An Iowa Hawkeye sweater

As I finish switching from spring/summer to fall/winter clothing this morning I ran across my dad's Iowa Hawkeye sweater. It's been over 18 years and I find this sweater every fall when I take it out of storage and again in the spring when I put it back in a container to store for the warm months. And to be honest, if I've worn the sweater it has been only one or two times. When I started this "tradition" 17 or 18 years ago I know the tears fell and honestly there were a few today. I can see my dad wearing this sweater yet. He was more of an Iowa Hawkeye men's basketball fan rather than football, purely for the fact that he was harvesting in the fall so Saturday football games were not a thing he had time for. You harvested when Mother Nature cooperated.

So today, once again, I ran across this sweater. It no longer smells like my dad, Old Spice was his choice of cologne, or as I always teased him calling it Old Swill! He would laugh every time I'd tell him he smelled good, like Old Swill!! The smell of Old Spice will take me back to my dad and bring back memories at the first whiff whenever I smell it now-they must still make it!

I'm a fall kind of person. I loved harvest time. Honestly, I loved every season on the farm, except for the sweltering hot days of summer and baling hay. So as fall rolls around every year I go back to the farm, harvest, my dad, the sights, smells and all that goes with it.

With the rainy weather we've had this year, I know my dad would be worrying and fretting about getting harvest done and the cost to dry the grain to store it and winterizing everything. I've been off the farm longer than I've been on it now, but I still miss it.

So today when that sweater surfaced I could picture my dad and hear his voice in my head....precious memories. And I would not trade them for anything in the world. All the time, visits, gas money, phone bills, effort, everything was so worth it now as I look back. As I was busy growing up, going to school, getting married and having a family I wanted to keep in touch. My parents were my go-to when I had a question or needed comfort and as I was growing up, they were growing older.

My mom used to go to church every weekday morning at 8 a.m. I would purposely call home after 8 a.m. just so my dad would have to answer the phone, and we would talk, often times until mom would get home from church other times just for five minutes. Dad would typically listen on the phone in the basement when my mom and I talked all the other times, occasionally joining in the conversation. But I would call and talk when mom was gone so just he and I could talk. And once after dad has passed away I called after 8 a.m. wanting to talk and hear his voice one more time, but no one answered. The phone just rang, he didn't pick up the phone. It was a moment of the grieving process for me that hurt like hell.

And now I'm glad I called. I made those phone calls for selfish reasons. For me. For the opportunity. For the memories. And man am I glad I did that. What I would give to be able to do that one more time.

So today the Iowa Hawkeye sweater will go on the shelf with the other sweaters and I'm going to try to make an effort to wear it, even if it's just once, for my dad, for me, for the memories. I miss my dad but I'm so blessed with so many memories. I so glad I made the effort, took the time and spent time with him.

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened-thanks Dr. Seuss. 

Welcome to the world!

I. can't. wait!!!

In less than 24 hours, well actually 12 hours, there will be a new baby in this world....my grandchild. And I'm going to be brutally honest I've loved this little since we got the news back in January that they were on their way! And the anticipation and excitement has been fun and wonderful!

And tomorrow, August 8, I have no doubt the most beautiful and precious s/he will make an entrance into this world! (I'm not biased and I'm sure I'll feel this way about every little person that joins our family as well as the four-legged grand-animals that have and will join our families). And this little cutie will make a mom and dad out of my daughter-in-law and son.

This is a new adventure for all of us, grandparents, aunts and uncles and I have a feeling it will be a very fun and memorable one.

So I want to say to this little one, welcome, we've been waiting for you and are so happy you are here. We love you and we are your family!!


I can't wait.

Can you tell I'm excited?!

33 years

I want to take a moment and look at 33 years by the numbers. If you break it down it works out to the following numbers in various degrees!
1,720 weeks and 5 days
395 months and 3 weeks
12,045 days
289,080 hours
17,344,800 minutes
1,040,688,000 seconds
That's a lot of math and those numbers may or may not look like a lot, depending on who you are.

To me, 33 years is 12,045 days that have, for the most part, flown by with a variety of emotions, good, bad, happy, sad, boring, exciting, fun and a whole host of other emotions.

Three landmark days including four pregnancies and three births include June 6, 1988, August 4, 1989, and June 3, 1992, or in other words three kids birth days.

In addition, we have added three more landmark days of July 23, 2016, October 8, 2017, and January 14, 2017, the three marriages of our three kids to landmarks of the past 33 years. And the addition of three more very special people who joined our family.

The past 33 years represent a lot of time, love, commitment, hard work, holidays, birthday's, loads of laundry, a lot of food, shoes, toothbrushes, doctors visits and a ton of other. daily happenings. The holidays, trips, practices, dance classes, graduations, first days, last days, sports, dance performances, family photos, off to college, engagements and a host of other events.

