Post OP and Pullups

So my husband had to have Carpal Tunnel Release surgery today.

So to keep him occupied this morning I had him make me breakfast.

While he was fasting.

   I did tell him the coffee was good.

We arrived at the surgery center on time. After a slight delay, they came and took him back. Then

they let me come back with him before he went into surgery. I took a picture. I mean really, there wasn't much for me to do. Not like they were going to let me assist or anything...

Then it was time for surgery. So I went back into the waiting room and had a snack.

Lucky for me they had good coffee and French Vanilla Creamer and healthy snacks.

They were the thins after all.

Before I knew it, I was called back to Post-OP.  He was looking pretty good. I offered to help him dress, but he said he thought he could manage on his own. Probably a good thing he brought pull ups...

Sweat pants, that is. What were you thinking?

Home now and all is well. Guess he is not making dinner...

Meanwhile, just outside of Chicago...

   Since my husband was off work for the day, we thought we would spend a little time together at the Morton Arboretum. Nothing like a balmy 50 degree day in February to take a walk in the woods.

Nope, no global warming here!

   As we walked, we viewed wildlife around us. We were fortunate to see some Red Sparkled Ornaments that have not migrated yet. 

   We felt lucky to have spotted so many. Even saw one of the more rare Silver Crested Globes, but was unable to get a good picture to share. Maybe next time.

   Spotting these creatures in our area is uncommon this time of year, their food sources of gingerbread and candy cane often exhausted by this late date, but possibly the warmer weather brought them out.

   It was evident that other people are also enjoying the unseasonably warmer temperatures. This was one of several primitive structures we saw along the trail. Looks cozy!

Until next time...

A Halloween Tale for Grownups

   It was a cool and crisp fall day. Bill sat at the table staring out the big window and watched the trees, decked out in their autumn finery, cast batches of leaves about their back yard. His wife Jen joined him with two steaming cups of coffee and took the seat across from him.
   "Thanks" he said, taking the proffered mug.
   "Looks like you are going to have to clean out the gutters on the garage again." Jen commented as she sat down. "Think you will have time before the rain comes?"
   "Nothing wrong with the gutters." muttered Bill, as he glanced toward the garage that sat a little back from the house.
   "I think you will have to do something with them." Jen nodded her head. "Remember last year."
  "Woman, can't a man enjoy a cup of coffee?" groused Bill.
   "Fine, fine. I didn't mean right this second, now did I? Don't be such a grump. Enjoy your coffee and the view. It is such a nice view. I am so glad we decided to put this window in when we remodeled the kitchen. It makes such a difference, and it is so nice to sit here with coffee and watch the birds."
   "Hard to watch birds when someone is constantly handing out chores."
   "Oh, drink your coffee, you old grump." laughed Jen. She leaned back in her chair and tucked her graying hair behind her ear. They sat in silence for a few moments enjoying their coffee. "You know, now that we are both fully retired and this kitchen project is completely done, I was thinking we should take a trip."
   "Oh yeah? Where were you thinking." replied Bill with interest. A smile played about his lips.
   "I don't know, somewhere with sand and beaches I think. Get a feel for what we want to do next."
   "Anything but chores. I feel I have done nothing but work since I retired." A frown creased his forehead as he watched a car pull in front of the garage. "Isn't that Amy's car? You expecting her?"
   Jen nodded. "It is, and she looks like she has the boys with her."
   "Why aren't they in school? Isn't this a weekday?"
   "How should I know? I didn't even know she was coming." Jen got up to answer the back door as Amy herded two rowdy boys up the stairs to the back deck. "Amy, " she said opening the door. "Such a surprise."
   The boys shot through the door like dual cannonballs.
   "Boys!" called Amy. "Your shoes. Oh, they just don't listen." she laughed breathlessly.
   "Don't worry about it, it's not important. Come in, we were just having a cup of coffee. What brings you here?"
   "Oh I would love to have a cup. We were just passing though the neighborhood and I thought "You should stop and visit Jen and Bill' OH BOYS, DON'T DO THAT." she called. "They just got those new tools this morning, aren't they adorable?"
   "They look real." said Bill eyeing one of the duo as he hammered on an open cabinet door. "Stop that." he directed. "How come they are not in school?" He watched as the boys moved out of sight behind the kitchen island. A muffled banging noise began to fill the kitchen.
   "Oh they are real! Aren't they just great?" Amy swept into Jen's vacated seat. "We stopped this morning to pick up Starbucks and as the boys were getting their coffees, we saw them in the window and just had to have them!"
   Bill sputtered into his cup. "The boys had their own coffee? Aren't they a little young for that? They are what, 5 and 7?"
   "She doesn't mean real coffee, silly." said Jen bringing Amy her coffee.
   "Oh sure, they get their own coffee. They tried mine once and they really liked it. So I let them get their own. Sure beats sharing mine!" laughed Amy.
   "So do the boys have no school today?" asked Jen changing the subject as Bill purpled. From the corner of his eye, Bill thought he saw one of the boys leave the kitchen.
   "Oh they do, but it was so nice out, I thought we would take a day off..." Amy trailed off as her phone rang from the depths of her cavernous purse. "Hello?" she answered.
   From behind the island Bill heard a sawing noise.
  "Hey!" Bill exclaimed as he jumped up. "No sawing!" he moved around the counter to intercept the small blond haired boy.
   "Yes, I can come right away... Tommy, don't do that Honey....sorry, I was talking to Tommy. He just got a new tool set and they are the most adorable...."
   The blond haired boy named Tommy scooted around the island as Bill rounded the corner.
   "Give me that saw." said Bill as he surveyed the damage. "And where is your brother?"
  "Bye." Amy hung up. "Jen, I have to run a quick errand. That was Kathy and she wants me to come pick her up, her car is in the shop. I know you don't mind if I leave the boys here a little while? They are such a pain to get in and out of the car. You are such a dear. Thanks!"
   Before Jen could answer, Amy swooped up her purse and headed out the door. "No!" cried Bill to the closing door. A clinking came from the next room.
  "Oh my, what is that noise?" asked Jen looking bemused.
   "That damn kid put a huge cut in the cabinets with that little saw!" growled Bill.
  "Do you hear that noise?" asked Jen again. She frowned as she watched Amy's car back down the driveway.
   "And there is a hole in the wall next to the fridge!" roared Bill as he stormed about the kitchen. "We just redid this room and those little monsters are undoing it!"
   "Oh dear." said Jen nodding her head. "I hope Amy is not too long."
From the next room there was a crash and the sound of shattering glass, followed by giggles. Bill and Jen looked at each other and raced from their damaged kitchen... Moments later, two small blond heads peeped though the new kitchen window eyeing the discarded coffee on the table. With a miniature screw drivers they began tapping on the window.

