The Home Office!!???

It is official.  We have a home office... in our home!  One of us is working from home now and it ain't me.  I don't work....well, I work, but no one pays me.  I have always said the day TJ retires will be the day I get a full time job because we could never be home all day together.  Well, he did not retire, he just took a new job and his office is now in our study.  He really loves the commute from the kitchen to the study!  Time for me to get that job... or go see the world!  My once solitary daily existence has been taken over by the home office, complete with many phone calls on multiple phones, multiple computers and piles of papers on the once barren desktop....yeah, I know...a guy's gotta work.

Ever since my youngest child started school, about 20 years ago, the hours between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. have been mine.  The house has been my office for the last 20+ years.   There was no one watching over my shoulder to check my productivity. I did whatever needed to be done every day...on my schedule and then whatever I wanted with the rest of the day.   Remember, most of those years were spent doing laundry, cleaning, cooking and shopping for a family of 6.  There were also about 10 or 12 years I worked, part time, so it wasn't all soaps and bon bons.  Don't get me wrong, my days are still plenty full, otherwise I would blog every day....about nothing.  I am just saying I think I am in for a period of adjustment. 

TJ has also traveled most of his career, so in addition to being away at an office every day he was out of town 2 or 3 days a week.  The new job has some travel so it will be feast or famine, when he is home, he is HERE and when he is gone, he is not HERE.  I am sure by the time summer is over we will both have adjusted to the new work environment but I'm thinking it won't be without a few speed bumps ahead... mostly for me.  One bit of good news is that the home office will be in Nova Scotia this summer, neither of us will have to adjust too much to that one!   Maybe I will just look at it as training for when he does retire. 

Maybe It Was Nashville

Maybe it's the time of year, maybe it is the weather, maybe it was Nashville.  I find myself more and more longing to get out of Houston and go to a more rural, beautiful, peaceful place....! 

Here is one!  Good idea!

We were in Nashville last weekend and in addition to the fun times with family as well as  birthday and  First Communion celebrations, I was taken by how nice Nashville is.  I guess after the last nine months in Houston, the concrete jungle is getting to me.   In the neighborhood we visited the lot size is a minimum of one acre and there are no fences.  There are however lots of huge trees and hills.   Let me repeat....huge trees and hills!  Everything felt so spread out.  We live on a flat postage stamp size lot and there are fences around each house.  The freeway in Nashville has trees along the sides for the most part until you get downtown.  Houston....and the surrounding 30 mile radius, has a patchwork of car lots, strip malls, fast food restaurants, gas stations and billboards along the side of the freeway.  One would be hard pressed to find a tree larger than a shrub near the freeway...and the only hill you will find is called an overpass.  Every sense is bombarded.

I happened to browse through some old photos last night and came across some from a few years ago taken one May at the farmhouse.  The new spring grass was brilliant green, the tulips were blooming, the sunsets were lovely over the water and it took my breath away.  I miss it!  I could almost smell the air! Most of the time we live our life here and we enjoy our life here.  There is a lot to say for having anything and everything you need or want so close.  We like the city most of the time.  I think after a while though we just need to get out  and have a change of pace and a change of scenery.  Time to recharge our senses and our spirit.  We need to slow down a bit and take in nature and refocus.  Life in the city....or the suburbs, has a different focus... a more material and competitive focus.  Drive faster, be busier, accomplish more, buy more, keep up!  I think I might be getting tired.  I am ready to worry about what bugs are eating the artichoke plants and if it is time to mow the grass yet and to look out and see wide open spaces instead of houses, fences, buildings and freeways.

Luckily I will have that opportunity one week from today!  We will be at the shore for a little over a week and then head back to the concrete jungle.  I should be able to tolerate the jungle for a few more weeks then until it is time to move north for the summer!  Bring it on!  Maybe it is just the time of year.

And She Made Me Cry

Today was the last day of ESL class until September.   I have mixed emotions about the end.  I am happy because the end means I am that much closer to summer at the shore but I am sad because it is the end and it was so good while it lasted.  We began in September and it has been a long journey for some of the students.  We had an awards ceremony and pot luck party today to close out the year.  The students love this day!  So do the teachers for that matter!

Most Improved Student, Me, Outstanding Student, Student with the Best Attitude , Attendance Award winner and my most excellent assistant

Back in September I entered a class of about 20 people who did not speak English.  Through the year many of the students drop out for various reasons, maybe they got a job, or maybe they have no transportation or don't feel like it is worth their time, whatever the reason we have significantly fewer students by the end.  Today I gave awards to five people who can now speak enough English to communicate and are all moving up to Level 2!  I was a very proud instructor.  This final group of students has been the core group through the entire year and we all feel very close now.  We have spent every Monday and Wednesday morning together studying, speaking, laughing, writing and playing a few games and we have gotten surprisingly close. 

