Updating

I'd love to report that many exciting things have been happening, but it's not true. Life has been happening, which means a blend of good, bad and routine. So, for those of you who stop by to see what's new in Tami's life, here is a quick overview:

*We took Caspian to the year end Habitat for Humanity volunteer picnic where he had a great time and earned a free t-shirt for his hours of volunteering. This past week, he had a friend of the female persuasion over for a couple of days and although they are just friends, it made me keenly aware that this boy of mine is a young MAN.
*Nicole's play has opened and is doing well. The crowds are small because it is a summer play mostly starring teens, but she is doing well in the lead role. It has been a really good experience for her. She also took a three day firefighting camp and LOVED it. While part of me is happy for her, the other part is gasping in horror at the thought of blending one of my children and fires. Not a happy match. (HA. Pun not intended but appreciated.) This week Jon is in California taking another martial arts training course. We took him to the airport and will pick him up when he returns. It seems strange not to have him around but it is nice to be able to wear what I want or wander down the hall in bra and panties or hang out one on one with Nicole without worrying about it.
*Coryn, after months of being in limbo, found out yesterday that he DID get into Not Back to School Camp. He is 80 percent thrilled and 20 percent angsting, although those percentages are apt to change depending on the time of day. He is the fourth of my children to go to this camp. It has been an ENTIRELY different experience for each one of them and I am eager/apprehensive/excited to see how it affects him. He leaves in one month and I promise I won't let him see me cry when we drop him off and I begin one of those, "But he is the BABY" mother moments.
*Joseph's internship at the local VW repair shop is going well. He is really enjoying it and I think he is learning a great deal. I miss him (a lot) every morning and it has altered our lives in some ways, but I am happy for him.
*As for me . . I'm pretty good. I did two school presentations this week about being an author. I enjoy talking to the kids but it was a somewhat frustrating experience for a variety of other reasons. Coryn went with me on the first trip and Nicole on the second. Both of them spent at least half an hour thanking me for never sending them to school. :) Work is keeping me hopping and I am constantly wishing for more time, but it also beats being broke, right?

So that's what's new on the Orr Front. If you stop by, say hi. Love knowing you were here.

Menopause, Where Fore Art Thou, Menopause?

I had high hopes, I really did.
8 weeks.
No period.
Could it be? Had I finally reached that magic age?
9 weeks.
Maybe, just maybe.
Nope.
Guess what?
Naturally, it was waiting for the perfect time . . . . the night I put on our new $300 (got for $50) mattress topper. Karma loves me.
Now I suspect I may bleed to death so I wanted to stop by and say goodbye to all of you before I go. I appreciate those of you have stopped by, read entries and even left comments. It has been fun.
I have lost so much that the world is gray every time I get up or down and I am running out of black clothing, not to mention underwear. I am starting to look at Depends with an entirely different attitude. I wish I could convince one of the local vets to make me a project on spay/neuter day. $25,000 for a hysterectomy just ain't in the cards. I am sure menopause has to be happen soon, RIGHT? Right, please, right?
Oh well. It's not like I have a dozen deadlines on my plate right now. (Yea, I do.)
It's not like I have a daughter whose opening night for her play is tomorrow night. (Yea, I do.)
It's not like I had two birthdays to prepare for this week. (Yea, I did.)
I can just sit around, gush and nap.
Yea, right.
I ran an errand today and by the time I had been on my feet for 30 minutes, I was ready to go in a corner and pass out for a couple of hours. My wonderful husband forced me to come home and get on the couch for a bit. Now, I'm back at it.
So, wish me luck or send a huge cork. One of the two?

(And thanks for the reminder to count my blessings, Ami.)

Vice President Schmice President

It has been a long couple of weeks in my life. I have had computer glitches. I have had extremely challenging writing projects. I have had limited sleep. I have had health issues. And now it's hot. No, not hot. H O T. As in triple digits.

