S.tay A.t H.ome M.om at Work

I knew this day would come.  Of course.  Any teenage girl will want to go to the mall and hang out with friends.  I get it, I was once young and carefree like my Thinker is.  But, I will also admit, her recent request to do this exact thing had my head spinning in a hundred different directions.  I felt like little Regan in the Exorcist.  Thinker is twelve.  Twelve years old.  Is this even a teen-ager yet?  Over the years, we have worked to keep our kids protected from the many outside influences that can have negative effects on them.  I rarely bring my kids to the mall, even with me.  It only took one incident to convince me to wait a few more years.  And it was when my girls pointed to a Victoria Secret life sized poster of a model, and whispered to me, “Mom, that girl has no clothes on!” Or was it when we passed by that Halloween store, with the goolish ghost face that gave my littlest one nightmares for t...

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So I work to the beat of a different drummer - I can never remember Thursdays for Small Successes, but when I do remember, I just love to take the time to remember ways in this last week, I had little 'wins'! So here we go... 1.)  Renewed drivers license.  Wow.  That was crazy.  Made attempt to bring a little joy to the Secretary of State's board room. Government workers rarely seem happy. 2.)  Returned last Christmas gift that didn't work out today.  Closed a big window on that one. 3.)  Trained someone else on one of my school job duties.  Feels wonderful to hand something off, with the assurance it will be done correctly and well. 4.)  Studying Spelling Bee words for three days straight with kiddos.  Entertainer tells me this morning, that before going to bed, she prayed two decades of the rosary.  "Mom, that's a lot of Hail Mary's.  I hope Jesus knows, now, that I want to win!" In Progress: 5.)  Four more it...

Twenty years.  It truly doesn't seem possible that I just wrote that.  I don't feel nearly old enough to remember anything that happened 20 years ago.  But indeed, I remember so vividly, details of two decades prior to today. Tomorrow, will be twenty years since I met my beloved.  As we celebrated 15 years of marriage in 2012, tomorrow January 13 marks yet another milestone.....  The very day I set eyes on my future spouse.  And there were no words.  No, nothing said for the very first time I met him, as it was on a High School retreat, where he assisted and was silenced by his duty.  I remember so clearly, a dinner on this retreat, where he paced back and forth with a gallon of milk, and without words, offered his beverage to those sitting during dinner.  And his eyes met mine.  And as he lifted the jug of milk, raised his eyebrows as his way to ask and offer, I remember clearly his smile, his apron uniform, and his gentle natur...