It has included the passing of one grandparent, three parents, a brother and a sister-in-law. The birth of three kids, 9 nieces, and nephews, and one great-nephew.

We have seen friends come and go. And said goodbye to people we miss along with welcomed new friends and family into our lives. Buying a house, a wide variety of pets, vehicles, first dates, prom clothing, speech contests, basketball camps, drivers licenses and a ton of other memories.

But to me a represents a whole lot of love and a family.

**okay I confess I just googled and it took me to a website that broke it down 33 years by days, month, minutes, seconds, etc. I dislike math too much to go through that much work!

A dog named Murphy

I grew up on a farm and we always had a farm dog and lots of cats. And when it comes to cats vs dogs I would choose cats. I loved our farm dogs over the years while I was growing up, but cats always made their way to the top of my list for a variety of reasons.

So when my daughter and her husband recently adopted a rescue dog I was like cool, good for them. My daughter had wanted a puppy, but like all things small and in the baby stage they require a lot of time and work and attention. A rescue dog made their way into their lives and to say Murphy is a perfect fit for them would be an understatement. He a good-natured, spunky dog who is always smiling, always!

I just dog-sat Murphy for a day and a half and what fun we had. Lots of walks, pet and brushing time, just hanging out and a slumber party! It was a fun 36 hours. I've never met a dog with such an easy going personality but yet some spunk and humor. He listens, which is more than I can say for a lot of humans! He loves attention but yet was fine if I was reading and he was just hanging out.

And the final, and another fun part of my dog-sitting time, going for a ride so Murphy could be shared with his other dog grandparents! Murphy loved his ride. He wanted to drive before we left but opted to be my copilot! He loved looking out the windows, putting his nose in the air conditioner vent and having my hand on him. And best of all, what Murphy is always doing, smiling.

No one knows Murphy's story. Why he came to be in a shelter and how he was rescued from a 30-day kill shelter before that but fate has a way of working things out and bringing things and people and dogs together.

I'm a little lost without Murphy today, I haven't got a walking buddy and I"m sure the house will be quiet and empty when I go over to check on things. But he's obviously a well-rounded dog and I'm sure he is enjoying his time with his other dog grandparents.

Everyone can learn a lesson from Murphy always keep smiling!

My older brother

My oldest brother recently visited for a couple of days and to be honest, it was the first time as an adult that I have spent that much time with him. I had the opportunity to really talk to him. My brother was 10 when I was born and he got married when he was 21. My sister-in-law, his wife, recently passed away unexpectedly so for the past almost year and a half he has had to adjust to life without her.

My memories of my brother have always been the big, protective older brother. My mom would tell the story of how he would carefully put me in the little red wagon and pull me around the yard when I was little. He was careful and protective. He was and still is a gentle, kind guy. I honestly think he would do just about anything for his family and those he cares about. He set a good example and set the bar kind of high for me in regard to how men should treat women.

So the two days we spent together was kind of a get to know opportunity. He has a wonderful memory and could tell me the names, relationships and other tidbits about family members and events. Being the youngest I missed out on things that the four older siblings got to experience or do. He is extremely handy and smart when it comes to figuring things out and fixing things. There isn't much he won't try to fix or do himself-he learned that from my dad. He helped repair a few things. I return did some cooking and we went out to eat a couple of times. But my brother is a really good cook too!

I don't know if he was bored or enjoyed his time here but it was really, really nice. One of the best memories from the two days, when he and I sat outside after dark, watching the stars come out talking about family and life and our kids and the people we missed. It did my heart good and left me with such a great memory.

I'm so blessed to have gotten the opportunity and time to spend with him to make new memories and share old memories too.

Side note, my brother mentioned during his visit that he'd heard loved ones who have passed away are close when you find feathers. He said he had found several feathers over the past year and a half. As he was leaving today and I was standing on the lawn and I looked down as he was backing out of the driveway, and on the ground was a feather. I picked it up and held it up for him to see, he rolled down his window, gave me a thumbs up and smiled...be both knew what it meant.

Picking out glasses

I've had a love-hate relationship with my eyes! As a kid all my siblings and my parents wore glasses. And each year when the school nurse would do an annual eye check I would pass with flying colors. I was relieved that I had somehow been blessed with better vision than all of them!

My kids all have made their way into a corrective lens. I've paid for my share of eye exams, glasses, contacts and all of the goodies that go with seeing the world clearly. Obviously, they didn't get their eyes from their mother!

