(No really, do y'all remember me?)
I used to post here pretty regularly, and now I drop in about once a month or so and dust off the old blog, all the while wondering, "Why am I still doing this again?"
I know the answer to that question, actually: I want to archive as many family memories as I can, before my 65-year-old brain starts failing me and I don't remember what I had for breakfast today. (Actually, that's easy, because I don't eat breakfast. Or lunch either. My husband and I really only have one meal a day, sometime in the afternoon--unless we're guests of friends or relatives. But more about that some other time.) So I want to keep this blog going, if possible...but yikes, if you think you're going to have more time for hobbies when your kids all grow up and leave you to start families of their own, I'm here to tell you that's not always the case. It certainly isn't the case for me, anyway.
But I'll take a busy life, one so filled to the brim and overflowing with gobs of precious grandchildren that every other interest (except my husband, of course!) has to take a back seat. I'm one lucky woman, and I remind myself of that fact every single day.
So much catching up to do...but where to begin? The last time I was here, summer wasn't even over yet. Since then, so much has happened. Maybe the easiest way to tackle this is to start from our most recent family goings-on and work backwards through the month(s). On that note:
My husband and I returned from a kind of epic road trip a couple of days ago. If you come here often, you know that three of our five boys had settled down here in the same area of VA, and because of our decision to move south in 2017, we get to see them and their wives, and the 14 children they have between them, on a regular basis. Our oldest lives out in WI now (most likely for good) and our youngest is located outside of Nashville (at least for the foreseeable future). So we decided to visit both of those faraway boys and their families in one fell swoop, before winter weather sets in and makes travel difficult. We first headed west to TN for a week, then north to WI for another week. From WI, we drove back home to VA, with a stop in South Bend, IN on the way, to break up the trip and check on a rental house my husband and his siblings own out there. We were gone about two-and-a-half weeks. (We could have been gone for months, I believe; thank you, God, for children who actually like to spend time with their dear old Mom and Dad and are sad when we pull out of their driveways!)
Our week with our youngest son and his wife was delightful. My husband was able to do a couple of minor projects for them (the last time we visited them, shortly after they bought their first house, he did a few major ones), but mostly the two of us just doted on our little granddaughter (grandchild #20), who is about as sweet and adorable as they come. At a little over 7 months old, she is all pink-and-white skin, silky tufts of blond hair, big blue eyes, chubbiness with creases, breathy baby talk, heart-melting smiles, and giggles. We are besotted with that little one.
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| Our son's boss calls him "The Tall One." He makes us look short, that's for sure. |
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| My husband plays a game called "Stinky Toes" with all the grandbabies, and they love it. |
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| Daddy's girl. |
When we left TN, we drove north, stopping for the night at a hotel to break up the trip. Once we got to our firstborn's WI home and had spent a few days catching up, we were able to do some painting and plumbing projects for him and his wife, who have bought a house out there that sits on 20 acres of land. But mostly, we just enjoyed lots of time with their six children, whom we miss terribly now that they're so far away. We had wonderful, hearty, home-cooked family dinners every night, sitting around the long pine farmhouse table our son made with his own two hands years ago. And we were able to be there to celebrate his 40th birthday with him, which was very special.
It was fun watching our boy guide his four oldest girls, teaching them his secret methods for drawing amazing images using colored icings. He has always been the birthday cake decorator in their house (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree--but in his case, the student has become the master! The pictures on his cakes are more professional-looking than his mom's ever were). Now he's passing on this skill to the next generation.
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| Tell me you know who Homestar Runner is. (We wouldn't, if not for our oldest son, who discovered him his Freshman year at Notre Dame.) |
[Gulp!] I have a 40-year-old son. Yes indeed, I do! It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with him, eagerly awaiting his birth and sewing things for his nursery. I still have this little mobile that I made to hang over his crib. It's hanging in one of our guest rooms here at our house in VA. I know it's not the best-looking mobile you'll ever see, but I am far too sentimental to get rid of it!
BTW, Our oldest son's wife is expecting baby #7 (grandchild #22) in about a month, so please keep them in your prayers, dear readers!
You know, I never had a problem with turning 40 myself. But for some reason, our son turning that age kind of gave me a bit of a gut-punch. While my husband and I were driving back home, praying a Rosary together out loud in the car, my mind wandered and I found myself doing math. Our triplet grandchildren recently turned 6. And I thought, "How old will my boy be when those triplets turn 40?" The answer, shockingly, was 74. The answer was that he would be an old man. My son, the sweet baby boy for whom I'd made that mobile not too long ago...someday, God willing, he would be even older than I am now. Well, just thinking about that, my eyes welled up with tears and I was too choked up to say a few of my Rosary responses.
It's all good, though! The circle of life and all! As my father always used to say, when it came to getting older: it's better than the alternative.
Okay then, I'm going to stop here before I become too maudlin (am I too late for that?). But I'll be back as soon as I can. I need to chronicle the triplets' birthday celebration, for one thing! Until then, God bless you!
