Rain!

We actually had rain last night, almost a whole inch.  Too late, I think, to help the corn crop in this area, but it will ease the drought a bit.  I won’t say plants look perkier but they do look less droopy…  Hopefully it will help farmers with the vegetable crops, the selection at the farmer’s market hasn’t been the greatest.  The storm that dropped the rain moved some of the very hot weather out, so we have the windows open.  It’s still quite humid, and the heat is coming back. I’m getting more used to the heat, though.  On Sunday Madeline and I went to the Art Fairs on and off the Square in Madison, with a friend and her daughters.  It was in the 90s and sunny, very hot, but I was fine.  I used to positively wither in weather like that.

This past weekend was a big one for son Jacob.  He passed the check ride for his CFII certification.  He is now a certified flight instructor for both private pilot and instrument.  This is good because he is now eligible to be an instructor at the school he attends, and because it means that the bulk of his flight training is over.  So a big milestone for him, and he’s about the happiest he’s ever been.
On Tuesday Madeline and I went up to American Players Theatre with the Shakespeare group she belongs to.   There were about 30 of us total, we saw Twelfth Night.  I’d already seen it a few weeks ago, and although well done I didn’t care for the story and could have lived without seeing it again but they needed drivers.  I did enjoy meeting some of the other parents, and it was fun to see the kids enjoying the show and talk about it.  There was a Q&A session with the cast afterwards and the kids really enjoyed that.  They even had a chance to talk to one of the actors as they walked down the hill– very special.  Altogether very worthwhile, but it made for a late night, we didn’t get home until 1 am.  I still haven’t caught up on sleep.

Speaking of American Players, Madeline and I are going up again on Saturday to see Royal Family.  Sometimes I think I’m crazy to spend so much time and money on APT, but the truth is it is something she and I both enjoy.  It’s kinda our thing, and really not the worst way to spend out time or money.

I went through CPR certification this past Saturday, which was very interesting.  Although, as another not-so-young person in the class said, it’s real hard on the knees.  It’s actually a good feeling, though, to know that I can perform CPR, use an AED, and help a choking person.  A big responsibility too, of course.  One of my class mates is also starting the PTA program this fall, so it was nice to see a familiar face.

I’ve managed to keep up the bike rides as time allows and feel better for it.  The eating right part is not going so well– easy to fail on that when I’m busy.  But I keep working at it– small steps forward!

I have the day off today which is wonderful.  I have some things to get done today so I’ll be busy, but a break from the cafe is good.  We’ve been busy, and that is a blessing and I’m grateful for it.  For the most part customers have been great, but there have been a few days where the tips have been pretty poor, in spite of good service.  That wears me down a bit.  So I’ll enjoy the day off.  We need to start getting ready for our vacation, coming in a week and a half!  I am so looking forward to that.

Falling down

Well, I did pretty well with blogging everyday until these last few days.  It’s a pity to fall down at the end but there it is.  It was partly due to being busy– I had to prepare for my faith formation class on Wednesday and it took more time than anticipated.  It’s also due to readingThe Hunger Games, which I enjoyed.

My class went well, the kids enjoyed the Seder food (unleavened bread, celery, charoset, hard-boiled eggs, grape juice) and responded well too learning about Passover and the Last Supper.  We followed it with Stations of the Cross, which also went well.  The kids always enjoy that, probably because they get to participate.  They always do better when they can be more active.

I’ve been intrigued by what I’ve heard about the hunger games, so I plowed through the book this week and saw the movie last night with my daughter and one of my friends.  I liked both.  The book isn’t great literature and the ideas are not necessarily anything new but the author did a good job of putting it together and there is some good social commentary in it.  I liked the movie as well, in spite of the violence– I think they did a good job of portraying the brutality.

As for giving up sweets for Lent, well, I’ve fallen down there, too.  Things were going mostly well, but this week I’ve been a bit PMS-y and it was getting herder.  I was also getting crabbier and crabbier.  One of the problems with being peri-menopausal is that I seem to get stuck in a phase of my cycle for weeks.  Right now I’m stuck at the crabby-and-craving-chocolate phase.  (I’ve cheated here and there but have not had chocolate at all. )  Yesterday at work, after dealing with a rude customer, I mentioned to the gang that I was craving chocolate and wanting to kill people.  J. pointed out that, if I couldn’t eat chocolate, that left killing people as my only option, and K. told me to just eat some chocolate already.  So I did, and I’m not going to lie, I feel much better.

I’m hoping to leave it there and finish Holy Week in a good way.  Hopefully…. Philippians 4:13, right?

