Merry Christmas to EVERYONE in the WHOLE WORLD. Even if you do not merit the postage I pay to send these suckers out.
Much Holiday good tidings and much chocolate,
fourstonesoup (or the people on the card)
Random thoughts for your Wednesday:
**Our son Drew was diagnosed with ADD recently. Classic ADD with no hyperactivity. The process to seek out a diagnosis began at our urging. He is also being tested for dyslexia. So, the sum total of genetic crapload on him stands at color-blindness, sensory processing disorder, ADD and possibly dyslexia. He’d better, by god, cure cancer is what I’m saying. No 8 year old should have that many non-curable academic disadvantages. I could rail here but I refrain. I could go on and on about how it seems suspect that he has ALL OF THESE THINGS. I would certainly like one tidy diagnosis that can be treated with a change of diet or a magic pill but I’m not even going there. Right now, I am maintaining my composure and optimism by reminding myself that knowledge is power. That knowing what we’re dealing with is better than being unaware. But it’s like a freakin’ Pandora’s Box around here with the diagnoses.
**This has definitely been the Best Summer Ever. I know I say that every summer but seriously, we have had the idyllic summer. Mornings spent swimming and perfecting our off-the-side-of-the-pool acrobatics with friends or alone. Lunches spent hiding away from the blazing sun, watching TV and eating tomato sandwiches. Afternoons spent riding bicycles in great looping circles around our yard and driveways. Evenings spent grilling food and catching lightning bugs in mason jars. Whiling away the summer days catching minnows, eating watermelon and smearing sunscreen. We haven’t gone on a grand vacation. We haven’t spent tons of money. It’s been perfect.
**I got poison ivy all over my legs in little splotches by standing within 50 feet of my husband while he did some weed-eating near the devilish stuff. Have I mentioned how much I HATE THAT PLANT? Have I mentioned how much of it there is around here? Have I mentioned how much ‘grounds maintenance’ Bryan has had to shoulder since his Grandfather died? Our evenings now revolve around which portion of the property needs to be cut, trimmed, hedged, weed-whacked, weeded, watered and de-wasped.
**We saw a bear on our way to The Cabin. An actual real-life wild bear. Lifetime first.
**As a part of my own personal Health Manifesto, I’ve started running again. And, oh, my knee, it rebels. Irony, no? I broke up with my boyfriend “Serious Exercise” a while ago (it was a give, give, give relationship) with my body mostly intact injury-wise. I return, shame-faced, like a woman slipping back into her married lover’s bed with a BUM KNEE. I am now THAT person. The one who has and discusses her bum knee.
I abhor running every day before I force myself to do it and then love it as soon as I am finished. I am so admittedly two-faced about it. But obviously, I am a bit thick because even though I *know* I will be glad I went, it’s still a damn war to get out of the house and go Every Single Time. When I was younger, I used to chant “thin thighs” in my head or envision a skinnier version of myself whilst running to motivate me to keep plodding forward. Now, my chant is “healthy body, healthy heart” because either I’ve grown up and matured about the realities of aging or I’ve given up.
** It’s been hotter than hell here (everywhere, I believe). I mean, endless days of 100+ degree weather. Last weekend it was 80 and we were shivering. The water coming out of the tap could easily be described as lukewarm. In the afternoon, I open the door to let The Dog out and as her nose hovers near the blast of humid, moist, triple digit heat, she backs slowly away and is like, “Nah, I can hold it.” The AC has been running basically non-stop and it isn’t exactly frigid in here. My wallet trembles anticipating the arrival of the bill that documents how much our comfort is going to cost. Southern Comfort, indeed.
**And now to pictures. Because I am bored, my lunch plans fell through and I haven’t posted any pictures here for a while.
The kiddos with gnats at the cabin. Cabin=good for relaxation, awful for insects
The river at the cabin
Water play
Catching Minnows at the Cabin was good for a whole day's activity
Pretty in purple
Wine makes everything better. Even 100 degree heat.
