Say Something #31

I am leaving town tomorrow. Actually I am leaving town basically every weekend this fall. Hooray travel. And friends. And football. And weddings. And birth. And family.

In the interim, I am going to miss these two hounds.

Say Something #30

Headaches are an ongoing 'normal' in this chapter of my story, triggered by a variety of variables. These days I am better able to foresee oncoming headaches and as a result prevent the escalation to full-blown migraine. Tuesday afternoon, this was not the case, a migraine came out of left field and pounded away at my "critical mind" for 36 full hours. At one dramatic point, my entire body went numb... a stark contrast to the seething pain. (Oh... and totally scary!) My "wellness" perspective measures this migraine an average paragraph in length, however, there was no page flipping--I was forced to trudge through this trench. The story continued over the course of two rather unproductive workdays, with a post-work meeting on Tuesday.

As I climbed into bed on Wednesday night, knowing Thursday would bring a brighter day, I touched base with Latte Woman. In a mangled-attempt to simply show I am here, she gracefully relayed an identical message. I wanted to refute her. Stop thinking of me... and my silly headaches crazy woman. My temporary hiccup is nothing but a speed-bump. Invest your energy elsewhere. I cannot quite wrap my head around her--brave, beautiful, caring, fierce, and strong. How does someone with so much on her plate love unconditionally? This woman is in my inner circle for a reason. 

Say Something #29

I actually have posts for Say Something #24-28... but I have been too lazy to steal the accompanying pictures off my parent's cameras, so in the meantime, you will have to settle for the BIG headline of today my life story... and look forward to the missing headlines Friday night when the work week has ceased.

This post is going to be read dramatic... because again today something SUPER exciting happened in my juvenile career. And I am NOT being sarcastic. This is real life JOY. And I do not know how to convey my enthusiasm, aside from scattering in a few random CAPITALIZATIONS here and there.

I heard my boss whizzing upstream, in route to my desk for what I hoped would be an afternoon I-am-losing-my-mind-because-you-are-impossible-to-work-for vent session. I am totally his favorite employee EVER. And yes, I speak my mind just like this in the office. Quite shockingly, he had no interest in me, myself, or I as he had a boss-y type meeting to attend, one his walking pace indicated he was late for. He entertained my musing long enough to invite me to tag along to his "biz dev" meeting. I always feel oh so important at work, but today, I felt particularly important for a FULL hour.

There was business card distribution. People were saying: "I got this deal.", "I can help you here.", "How much we talking?", and more great things like that. My ultimate favorite line, "I will let you marinate on that." I plan to incorporate that into all future bribes. And threats. Also, lest I fail to mention, Biz Dev Dude had an accent, that might have been of Australian decent(!!!).

As the meeting concluded, my boss and I climbed up the stairs to our respective offices (ahem my cube, his office), I pronounced, "I have been waiting for that my whole life." He questioned the "whole life" part... but, seriously, at least the five months since starting. I just had to know what all the schmoozing was about. And now I do, and it is BETTER that I could have imagined. Soon I will have contacts.

To be so lucky. To love my job. Oh happy hump day.

Say Something #27

Baby H began his first day of the last year of mandatory school today. I can hardly believe he is a senior in high school. What happened to the months he served as my ‘real life’ baby doll? The days I spent double-bouncing  him on the trampoline? The seconds he thought I was cool? The hours we spent at Moes? The years I drove him around? The minutes he spent performing for me? 

Now he is so flipping independent, he is hardly any fun. To SATs. To campus tours. To college essays and applications. To the senior, enjoy this year!

Say Something #25

The Northern Virginia Cross Country season got off to a running start this morning. I acknowledge with the amount I post here on high school running, those clueless to my age (and intelligence) might think I am still in high school, spending my afternoons sweating it out on the track. But alas, I am just a super-fan. A really good one at that, right [C.A.H.]? I mean, come on folks, who does not like getting up at the crack of dawn… to drive an averaged hour each way to watch girls pass out for 20 minutes and boys throw-up for 16 minutes? Sign me up, for a ninth and final H family season of running. 

 And he is running.

Say Something #24

This sign made my day:

The little people are just as important as the big people in my life. I look forward to conversation with munchkins the way I anticipate phone calls from long-distance friends. The beat is more spastic, yet the words are cherished equally. Thursday night, while C.R.M. and O.D.M. were feasting on their turkey burgers, my meatless diet came up. Unprepared, the situation spiraled out of control in a hurry. Before I C.R.M. realized the food on her plate had once been alive and O.D.M. was gobbling like a turkey. And then... my five-year old girl lost her hearty appetite. She was visibly distraught... though not to the extent her father would be when he heard the news!

It is not out of malice or disdain, I introduced vegetarianism to these children; I want them to understand and challenge what is presented to them. Though my eagerness, to put it nicely, to share new concepts and ideas with the impressionable is usually a good thing, it can also be a problem... when you recognize you are not the parent, nor the decision maker.

You can imagine my excitement when Father M added this personalization:

This sitter is still for hire.    

Say Something #23

In need of fresh air, I awoke Tuesday morning… and stepped on to the back porch with a cup of piping hot coffee in my hand. I am not sure what I was doing honestly. I was running behind. I had a friend that needed to be transported to the bus station and a job I had an obligation to show up on-time for. Alas I was on the deck with this cup of joy I had no intentions of drinking at its then current temperature, dreaming of the next season. Summer has become rather stagnant. Maybe that is because of my glorious 9-5 job... one that permits little time for drifting idly on large bodies of water in my kayak, hiking new terrain, lounging lazily poolside, or vacationing? Or alternatively, there is a non-dismissible serious stuff surrounding my every move, clogging my pathways in a physical and substantiated way.

All reasoning aside, what matters is I smelled fall on the porch on this early morning. And it was a great great great thing. The change will be welcomed, more this year than others. That slow transition from shorts and tees to shorts and long-sleeves to jeans and tees to jeans and sweaters; flip flops to closed-toed shoes to boots. The thought of school children clamoring at the bus stop, heading back to the classroom. Structure and stability. FOOTBALL! ...dream... dream... dream...

I snapped back into the moment, hurried through my morning routine. Then come 1:00 pm, I allowed myself to break away from the office freezer, for an afternoon stroll with Cube Neighbor Girl, in the almost fall-like atmosphere.

I am falling for fall. Come on now, hurry up.