We finished school on May 19. It was a good hard push for the last three weeks. Textbooks and reading books to finish, reports to write, things to dissect, Spanish to wrap up. All in all, I am very pleased with what we accomplished this year. BMV finished his freshman year of high school. Freckles successfully embarked on middle school, and finished seventh grade. LC did just grand in fourth grade. And Meres learned to read. We learned so much about Ancient Rome, and biology, and how to look at and understand art. Despite everything else, it was an amazing school year.
My parents spent May here in the Mitten. I tried to see them several times because time with them is limited. And time with mom definitely has an (unknown) expiration. Mom's ALS is progressing steadily. I am thankful for each visit we have together.
We left the morning of May 20, for Texas, for 9 days. It was so good to see all my siblings who live down in that area. Plus I got to snuggle my new niece for hours. I loved that. She is at the wonderful age where she is starting to interact, and she smiles. She is beautiful. We had a very relaxing time. We stayed with one of my sisters and her family. My kids loved hanging out with their TX cousins.
Meres had a slew of appointments in May. Yearly physical, 3 month MRI and oncology, 2 month eye doctor. Everything was clear and cancer free. Whew! So thankful for another set of check ups with that news. She did her MRI without sedation, which is quite remarkable. Her MRI lasts for about an hour-an hour that she must remain completely still. She had movie goggles on, and she did the MRI like a champ. This will make future MRIs much smoother. She will show up, and get an IV started, but then, when it is done, we can walk right out of there. So convenient. Her oncologist was very pleased with her blood count numbers, and her color. She said she looks healthy. Despite all she has been through this year, she has grown at least 4". She is a happy, (relatively) healthy kid.
Yeah, about that relatively...so this past Monday, Meredith's prosthetic eye got super gunky. Lot so yellow discharge. And then she complained of her throat hurting. I took her to Urgent Care, and she probably has strep, and a sinus infection. And then we went to the eye doctor, and he diagnosed her with conjunctivitis. Who knew you could have "pink eye" without an eye. It is bacterial, not viral, and so she is on antibiotic eye drops, and steroid eye drops, on top of the antibiotic she is taking for the strep. Hopefully this will nip all that in the bud, and she will start being able to fight off these crazy things. Also, the pharmacists at our local pharmacy should know me by name soon, I'm in there so often.
It's summer vacation, so I am in summer mode. Pretty much my year is divided into two parts-school and summer. School is very scheduled and regimented. Everything fits into its time slot.
Summer is very easy-breezy. I embrace the sunshine and rejoice in the lack of schedule. I feel like I am my best self in the summer. I intentionally relax, recovering from the school year, rejuvenating, and recharging for another school year.
We've had perfect weather the past week or two. Sunshine every day. Temps mostly in the 70s. Nice breezes blowing. Perfect. Idyllic.
What I love most about summer is the mornings. Coffee, devotions, and then long bike rides. The bike rides were what I missed most about my summer last year. I roll my bike out between 7 and 7:30, several mornings a week, and hit the trails while the sun is slowly sneaking up. There is only a handful of people on the trails that early. It is so quiet. I spend a lot of time thinking and praying and singing in my brain. I usually seem some form of wildlife. On Tuesday I saw a deer, two turtles, and lots of little critters.
My summer days are quite carefree. Probably too carefree. Bread? Who makes bread in the summer? Cleaning? Who cleans in the summer?
Well, I did make myself clean the bathroom on Monday. The tub had reached critical mass. I scrubbed the bathroom and vacuumed and dusted my bedroom, and everything looks and smells better.
I'm gearing up for the young ladies' discipleship program that I'm involved in each summer. I've done a ton of planning and organizing, contacting speakers and fitting things together. I have studying to do, and some supplies to purchase, but most of that will wait until next week.
I've been reading a ton. In the sunshine and shade. I read 11-22-63 by Stephen King. This is a doorstop sized book, but it was a great read. It is not a HORROR novel. I don't read that genre. It took me a while to plow through, and it was definitely worth it. I signed the offspring up for the summer reading program. So we are all reading a lot, and that makes me happy.
I feel healthy. My "biker's" tan is getting quite well rounded. Including the pal strap lines. I'm drinking lots of water, and eating good food. My food mantra is make good choices. So much hummus and fresh veggies. Big salads. Fruit. I love summer eating!
I bought a new laptop, on which I am composing this post. It is a MacBook Air, and it has been great. BMV inherited (for a sum) my older laptop. He's happy, I'm happy.
I got my herbs planted, and a few tomato plants. I also weeded my front perennial bed, and it is thriving. The climbing roses are blooming, and the day lilies have tiny pods. The cherries are thinking about turning red. It is glorious!
Anyway, so many little things that are building up to fill my months. I am incredibly blessed.
How's your summer going?