As I called each one up to receive his or her award I found myself getting choked up.  There were family members in the audience who came to see their mother, sister or father be recognized for his or her commitment to learn English.  I gave my first award out and it was all smiles and clapping and then I was about to give the second award for the Most Improved Student and found myself getting very emotional.  I said a few nice words about her before I called her name.  She proudly came up to receive her award and then shocked me by making a speech...in English, in front of the entire room.  This, from the woman I could not get to speak louder than a whisper for over  a month when she first came to our class.  The woman who seemed so shy and serious.  I noticed lately that she has made progress and her skills have taken off, she even speaks loud enough for me to hear her now!  But to make a heartfelt speech in front of a room full of people.....she made me cry!  She said thank you to my assistant and me and that she prayed for God to bless us and our families and that she was very thankful for our time and energy in the class and our.....(long pause, what is that word?, I know it.. but what is it?, she is thinking and taking her time....it is coming......) our dedication!  She was amazing!  I could not have been more proud if it had been my own child winning the Olympics.  It made my day, my month...my every Monday and Wednesday morning for the last 8 months! 



She had me at "thank you".  Sniff, sniff.

 There were other special moments.  I have one special needs student.  He was awarded the Best Attitude.  He kept us laughing and was always smiling.  He is 30 years old and when he joined us I thought he was 17.  I will add that he has a lot of personality!  We had 3 women in our class named Maria.  Every morning he would say, "Where is Maria, Maria, Maria?"  Cracked me up!  He liked to give high fives too.  What I did not know is that he is quite a lady's man!  Marathon Girl came to the awards ceremony today and was our photographer and got to see where the classes are and meet the students.  Well, Mr. Best Attitude took a shining to Marathon Girl.  He's got game, because he had her name and email by the time he left!  He even asked for it in English!  Success!  Nice to know I taught a 17/30 year old man to pick up cute girls in English!

He is not interested in us...he has his eye on Marathon Girl!

After this year of teaching I think it might be a good idea for me to take a Spanish class in the fall.  I really need to know what my students are saying....in front of my face.  They could be plotting all sorts of things and I would not even know it!  Won't they be surprised next September when I start responding to their conversations in Spanish!  God bless them all, they certainly blessed my life.








Wake Up!

I am not really a morning person.   Lately though, my life is forcing me into morning personhood.  I survived raising four children which required a lot of early mornings, I really hoped when they were grown and gone I would finally be able to sleep in!  No such luck.  Just to clarify, early in my book is any time before 7 a.m., ridiculously early is any time before 6 a.m. and insanely early is before 5 a.m..  No sane person should wake up before 5 in my book.

Just last weekend I was up at 5 and on the road at 5:20, insanity! 

5:45 a.m. My husband and daughter before their 100 mile ride on the first day of the MS150.
See?  They look tired and cold...not to mention the 100 miles into the wind they will be riding!

 Over the Easter holidays I was up early (see definition above) every day.  Our  grandsons do not sleep in and when they wake up they have a lot of energy and they are not quiet, plus they are pretty cute in the morning.  There was no sleeping in.  I've driven to the airport for 6 a.m. flights several times lately, insanity!  I have another flight in a few weeks that leaves at 5:30 a.m.....who makes these reservations???  A morning person, aka my husband.  I am beginning to think it is a conspiracy, all the morning people in my life are getting together and scheduling things that require me to be conscious and participate much earlier than I want. 

I have even voluntarily gotten involved in activities that require me to be up and out early at least four days a week.  It is like having a job... or kids...neither of which I have, what gives?   I must confess that as I have gotten older I can't really sleep in like I used to.  Gone are the luxurious days when I could sleep until 10....  luxurious for me these days is sleeping until 7:30!  So sad, what has it all come to?  Have I become a morning person?  Never!  I may get up and I may even be able to drive but don't expect me to talk until at least after my second cup of tea, I can only do so  much.


Updates.....
If you read this post then you may be wondering if all that training paid off.

 I am happy to report that Marathon Girl did indeed finish the Boston Marathon in under 4 hours in the unseasonable heat.  I think all the training here in the tropical rain forest paid off for her and the heat did not bother her as much as it did those wimps who get to run in cool dry climates.