Getting back into the swing of things...

   Been gone awhile from my blog. Seems that life got busier, but time did not stretch to accommodate all the extra stuff that was stuffed into each day. I tried not to beat myself up about it, told myself everyone needs a break now and then, that it would be okay, I would get back in the swing of things.

   Then a little more time passed. And a little more. And a little more. Time did not become any more accommodating. After a while, I began to wonder, where do I pick up the thread? How do I get started again?

   If you have ever felt like you were on a road to nowhere, I can say that I found the bridge when you get there...

   Since it seemed I was crossing a lot of ground with no purpose, and going nowhere very fast, I decided to take a look at pictures that I took during my absence from my blog. I was relieved to find that I was not the only one with a monkey on my back.

   Though I don't tend to chain my gorillas to the roof. Perhaps they have had a gorilla theft problem?

   My writing problem somehow seemed much smaller. And I realized that I was not just frittering away my time, I really was getting into mischief fairly busy. I did have a lot of pictures after all.


 


   There were at least 300 concerts at the end of the school year! Band, Choir, Musicals, you name it, I think we attended them. Recitals, I forgot recitals!












 And then there were graduations....

And graduation parties...

Then there was that pesky kitchen redecorating that is still on-going...

Nothing like a bit of paint to freshen things up.At least the appliances are back in. 

   

   We might agree on counter tops in the next year or two...so in the meantime I have a makeshift counter. And appliances, AND running water. In the kitchen. Such a deal! 

Gotta love plywood.

   Then I found some vacation pictures...

Our view

We rented a hopper!

So that is how to use a noodle...

At some point we went to the orthodontist too!

   There seems to be a theme of having stuff on your head.

      After looking at the past days weeks month or two or so, I didn't feel so bad. I may not have been doing much writing, but I was doing a whole lot of living. And in that living there are a number of stories for me to share! Like finding Nemo, when we were supposed to be finding Dory. I felt like I was passing a hurdle and well on my way back to the blogging world.

Perhaps while I am at it, I will find Dory.

Reflection on the State of Parenting

   Today our Jr. High sent out a notice that there was a large number of students who came to school without their everyday school supplies. Well, actually, the notice said that a large percentage of students hadn't brought their Chromebooks to school or brought ones that lacked sufficient charge to get through the day -which is essentially the same thing has having no Chromebook at all. In our school, each of the students are provided with a Chromebook and they use it EVERY SINGLE DAY. These devices are used in nearly every class for classwork, communication and even homework. During breaks, many of the students even use these devices for leisurely activities as well. The Chromebooks are critical for state PARC testing that is done online. Fortunately, testing doesn't start until tomorrow.

Seriously? Did they have their books, pens and paper? Were they even wearing clothes?

   I know, I know, everyone just came back from spring break. Lots of kids were traveling with their parents and enjoying vacations. Some, like our family, refrained from any electronics that didn't closely resemble a TV. It was decompression time. But Sunday night we started up our school night routine so that we would be reasonably ready to start the next day. That meant getting lunch together, making sure books and folders and backpacks were ready to go and checking that the Chromebook was plugged in so that we would have a full charge by morning. Because Lord knows we are not together enough in the morning to make those things happen. We are the ones who look in the mirror before going out the door to make sure we are wearing clothes...

