Serenity Saturday

[Twins' Mom]

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr

[Twins' Mom]

Trying to get serenity back and get past all the arguments here between dh, dd and me. DH is disappointed because he thinks I caved in to dd's wants. He's still in a "punishing" mood because he thinks she's not penitent enough about the speeding ticket. DD finally went out last night to a movie with friends because I pitched a hissy fit. After all that she was hesitant to go out because she didn't want to make things worse with me and dh.

I don't know how I'm going to get through the next week and a half until her day in court, and her starting school. I need to think in terms of stress relief....

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Twins: you need to go to the gym. It will get you out of the house, you can divert the anger/frustration energy to the workout instead of tearing yourself apart emotionally, and the endorphins will help you relax. Just make a declaration to the family that the next 60 days will include 2 hours of time each day when you are not available to them.

I'm up, dressed, but skipped the workout. I'm not too stiff from yesterday which is good, especially since my knee was quite sore before bed. I'll make sure I do physio today and am hoping for a bike ride too.

The bedroom is tidied up and all the piles are off the chest at the foot of our bed. Dh piles his clothes there and I ignored that since his 'dressing room' used to be down the hall and he'd need clothes in our room if there was an emergency. Well, now that his clothes are back in our room, including his clothes horse, I'm putting his things on that. As for my clothes (a pair of new jeans, all my workout clothes), I've found new homes for those. And tossed out the 2 year old condo development package (for a condo in Nova Scotia.) We won't be living there in the near future and I'm not about to move those papers, so I've tossed them.

A load of laundry is in the washer. I've kept up with laundry this week, so that will be the only load this weekend, unless I come up with things that need cleaning while I declutter.

Lynlee: Ds arrives in Oz, at Melbourne, on October 3, races on Oct. 6 (assuming he can find a racer to give him a drive since the race course is 80 minutes outside Melbourne) and then he flies to Sydney and will be there for at least a week during orientation and training (he'll get his Responsible for Serving Alcohol certificate, be taken to beaches and given basic training on what to look out for) After that, he has no idea where he'll head.

By then he'll have been in the country two weeks and will have met up with other people so will head off wherever. We have friends in Perth area and friends in Sydney but Sydney is too expensive to hang around in without a job and a place to stay and the RSA is different for NSW so he won't be able to do restaurant work there.

We may be in Brisbane at the end of October and may be in NZ for all of November. He'll join up with us in either spot (assuming he doesn't have a good job he can't leave.) If he is anchored, we'll travel to him but it is cheaper to have him travel to us.

We'll be back in OZ in February and will see him then, and possibly in Melbourne in May. Currently his return ticket is for July 7th but he intends to stay until August 20 and will just change the ticket at that time. Although we forgot to phone in and confirm he can change it to that late.

[Harmony]

Hello Twins & Kathryn. Everybody must be busy this Saturday morning!

I was up very early, alert for once when my alarm went off to take my med. I usually take it in a fog and go back to sleep for at least an hour. That's how the med works best and I'm not awake that early anyway and usually have no trouble going back to sleep. Sometimes I'm sleeping so deep I have to force my eyes open.

Kathryn, that might be quite a shock for your dson when he arrives with the weather change, won't it? He's leaving in the summer and arriving in the winter, right?

Twins, hoping things even out in your household soon. I usually just make myself scarce when things are rocky around here.

I've been aware that DH is a bit stressed because work has been light this year.

I appreciate all the comments yesterday about sleep apnea. When I first told my drs. how I was feeling, one said maybe that was it. We never tested it though because my thyroid test was off and we've been working on that. I do feel better when my numbers there are good. I'm thinking if it's sleep-related, it could also be the way I sleep, propped up and not so comfortable. If I don't my acid reflux wakes me, and even sometimes propped up it wakes me. I wonder if I really get much deep sleep. I'm sure that contributes...

But today is quiet so far. We sat out on the porch and enjoyed the morning before the heat of the day hits. I have some paperwork to do for DH soon, some proposals and statements to do and then work on a spreadsheet. It should be an easy day.

[CathyS]

I just woke up. My sister has been texting me like crazy ever since I turned on my phone. So the serenity was disrupted slightly. Mike just brought me some fresh squeezed tangerine juice and a hot tea. I also just opened a coke. I'm courting danger around the keyboard this morning.

