Can it really be 10 years?

I have been asking myself this question all weekend. My 10 year class reunion was this past weekend & I really enjoyed it, but when it comes to high school & reunions there are always things that strike me as interesting. Like...

How does it not really seem like it has been 5 years or more since I've seen some of these people, but at the same time our lives have all changed quite a bit?
Why does thinking back on high school always make me wish that I could go back & change some things?
When will some of these people grow up?
How is it so easy to have such a good time with people you only see once every few years?
How I can talk to so many different people in just the span of a few hours & actually be genuinely interested in everything they have to tell me?
Why do some people lose the opportunity to connect with others by sticking with the same few friends (that they see quite often already) all evening long? (I was of course one of the few people intruding into some of these little gatherings-not that anyone minded...I think?)
How does all of this reminising still bring up all of those old/weird feelings of insecurity...yet nowadays, I'm so much more confident that instead of hanging back-I just pick myself up & approach the people/things that bring up those feelings?
Why does it always leave me feeling like I wish I could see everyone more often & know them better than I do?...

We didn't have a super great turnout, but it was a good mix of people to make for a fun evening of hanging out together. I enjoyed flowing from one group of people to the next & then back to my 'closer' group of friends. I learned alot about many of my classmates & even felt like I broke down a few of those 'walls' that people put up when they're uncomfortable too. I could also tell that I have grown up quite a lot over the past 10 years (& may be becoming more like my mom as we speak!) Before where I would have seen some of these people as people who I would assume "probably didn't care if they talked to me" so I would hang back & not talk to them-now I saw those same people & assumed the same things, but I got over myself & just approached them. I found myself to be pleasantly surprised by the 'genuine' reactions of happiness to see me & interest to talk to me about my life & theirs. That is a really cool feeling!

HE could never be a woman!

As you all know by now, I love to tell on Scott! This morning's conversations definitely made for one of these times & I said to him "you know this is probably going to end up in the blog!" :)
Our normal morning routine usually consists of Scott getting up around 5:15 (sometimes I get up & exercise at this time, but most of the time I choose to sleep instead), showering & then waking me up when he is finished so that I can get ready. He then ventures downstairs & does whatever it is he does (makes his lunch for the day, eats breakfast, watches TV, takes care of Luke if he wakes up, etc.) When I've finished getting ready (if Luke isn't up yet), he heads off to work. If Luke IS awake, then he usually brings him upstairs to hang out with me so that he can finish getting around & head off to work. You get the picture.
Anyway, this morning I was just about ready when Luke woke up so Scott came up & got him up & dressed-then brought him into our bedroom. He headed downstairs (I thought to leave for work). When Luke & I got downstairs, Scott was getting his coffee made up & standing by the stove waiting for his tea kettle to boil (water for his oatmeal).
I said "You haven't eaten breakfast yet?" (slightly confused)
He said "No, I haven't gotten to it yet."
I said "Well what have you been doing with your time-it's been like 40 minutes, since you first came downstairs?" (granted I may have been using a slightly sarcastic tone of voice)
He said "I had to make my lunch."
I said "It took you forty minutes to make your lunch!" (getting more sarcastic)
He said "Well...no...I was doing other things...I dozed off..."
Me (laughing & sarcastic) "You dozed off! What would happen if I dozed off after I came downstairs & all I got done was getting my lunch packed...I would have to be a stay-at-home mom because Luke & I would never make it out the door!" (no offense intended to any of the SAHM's out there) ;)
I believe that this is when I good naturedly said something about it going in the blog-he ate his oatmeal & left for work.
I am a good wife! (I just have to razz the poor guy sometimes!) :)

A Dream Come True!

1. I've been waiting years to have one.
2. I never went through that whole "it is totally not cool to own one" fad.
3. I will no longer have to think about & plan how to fit 347 boxes (totally made up #, but you get the idea) into my little car because...

I am now the proud owner & operater of a minivan!!!

Thanks to Scott's very generous parents who decided to get a car & knew that they weren't going to get much of a trade-in on their van, we became the owners of their old van as of yesterday. Yes, it has its issues-no air conditioning (will be fixed come springtime), cracked windshield, iffy back windshield wiper, etc., but it's all ours & we love it! With my 6' 1" frame, I'm so happy to have the extra room & glad to not be crawling into my car anymore. It is a very happy day indeed in our household!!! :)

Ahhhhhh, Friday!!!

Since it's Friday-I feel like relaxing, but since I haven't posted for awhile-I once again have all of these random ideas floating around in my head. So...here comes another post of random thoughts...

*Over the past 2 weeks, I've been to 3 different doctor offices for 3 different appointments. Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with me (well....I'll let you decide that on your own!) They were just some of those regularly scheduled "maintenance" type of checkups (mine & Luke's), but I've noticed that there are a few 'weird' things that go on at these places. First of all, there is always a wait. Even if you get called back quickly (like I did everytime amazingly), you still have to wait. If you don't have the loooong wait in the waiting room, you will inevitably have to wait FOREVER for the doctor to actually come into your examination room. Sometimes I think that I'd just rather wait in the actual waiting room-that at least makes sense to me. I did, however, enjoy getting to read the "How to Pee in a Cup" poster over & over again in the examination room of one of my visits-very educational! :)

*Why are people always telling me that they "admire me, they could never do it" or "I think that it's just so wonderful that there are people out there like you who can do that" or "you've done such a wonderful thing for him" when they find out that we have adopted our child? First of all, I don't know for sure, but I don't think that a lot of people walk around telling pregnant ladies these things. Maybe I need to walk around telling all of my fertile friends & relatives these same things when I'm with them & their children-they may think that I have finally fallen of my rocker! :) Also, how do these people know what his life would have been like for Luke if he wasn't adopted? We are the ones who have been blessed to have in OUR lives & although he may be better off with us in the long run-it is still at the expense of someone else's pain/grief & I NEVER forget that!

