Absolute Poppycock

My body has an Achilles heel.  Okay, I guess technically, it has two Achilles heels.  But, I’m speaking metaphorically here.  The weakest point of my body is my lower back.  I hurt my back, somehow, in my early twenties and since then (hello!  two decades ago!), any time I allow myself to be stressed, I can pretty much guarantee that my lower back is going to give out on me.  There are all kinds of things I can do to reduce the risk of this happening…drinking more water, exercising more, getting enough sleep, etc., etc., etc.  And I know that the extra weight I’m carrying does not help at all, but I’m trying to do something about that.

Yesterday morning I woke up and went for a 3.1 mile walk.  I was so proud of myself for the distance (I’ve been working up to it for a few weeks) and the fact that I walked faster than I have in a long time.  I felt powerful, and hopeful, and all kinds of good things.  Two hours later I was flat on my back in significant pain.  I don’t think the walk had anything to do with it (in fact, I think it’s actually helping me recover sooner).  I’ve been really stressed the last couple of weeks and I twisted wrong when I was loading the dishwasher before church.

So, here it is the first official day of summer break (Gracie says the weekend doesn’t count because they have weekends off from school anyway) and I’m sitting on the couch with an ice pack hoping that my back heals in record time and I’ll be back to doing the summer things I want to do with the girls.  I hate that this happened now – I feel like I’m wasting the beginning of summer break.  Steve reminded me, though, that it would have been worse if it had happened next week when I’m planning to go to my sister’s house to pick up my nieces for forensics camp.  And, it would have been much worse if it had happened last week when I was photographing a wedding.  So, definitely, it could be worse!

And, while I do feel like I’ve wasted this day, there’s a lot be thankful for, namely two little girls who are snuggling up with me and watching TV while I work.  I’m thankful that today I can sit up and work so I don’t have to take a sick day and I’m thankful that I can at least walk around a little bit without shooting pain.  I’m thankful that Steve, amazing husband and physical therapist assistant that he is, knows exactly what to do to help me get back to normal as soon as possible.  I’m thankful that today I don’t have to get the girls anywhere and that we can all take it easy.  So, maybe I need to change my thinking.  Maybe this day isn’t wasted.  Maybe the only wasted day is the one that I don’t give thanks for my many blessings….

(The picture at the top is the Super Moon from May.  I took the picture from the bridge by our house…yet another blessing that I get to live in such a beautiful place!)

This may well be my favorite day of the year.  The day after school gets out for the summer.  The day my babies are home with me, returned to me again at the end of a long, amazing but tiring, school year.  The day when the whole entire summer shines brightly before us, full of promise and hope and all kinds of fun.

I love summer with my girls; I truly do.  I still work during the summer and I know this sounds strange, but it’s much easier for me to work when the girls are out of school.  People always assume that I’m nuts when I say that.  But, during the summer, I tend to have longer chunks of uninterrupted time to work – the girls sleep later, there are no extracurricular activities.  Everything just seems to run more smoothly.

I’m already enjoying this summer!

Abigail has spent the last few days running through the sprinkler while Gracie finished school.  (There are certain advantages to being in preschool)

Yesterday, Gracie had only a half a day of school (you can see her excitement in the top picture!). It’s always bittersweet to pick her up in car line on the last day – I can’t believe she’s half way through elementary school!

Then, the girls each had a birthday party to attend.  Abigail went to hers with her friend and her friend’s  mom and I took Gracie and her friend to the theirs – divide and conquer folks!

Gracie’s party was at the beach…what  a perfect way to unwind on the last day.  It was a luau party…too cute!

When the parties were finished, the girls and I came home and they spent an hour in the pool.  Then, Steve took us all out to dinner at Waffle House.  We talked about how proud we are of both the girls and how hard they worked this year.  We talked about our plans for the summer.  Both girls agreed that what they want to do most is try surfing.  I guess a surfboard rental is in our near future!

Today, the girls spent hours in the pool and a little while catching up on Redwall on Netflix.  They are slightly sunburned and tired and sparkly-eyed.  I can’t think of a more perfect way to start the summer….

Is it May 20th?  Wasn’t yesterday April 30th?  I can’t believe how time is flying by this month.  I know I sound like a broken record, but sometimes, it feels like I fall asleep at night and wake up three weeks later.

We’ve done a lot this month, but we’ve taken a little time to stop and pick some flowers!

Here’s just a few of the things we’ve done so far!  I registered Abigail for kindergarten – of course it wasn’t without some drama.  I couldn’t find her social security card, so the Gestapo Escambia County School district threatened to turn me over to social services (again).  Sigh.  Luckily, I found it in time and after a small blip with our power bill (the first copy I printed didn’t have our complete address on it), I got her all signed up.  Part of me wanted to say, though, “Look, people, I don’t want to send her to school that badly. If you ask me to jump through any more hoops, I’m just going to keep her home with me, then we’ll all be happy, okay?” 

Gracie practiced her levitation skills.  Looks like we’ll be able to sign her up for the carnival pretty soon.

Okay, okay…it was just a really lucky shot with the camera….

Gracie and her friend Morgan were the morning announcers on their school television show.  The whole time I was standing there taking pictures, Don Henley’s Dirty Laundry kept running through my mind.  “Got the bubble-headed bleach blond comes on at 5:00; she can tell you ‘bout the plane crash with the gleam in her eye; it’s interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry”  Okay, I admit it, my mind is probably more than a little bit warped.

We survived teacher appreciation week.  I love both of the girls’ teachers and I truly, truly appreciate them, but teacher appreciation week sends me into a spiral every year.  Is it “Stuck on You” day or is it “You’re so sweet” day or “From the Heart!” day?  This year, the prompts for each day were different at the preschool and the elementary school and I was so confused by Friday that I wanted to cry.  Gracie loved making cards for her teacher, though, and she told me that a card was always better than flowers.  I think she’s going to make her husband very happy someday!

Gracie’s teacher hosted a Mother’s Day Tea.  It was absolutely one of the highlights of my year.  The children served us breakfast and each mom was able to sit across the desk from her child.  Gracie was so proud and happy.  I truly enjoyed myself!

Abigail’s class had Moms and Muffins, an annual tradition at her preschool.  I may or may not have teared up when I realized it was my last ever Moms and Muffins.  The children sang an adorable song for us.  Abigail looks like she’s a foot taller than her classmates in this picture.  She is tall, but she had on her pink clogs which add at least a little bit to her height!

We spent last Friday night at some friends’ house, swimming, eating pizza, and enjoying s’mores by a fire pit.  It was wonderful!  I love decompressing on a Friday evening after a week of craziness!

This is really only the tip of the iceberg…there’s so much more to share….Abigail playing with wild animals, the end of an amazing soccer season, some new holes in Gracie’s head, our annual Mother’s Day brunch, Girl Scout activities.  But, this will have to do for now…the pool and a load of laundry are both calling my name; I wonder who will win!