Turning Corners.


It's been quite a week here - the weather has been horrendous. Snow. Snow! Snow!!
The lady that looked at our house says she wants it but has done nothing about a formal offer so we will list it next week and hopefully sell quickly. We will also start packing and get ready for a household sale. I will also check into the preliminary paperwork for retirement - it takes 30 days or so to retire. :)
All of this is much like the driving I had to do during all of these snow storms we've had. You know about the turning corners thing - slow down, but keep your foot off the break and if you start to slide just go with it and don't turn the wheel the other way.
Kasey is a good little boy but has had a couple of rough days in school this week which carried over to home at least one of those days. Got himself (and grandma) good and upset before we even left the day care parking lot on the drive home one day and by the time we got home it was getting worse. Once we got home and in the house, and out of our cold weather garb. I sat down on the step. pulled him over to me and sat him on my lap and we talked, and apologized to each other - the good and sincere apology that comes with a warm hug and a heartfelt, "I love you."
We're just trying to make our way here - turning the corners, so to speak. Scott has some health issues and I know that he is thinking about us leaving - it isn't going to be as easy as it seems. We all look forward to the day when we retire - getting there isn't easy though, is it?
Laurie is doing very well in school, Stephen instant messages to us all when he can although we are like ships passing in the night because of the time and schedule difference. All I know is that when I see his name with a yellow happy face next to it on my messenger - even if his status is "Idle" or when I see both Stephen and Laurie's happy faces lit up, then there is a big piece of my heart that is at peace.
Turning corners isn't a bad thing - it's good when you know what will be ahead of you, but we don't know God's will and I'm not about to guess. I am hoping that this huge corner we are headed for will be easier to navigate than what it seems like now.
Think I will give my brain a rest this weekend and watch the Superbowl. Yup, that's what we will do. Watch some of the hype, order some pizza or maybe make some hot soup and sandwiches and veg in front of the TV.
And wait for the weather advisories to crawl across the bottom of the TV. :)
Sounds like a plan. Hope YOUR weekend is a good one too. Many blessings.
God bless our troops and those of us who wait.

Just when I thought I was home free....


Ok, I've been thinking to myself since October, "let's try to make this a winter without an upper respiratory infection...can we do that, Susan?" As December passed into January and I got through all the busy-ness of the holidays - shopping in stores with people who should be home taking care of their colds, not catching any of the colds other kids shared with Veronica and Kasey in school and day care, and getting three weeks into January, I was just thinking the other day, "HA! You're gonna do it!"
And then there was yesterday morning when the familiar scratchy throat, red nose and eyes, and sneezing hit. One of my staff members told me when she saw me first thing yesterday morning, "you look and sound sick!" (encouraging way to start the day). Good thing I love her. :) And when I woke up at 3:30 this morning head pounding, sneezing, etc., I decided to get up as usual at 5:15, take my sudafed, wait til 6:15 and see how I felt. At 6:15, I picked up the phone and called in a voicemail to my Supervisor that I wouldn't be in today. I can do some things here today - need to do a spreadsheet and that will be easy without having any interuptions. Well, not counting Lily begging to have her ears scratched.
Things are changing for me at work. Our director sent out an email yesterday to the entire organization asking them not to call me for customer service issues since I am preparing to retire and the staff needs to learn the issues and the answers they should be giving. No longer will I be doing processing, but rather documenting the things that my supervisor would like me to leave behind. It feels different already -not like I'm not still needed but as if the baton has already been passed. It's hard, you know? And if it's hard for me to do NOW, how difficult will it be for me when I leave?
Well, there is always the fact that I am retiring to be with Ron and the rest of our family. There is the fact that we will be traveling and we will have Kasey with us. I think I can get used to that without ANY problem at all. But we will be leaving Scott and Veronica behind...THIS will be a heartbreaker for Nana, Papa and I think for Veronica too. Scott might miss us a bit also. :) but hopefully they will be able to travel to see us - with a little help from our checking account once in awhile.
And so today, I will nurse my cold, and my sciatica, and build my color coded spread sheet. Tomorrow we will go hunting for RVs again - Kasey loves doing this and has to sit in the driver's seat in every motor home that's there. Of course we won't be buying a motor home, but he can still enjoy looking at them.
We are waiting for the lady who looked at the house last week to be able to bring her son through with her. This is good, don't you think? She's had a week to think about it and she still wants the house. YAY!
Time for my sudafed....blessings for your weekend.
God bless our troops.

Are We a Different Nation?


