If We Were Having Coffee… 2/26/17

Hello coffee friends! Come on in out of the cold. After a stretch of springlike weather, Mother Nature has decided that it is still winter. It is not terribly cold, but much colder than it has been lately. We will definitely be having our beverages inside today, perhaps in front of the fireplace.

Two things happened in my household this week: my older daughter turned 13 and girl scout cookies arrived. It is hard for me to believe that I officially have a teenager. How can that be? Time goes so fast. It seems like just a short time ago that she was born. I just can’t wrap my brain around the fact that she will be driving in 3 years and graduating high school in 5 years.  Her birthday was on Wednesday and so we didn’t do much celebrating that day since we had school and work. We had a small party for her yesterday with cake, ice cream and presents. I wrote a post for her this week (breaking my long streak of only writing Coffee Share posts) which you can find here.

Cookies arrived on Tuesday. This is a busy and tiring day every year. The truck unloaded pallets of cases of cookies for our entire service unit. We then sorted the cases into individual troops’ orders. Then the leaders sorted their own troops’ cases into individual girls’ orders. Then we waited for parents to come and pick up. I have two troops so it is double the fun. I was very sore the next two days with aching leg and arm muscles. We have lots of deliveries still to make and I have three orders that I need to ship. We have two cookie booths in March. Fun times.

Am I the only one who feels like the weekend coffee share rolls around quickly? Every week I tell myself that I will write a couple of posts during the week and I inevitably run out of time. Like I said, I did get one extra post done this week. *sigh* I really want to do better. If only there were more hours in the day.

Catch me up. What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

Thanks to Emily at Nerd in the Brain for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share! Stop in and have a cup with our other participants at the linkup here.

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To My Daughter on her Thirteenth Birthday

You changed my life on a snowy February night in Cleveland, Ohio.

After a precipitous labor and emergency delivery, I spent the first five minutes of your life praying. I begged God to let you live as the neonatal team resuscitated you. When you stabilized, a kind nurse wrapped you up and brought you to my bedside so that I could see you before they whisked you away for surveillance. With china-doll features and eyelashes that touched your cheeks, you were the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.

I flew by the seat of my pants in those early months, following my instincts (and always second guessing myself) and always in haze of sleep deprivation. The toddler and preschool years were a different challenge as you grew into a headstrong and defiant child. While you were a sweet and kind-hearted soul, you were also fiercely independent. You taught me to pick my battles, balancing between helicoptering and giving you the space you needed to learn and grow.

When you started school, you blossomed academically and socially. You are smart and have always excelled with high grades. That makes me proud. Kind, gentle and accepting, you were always a child that teachers would pair with a child who needed a friend. That makes me even prouder. You have even navigated the perils of middle school with grace. So far. I worry, of course. I am waiting for the first broken heart or the first betrayal by a friend – seemingly inevitable pitfalls of the early teen years.

So here you are… an official teenager. You may be a bit too fond of your phone and your tablet but you are a pretty amazing kid. You are polite and respectful. You love animals and they are drawn to you. You are good with children. You have a servant’s heart. You love the service projects that we do in scouts and you joyfully give your time and talents to others. You are a gifted musician, though I wish I could convince you to put your heart into it. While you have many interests, you have yet to find something that lights a fire in your soul. I pity anyone who tries to stand in your way once you do find that something.

You are not perfect. You need to be kinder to your sister. I know she’s a bit younger than you and sometimes you find her annoying. But she’s your sister. She will always be your sister and I hope that someday she will be your best friend. She balances you and I wish that you would appreciate what she brings to the table. You can also be hard on yourself. I understand that. Believe me, you come by that honestly. My advice is to loosen the reigns and learn to let some things go –  the things you can’t control. Spinning your wheels with stress and anxiety only hurts you. It has taken me a long time to learn that and I expect that it will be the same for you.

My dear daughter, happy 13th birthday. I love you more than you will ever know. You have brought immeasurable joy into my life. I am proud of the young lady that you have become and I am excited to see what the future holds for you. You are my heart. Always.

 

If We Were Having Coffee… 2/19/17

Thanks so much for being patient with my tardiness. I planned to meet you for coffee this morning… but my morning got derailed (as often happens). After that, I just didn’t have the time or mental energy to meet. I’m sorry. No, I don’t want to talk about it. I even thought about skipping our date altogether BUT I didn’t want to miss the first week in our new digs. Thanks to Nerd in the Brain for taking over the hosting duties.

