The Days Fly By

The days seem to fly by so quickly. I wonder if it is part of getting older or if my time management skills have gotten even worse. There are a number of projects that we really need to get done around here before winter sets in. The air today has turned from hot yesterday to a gust of wind just a minute ago that actually made me shiver. The change in the seasons always seems to have a sense of urgency to it. Boo is busy sanding down the deck railing so that it can be painted this next weekend. The paint was chipping and exposing bare wood that would rot in no time out here. There are also a few boards that will have to be replaced. I have started trying to round up hats, gloves, coats and scarves. After last winter (our first one here) I think that a pair of lined waterproof boots are in order for each person.

We are attempting to not use the truck on the weekends if we have only small errands to run. This weekend we rode bikes up to the community center and registered Norah for ballet classes. We also hit the little farmers market here where Norah got to pet and feed carrots to a alpaca. Norah, Boo and I made up some purple play dough with glitter and lavender oil. We also made up just some plain pink play dough.

Still no word about my job at the surgery center. I dug out my resume and updated it, my references are still good (I have AWESOME references. Hi Melissa and William!) so if comes to it I can be ready in about a day to start applying other places. I will be very disappointed if it comes to that but as an adult I also know that sometimes you are just going to be disappointed.

Norah will have a full schedule this year as she goes to school, has physical therapy once a week, speech therapy once a week and ballet once a week. This past summer I think that she didn't get the interaction with other kids that she needed so we are going to try and keep that from happening again.

It's nice to be back in the cooler climate but we sure do miss our family back in Arkansas.

 

Lori

First Day of First Grade

 Today was Norah's first day of first grade. I was fortunate enough to be off work today, Boo made sure he was up and dressed to be there for his little sister on this special day. Norah was so excited the night before school that she was also a little nervous. She climbed into my lap and wanted to be held. This is not normal behavior for Norah. She very rarely actively seeks comfort in that way when feeling nervous or anxious. It was quite a surprise, a pleasant surprise.
All of Norah's little friends from last year were there at school today. It is going to be another good school year.
Norah still will have physical therapy once a week and we re adding speech therapy once a week and signing up for a beginning ballet class at the local rec center. She (and we) are going to be busy busy.

We just got back from Arkansas on Saturday. United Airlines had to send us back on Delta since someone forgot to put a fire extinguisher back on our first flight, thereby delaying that flight so much that we had to go on another airline. This little fiasco added 6 hours to our travel time. With Glen's issues and Norah's issues it made for a very challenging day with lots of tears and added physical wear and tear that were not appreciated at all. It would have been nice to hear a "Sorry for the inconvenience" or perhaps a couple meal coupons or something. However the state of air travel being what it is I guess we are just lucky they didn't herd us down a chute with cattle prods at our backs.

Mom and Dad look good. Arkansas is hot! Oh, so much hotter than I remember. It is easy to forget when we live in such a cool climate now. We cleaned and painted and moved things around. We spent a couple days at the VA with Dad getting test done and checking out a great day program. We went shopping with Mom and had dinners with family and extended family. We drove by our old house in Cabot. It looks wonderfully cared for and tidy, with flowers on the front porch and the yard mowed and edged. Norah was totally spoiled by her Nana and her Aunt. I think she ended up getting at least a Barbie a day, along with a mermaid costume and a beautiful tulle dress. I didn't even get to see my friend from my old job there until Friday night. She had been hard at work most of the week and sick a day or two. Friday night though she called and said come over. We talked till 1 in the morning. I so needed it. I miss having my friends so close. As it stands now they are scattered from Arkansas to Utah.

It's hard to see Mom and Dad getting older. It seems like for a long time I saw them as immortal in a way. When you have had such loving parents as I have had it is really hard to even imagine a world without them in it. Then again maybe I am being selfish and just want to keep my cheering section around. (;
I have some pictures from the trip that I need to get up on here. I will try and do that soon. It is back to work tomorrow.

Lori