This absentee blogger has been informed that it's time for another installment of "Random Grace". I know it's been awhile since I wrote anything. I've been busy and to be honest, rather disinterested in my blogging. I've been wandering around a few other blogs, but ignoring my own. Since I wrote last I had surgery AGAIN. For those of you that were around when this whole fistula started back in March of last year when I explained what the doc did to keep them open and draining, I'll just say that the doc had tied one of the setons to tight and it was causing so much pain that it radiating down my right leg and up my entire back, not to mention the actual sight of the pain. It hurt like hell. I actually ended up going thru the ER for that one. I was so drugged up at one point that I slept for about 3 hours straight in the middle of the afternoon. I've actually felt like a new woman since I recovered from that last surgery.
Smart Guy's Grannie continued to hold on for awhile after we went running over there to see her thinking she was going to die that weekend. During that next week, I actually saw her sitting up in a chair on her front porch smoking a cigarette, feeding herself soup, and chatting away. I never would have believed that she was the same woman we'd all said goodbye to days before. Unfortunately though, while we were on vacation two weeks later, we got the phone call from Mountain Mom that she had died during the night. That's been 15 days ago now.
As I mentioned, we were on vacation when we got the phone call about Grannie. We packed up and headed off to camp at
Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN with my mom and dad. If you like to camp, but also like to shop, this is the place to go. I spent many summers there as a child. The park is beautiful and it has wonderful campgrounds with many, many good shower houses and flush toilets throughout. Then about 5 minutes outside the park entrance is the little artisan town of
Nashville, IN. If you can think it up, you can probably find it for sale somewhere in this little town. I went with the plan to buy deco for my dining room window which I'd never really decorated since we moved into the house last summer. I got everything I needed and almost have it done. I'll get a pic up sometime (ha). I was little disappointed that the candy shop where I spent many dimes has been closed. As was the joke and magic shop that I had told my boys about. They were sooooo looking forward to spending their money there, and were so disappointed when we went into the building where it used to be and it was gone. We had a wonderful time around the campfire each evening making smores and telling "scarey" stories. Every story that Prophet made up, ended with "...and they were never heard of again." It was hilarious. We did get rained on twice. Once it started pouring down rain as we were sitting around the campfire, cutting our evening very short around 10:00 or so. We went running for cover. It thundered, lightened, and blew all night long. The next morning when it was still raining, we all got up, showered, dressed, and went into nearby Bloomington, IN to see a movie (Wall-E). When we came out, the sun was out, and it didn't rain again the rest of the week.
The week after our vacation in Nashville, the kids and I went to IL to visit with parents in their new home. I think I've mentioned at some time that they recently sold MY (childhood) home and bought what will end up being their retirement home (I know they'll retire someday, but they seem so young and far away from it now that it seems way in the future right now). Their new home is a grand total of 700 sq. feet ( with a basement that is suitable for us to sleep in). Mom can vacuum her entire home without switching outlets. We spent the week visiting with them and building some new memories there. We went to the University of IL campus to have lunch with Dad in the student union one day (he works for the U of I). We got pizzas and had a picnic at one of the parks. My grandma and uncle came over for dinner one night. Mom and I decorated her living room windows. She was just convinced that I'd know exactly how to decorate the moment I walked in the house... she was right... pics to come! We walked to playground. We ate on their new deck for every single meal. We had Chinese ( a tradition). We made memories and had fun!
We got home at 10:30 last Saturday night, unloaded the van into the dining room, and went to bed. On Sunday we went to church, came home for a little while afterwards, went back to help with the meal for the downtowners, went home, walked to the ice cream place downtown for ice cream, and then came home and went to bed. The boys had horseback riding camp every morning this week, so Miss Bee went to VBS at the United Methodist church across from our church while they were there, so I had a about 2 hours of Mommy time each morning. One morning, after I walked her to VBS, I walked to the hardware store to pick up somethig I needed and then headed to the library to sit and read while I waited for the antique stores across the street to open up at 10:00. I looked around the shops, bought a a couple things that totaled $2.00, and walked back over to walk Bee home for lunch while Smart Guy went to pick up the boys from camp. I did laundry the entire time everyone was gone on Wednesday. Thursday, after I walked Bee to VBS, I walked over to our church, and Smart Guy and I walked across the street to a little cafe and had breakfast together. We sat and talked for awhile before we walked back over to the church, where I went up to the youth room and napped on the couch until 11:15 at which time I walked over to pick up Bee. Today the boys had their demo of what they had learned during horseback riding camp all week during the morning. Most afternoons we swam, played with friends, and just hung out, except today. Bee had a chiropractor appointment this afternoon. Then at 3:00 each day, I met up with two other ladies to begin cooking dinner for VBS at our church, which was served at 5:15 each night. After cleaning up from that I went upstairs and chatted with the people hanging out for VBS and helped at the little VBS things that always need done.
It's now 11:17 on Friday night after five weeks of non-stop going. My kids are still awake, my house is a wreck, and I'm so tired I cant hardly move my fingers. BUT, Smart Guy is getting the family room ready for the Friday night campout, so the kids will soon all be settled for the night, my house will still be messy and waiting tomorrow, and I'll soon be in bed.... all's well with my world!
