* Signing up the 16 year old boys (young men) for drivers education classes.
* "Mom, can you order for me? I don't speak Starbucks." (for the young woman)
These are just the ones in recent days.
There are exciting days in my life, which I never would have thought I would have at this ripe old age. For one thing, I didn't think I was going to live to any ripe old age. When I was about 10 or 11 years old, some travelling speakers at our church had predicted the world was going to end in 10 years. My only thought was that I wouldn't yet be 21 and therefore wouldn't have gotten married and had children. Having done both since then, I am a little more cautious about believing any end-of-the-world predictions. ("No man knows the day or the hour.") Then when I was diagnosed with polymyositis at age 25, my mental picture of my future changed to one where I was riding around in a wheelchair. The information about polymyositis (inflammation of many muscles) at the time was that it usually happened to women after menopause, and the only person in the local area that I had heard of who had it was in Extended Care (she was 68) and had been in a wheelchair since she was in her 40s. I am blessed to have married, have children, and still be walking around on my own two feet.
I really can't get over the fact that I managed 7 weeks of working 5 days a week, 7 hours a day. By the end of the time, I was much more full of energy at the end of the day. It was cooler in October than August, so there was not the same heat exhaustion factor. But I could walk the entire ranch to lock up the buildings. I was hoping I would lose a lot of weight from all this exercise, and was a little disappointed not to see much difference on the scale. However, I decided to wash my jeans (a good idea, every once in a while) and instead of having to lie down on the bed to do up the zipper after they went through the dryer, the jeans are loose! So something fatty must have turned to muscle.
Moms also have to make big decisions ... different ones than my mother had to make, though hers were big ones at the time. Today's family dilemma was who got to use the new digital video camera. Daughter had asked me several days ago. Son left a note before he went to bed to ask Dad (who left for work early in the morning). So each had a parent who had said yes. Ideally, one could have used it in the morning and the other in the afternoon ... but the son was waiting to hear from his friend what time they would leave for Kelowna ... I made the executive decision that the first one to ask was the one who got to use it. As it turned out, the son didn't get a ride to Kelowna with his friend (his mom wasn't sure about bringing another person to the event), so that ended well. I should make up a sign-up sheet for equipment, I think.
When you have 3 kids, they all think someone else is the favourite ... they don't understand that I love each of them intensely. There isn't a measurement of "I love you more" with me. It still amazes me that I was able to have the three of them. Like all parents, I wish I could have done more with them ... more outings, holidays, trips to the park ... sewed more of their clothes ... I saw a sign outside a fitness centre offering classes for 12-14 year old girls ... and slightly mourned that my girl was grown past that age. Not that I think she needs to exercise to lose weight!! She is a wonderful 18-year-old and very lovely. Not just to me ... everyone who saw her grad pictures on Facebook said this as well.
What's coming up? Our church ladies quilting group is doing a show next weekend. I have 3 quilts in it. One is a sweatshirt quilt, with 9 sweatshirt fronts from things I have done over the years. Another is a sort of medallion quilt ... it started with a 14x14 inch panel with a bunch of cats in a sewing room and then I added borders around and around until it was lap quilt size. The third is a quilt made with fabric printed with stories from the "Dick and Jane" early readers. I didn't have "Dick and Jane" ... we had "John and Janet" ... but my aunt, who was a teacher, had all these discontinued readers ... and it was from her stash of fabric that I found the panels to make the quilt. I love quilting. I don't feel like I do it in any standard "quilter" way ... but I like to work with what some people call "cheater quilt panels" and then turn them into something different than what they were at the start. Quilts I have in mind for this year are: 1) finishing my T-shirt quilt; 2) making a "bookshelves" wall hanging; 3) another cat panel quilt; and 4) finishing the bargello wall hanging I started this winter/spring.
Love the quilts
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