I'm back!!!!!!
I really didn't mean to be gone this long, but I took an inadvertent LJ break that turned into a purposeful one. With Arwen leaving for school half a country away on September 7th, I grabbed every opportunity to hang out with her and soak in her happy essence before she flew away.
Here's the Coles Notes version of my summer:
- Getting ready to send Arwen away took a lot of preparation: teaching her new recipes she could whip up in her dorm room, talking about everything a Mother needs to tell her Daughter before she heads off on her own, telling her again, shopping, watching movies together, shopping, trying to prepare both her and myself for the separation.
- My Mom landed in the emergency room five times before they finally admitted her to the cardiac care unit. Finally, she got scared enough to listen to them and change one medication and add another. She's fine now, and back to being her usual self.
- Arwen found a breast lump, which an ultrasound showed was solid, which a biopsy then showed was, as far as they could tell, not cancerous, but with unusual features that warranted it being surgically removed and examined carefully. She decided not to postpone starting her school year to have the surgery done before she left, so she's having it done while home at Christmas. I'm trying hard not to think too much about it, as there's nothing I can do but hope and pray it's benign. She's only nineteen.
- I had another episode of optic neuritis, and went through the whole IV steroid therapy thing again. That's twice in one year - and only four months since the last time. I had an MRI, which was negative for MS (YAY!), so they have no answer for why it keeps reoccurring other than 'you have some kind of autoimmune disorder.'
- Finished the massive back yard renovation after huge headaches and arguments with the contractor and much time and effort for the finishing work which Brendan and I did ourselves. I love it, my kids love it, the birds love it, and everyone who's seen it thinks it's amazing. We've spent more time outside this summer, and had more people over to enjoy it with us, than any other summer since we moved into the house 20 years ago.
-I bought my very first brand new car, as my old one was on its last legs. It's a Toyota Yaris, and compared to my old car it's half the size, uses half the gas, is zippy and fits into teeny tiny parking spaces, and I'm totally in love with it.
- Arwen traded rooms with my LOTR collection; she moved into the smaller room since she'll only be home for four months of the year (if that), and the collection moved into the big room. Unfortunately, when I finally got it all organized, I was already out of room. (I sort of forgot that I had a bunch of things in piles in the smaller room because the collection had grown too big.) I guess Son has to move out for me to have enough room for it. ;)
- Lots of time spent thinking, some time spent reading, and some serious time spent soaking up the sun and enjoying time with the kids. Precious, precious time.
I missed you all terribly, and though of you often. The break was necessary for me for many reasons, but I always knew I'd be back. So here I am, prepared to harass you again. **blows kisses, dispenses massive hugs all around**
Here's the Coles Notes version of my summer:
- Getting ready to send Arwen away took a lot of preparation: teaching her new recipes she could whip up in her dorm room, talking about everything a Mother needs to tell her Daughter before she heads off on her own, telling her again, shopping, watching movies together, shopping, trying to prepare both her and myself for the separation.
- My Mom landed in the emergency room five times before they finally admitted her to the cardiac care unit. Finally, she got scared enough to listen to them and change one medication and add another. She's fine now, and back to being her usual self.
- Arwen found a breast lump, which an ultrasound showed was solid, which a biopsy then showed was, as far as they could tell, not cancerous, but with unusual features that warranted it being surgically removed and examined carefully. She decided not to postpone starting her school year to have the surgery done before she left, so she's having it done while home at Christmas. I'm trying hard not to think too much about it, as there's nothing I can do but hope and pray it's benign. She's only nineteen.
- I had another episode of optic neuritis, and went through the whole IV steroid therapy thing again. That's twice in one year - and only four months since the last time. I had an MRI, which was negative for MS (YAY!), so they have no answer for why it keeps reoccurring other than 'you have some kind of autoimmune disorder.'
- Finished the massive back yard renovation after huge headaches and arguments with the contractor and much time and effort for the finishing work which Brendan and I did ourselves. I love it, my kids love it, the birds love it, and everyone who's seen it thinks it's amazing. We've spent more time outside this summer, and had more people over to enjoy it with us, than any other summer since we moved into the house 20 years ago.
-I bought my very first brand new car, as my old one was on its last legs. It's a Toyota Yaris, and compared to my old car it's half the size, uses half the gas, is zippy and fits into teeny tiny parking spaces, and I'm totally in love with it.
- Arwen traded rooms with my LOTR collection; she moved into the smaller room since she'll only be home for four months of the year (if that), and the collection moved into the big room. Unfortunately, when I finally got it all organized, I was already out of room. (I sort of forgot that I had a bunch of things in piles in the smaller room because the collection had grown too big.) I guess Son has to move out for me to have enough room for it. ;)
- Lots of time spent thinking, some time spent reading, and some serious time spent soaking up the sun and enjoying time with the kids. Precious, precious time.
I missed you all terribly, and though of you often. The break was necessary for me for many reasons, but I always knew I'd be back. So here I am, prepared to harass you again. **blows kisses, dispenses massive hugs all around**