Today - we have probably all heard at least 10 times - is a day for the history books. As one President leaves as some (most?) do ~ with a less than pleasing performance in the eyes of many ~ we can be thankful that we live in a country where WE get to decide our next leader. Of course not all of us chose the same man (and we came oh so close to being able to say "woman"), but I think we now need to put all of the political stuff behind us and get on the same page. Support our nation by working together. It won't always be pretty, but it is democracy at work. We have youth in the White House - not just in the man and woman who are the first parents of the nation, but in their cute little girls. It's been awhile since the White House has been occupied by children as young as the Obama girls - and they will most certainly love the experience.
And so, ARE we a different nation tonight? I must admit that I wish I could have watched the inauguration events today - and will try to catch some of the reruns and highlights tonight. It is exciting - and yet a bit heartbreaking at the same time. We see a man take the oath of office for the highest and most influential position in the free world - maybe in the entire world.
And we pray - for him, for his family, and his safety. We pray that God will give him wisdom and strength; the energy - and the conscience - to do what is right for this awesome nation and the interests of the world.
But no matter where our political affiliations are, we are also seeing a President go home to his native state of Texas. A man who showed what he was made of on September 11, 2001. Who made some poor choices over the course of 8 years, but I truly believe kept our nation safe from other terror attacks. I am one of those in the minority because I still believe George Bush is a good man. I pray God will bless him with a restful conscience - because every man who has good intentions and a peaceful heart should have a sense of accomplishment over a job that is way too much for a normal man to endure 24/7, 365.
This is probably the MOST outspoken post you will ever see on Two Star Mom. But I try to see the good in everyone - I believe there were so many good intentions in the man who left the oval office today.
And may God be gracious to the man who will be at work there in the morning. The new Commander in Chief for those who serve. Dear Lord, may they be able to look to him with confidence and security in who he is.
Maybe we CAN be a different nation - and rely on God's will instead of mankind's.
God bless America and the troops who defend her.

This house belongs to Murphy's.


Hi everyone. It's been a busy week - cleaning, polishing, pitching and tossing. Ron helped so much - he was awesome. The lady did indeed stop on Saturday - she brought her sister and brother in law also since she is single - widowed or divorced - so she wanted some moral support in checking out things like the furnace, wiring, etc. She told us we would be seeing her again, and that she was going to call her lawyer to draw up an offer. We are really excited at this but are not holding our breath since the offer is what counts.
As long as the house is in good shape, :-), we are having a realtor come in on Friday, just in case the offer isn't what we have in mind, so that we can list it if the lady doesn't buy it.
And so, Murphy's Oil Soap comes through again.
Unfortunately, my little trip to the ditch finally reared it's ugly aftermath with a case of siatica. I haven't been able to sleep for the past 2 nights - pacing and praying away the spasms in my leg and ankle - with a good share of tears and sobs mixed in. I went to urgent care yesterday but the medicine they gave me really isn't touching it - today I have an appointment with my own doctor so hopefully he can check me out a bit more thouroughly - the NP didn't even have me put a gown on so that she could check me out. Not that I don't think she knows what she is doing, but the shot that she gave me was supposed to help within 15 minutes - and did not - and the pain killer isn't doing anything either.
So, this is my story and I am sticking to it. I sure hope I sleep better tonight - I could be retiring sooner than I thought if this lady is serious.
I can hope, right? Kasey is so excited.
Thanks Mr. Murphy. You did it again.
God bless our troops.
Sue

Could this be?


Friday night after I got out of work, we took Kasey to a local place for dinner - we had a fish fry, Kasey had one of his usuals...spaghetti, no sauce - no thank you to the meatball this time.
When we got home, there were three messages on the answering machine. One was from the insurance company about our November accident. Another was a reminder for an appointment. And the third was a lady who said she heard that we are going to be selling our house and could she come and look at it?
Huh? Somebody wants to look at our house and it's not even on the market yet?
I mentioned to Ron it would be a good thing to give me a week to get ready - so that I can do some heavy cleaning. And so, she will be here Saturday.
As I was going through the last of the basement things today, I stopped to think about it a bit. I asked Ron if I could keep the whole book in which my one and only published poem is - or if I had to tear out the poem and throw out the book. :) I half expected he would say tear out the poem, but he could tell by the look on my face that this would not be a wise answer. Little by little we are REALLY getting into the swing of things here and I find that I can throw things out after all. Half of the basement floor has been given a new coat of paint - Ron will do the other half tomorrow. It looks clean and bright.
But could it be that this is really happening? This retirement thing, selling the house, moving adventure - it's really going to happen?
I cried a bit thinking of how difficult it will be to leave the home we've lived in for nearly 29 years. But Ron said, "it will be hard for us all but remember that we are just leaving a house - the home and the memories go with us."
I hate it when he's right - but this time am very thankful too.
God bless you - thanks for stopping by. And may He bless our troops - and those who wait.
Sue

And in tonight's headlines....