Topic of the Day

Sometimes, at work, we end up talking extensively on a single topic.  It’s not deliberate; someone starts off with a story or observation or dilemma and it somehow works its way into a discussion.  Today, oddly enough, the topic was alcohol.

None of us are drinkers.  Of the 5 of us their today, one doesn’t drink at all, 2 of us drink rarely, and the other 2 slightly more than rarely.  One woman mentioned that she really liked it that she worked with people who don’t drink regularly.  It does seem that drinks at the bar after work is a common way for people to bond, but really, it’s not the only way.

We moved on to the cost of drinking at a bar.  It is amazing how much people will spend at a bar, on a regular basis. Especially people who are older and have families.  Drinking at the bar when you are young and don’t have kids is one thing, but when I see people with young kids still at home hiring a sitter so they can go out and get blitzed it surprises me.  When they do so on a regular basis, well, it’s a free country.  But I’ll judge you.

It so happens that my ex-husband was a great one for wanting to go to bars, especially if they had live music.  He claimed it was about the music, and maybe it was, but it was also about the alcohol, and he had some nasty hangovers to prove it.   It bothered him that I did not go to the bars with him.  But, I didn’t (and still don’t) care to get drunk, and don’t handle alcohol well anyway– More than one or two and I tend to throw up, get a headache, and need to go to bed.  Sounds fun, right?  So he said I could go and not drink, which is true.  But I didn’t particularly care for how he behaved when he was drunk, and I find cigarette smoke intolerable.  Plus the idea of being the designated driver didn’t appeal to me.  Plus our kids were still little, and I figured the neighbor’s daughter who sat for us didn’t need to see The Drunk Guy coming home.  So I stayed home and off he went.

No question, this wasn’t a good thing for our marriage.  But my joining in at the bar wouldn’t have been good for me, or for our kids and I doubt it would have helped the marriage!

So I’m not much of a drinker, and I’ve found there are a goodly number of like-minded people, which is a blessing.

So Here We Go!

March 1st, day 1 of my month-’o'-blogging.

March came in gray and damp and chilly here in Southern Wisconsin.  Yesterday morning, it was clear and sunny and unseasonably warm.  A strong south wind pushed fluffy clouds through the sky and made me feel like spring was just around the corner.  My walk to work was invigorating.  By mid-afternoon it was cloudy and alternately raining, snowing and sleeting.   Still, it is March, and spring will come!

The cafe where I work has a wide range of clientele, and we get a fair number of senior citizens.  Today a woman came in with family members, and it was clear she suffered from dementia– she couldn’t even remember what she wanted long enough to order for herself.  We get a fair number of customers like this.  There is another woman, a pretty regular customer, who usually doesn’t remember what she ordered– it’s often a surprise to her!.  She sometimes forgets to pay, other times she pays but forgets that she did.  The staff is always careful to let each other know when she’s paid so she doesn’t end up paying twice.

Seeing people with dementia makes me really think.  We get the occasional customer who is clearly on his or her own, and I worry for them.  Most of the people have family or caregivers, but I think about how hard it is for the caregivers.

I seem to be noticing a lot more of this.  I don’t know if I’ve just become more aware, or if people are just starting to feel more comfortable bringing their loved one out in public (which is wonderful), or if there are just more people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Time runs along

I realized yesterday that June is half gone!  What a depressing thought.  I feel like I’m spinning my wheels lately.  I feel like I never get done the things I want to.

The first two days of this week were hellish.  Things have been busy at the cafe where I work, and I’m working a much longer day than usual, often 7 hours or more.  This is fine, it’s good to be busy and with tips, the money is good.  I also am working at our little theatre group, doing some of the office work.  Lately I haven’t been able to get there during the day, which usually isn’t a problem, but this week we started selling tickets for our upcoming show.  Long story short:  Monday and Tuesday, I left the house a little after 8 in the morning, put in a full day at the cafe, then headed over to the theatre and put in several hours there.  By Tuesday night I was close to tears. I realized a few things at that point.

One is, that I am only one person and I can only do so much.  The timing of things this week did not work out well, but I did the best I could.

Another is that it can’t all depend on me and doesn’t all depend on me.  If I need help I must ask, and if I don’t get the help I need that is not my problem.  The fact that everyone leaves it to me does not obligate me to do it.

Most important, I realize that I have too many things right now that take me away from my family.  I need to reassess things and make my family a priority again.

So I am taking control of my life as best I can for the next few weeks, and after that I will think long and hard about the theatre job. It may be time to let that go.

On a more pleasant note, yesterday and today I am finishing up the last two courses in basic theology offered by the Diocese.  I’ve enjoyed them and it’s been a nice refresher for my faith.  It also has me seriously considering teaching faith formation again in the fall.

Also– strawberry season is here!