My husband and my daughter rode the MS 150 this past weekend and managed to ride the first day of 100 miles into a 15-20 mile headwind.  TJ said it was the hardest ride he has ever done...and this is his 6th time to do this ride and my daughter's first time.  She successfully crossed the finish line in Austin and and now has a well deserved sense of accomplishment.  I just got to wake up insanely early and drive the drop off and pick up car. 

The wind they rode into....for 100 miles!

She looks pretty good after waking up insanely early and riding 100 miles!



 As far as my goals....I did take the writing class, I don't think I learned as much as I would have liked.  I might have done better if I had just used that time and money and taken golf lessons because I still have not broken 100.  I will just keep chasing that elusive score and keep you posted.







Who Says We Are Competitive?

A few Sundays ago I had  an eye opening experience.  I had a little foreshadowing the Sunday before but then my suspicions were confirmed.  If TJ and I want to stay married, we can't golf together in couples tournaments!  We have no problem playing golf together any other day, we don't snap at each other, have unrealistic expectations or share scornful glares when we play....until our first couples tournament.  Maybe it was just me!  I am sure TJ will read this and say, "What is she talking about?  It wasn't like that!"  "Oh, yes it was...at least for the first nine holes.  How could you miss all my scornful glares?"

After missing about 50 putts, each of us wanted to quit and just get on with the eating and drinking part of the tournament.  Why is it that when one member of the team is doing poorly the other one does worse instead of better?  My theory is that we are just too competitive and when we are competing as a team our collective brain can't take the pressure.  We knew we would never be near the top but we had such high expectations and were disappointed with every missed putt, duffed sand shot or errant drive.  The pace of play did not help our mood.  We are used to playing quickly.  Couples tournaments move at a snail's pace.  As if playing poorly was not bad enough, we got to play poorly for an extra hour! 

Maybe there is a learning curve to these tournaments.  There must be something we still haven't learned.  Finally, on the last nine holes, we settled down and started being nicer to each other and did a little better.  Hmmmm. We need to sign a pre-golf contract before our next round. 

Rules to be included are:

-We won't take this thing too seriously!
-TJ will not hover over Lisa while she is putting and tell her which way the ball is going to break or that it is uphill or downhill or sideways, she can miss the putt without his help.
- Lisa will drive the golf cart wherever TJ telepathically tells her....or maybe we will just have separate carts!
-TJ will use his new clubs and driver and knock the heck out of the ball
-Lisa will pretend to listen to TJ's advice and then proceed to do what usually works for her (just like in real life....)
-We will both start drinking on the second hole!
-We will check our competitive natures at the door....and just have fun!

"And Then I Did Limbo"

Hang on folks, no telling where this might end up!
There is so much here in my head and so little time to get it all into this blog.
Easter was fantastic!  We had all four kids here, our son-in-law and daughter-in-law, the grandsons, Marathon Girl and assorted friends.  The long Lent was truly over and there was good reason to celebrate! 

The whole family! 

I did not write a Lenten post this year, I figured I had been there and done that.  The thought did cross my mind a few times though.  Especially on those nights when I was regretting giving up drinking for Lent and just wanted to rant!    TJ joined me in my sobriety... we were very quiet and boring for about 6 weeks but felt much better in the mornings.  The hardest times were when we were finally blessed with springlike weather and we sat on the back patio in the evening sipping our water or ginger ale.  We really missed that nice glass of wine.  Yes, giving up drinking was a real sacrifice and boy am I glad Lent is over! We did save a lot of money!  Going out to dinner is so much cheaper when you don't drink! 

Our weekend was full of talking, cooking, eating, drinking, running around(after the kids) and general joy and happiness.  Daniel and Christopher are at a really cute age, the one where they are busy, curious, enthusiastic and are able to speak and tell you what they are thinking.  They are also boys....which means they do a lot of active playing with great enthusiasm!  One afternoon as we all sat on the patio, Daniel disappeared around the side of the house.  When he reappeared he was very wet.  He breathlessly exclaimed, " I got all wet with the hose....and then I did Limbo!"  Yeah, I do that all the time too! The hose provided hours of entertainment for the boys.

Daniel's favorite part of the zoo....the water fan and the misters!  He loves the water!  Forget lions and tigers and bears.

