Taking Charge

It’s been nine crazy-busy months since I sat down to blog, but I feel like today’s a good day to write. Writing is therapeutic for me. I’ve kept some kind of journal since I was eight years old – those are a real trip to read now. Anyway, getting my thoughts down on paper (or posted in a blog) helps me deal, helps me be reflective, and helps me grow.

I’ve always been a take-charge person. I like being in control, having a plan, and, let me just be honest, getting my way. Over the years, I’ve learned life doesn’t always work like that. I don’t always get to be in control. Plans don’t always work out. And, I can’t always get what I want (and know I just sang that classic song…).  Shocking revelation? Probably not. This isn’t breaking news to most people…

So here’s my spin on this today. No matter how much we plan & set goals/hopes/dreams for our lives, there will always be some factor we cannot control.

I can’t control the weather, the decisions and actions of other people, how many lanes are open at Wal-Mart, traffic, my husband’s obsession with shows about cutting down trees, death, sickness…. And a whole lot of other stuff.

But here’s the good news. These two things I know I can control…. 1. taking care of myself & my family and 2. how I treat others. Taking care of myself physically and spiritually, providing loving care for my son (and husband, too), and treating others with love and respect…. Those will be my main priorities. Focusing on these goals will make accepting the things I can’t control a little easier. 

That’s what I know today, friends. Happy Saturday.

Thinking about Friendship

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine . – Thomas Jefferson

Friendship is one of the greatest testaments of love and kindness in our lives, and I love this quote because it’s a reminder to me that our friends are constant. We share the happiest moments of our lives with our friends, and we also share the most tragic times with our friends.

In the past week or so, I have experienced what Jefferson described as both the sun and the shade with my friends. As one friend is grieving a tragic loss, I cannot begin to imagine the pain she is suffering. It has touched my heart to see the outpouring of love and kindness from the people in her life. Watching her friends and family surround her with love gives me hope and reassures me that God is present to serve as a source of comfort. Although we never understand tragedy in this life, there is some peace in knowing you have friends and loved ones by your side.

During this same week, another dear friend gave birth to a handsome baby boy. Celebrating new life is such an exciting time, another time for family and friends to share together. Welcoming a baby into the world is a challenging task, and these dear friends are blessed with loving families and friends to help along the way.

After a very emotional week, I needed to write this to take time to reflect. I feel blessed to have such amazing friends in my life, friends who help so much in times of need and in times of celebration, in the shade and in the sun.

Four Months & Counting

For weeks, I have been brainstorming for blogging ideas (dorky, I know). And to be honest, the only thing on my mind right now is this baby. I’ve spent almost everyday this summer thinking and planning all things baby. We are now less than four months away from my expected due date, so I thought I’d get some thoughts down.

Jamie was home for a few weeks this summer—yep, that administrator thing definitely takes away from his time at home. During that time, I put him to work in Baby G’s nursery. I know it seems a little pre-mature, but once we get back to school, time goes by so fast. It was just better to get it done while we had some spare time. So far, we’ve painted (well, Jamie painted) and assembled the basic furniture necessities. The assembly process was … trying, and we’re glad it’s done.

At my 20 week ultrasound, doc said everything looks great. For the most part, the little guy was quite stubborn. Even with the tech being rather rough, pushing and shaking him around, he didn’t budge from his balled-up, sleepy and snug position. It took over an hour to get all of his measurements. It was an 8:30 appointment in July. I really can’t blame him.

Now it’s time for me to get ready for going back to school. I know I’m in my second trimester, and everyone tells me I should be full of energy. The truth is, I’ve become quite accustomed to my lazy summer schedule. I go to the gym or walk, eat lunch, nap, watch tv, eat dinner, maybe read a little, and sleep. I’m going to be exhausted if I have to stay awake for more than nine hours at a time. And hungry, too! I’m hungry all the time right now. I may come home from work this week and eat dinner by five and be in bed by nine. I’m tired right now just thinking about it…

One thing I’d like to do in the next few weeks is schedule a maternity photo session. We’d like to take a few pictures outside this fall, like mid-October, to keep record of this bump. If anyone has suggestions or recommendations for locations or local photographers, let me know. We don’t need a ton of pics; I mainly need a good portrait for Christmas cards. J

Less than four months to go…

Sunning & Swelling

Sunning & Swelling…. That sums up my trip to the beach last week with friends. It was definitely a lot more difficult than I had expected, sitting in the sun all day… growing a baby. My typical beach schedule of beach by 10:00, sandwich at noon, beach ‘til dinnertime needed serious revision this year. Even with a few Bubba Kegs of water and plenty of snacks, I grew tired very quickly. Not to mention what the heat and salty air did to my poor fingers and toes… Wimpy, I know.

Being there with our friends and their young children gave me a glimpse at what our future beach trips will be like. I believe our days of packing a cooler and setting up camp for the day in the sand are behind us. We will now be towing beach toys, bottles, baby sunscreen, extra diapers, etc. along with us, and our beach time will be significantly less.

Despite these changes, I honestly believe our best beach memories await us. Watching the love- even through some rough patches- among these parents and their children made me rather emotional on multiple occasions. We’re blessed to have some great parenting role models around us.