*Exercise, Exercise, Exercise-I did alot of it (for me that is) this week & that dang scale didn't even want to budge! Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

*How did Thursday become Friday in my head & now that it is actually Friday-it feels like it has be 2 weeks since last Friday?

*Watching Luke walk all over our house today, I imagined that one day he would be rounding that same corner as a kid, teenager, adult, etc & that one day he will leave home-it made me feel quite sentimental & sad, but also joy that I can cherish these days now because they won't come around again. When he came back around the staircase towards me, he looked at me & smiled & I thought "I hope that he will always smile like that each time when he comes home again!"

*I hope my weekend at home this weekend will be quite relaxing-once October starts-we're booked every weekend, which makes for a loooong, but fun month! Can I get a KitKat bar anyone-I need a break?!

Enjoy your weekend!

I am a catechist!

During the school year, almost every Wednesday night you can find me up at church teaching kids about the Catholic religion. I teach the 2nd graders, so it's definitely not brain surgery by any means, but I do feel like I have actually learned quite a bit about my faith just by teaching them the basics about it. I am a "cradle" Catholic meaning I was born (baptized as an infant) & raised Catholic my entire life. My faith has always been an important part of who I am & does influence my viewpoints on things (family, politics, life in general, etc.), however, there are/were many things that I do automatically just because that is what I have always done. Becoming a catechist (PSR or Public School Religion teacher which I means I teach religious ed to kids who don't attend Catholic schools) made me actually have to THINK about those things & why I/we do them as Catholics. Besides making me think about my faith, it has also brought me much joy because of some of the things the kids do & say. So in honor of Catechist Sunday (today!), here are 2 of my favorites.

1. We were learning about the Sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary, the first of which is the "Agony in the Garden". If you are unfamiliar with it, it is about the pain/agony Jesus was feeling & the praying he was doing (this is where the "Our Father" came from) in a garden as he was awaiting the time of his betrayal & death. The question posed to the students was "What was Jesus doing in the garden?" (answer we were looking for was 'praying') One of my the students looked at me innocently & answered
"Picking vegetables?" I liked the answer, but I highly doubt that vegetables were being thought about at the time.

2. One Wednesday night, I had a student walk in with a mohawk. I could tell that he was very proud of it, so I asked him about it. He said "I've wanted one for years & mom & dad finally let me have one!" (It made me wonder how long he had actually wanted one since he was only 7 years old at the time!) :)

2-8

Happy Birthday to Me!
Today I turn 28-doesn't it just sound like a good number.
One quirky thing about me is that I am quite fond of even numbers for some reason. I don't really know why, but I do know that I have been this way for a long time. I can remember being a little girl & my sisters & I counting 1-2-3 to race or to start whatever activity we were doing. I remember thinking "Why 3? I like 4 so much better." However, counting 1-2-3-4, never really caught on no matter how much I tried. 4 & 8 are two numbers that I have just always really liked. 6 & 10 not so much, but 2 was okay too. :) Odd numbers have never really appealed to me, is that odd considering I was born on 9-19! :)
So to say the least, the prospect of turning 28 seems quite exciting to me. For some reason, I just feel like it might be a good or at least a memorable (I'm hoping in a good way) year for me. I guess I'll just have to wait & see. Am I ready for it? You bet! Ready-1...2...3...4...Go!!! (Still not so catchy-is it?)

"Who was that moron in the parking lot?"

As they were walking down the street past the doctor's office today, they heard a loud
"Thump" & "Crashunch!"
They turned & looked around for where the terrible sound came from & trying to figure out who & what was being demolished.
Then, a few seconds later, there was that sound again
"Thump"
followed by the sound of a motor running & a car moving. The car stopped & the driver got out to inspect the car. The driver looked under the car checking for damage & then upon not having seen any, got back in the car & drove away-all the while looking around hoping that no one had witnessed such a terrible blunder.
They (the passerbyers who may have witnessed this event) were probably wondering "Who was that moron in the parking lot...driving over the parking curbs?"

The answer: ME!

That's right-I had a total brain fart today & drove my car (I'm not sure if it has forgiven me yet!) over the parking curb. In my defense, I was in one of those spots where you park facing another car (most of the time there are not parking curbs in between these spots-think shopping malls, Walmart, my school parking space, etc.) so when I saw the empty parking space in front of me-I did what comes naturally & pulled forward. You can imagine the morification I felt when I heard the first terrifying sounds & had realized what I'd done & that I had to go over it again because the curb was under my car! I debated for a few seconds whether to go forward or backwards, but figured there were more things that could be damaged on the front end of the car so I went forward. Just keep your fingers crossed that my car (& tires!) are in okay condition tomorrow morning!