On Good Friday I went to the 3 p.m. service.  I left the entire group behind at the house thinking I would be home to make dinner at a reasonable hour.  Two and a half hours later I was walking to my car in the parking lot dreaming of the food that I would soon eat and satisfy my growling stomach when I could not find my car.  I walked to the end of the row...no car.  "Hmmm, maybe I am just delirious from lack of food and two and a half hours of church."  I walked back up the row...no car.  I had a little conversation in my head with God, "Really?  I spent two and a half hours in church and come out to find my car was stolen?  Not fair!"  I reached for my cell phone and noticed several calls and messages.  My car had just been car napped by my family.  The message said to start walking and call them to come pick me up.  I love my family...glad I did not wear heels!  That was the moment I declared Lent to be officially over and had a glass of wine when I got home!

All the kids at the zoo!

One of the best parts about being a grandparent.  The post zoo nap on Gigi's shoulder!

We had a family field trip on Monday.  We went to Brenham, Texas.  It is where they make Blue Bell Ice Cream, the best ice cream in the country!  According to their commercials.  We also went in search of fields of bluebonnets to pose the kids in and take their picture.  We had a nice tour of the creamery and it ended with free ice cream!  A big hit with kids of all ages.  On the way to the creamery Christopher and Rachel had an amusing conversation.

R- "Christopher, we are going to go see them make ice cream.  Do you know what ice cream is made from?"
C- " Water?"
R- "  No it's made from milk.  Do you know where milk comes from?"
C-  "The refrigerator!"
R- "No, it comes from cows."
C- "Animals don't make milk!"
R-  " Yes, it comes from cows."
C- "It comes from the refrigerator and it goes on Cheerios."    Take that, Mom!
The world according to a two year old!  I almost ran off the road laughing...clever kid.

We did manage to find the elusive bluebonnet field, it was right next to a football stadium and rec center in the middle of town, guess beggars can't be choosers.  Cute picture though!

Bluebonnet boys!

All that ice cream can make a boy tired!  I am a sucker for a sleeping kid, they are just so cute and so still.

Kind of loses some of it's allure when you see the surroundings.

The kids are all back to their real lives and TJ and I are back to our quiet days and wine filled nights.  Until we all meet again in Nova Scotia this summer!  Marathon Girl is heading to Boston this weekend to run the Boston Marathon on Monday...shout out to Marathon Girl!  I will run 2.6 miles that day in solidarity. 
God is good indeed.  Happy Easter!

P.S.   I managed to work my way all the way from the Limbo to God.....that my friends is a long road!

My New Boyfriend

My writing class is keeping me from writing!   Every week I sit down to write here and find myself  distracted by the writing I am supposed to be doing for my class.  As a result, neither the blog or my classwork is getting done.  However, my golf game is improving.  When in doubt I just go play golf!  That is pretty much how the last few weeks have gone.

The class is not exactly what I had hoped it would be, but damn if I'm going to just give up.  It is a memoir writing class and I thought it would be a good starting place for my writing and give me some good tools.  The class is definitely challenging my brain and forcing me to examine my life.  This is not always easy.  "Write about your greatest fear" is one assignment this week.  Does my irrational fear of breaking down in a car on a road trip count?  What about my most recent fear of writing extremely boring and trite essays compared to my fellow students?  At least I won't be guilty of writing a ten page essay about civil rights in the '70's, an apartment in Paris and food in Ireland and then volunteer to read it out loud, in a monotone voice, causing the teacher and the rest of the class to fall asleep.  The teacher did stop him at one point....at about page 5, and said that in an effort to save time maybe we should "move along" which lead to one of the most uncomfortable stand offs I've witnessed in a long time.  He said, "No, I haven't gotten to the part about the verdict yet."  We were very close to our own civil rights event at that point so the teacher just let him read the entire paper....yawn.  I paid money for this??!!

Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent writers in the class who have had very interesting lives and really should write their memoirs.  I am humbled every Monday.  I leave class and think I need to do a lot more living before I have anything memoir worthy to write.  I sit next to an 87 year old man.  He is/was a doctor.  He wrote one paper about how when he was in his 40's he was electrocuted and his 15 year old son "breathed" him back to life!  There were some hilarious parts in his story too, especially the part about being driven to the hospital in a Hearse because the small town did not have an ambulance.  When they got to the hospital and he was taken out of the Hearse everyone who knew him at the hospital thought he was dead.  He said that near death experience changed his life.   He is my new boyfriend, he is so charming!  I may have to fight off the 75 year old lady who sits on his other side, I think she has her eyes on him too.  Note to self... if I am ever old and single, I will sign up for a memoir writing class, it's where all the cute, interesting, old men hang out.

So I will force myself to sit down and write this weekend.  I will try to single out my happiest moment and my greatest fear and come up with some profound verbiage to delight and entertain.  It's gonna be a long weekend.