It has been a decent week here. We have had amazing weather for February with sun and warm temps. I had a day off work which is always nice. My day off was a busy one but a busy day at home is a million times better than a busy day at work, wouldn’t you agree? My accountant also finished our tax return and we don’t owe the government money. Win. We will get a refund and be able to pay off some bills. Double win. I had parent teacher conferences this week and I never, ever tire of hearing how great my kids are. After a dismal start to my day, my Sunday turned out okay. I spent lots of time with my kids and watched the Walking Dead.

I am still trying to herd cats. Literally. There is still tension among Gracie and Charlie and the new cat, Precious. They have their good moments, though so we are making progress. Then hissing and swatting starts and we take a step back. Stay tuned.

I have only eaten one bag of Cadbury mini eggs since last Sunday. I know that may not sound like much of an accomplishment. Trust me, it is.

Spring training is officially underway. Pitchers and catchers reported by Valentine’s Day and the rest of the squad came several days later. Opening day is right around the corner.

I have some planning to do this week as my daughter’s birthday is Wednesday. My older daughter will be 13. I can’t believe that I will be the parent of a teenager.

Catch me up. What would you tell me if we were having coffee? Stop in and chat with the other weekend coffee share posters here.

 

photo credit: Unsplash

If We Were Having Coffee… 2/11/17

Happy weekend, coffee friends! It has been another week of oscillating weather, like we are on Mother Nature’s giant teeter totter.We had a couple of days below freezing and then today we hit 70 degrees. So this week, we may need a cooler beverage and we can even enjoy it outside.

The big news in my household this week is we have a new family member: Precious. Yes, another cat. Precious is 13 years old and belonged to my husband’s client who passed away last year. Since the death of her owner, Precious has been shuffled around to a couple of homes and none were a good fit. We already have two cats so the quality of our fit is still questionable. We are still in the transition phase so it is too early to tell. We have her in a sanctuary room and we are gradually introducing her. Now we have Gracie the original (almost 5 years old), Charlie the stray we took in last year (10 months old) and Precious the newcomer. With three cats, I think I have officially hit crazy cat lady status. Updates and photos to follow at future coffee dates.

In lesser news, I fell off the Cadbury mini-egg wagon. Not only did I fall, the wagon backed up and ran over me a few times. Not pretty.

I am ecstatic about The Walking Dead returning Sunday night. It is my favorite show and the only show that I have to watch live as it airs rather than watching it days later off the dvr. That also means that The Talking Dead is back which is much needed therapy after watching TWD episode. Also back will be texting with my TWD buddies during commercials.

I realize that it has been a while since I’ve posted anything here but Weekend Coffee Share and I feel like I need to make some changes. I can say I don’t have time but that’s really just an excuse. If I can find time to binge watch Dance Moms then I can find time to write and post. Reassessment, prioritization and organization – those are the key words for this week.

Catch me up. What would you tell me if were were having coffee?

Thanks to Diana at Part-time monster for hosting this weekly coffee chat! Join in by posting your own coffee post with the tag #weekendcoffeeshare and check out the other coffee share participants here.

If We Were Having Coffee on Super Bowl Sunday

Happy Sunday! Super Bowl Sunday is here! While I am just as excited about the snacks and the commercials as I am about the game, I do hope the New England Patriots go down in flames. Fingers crossed.

I spent the day shopping yesterday – not one of my favorite activities – for clothes for my almost-13-year-old daughter. She has her induction ceremony for the Junior National Honor Society on Monday night and dress clothes are required. She doesn’t like dress clothes and until yesterday didn’t own any that fit. She is picky about clothes and hard to fit (tall and bony skinny) so I knew it would be a challenge. We actually found a nice pair of black dress pants right off the bat. First store! They fit well, looked nice… I couldn’t believe my  luck. I thought, “well this may be easy! We just have to find a nice dress top to match and we’re done. This won’t take long.” Turns out I was delusional because finding that top was harder than I imagined. Again, she’s picky and it was hard to find something that I deemed age-appropriate (that didn’t look like it was for a 7 year-old or for a 17 year-old). Six stores later, we finally found a winner. I’m pleased with what we bought and she will look great. It was nice to spend some girl time with her and her sister and I found them a few other clothing items as well.

I also fell of the wagon and bought Cadbury mini eggs (damn you, Target!). Two bags. I actually exercised amazing restraint because I wanted to buy more. I haven’t opened them yet but they are taunting me. It’s a matter of time.

We’re in for some roller coaster weather this week. We should hit 70 degrees in a couple of days which will bring some severe storms because well, it’s not supposed to be 70 degrees in the Midwest in February. Then of course it will be back below freezing soon after. It keeps us on our toes (and in a state of aggravated allergies).

Catch me up. What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

Thanks to Diana at Part-time monster for hosting this weekly coffee chat! Join in by posting your own coffee post with the tag #weekendcoffeeshare and check out the other coffee share participants here.