Jamie and I couldn’t be more excited to have a little one of our own to bring along for the beach fun next year, even though our “routines” will never be the same. Growing up, I guess… 

Just for fun, here's a picture of one of my nephews on the beach last week. Oh, to sleep like that...

Pregnant and Slightly Crazy

It’s been a while! The end of the school year always makes life hectic around our house, and this year even more so as we are expecting our first baby. Even at three and half months pregnant, it still is a little strange to get used to saying that.

 A baby- another human we will be responsible for… feeding, changing, bathing, getting ready for school or daycare. Not to mention all the financial responsibilities. Yikes. Imagine my deer-in-headlights face as I’m brainstorming these things even now.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled to be having a baby! My husband is beyond excited. I’m just in awe of the huge responsibility we’ve signed up for.

Since we announced our pregnancy, we’ve been blessed with genuine excitement and support from our families and friends. Even people we barely know are eager to offer advice or share their own pregnancy stories – something I’ve been warned gets more interesting as the baby starts to “show”.

It’s no secret that I am frequently a selfish person and pretty self-conscious, especially about my weight. Pregnancy has forced me to step back from my usual frame of mind; I’ve had to think about the health of this baby rather than what I want or how I want to look. It’s a tough balancing act, especially in our society. Mix in with that all of the crazy pregnancy hormones I’ve had, and you can imagine my fragile state of mind. My poor husband!

I’ve been quite the basket case for the past few months, and I’m sure the remainder of the pregnancy will be an adventure for me and my loved ones. I apologize in advanced for hormonal outbursts, either in the form of tears or anger. You can also expect some blogs about my emotions, the baby’s growth, and some of the interesting encounters I have with others offering their own personal commentary.

It’ll be a journey in itself, but it will all be worth it when this baby is here!

End of the Year Laughs

Blogging has been on hiatus over the past several weeks as the school year gets begins to wind down. I thought today I’d share a few of the hilarious things my students have said to me lately. Yes, I keep a pen and paper near at all times to record these for future laughs.  These are keeping me sane as all the kiddos are beyond ready for school to be out.

I’m pretty sure these each came from a different child, so this is a glimpse into the wonderful world of my kindergarten classroom… Enjoy!

1.     Student: “Me and my brother are going to be in a wedding in June. I get to dress up like a cowgirl.”

Me:  “Oh really? That will be so much fun.”

Student: “Yea, and my brother gets to be the ring BARRIER.”

2.     Student: “Mrs. Garland, we’ve been outside too long for recess today. I’m getting STUN-burnt.”

Me: Shaking my head.

3.     Student: “I had to go to the doctor yesterday cause I’m having surgery this summer.”

Me: “Oh no. What kind of surgery? Are you nervous about it.”

Student: “No, I’m not scared or anything. I’ll be asleep when they cut me. And when they’re all done, they will put SNITCHES in it.”

4.     Student: (Sniffs my arm. I know, right??) “Mrs. Garland, you smell like the Easter Bunny.”

Me: “Not sure what that means, but thanks I think. Is that good?”

Student: “Yea, you know, like jelly beans and chocolate.”

5.     At the police department for a field trip, and the K-9 Unit is doing a demonstration when….

Student: “Is that dog a werewolf?”

Officer: “No, she’s just a German Shepherd.”

Me: Shaking my head.

6.     Again, at the police department for a field trip, and the officer is describing the tools he uses for his job.

Officer: “This is our gun… This is a taser…. This is a flashlight…. These are handcuffs.”

Student: “My mama’s got a pair of those”

Officer: “Does she now?”

Me: Doing that silent laugh that hurts because something was too inappropriately funny, shaking my head, and wishing sometimes I had a video camera to record these priceless moments.

We’ve almost made it to summer, people. I will miss these children next year, but I know they will share some great wisdom with their first grade teachers.

Spring Whistling

From our back porch in early March

I’ve been brainstorming ways to start this, so I searched for a quote about spring. My intentions were to blog about the beauty of spring and the promise of new life, sappy stuff I will get to eventually, but I wanted to share my wise crack first. Insert sly grin here.

 “Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”  ~Doug Larson

So true, right? In springtime, we all are filled with fresh air, bright eyes, and a hope for new things as the seasons change. We see life outside again. The past few weeks have definitely been whistling weather, even though I’ve had my share of slushy shoes.

Our only blooming azalea

I am always an early victim of spring fever, but as I get, ah-ahem, older, my reasons are maturing. As a student, I definitely understood spring fever to mean summer is quickly approaching, a defense for slacking off in my schoolwork. Spring was simply a route we all walked through just to get to summer—hot & sunny days at the pool, beach trips, shorts & tank tops, late nights, etc.

In my more adult perspective, spring is a miracle, not just a stepping-stone. The beautiful changes- color in the grass, birds in the sky, and blooms (especially our gorgeous irises) everywhere- are reminders of God’s love and greatness. These are the reasons for my spring fever, wanting to be outside more than inside, this year.

I’m using my newfound spring energy to help shed some of the pounds I picked up during winter “hibernation.” After all, summer will be here before we know it. That’s just how the calendar works. And it’ll be time for those hot days at the pool, beach trips, shorts & tank tops, late nights, etc.