and social events.  As Chris is headed to Germany soon, we are classified as “outbounds” and are tagged with green bands and name tags.

We are just glad to be here after a difficult week of illness for Chris.  The mystery was seemingly solved when he broke out in a rash on Wednesday and was diagnosed with scarlet fever due to strep.  A few hours on penicillin and he began to bounce back.  Thankful for that because he was as sick as I have ever seen him.

Time to head out for breakfast and then over to the conference.  We will be forced to face the fact that our delightful middle child will leave the nest in a dramatic fashion in the next few weeks.  They are not timid about launching at our house and we proudly wouldn’t have it any other way.  While some children seem to make a gradual transition from home to college and adulthood, ours prefer rocketships that carry them to far away lands. It’s exciting and breathtaking and we love our brave, adventurous crew!

f is for fireworks July 5, 2008

Hey, it’s the 4th of July, so what do you do in the Midwest?  Crowd into the parking lots and grounds of your local community college, listen to a band, chat with your friends, eat tasty food, and watch a beautiful fireworks display.

At least that’s what we did.  Featuring the most perfect 4th of July weather I can remember, we rolled out to Parkland early last evening and set up camp in a great viewing location.  Arriving about 3 hours before the first boom, we spread blankets, set up chairs, and unveiled our potluck contributions.  Using Kellie’s little red wagon as the buffet, fruit salads, pasta salads, tabouleh, and more were shared.  We had cherry danish dessert, lemon squares and brownies and lots of assorted beverages.  Yum!  I visited with each of the members of our group about a dozen in total, mostly Panera girls and their associates. Thomas went with us, but almost immediately found friends to wander around with.  A great cover band was playing, and they entertained us with music from my high school and early college years including lots of Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire.  They had horns, can you tell?

The fireworks were beautiful.  I have never in my life had such a clear vantage point.  We did not miss a sparkle, a pop or a bang.  We were so close in fact that ash and tiny debris from the boomers fell on us like a swarm of tiny gnats.  Each member in our party was swatting and wiping and scraping trying to figure out what was going on.  Since it was dark we couldn’t see that it was all just tiny pieces of black debris.  No big deal (unlike in a near by community where fireworks exloded on the ground in the crowd.  Oops).

We waited awhile after together, just to avoid the traffic snarls.  It was in that period of time that Chris called to say, “Mom we’re out in the country, and I lost my key.  Can you come get us?”  Apparently he and a couple of friends were out on a rural road not far from the college watching fireworks and low and behold, when it was time to get back in the car to motor on up the road, no key!  “Well,” I told him, “it will be at least an hour before we can get out of here.”  He agreed to stay safe and keep looking for the key with the flashlight they had.  It was all resolved when one of his friends’ parents came to get them and took them to her house.  Later John had to go get Chris, taking an extra key, and pick up the car.  Chris went back to fun with friends and John came on home, fairly late at this point, especially for us old folks.

So today is Saturday, and my chore list is a mile long.  John will continue his excellent work in the garage where he is prepping the walls for primer and paint.  One quarter has been finished completely and painted.  This weekend, hopefully the second quarter.  Doing the math – half done!!

Kate went mountain climbing and Thomas will spend today prepping for camp.  A lovely summer day has begun.  I hear the sound of the sprinkler on the garden where my Shasta daisies are going gang busters.  The cool spring we had was good for the perennials, as we are having blooms on things I didn’t even know were alive anymore!