So, today was to be a treat. A moment I had been looking forward since mid-February. I was going to get to see "The Lion King" on stage. I was beyond excited. I had heard about how amazing it was. Nicole and Coryn were just as excited as I was. We left in plenty of time and headed for I-84 West. We were on the on ramp. We came to a halt. Why? Was there an accident up ahead? No. Was there heavy traffic? No. Cars came to a total stop. People were getting out. They were sitting on the side in the grass. No one knew what was going on. The guy next to us in the spiffy convertible (the extremely tan, shirtless, muscled guy that I took absolutely no notice of at all) went up and asked. We waited. Time passed. The time for the play got closer and closer. I was up from worried to frantic. Next would be depression and tears.

The hot-guy-I-didn't-see-at-all told us why we were at a halt. "Look at the highway," he said. "It's empty." He was right. I-84, the busiest highway in our state, was EMPTY. (I could hear the theme music from some disaster movie starting to play and I figured doom was imminent. How sad that I was more upset about missing the play than the utter end of human life on the planet.) We were halted because Joe Biden, the VP, was in town, taking the highway and there is some security rule in place that states the highway has to be cleared 15 minutes and 15 minutes behind his entourage.

How long did we sit there? 40 minutes.
What was the temperature? 100 degrees.
How upset was I? Priceless.

Did we make it? We actually did. We missed 10 minutes in the beginning but there were about 60 people late, so they had delayed it a few.

Was it wonderful? Beyond wonderful. Most amazing play of my entire life. Cried all the way through it because that is what I do when I am emotional. Sad? Cry. Happy? Cry. Amazed and thrilled? Cry. My friend Susan says it is endearing. I find it exasperating. And wet.

So VP Joe Biden, I am not a happy American. I think shutting down an entire highway on a triple digit day without any warning stinks. I think you owe us all an apology. My kids were sweltering in the back and it was miserable out there. There was just no regard for where people were going--I kept wondering if there was some poor baby in a back seat of one of the non-air-conditioned cars or an elderly person. And they would die because Biden needed a secure highway. May I suggest that next time he pick a different time or take one of the many helicoptors that were circling the skies the entire time. You're not getting my vote if you run.

So there.

The Passage of Time

In the last 24 hours, I have had the opportunity to be reminded three times of the passage of time. Although it is a fact of life, I don't have to like it, right?

The first one was lighting fireworks last night. Our typical tradition is to put chairs at the end of the driveway (we live in a very quiet neighborhood with little traffic by the house) and the kids do all kind of fireworks. For the past two years, Jon, Nicole's boyfriend, has been in charge of the pyrotechnics and does a wonderful job. Joseph holds onto the shivering dog (fireworks terrify her but she wants to be with us) and cuddles and reassures her and I sit in a chair ooohing, ahhhing and reminding my children to be careful. Last nite, the boys were as involved in lighting and shooting off fireworks as I would let them and Jon would show them and I marveled at the growth and size of these young men. Nicole and Coryn snapped pictures and took videos and then we came in and watched all of them on the tv, thanks to the marvelous electronics that still amaze me but the kids take for total granted. The skies were filled with lights and pops, bangs, whistles and booms and although I know, on the logical side, that it was adding to air pollution and making some people miserable, I selfishly grinned through all of it and soaked it up like a sponge. We all ate Oreos--a silly tradition that started more than 15 years ago when we lived in Indiana when we would go to the fireworks at the county fairgrounds and sit on the hood of the car or in chairs. It was a good family time.

My second reminder was the two naps I took this weekend--one yesterday and one today. Remember when you had to be forced to take a nap as a child? It was often what you needed but never what you wanted. I remember luring my chidlren to naps by nursing them, rocking them, playing the "lie still for 2 minutes and if you're still awake by the time I say 'done', you can get back up" game. As a teenager, the only time I took a nap was if I was sick or had pulled an allnighter the night before. I clearly remember seeing my mom and dad taking naps and swearing that, no matter what, I would NEVER get that old. Ha. Yes, I hear you laughing at me now parents.

As a mother, I loved napping with babies, but once I had more than one, I never could time their schedules so that I could do it. I do have precious memories of turning on "Scrooge McDuck" cartoons in the afternoon and lying down on the couch with sleeping Nicole, while Jasmine curled up in the crook of my knees. It was her hour of watching cartoons each afternoon and my chance to snooze.