   A friend and I speculated about just what happened to cause this issue. Did the kids really lose that much brain power over the break? Were that many families out of town, not returning until the twelfth hour and therefore unable to reorganize themselves for the return to school? Did families forget that school was starting back up?

Was there somehow a major failure in parenting?

What train?

   Or has the nature of parenting expectations changed so that we are set up for failure?

   For a brief moment I could feel my friend and I getting all defensive about our parenting. Society seems to want us to do everything for kids! I don't recall my mom worrying about if I had my school books. Can't seem to recall my Grandparents being asked by the school if they checked their kid's homework. Shoot, less than two generations ago, kids were often responsible for getting dinner on the table and helping with the farm chores by the time they were in sixth grade! What happened?

   My friend and I tend to buck society a little by thinking our kids should have a little more responsibility and learn some things by mistake. But we also feel we have clear roles as parents regarding how to prepare our children for those responsibilities. 

   One of those responsibilities is not checking our children's homework. Making sure it's done, oh sure. Checking it? No way. How would the teacher know if the kids understood the work if we checked it and had the kids correct it? So over the years we politely refuse to acknowledge the notes suggesting we go over the homework with our children. Now don't get me wrong, if they get stuck, we try to help them and hope we haven't done more hindering than helping... 

   So how early is too early to start? I don't know. My husband and I are the parents who made our five year old responsible for keeping track of and toting her own violin through several airports in multiple states. I was told that was just nuts. Really? After all, I was not the one who wanted to become a musician! I remember after passing security check at one location, the guard started to hand me the violin case. My daughter quickly corrected him and told him "Oh, that is my violin. I have to take care of it!" The guard smiled and apologized, handing her the instrument and nodding at me. He told her he was pleased to see that she was so responsible and she just beamed with pride. Ahhh, such a proud parent moment. But not one that wasn't months in the making. Since the time she had started taking lessons, we had been adamant that she carry her own instrument and the books involved - remember, we weren't the musicians - and she had learned to automatically check to make sure she had both with her when we traveled. It took some reminding at first, (okay, a lot of reminding!) but pay off was big. Especially since I had other things to worry about, like making sure we had gas in the car and that I had the money to pay for the lessons... I did gas the car up, didn't I?

I just can't be responsible for remembering to have her take her books to school too!

   I get frowns when people learn that I let my daughter bike to her friend's house. I will never be accused of being a helicopter parent. But on the flip side, I have taken some precautions such as getting to know her friend's parents. They let me know when she has arrived. I let them know when their kids have arrived at my house. When the kids get home again, we confirm that they are safely home again. Technology is very helpful that way. Especially if I didn't put gas in the car.

   So after I lowered my hackles at what I perceived as yet another parenting criticism, I reread the email from the school. No one had accused anyone of "bad parenting." The email (and automated phone call) that we received asked us parents to "please remind our students to fully charge and bring their Chromebook to school every day." It was just a friendly reminder. One to help families get back on course after the extended break. A way to remind the students that they are responsible for bringing their school supplies to and from school.

   Families sometimes have a rough start after an extended break. Thank heaven PARC testing doesn't start until tomorrow!

Monday Musings - Things that make you go UMMMM...

   We sometimes come across things that make us go Um...

In Disney, we came across this. 

We wondered what sort of individual would lob off Micky's head, then sell headless Mickys in a store. It gave us the creeps. So we fixed the problem. Much better, don't you think? 

Guess the Gingerbread man didn't run all that fast after all.

I often wondered about this picnic shelter. Note the picnic bench underneath.

And Just who comes up with signage pictures?

She is safe, right?

Perhaps I am not the person intended for this cook top. I know, maybe if I just grow a little.

Gonna make teaching kid to cook interesting.

Not to worry, everything is labeled.

Well, alrighty then!

Chocolate....

   This weekend I had a birthday! It was great!

We had chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream.

  There were Dark Chocolates and Chocolate covered cherries..

There was a bucket of chocolate (M&Ms inside)

AND Chocolate Cherry Coffee!

Spent some time eating this chocolate in front of the fire.

People seem to have the idea that I like chocolate.

They would be right.

Especially when it comes to dark chocolate.

I was taken out to breakfast and dinner. No real responsibilities....

It was sooo nice.

Today it is Monday. Today I have to adult. 

Sigh.

Pet musings

   When considering a pet it is always important to consider the size of the pet you would like to take care of. For our family, this meant a small pet. One that would be easy to take care of, yet fun for our family.

Chirp came to live with us.

  Even though she was small, she was  lots of fun to play with....

Peek-a-Boo

Aww, aren't they just cute?

But there were unexpected things that we had not fully taken into consideration.

For instance, Chirp needed her own bathtub.

So we got her one.

This proved to be quite messy.

   And like any other pet, Chirp felt she was just another family member...

She wanted to eat what we were eating.

Using our utensils. 

And off our plates.

And from our bowls.

Did I mention she liked our drinks?

No matter what we were drinking....

We really have to keep a close eye on her.

She likes to help with writing too...

Sometimes a bit too much.

I really enjoy her company and have gotten used to sharing with her, But as every good pet owner, I draw the line at some things.

Hey! That is MY COFFEE!