Nothing Quite Like It

There's nothing like getting ready for work in the morning and having the power go out...in the shower. Thankfully I hadn't gotten my hair wet yet, but it is very upsetting to be in there, naked, and here a big BOOM and then no lights, no A/C. There's that split second "Oh No!" moment, and then you think: "that was just a transformer, right? Not the electrical box exploding or anything like that - right?" Because if it IS your electrical box or something large and metal that just dropped off a jet in your backyard and NOT a transformer, then you have to plan your escape carefully. Well, it was, in fact a transformer, so then I had to race around the house and grab my stuff so that I could put my make-up on and fix my bed hair at work. Oh, did I mention that I had TWO funerals yesterday? So I'm leaving and as I'm driving down the back alley I see my neighbor on the corner is outside in his truck and he is walking towards me, the universal sign of "stop, roll down your window and have a neighborly chat". Well, stink! Here I am with no makeup, grubby hair, and here is my neighbor who reminds me of Robert Mitchum. You know, he's got those old- Hollywood looks (he really does look like Mitchum) and his wife is a perfect match for him - two timeless Hollywood-types slumming it in Kansas. At least I had my big celebrity-style sunglasses on to hide most of my unmade face. So I stop and roll down my window and he tells me he can't get into his garage. He smiles his charming crooked smile and then proceeds to become even more charming by saying that he had been sitting there clicking his garage remote and alternately banging it on the dash for something like 3 minutes, thinking his remote was bad before he went inside and found out there wasn't any power. I just totally lost it! So funny! And then his lovely wife comes out through the back gate and stage-whispers to me "he's such a dork!" and she gives him a sweet pat on the face. I felt like I had just landed in an old black and white movie...awwww!

So the rest of the day was a bit of a blur: two funerals and then I cut out of work a bit early in order to go register the boys in school; Thing 1 in High School and Thing 2 in 5th grade. Next year my baby will be in Middle School! Yikes! Am I ready for all of this? No. But I am ready to do battle over the high school class schedule. Back in the Spring we had to choose electives and type of science, social studies, & history, etc. Well, They make you choose second and third choices, and really there weren't a lot of options so you try to choose something not too awful. We didn't have a full course catalog apparently because we couldn't find info on some of the classes, but the most important thing was Art. My middle boy, like my oldest and my brother can draw and I want to see it developed. Art was not on his schedule and I was a little put out, so I will be contacting the school Monday to see about changing it. The principal was there at enrollment and as he went over it with me saw that there was already something wrong with it and when I told him about how important the Art class was to us, he told us we definitely needed to speak with the counselors and get it corrected. I'm hoping he can get in because it was the one thing he was really excited about that helped to balance out the anxiety over starting High School.

And speaking of school, I just found out two weeks ago that I am about to graduate. Back up - I just found out two weeks ago? That's kind of like saying "I don't know nuthin"...so anyhoo, two weeks ago I found out that I am two classes away from graduating - about the first part of October. I've been stewing over it since then and have come to the conclusion that I have mixed feelings about it. I'm kind of excited, but anxious too, and maybe a little sad? Although I haven't had much time for, well, anything, since I started this journey, I have enjoyed it. Then my counselor told me in September we can talk about enrolling for my Bachelor's. So now I'm thinking about that. 

So, while I stew that over a bit more, I leave you with a little visitor I found hanging out in my mint plant. I have found out that he is a stink bug - not the kind I'm used to which are more oval, black, and walk around with their rear in the air if you so much as look at them - but an Asian type native to China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan (according to Google). Well, I'd say these little guys, who also come in bright green, have adapted really well and now call North America home - and probably have for a very long time.