Today, naps are GIFTS. I spend most days longing for one but not getting one. When I actually give into one and fall over on the couch, I am always astonished at great it feels. Today, my children all conspired to make sure I got a nap. One brought a blanket, another a pillow. One took my glasses and the other one sternly warned me that I was NOT to get up for at least an hour. Heck, they are all bigger than I am now, so I didn't fight it. And you know what? It was a GREAT nap. Woke up energized and at peace with the world. Maybe all the people at war need is just a few extra hours of sleep . . . . Ha.

So, the third reminder of time passing (you didn't think I would forget to add a third, did you?!) is that today is Jasmine's 26th birthday. How that is possible when I stopped at 39, I don't know. But I am wishing her a wonderful day full of her friends and unexpected delights and heartfelt hugs and forever memories. I hope that is what she was given this year and every year.

So, yes, time is passing too fast. Some days last forever and ever and ever but the weeks fly, the months soar and the years are a blur. When I look back, there are so many wonderful memories and I know that even though the kids are growing up, the memories will just keep being made and I will hang onto them as hard as I can. Happy 4th of July to all.

Summertime and the Livin' is. . . Changin'

Summer seems to have FINALLY arrived here in Oregon. It has been the wettest, coldest spring in 50 years and at our house, we have all mourned the dearth of sunshine and heat (except for Caspian--Mr. Anything-all-of-you-like-I-don't. He loves the cool and the rain.) Now the sun is coming out every day and the temperatures are rising and although I love it, it makes it that much harder to stay sitting in front of a computer working instead of out on the deck reading.

Have had a number of changes happening on this end that will make July an interesting month. First, Nicole has gotten the lead in a community production of "Up the Down Staircase". Ironically, the lifetime unschooler is playing a high school English teacher. :) She has almost 400 lines to memorize and she is shocking all of us with how well she can do it. Of course, we all take turns running the line with her, so I think we could be stand ins by the time the play starts in mid-July. In addition to the play, she has also gotten a job as a cashier at Sizzler's and starts this week. It will give her some good training and also some cash to use instead of relying on us--something that bugged her more than it did us.

Also, Joseph started this morning on an internship at the local VW repair shop. It is a family owned business that he has bought parts from, asked questions from and hung around in for years. I suggested he think about volunteering there so he could learn more about VW repair, meet people, and perhaps, maybe, someday turn it into a paid job and he decided it was a good idea. I am hoping, first and foremost, that he enjoys it and gains from it. A paycheck down the road would be icing. So, he will be gone each morning for a few hours and while I will miss him, I think it's a good step.

Coryn is getting ready to build his first computer (once Mom comes up with the bucks to fund the experiment) and he and Jon have a long list of what they will order as soon as I say "go". In the meantime, he has given his computer to Caspian. Coryn wondered what he would do in the interim between giving away his computer and building his new one . . . and decided to fill it with learning how to speak Spanish and other educational endeavors.

As for me . . I'm doing ok. Took a lousy fall a few weeks ago that I still feel if I move my arm wrong. My right hip continues to make me swear and wince and take a lot of aspirin. No more vertigo attacks though. I even drove last week and that felt great. Lots of work to keep me busy for sure. I am glad too--I like being busy and having projects to work on. I just wish I could smooth them out so they were less famine and feast. The only time off I have had in more than a month is when we went to Maupin. Other than that, I am putting in 10 to 14 hour days in an attempt to keep up. On the other end, however, I am hoping I can build up enough extra money for us to head out of town right after Labor Day and go on a 2 week vacation into the southwest regions. We didn't get a vacation last year, so we are more than eager for one this year. I know that with the kids geting older (14, 17 and 20 this year!), we don't have that much time left before they have other lives to lead that don't include family vacations.

That's the news from this side of the globe. If you stop by to read, let me know. I will try to keep you up on all the changin'.

INFERNO!

