Walk by Faith

Homecoming weekend was this past weekend. Both of the oldest kids went. I think it's a pretty big deal that Experimental Child went, and not only to the dance but to a party afterwards and to the football game before. That's huge, because he's not a very social person to begin with but also because he's been hesitant to do much socializing at all since we moved here a year and a half ago. My daughter's boyfriend came down for the weekend- he happens to be Experimental Child's freshman year football camp roommate and a good friend. The three musketeers.

Children never fully realize the sacrifices their parents make for them. At least not until they are adults, and even then even though they may understand they may never know about them. Hoopdad has an opportunity to move us all back north. The financials would stink- the cost of moving, getting into a new rental home, etc. However, I'm sure we would figure it all out. The job offer hasn't been made, but there's a good chance it could be- the company is waiting for budgets to be approved first. Formalities. Here's the thing- I think we have to pass up the opportunity, for now, and hope it comes around again in the near future.

Experimental Child is in his Senior year and, as I pointed out, is finally feeling comfortable and coming out of his shell. He's also the one who has entertained ideas in the past like moving back north and living with his grandparents. When I casually brought up the option of moving though, he was not happy. Can you blame him? It's Senior year; he has lots of changes ahead of him. Who faced with that wouldn't want things to stay "normal" while they can?

Even though I would love (to the nth degree) to be nearer to family, to act on that and uproot him again seems selfish and feels wrong. When he was one and a half we moved him to PA. Then back to CT again just before he turned three. That was a good move. Then when he was in 2nd grade we moved to a different town and he switched schools. Two years later we bought our house, in a different town, and he switched schools again. When he was in 8th grade, we switched him to private school- that was a good change. Then when he was a Sophomore we moved down here to FL. I just can't rationalize uprooting him...again. The adjustment of living here has been hard- harder on some than others. I just keep reminding myself there is a reason we are here. I may not know what it is, but I have to believe that there is a plan and a purpose. Maybe the reason Experimental Child is getting comfortable and growing now- of all times- is a clue that whatever the reason or purpose is, we're not done here.

There is a song by Jeremy Camp that I keep singing in my head. There's no other way for me to think about this.

Jeremy Camp- Walk by Faith video

Well I will walk by faith 

Even when I cannot see 

Well because this broken road 

Prepares Your will for me 

Chic on the cheap!

I like things to be clean.

But I have 6 kids.

If things can at least smell nice it's a small comfort. I think I'll be giving this a try.

I Guess I Know What He's Getting for Christmas

When we were first married, we lived in Manchester, CT. Not the nice, bucolic, nearly Glastonbury town line side. We lived across the street from a chop shop. We were only there for a year before we moved to PA. But while we were there, we never had any crime problems.


Now that we are in FL, in a fairly affluent area of a small city, we've had two problems within six months. I want to grab the punky little rich kid who broke into our vehicle and ask him who the hell is he to be going into my car?! Hubby's sunglasses, iPod, old useless AmEx card, and a few cd's also gone. And yes- I say punky little rich kid because these thieves are selective.


There was another break a few doors down from us. The woman happens to work at my son's school. So when I brought him into school late, I explained it was because we were talking to the Sheriff and that's when she said she was also a victim. Her husband's car was broken into- but they took only his sunglasses, despite the fact that his camera was sitting right there on the seat. So if this was in fact kids from a low income area of town, they would take the camera. Anything is usable and pawn-able after all. But they didn't. This is "mommy and daddy don't give me enough allowance to party the way I want so I'm going to be selective in what I take" kind of thievery.

Still skeptical and need more evidence: they took the REM cd but left the Simon and Garfunkel. Brats.

My Job Really Sucks Sometimes

When the pressure mounts and the clock ticks and I wonder what to do, which decision to make. When I feel like I "should" be able to handle something, but the reality is I just may crack and burn out and mess it up big time. When I wonder if choosing one way or another will make my child a better person in the end, or if it will just create a foundation for future problems and lead me to say "if only I". When I realize it's not life and death, but I want the best life and future I can give to my child but I just can't find my crystal ball to know which way to go. Yeah...that's when I think my job really sucks sometimes.

"That" Age

Brother Bear and Carebear are 21 months apart. They are at "that" age that Experimental Child and my 15yo (who are 18 months apart) were at that I remember fondly. How can I forget the chocolate syrup going up the carpeted steps as they carried it to me to open, or the adorable way they mastered the concept of team work as one of them cracked the eggs on the kitchen floor while the other did the scrambling. Let's not forget the creativity they used when they acted out the Disney movie "Pocahontas" and stabbed holes in the back of the couch.

Maybe "fondly" isn't the right word.

The past two weeks have been nothing other than what I can best describe as mutiny. For example:

• Finger painting on the table with yogurt while I cook grilled cheese for lunch
• Coloring on the wall with marker while I think they are using the craft project I bought in the clearance bin at Michael's for them to color on
• Taking out both Spiderman and A Christmas Story editions of Monopoly and splaying them on the living room floor
• The toilet incident

The toilet. Need I say more?

It seems as if the two littles have discovered they work great as a team.

It will not be pretty if I lose my lattes

This is my Starbucks Gold Card. It is obviously well loved. At first I thought I couldn't possibly justify spending $25 on a card just to save 10% on purchases. The average savings for me is $0.42. Do the math- it paid for itself within a couple months. I have no idea how it got this way- it started with the plastic film peeling on the back corner, most likely from being in my back pocket. It actually came completely off and I have super glued it back on. It still works- amazingly. But I fear that may not last long because it's coming off- again. I may try clear packing tape next. It does spark interesting reactions and facial expressions on the part of the folks who work at Starbucks when I hand it to them. The worst part is- it's not registered, because the numbers had worn off before I could get around to registering it. Lesson learned. As I type, I am on hold with Starbucks to see if they will exchange it. I will be totally impressed if they do.

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Thanks to Greg at Starbucks I will soon hold a shiny new card in my hand that isn't crumbling apart!
He took some info from me that was on my latest receipt and they can apparently extract my card number in their system from that. They are sending me a replacement card, along with a couple of drink coupons to make up for the fact that I will be without a discount card until that card gets here. I am impressed.