I did a lot of dusting and clearing up last night. It's hard to really have the serene museum that Mike wants when the mess is completely his and he doesn't want it moved BUT if my work backpack is on the floor in the hall, the place is in chaos. (According to him.)

He didn't want to go to garage sales this morning. He doesn't want to go anywhere today and he has no plans for this weekend. I want to go somewhere and do something but I can't decide.

[lucylee]

Up & at 'em around here -- b/c of the funeral. DH just left, b/c he has to be a pall bearer. I need to fix my hair and then go get dmil by 11:45. Don't know what dson's plans are re: funeral/dgs. DS will have to leave visitation early, before funeral, but dh is thinking ddil planned to stay for funeral. DH told them "Lucy might know someone who would stay w/him in the nursery..." BUT -- dh neglected to tell me this until just now. Well, no, lucy does not know right off hand, who to call w/only two hours' notice and lucy is happy to let this be ds/ddil's problem. * sheesh * Lucy has just about gone her limit of taking care of others for one weekend. It does not matter at all to me if ddil leaves after making an appearance at the visitation, and I am sure that is the very most anyone in the family would expect of her.

(((Harmony))) I hope you can get your energy back soon and get all this straightened out!

(((Twins))) I know life will be so much calmer for you when dd gets back to school. Just hang in there.

Kathryn, it really sounds like you are doing well. You get so much accomplished, even when you are battling health concerns! I'm just in awe. So exciting for ds, too!

Waving to all!!!

[Ivy]

The boys left at 7:50 a.m. with DH driving through Seattle to get them home this morning. I've been crocheting myself some scrunchies for my hair and will do headbands, too.

So far:
1- s2s, dressed, hair in braid tail = pretty
2- Am running the DW
3- All master bathroom (including guest towels) are in the utility room, awaiting when DW is done.
4- Am writing an add-on letter to a pen pal
5- Will try to take a little rest, as getting up early and having 2 teens as guests all week's worn old Gma out!

Happy Serenity Saturday, Everybody!

[Twins' Mom]

Home from taking dMacs to PT. It really is helping him and he has gotten so much calmer about her using the laser therapy and massaging his back and hips. He's doing three rounds of swimming for 3 minutes and walking 1.5 minutes with a short rest in between, then walking a little more at the end. So funny, I was in the parking lot walking him around and he went to the back gate wanting in before she came out to get him. It's nice to find some joy in seeing him walk and swim and seem so calm about it.

Dh went to Torah study and then on to play tennis. Dkids aren't up yet.

Yum, challah and pimiento cheese sandwich.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Kathryn, that might be quite a shock for your dson when he arrives with the weather change, won't it? He's leaving in the summer and arriving in the winter, right?

It won't be much of a shock. It is Canadian autumn to Melbourne (very south in OZ) early spring. We'll be 50 - 65* on a good day, they'll be 60 - 65* on average. When we were there at the end of October in 1998, it was cold enough that I had to buy gloves for us and cheap rain ponchos to keep out the wind but we were right on the ocean, and it was dusk (we were there to watch penguins come ashore.)

When he comes home, it will be summer here, winter there but depending on where he is in Australia, their winter is close to our summer.

My load of laundry is on the line.

Dh went through the garbage and found a missing folder for me. It was on the magazine table and I had moved it to the chest by our bed. Dh dumped the stuff from his cupboard onto the chest and sorted through. The folder of magazine articles I was saving ended up being tossed by him, thinking it was his stuff (he obviously didn't open the folder or he would have seen all kinds of exercise routines plus articles from women's magazines.) Thankfully he didn't recycle so it was in the garbage can, not in the paper recycle (which was picked up this morning.)

There were a number of items that I wanted to save, so I'm glad he found it. Mostly Flylady articles, so I've tucked those in Sink Reflections. Also found the characture of ds done by a Paris street artist. It isn't great but I paid 10 euros for it so I want to keep it!

[Harriet]

Space Pen story - sorry, guys, funny but just a legend. NASA never developed pens, or spent much money on any. The pressurized pen with sealed ink had been invented by the Fisher Pen Company, using their own money. They later suggested it to NASA as a solution for the pencil's hazards of carrying any flammable items in space, or chancing splinters/broken lead floating. NASA bought a few hundred at $2.95 each. After the pen was used on a voyage, Fisher started a spin-off company to market it - The Fisher Space Pen Company.

I went out and got my hair trimmed by 3 inches this morning. Stopped by grocery and got that errand done.