Well for goodness' sake.
Little did I know that those two fires I spoke of last time were simply the tip of the iceberg. (How is THAT for mixing metaphors--and temperatures?)
Sometimes I think that we are very, very lucky that we cannot see the future. I think if I had known what was coming I would have just stayed in bed with the covers over my head.
Remember the missing 25 questions? If you don't, you need to get your memory checked or at least go back and read the last blog entry. Well, those fires turned into a out of control conflagration, a raging inferno. And I forgot to pack my fireproof uniform!
My computer did not JUST eat one document. It ate multiple documents. As I was working ono them, I would try to save and watch a document full of hundreds of words turn into a BLANK page. Zero bytes. NADA. And it did it randomly, sometimes minutes after I finished and sometimes hours. I called my first computer guru. He "fixed" it over the phone. Ah . . nope. So then I had Jon, Nicole's boyfriend and my second computer guru, spend an hour on it doing a lot of "hmmmms" and "interesting" comments. (Mine had been MUCH more colorful earlier, believe me.) He did more to help it but I still could not trust it. I spent almost ALL of Friday rewriting all the words that had gotten eaten.
Today I got up and worked on the upstairs computer which APPEARS to work ok. I rewrote until I was back where I had been and then went on to write another assignment. I am still wayyyyyy behind but at least I am closer than I was.
So the day had improved. The sun was FINALLY shining . . . I was getting some work done . . . and I went into my office to start packing a birthday package for a friend of mine (hey Bev!). I bent over to pick up the box, stood up, swiveled and promptly lost my balance and fell into a bookcase. Man, did it hurt. Moreover I was stuck and couldn't move. (And yes, thank you, I did flash on that old woman on the commercial who complained she had fallen and could not get up . . . and I even wished I had one of those call buttons around my neck.) In lieu of that, I called out to Coryn in the next room and had him come and rescue me. I've downed some aspirin, used some ice packs, moaned and groaned a lot and felt old. My arm is bruised (we won't discuss my ego) and I sure can tell I fell but I'm not broken and for that I am grateful.
So . . . enough sparks, embers, flames and fires. Please. I'm whipped. I'm worn out. I wanna spend tomorrow out on the deck in the sunshine taking turns taking a nap and reading but I won't. I will spend it at my computer, trying to catch up and fervently hoping that there are NO MORE FIRES. Because this firefighter is out of water. Out of energy. Out of everything. OK?

Putting Out Fires

I do not recall signing up to be a firefighter.
I didn't get the training. I didn't go to classes. I never learned to slide down a pole (gosh, I am SURE I would remember that part). I am familiar with "Stop, Drop and Roll!" but that is about it. So why have I been given the job of putting out fires for the last two mornings?
Morning 1: An editor could not find a document I sent in a couple of weeks ago by email. I was told the project was done, so I deleted the file. I had to start from scratch and recreate it. *Check*
An editor changed the slant of a particular test item and I had to rewrite three items. NOW. *Check*
An editor needed me to add "conflict/resolution" to a passage. NOW. Added 200 words full of conflict. *Check*
Now it's 11 a.m. and I still haven't started on today's assignments because I've been putting out fires.
Morning #2: I woke up to be told that (1) the document you sent of 25 test questions is BLANK and (2) the passage you sent [different from the ones mentioned yesterday] has only a paragraph on the page. Where is the rest of it?
My responses to both of these was WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!
I found the passage in its entirety for fire 2 and sent it in. She chalked it up to my being overworked but it was sent in its entirety the first time. The computer glitched, not me. As for the other one--the 25 test questions--they are GONE. The document is there. It has the right title. The page has nothing on it. A search turns up nothing. What does this mean? You got it. The first two hours of today will be spent recreating it. Believe me, I already had a day FULL of work to be done and do NOT have time for this. Doesn't matter if you have time for fires though. Even untrained me knows you have to put them out right now, not later.
So, you know what? I'm tired. I want to keep up and am grateful as can be for the work. I love my job, honestly. But I just don't remember signing up for fighting these fires. Why can't I have a flunkie to take care of them for me? Oh yea, I AM that flunkie.
Wish me a good weekend. Any guesses how it will be spent? Ooops! Time to climb on the truck. I can hear the fire alarm and smell the smoke from here.