We had a really miserable weather day here today. First, I overslept and woke up at 5:45 when the phone rang. It was one of my staff saying she wouldn't be able to come into work today.
So then I looked outside and even though it was pitch dark, it looked like a tundra. First "executive" decision of the day: "Kasey is staying home from preschool today," I announced to Ron, who really just wanted to go back to bed (and he did, but he was up again before I left).
Hmmm, maybe I should wait to go into work when the roads are better," I thought.
Second executive decision: "No, I'll get an early start so I can get there on time."
And therein was the mistake.
I should have realized when I had to plow through ruts and snow piles to get on our rural expressway that it wasn't plowed very well. Now, in the 15 years I have been doing the 30 some mile commute (each way) to my job, I have driven in snow storms that would knock your sox off. Why should today be any different?
Except that it was, and 15 minutes into my commute, going 23 miles per hour, I skidded off the road, down the embankment, and the car came to rest facing the wrong way in a water filled ditch. After calling the police, then Ron - who had tried to convince me to go in late - I sat there in the pitch dark, crying and thanking God. The car could have very easily flipped and I could have been upside down in the water. Anyway, the towing place said they could be there in two hours so I would just have to "sit tight." (Like I was going anywhere?)
The tow truck finally arrived and it only took him about 20 minutes to pull me out. There's a little damage to the driver's side front end - there was so much mud on the front of the car that we thought the license plate was missing - but once I was home and Ron rinsed off the car, the plate was there...just caked with mud from the trip into the ditch.
On tonight's news, as they talked about the weather and the accidents and the cars off the road, a picture popped up on the video, and there I was, big as life, sitting in the ditch.
Tonight I am sore, thankful, and extremely tired. You know how a person gets a surge of adrenalin in situations like that once they know they are alright? Well, the adrenalin doesn't last very long and eventually the aches set in. This is me wondering why the heck I am still up.
Bed time for this two star mom. Ron is driving me in tomorrow.
When one of the policemen stopped to check on me, I told him that I had so much on my desk I planned on doing today. He said, "well, this is why we are given another day - you can do it tomorrow."
Oh and just a couple other things. People care - as was evidenced in the 10 or 12 cars which either stopped or slowed down to check on me. For those who did that in such dangerous conditions, even if it was to roll down their window and holler out, "ARE YOU OK?" it was a gift.
I wasn't alone in the dark - well, eventually, the light.
And oh yes, the other thing....SEAT BELTS REALLY DO SAVE LIVES.
I am livng proof.
Thank you, God.
God bless our troops.

Sleeping Beauties

Veronica spent the day here today with Ron - she had some sort of bug thing going on with her tummy so had to stay home from school...that means Papa answers the phone at 8 am and comes to the rescue cause Tina had to work. It was a relatively quiet day - this is pretty much how it looked for the entire afternoon. Veronica is ALLOWED to sleep on the couch with out a blanket under her - all people are allowed on our couch.

Lily, however is a different story....she is supposed to have her blanket covering the couch beneath her. Hmmm - guess Papa got the sleeping beauties mixed up, or else he just didn't want to disturb the sleeping watch dog.

Must be nice, huh?

God bless our troops and those of us who love them.

Blessings my friends...

Sue

And so, we begin again.

Happy New Year my friends. With many good wishes that your 2009 will be bright with hope and good health and happiness.
I am a bit late on that but it's been a busy couple of days around here as we get back into the "just us three" routine. We took Kasey to a local mall yesterday - did some window shopping and went to a show.
I managed to keep from crying at the airport when Stephen and Laurie left. Choked back some tears and had to turn around to wipe a few stray tears away, but it was important to their little family that we remained strong so as not to make it any more upsetting than it was. Doubly difficult for Laurie and Stephen since they were not only leaving Kasey, but each other.
We begin phase 2 now - the rest of Stephen's deployment, Laurie's intense class schedule, and the continuing adventure for Kasey (and for us too).
2009 will be a year unlike any other for our family. The next few weeks will be pitching and tossing time. Setting some things aside for one more garage sale in the spring, and for packing to go in the RV. The manufacturer of the RVs that we were most interested in is going under so even though we were planning on buying one that isn't brand new, it won't be that kind since service and parts would be hard to come by.
And blitzing the house is mandatory. Once I get some of the extra stuff out of the way, flat surfaces cleared, etc., it will be time to show no mercy with the cleaning supplies.
Monday sees me back at work and Kasey back at pre-school. Two weeks off has been wonderful but if I am ever going to retire, I need to clear my desk.
And so, the mission begins. Clean the house, clear the desk, call the realtor. Kasey can help - there are a lot of things to be gotten rid of so he can help me in doing that.
Whew - what a year to look forward to.
With Stephen returned to the sand, I can tell you that the magnitude of deployment is hitting me a bit harder...seeing them all together, and now knowing they are apart. So many families going through this same experience - but I prefer to keep it on the positive side and give thanks for the two weeks we've had together. God is good.
May He bless you richly in 2009.