Tired.

Hi there, it’s been a while.

I apologize for my disappearance. My mother-in-law passed away at the end of September, two weeks after our visit. The day we arrived in Kansas City for her memorial, we learned that one of my brothers-in-law had been in a horrible car accident; he died a few hours after we first heard the news. So, as you can imagine, my family went into crisis mode. So much sadness. We wound up having to spend extra time in KC to make sense of things.

The good news is that we were able to be with Brian’s family (Brian is my husband – FYI). He was the one to tell his father about Richard, his eldest son. We were able to grieve with people who knew his brother and his mother. And, we got to see friends who had no qualms with swooping in and taking care of us.

I will say this: Trying to find a hotel in KC on the same weekend as a NASCAR race, The American Royal, a K-State/Iowa State game, and …hell, something else, well, it’s near impossible.

At this point, I’m horribly behind in school. I’ve been avoiding it because I’m so scared about the ramifications of a ruined semester. Have I mentioned I have an anxiety disorder? Welcome to my unfunny post. I have a very severe anxiety disorder. So, crisis upon crisis upon anxiety = paralysis. It stinks. Merely writing this entry today was my first step toward getting things back on track. I was afraid even to log in, as ridiculous as that sounds.

But, I did log in today, so that absolutely counts for something. My husband and my daughter are both OK, which also counts for something. The car that appeared to have broken down on Saturday when it was stupid cold is not going to require thousands of dollars in repair – also good. And people are nice. The kindness and generosity that has poured out to my family since all this fell into our lap two weeks ago has been astounding. So, if you’re reading this and happened to have been a part of all that kindness and generosity – thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Keep throwing good thoughts this way – we need them.

Next step is to salvage my fall semester. Wish me luck.

Posted in Classes, Family | 1 Comment »

The Disappearing Act.

Sorry about my absence for the past week and a half. The household came down with some kind of death virus the Friday before last which had me panicking about H1N1, and then my Labor Day weekend was interrupted by my daughter’s two-year molars.

Holy COW. My daughter is normally sweet and sunshiny and generally chipper. The past three days have been miserable. She won’t eat, won’t sleep, and has taken to just saying this over and over, “I want…!” Yeah, doesn’t finish the sentence. That’s not frustrating at all. 

She has turned down M&Ms, folks. It’s that bad.

Somewhat unrelated: I did attempt to use my little cam for a video entry, but as I looked like death warmed over, I opted instead to just film out of my windshield and give you a stunning view of 36 Highway while I was driving my daughter through a nap. The jury is still out as to whether or not I’ll post it here.

Here are some more pleasant things that have happened in the past week:

*My family discovered Berry Patch Farms in Brighton.

*We attended Taste of Colorado last weekend and I sang karaoke on the 103.5 karaoke stage.

*I found a really good recipe for a cold bean salad. Yes, I am so old at this point that good bean recipes are considered highlights.

Annnnnnnnnd that about does it. Next weekend brings a road trip to Kansas City to visit in-laws and attend an improv festival. I am hoping that by Friday, Lily’s damn teeth will be pushed through so that the wildly exciting drive across the plains of Kansas will be at least somewhat more tolerable. Viva I-70!

Posted in Family, Traveling | 2 Comments »

And now, for something a little different.

I’m enrolled in classes. Three of them. They have begun.

But really, this blog will get real old, real fast, if all I talk about is taking my classes online. So instead, today, I will talk about my commute home. I like to think I’m a polite person on the road. Sure, people piss me off from time to time, but overall, I think I’m pretty good behind the wheel.  Then again, no one ever thinks that they are the cause of any problems on the highway – it’s always someone else being the idiot. That being said, I never flip the bird, nor do I drop f-bombs. However, I have been known to utter other colorful names like, oh, I dunno, “assface,” for instance. However, I do so politely. This makes all the difference, as far as I’m concerned. An example:

Nice job on not using the thank you wave, assface!

Sidenote: My two-year old daughter has just locked herself in the bathroom with the lights off in there. Super. Hold, please.

Right then. The removal of one door knob, and she’s been freed. That was a first.

As I was saying, there is power and grace is the proper application of the thank you wave. When it’s not used, I become agitated. I mean, seriously, how hard is it just to hold your hand up in the air and acknowledge that, hey, you appreciate the fact that a fellow driver allowed you to merge? If I could ever be so bold as to promote a cause on Facebook, it would be to educate others about the thank you wave.The symbol could be the back of a car and a hand being seen waving through the rear window. Very marketable!

My daughter just dropped my new necklace into a cup of Kool-Aid. It’s going to be one of those nights.

I can’t seem to stay on one train of thought.

Get excited, a pocket video camera showed up today and I am going to start using it for blog purposes. Had we had it figured out sooner, you could have seen us springing Lily from the downstairs bathroom moments ago. I know. You’re crushed. Next time, I promise.

Did I mention my daughter starts daycare next week for the first time ever? She does. Hooboy.

Posted in Family | 4 Comments »