So when I got my eyes checked the first time as an adult by a professional I was shocked to learn I need glasses. And not only glasses but bifocals. I struggled with those glasses. I tried to wear them but in the end, they spent more time in the case than on my face! A couple years later I had my eyes checked again and funny thing but I didn't need bifocals...imagine that I wouldn't need bifocals for many, many years later. Single view glasses was a refreshing change and I wore those glasses much more than I ever did my first pair.

Flash a few years ahead and contacts made their way into my life. Yay! I could see near and far when I finally really did need bifocals.

So after a recent eye exam, I was again looking at needing new glasses and if you've ever had to pick out frames for glasses you know what I am talking about here. I brought home four different frames for family and friends to give me their opinion on. I had my favorite frames but I wanted the opinion of those I knew looked at me most, after all, they would see the glasses more than I ever would. It's kind of like painting your house, your neighbors see the exterior color more than you ever do. We've all seen those people with glasses where we've thought to our selves "what the heck?" or "who told you that looked good on you?". I didn't want to be one of those sassy little old ladies with bright colored frames, although it is the trend right now! It's all a complicated process. My daughter, who I knew would give me the most honest opinion did just that. She brought a perspective to the whole process that made me eliminate each frame one by one until we had a winner!

The next part of this fun process was going to order these frames. What kind of material did I want my lens made out of or how did I want the transition from one prescription to the other on the lens were all fun questions I had to decide on. The tech had to figure and mark where my eyes would focus on the lens. Did I want the non-glare coating or the blue light coating? They now make a coating just for people who get migraines, but it gives the lens a funky colored look, so no that was not for me. What color did I want the frames in? All this thrown in with less than helpful vision insurance card and 45 minutes later and the glasses were ordered! Alleluia!!

I go pick the new glasses up in two weeks. And honestly, I'm looking forward to getting these glasses. I think they'll look okay. I've always thought most people look smarter in glasses, just my perspective. I know wearing glasses does not make you smarter, but a good looking pair of frames can look pretty sharp!

In this whole process, I've learned a great deal about vision, thanks to the eye doctor during my exam and about lens and frames thanks to the tech who helped me! I may not look smarter in the new glasses but I learned a lot and that makes me smarter!!

Whew, that was a lot of decisions to be made just to see better! Here's to seeing the world clearer in a couple of weeks!

Summer is half over!

I love routine, in fact, I need it. If I keep a regular schedule it helps with my migraine headaches. But truth be known during some point every summer vacation I fall off the "keeping the schedule" routine and it's not pretty! Too much sleep or not enough either of which in turn often turn into migraine headaches.  Yuck!

At some point, I stay up too late, either by choice or because of lack of planning or because I'm naturally a night owl and I fall off the routine wagon. I sleep past my 5 a.m. alarm. I lay in bed and read or surf social media instead of getting my fanny out of bed in the mornings and get moving. My routine goes bye-bye. And the result-I get out of whack. I end up with migraines and that throws me off and it's a whole lot of fun-NOT.

And typically when the 4th of July rolls around all those fun haters start saying "summer is about over" or "it's all downhill from here" referring to school starting in August. I've never cared for these comments, first as a mom-I enjoyed having my kids home during the summer and spending time with them and secondly as a school employee I, plain and simple, don't want to go back!! (Okay, maybe I kind of do!)

But in truth summer is on the downside. Someone last week reminded me that we go back in five weeks...wait, WHAT?! No! That's can't be right. And I haven't looked nor do I want to at a calendar. It will arrive regardless if I know when or how many days!

But here's what I want to ask...What the heck happened to summer?! June was busy and I got a lot accomplished but what happened to the month? And as the month of July is now over halfway over I'm like a kid on their first roller coaster ride, I can't look but yet I do!

I personally feel like my summer can't be this far over, I have so much I want and plan on doing and getting done. It's the summer of stay at home, clean, purge and get stuff done. And it has been, but I guess I'm feeling like I haven't gotten done as much as I'd planned or hoped. But in reality, I have accomplished a lot. I always put way too much on my "to do" list, I always have and probably always will, it's just who I am!

So today as I was kind of looking at what is ahead and what I "want" to do and accomplish, I looked at summer in perspective of Thanksgiving or Christmas break...summer is a whole lot more time, with one small holiday in the middle but otherwise is pretty much time to do what and when you want, and get things done. Unlike Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks, both have a honking big holiday as part of the break and these holidays require quite a lot of work.

So I'm going to stop panicking or shooting nasty look every time someone mentions summer being half over or school starting soon, or back to school commercials, or the absolute worse-school supplies out on store shelves already! It is what it is. It's going to keep rolling towards us! Life with a schedule will soon make a return and that is okay. So regardless of how many days until I have to go back or school starts, a routine will soon make it's way back into my life and that's a good thing!

Here's to what's left of summer...enjoy and make memories!