Voice of Truth

I love it that the Wildcat has this song on his pre-football-game-playlist.

Feel free to click and listen while you read the next post:

Are You Ready for Some JV Wildcat Football?

... ...at least I hope it is "JV" Wildcat football.

Last Friday, the varsity team faced L&M at L&M.

I did not go.

I was told by the Wildcat that he wouldn't be playing.  Unless someone was too tired and couldn't go in for special teams.  There was a slim chance he would go in on special teams.  But probably not.


So I planned a nice, quiet evening at home on Friday night.

Imagine my surprise and subsequent panic when I got out of the shower to be greeted with a voicemail that went something like this:

Do you know that your son is warming up to go in for varsity?

Ummmm.

No.

I do not know that.

Why would I have to know that?

My son does not play varsity.  

And if he did, that would mean that he is backing up the back-up.

quarterback.  

No.

Clearly someone is misinformed.

Besides.  If there was a chance that my Wildcat would be playing tonight, I would be there.  Not trying to have a quiet evening at home.  

Found out later that he was, in fact, warming up to go in for some plays at QB.

But he didn't get in.

oh thank heavens.

i just wasn't ready for it on friday.

But today is a new day.

It's Monday.

And I am mentally prepared for the Wildcat to play some football on the JV team.  

He is bigger and stronger and smarter this year.  

And I have been on my knees in prayer for weeks now....praying for no injuries.  

He can do this.  

And I think I can do this too.  

See you at the ballgame.  

I'll be there with my camera.

Because whether I am ready or not....

....I love my Wildcat. 

First Day of School, 2012

It's the first day of school.  For these two, it's their 10th first day and 6th first day.

They have something in common today: It is the first day in a new wing of the school for both.

Both are excited.  

Both are nervous. 

They talked about it all morning while they snuggled on the couch and Marz did Tookie's hair.

Here's the freshman:
I'm believing there is an exciting year she is heading off into.

And the 5th grader:
My baby girl is a big girl.
Somebody told me last night that I need to start letting her be that.
We'll see.

These two got ready early enough and decided to sweep out the garage while waiting for the others.

Here's my 6th grader.
Oy.
It's hard to type that out as a caption with her photo.
Where is the time going?

The girls.
Clearly used to the first day of school photo shoot I do every year.
They may just be mocking me in this one.

The Wildcat is a sophomore.
That means it's his 11th first day of school.
Suddenly I have a lump in my throat and I can't breath normally without a sob sort of sneaking out.  

Group shots:

 Everybody hurried up and got ready for the first day of school.
And then suddenly....

 ...they drove off.
Into the land of another year of education.
 I insisted that I would spend my first morning of school running and dancing and skipping around the block in celebration.

That is what I intended to do.
But the feeling of celebration felt more like a nervous pit in my stomach and the only thing that ran were a few tears.

Happy 11th, 10th 7th and 6th first day of school to my kids.
Love you.

The Last First Day

This post is a re-run.

I wrote this article six years ago.

It was published locally, and in the last two years, was picked up as a re-print in publications in Texas and Virginia. 

As we get ready for back to school in this neck of the woods....I hope you enjoy this article.  Even if you have already read it before!

The Last First Day

By: Robin Paulsen

I’ve spent the last five years, two months and 25 days in complete denial about the inevitable event that will soon take place in our household. Quite frankly, I’ve refused to even think about this particular topic and have ably dodged the questions regarding it from well-meaning friends and family members.

But now, there is no more denying that the dreaded day is upon me. Maybe it’s upon you as well. I’m talking about the last first day of kindergarten.

My baby, the youngest of four, will soon be skipping off into the land of public education and structure as I smile, wave and tell her to have fun, all the while, suppressing my tears. Because after this day, I will never again have another “first day” of kindergarten. This is the last one. I’ve been around the mother-hood long enough to know all too well that I am going to just blink and she’ll be getting her driver’s license and shopping for prom dresses. I’ll blink again and find her walking across a stage as she accepts her diploma.

That settles it. I’m done with the blinking.

My baby, of course, having watched three older siblings going off to school, has been waiting her whole life for this day. She has practiced all she thinks she needs to know before walking into a classroom. Tying laces, zipping zippers, and reciting her address and phone number are all a breeze for her. She can write her alphabet. The proof is permanent and on our basement wall. And not being satisfied with just saying, recognizing and writing her ABC’s, she has successfully burped her way through the alphabet song. In her mind, this feat must be worth some sort of extra credit.

It’s true that I’m sad. Sad that a chapter of her life is about to come to an end. But I’m also proud of the fact that I get to be her mommy in every chapter of her life.

And to answer all those questions as to my plans for the school year, I’m not sure what that will look like. I’m not quite to that chapter of my life and, right now, I’m content to savor every page of this one.

I do have a couple of predictions, though, on what the last first day will look like for me. I do believe that a staff member of our school will hand me a tissue and escort me off the property. I’ll go home, drink a hot cup of coffee without having to reheat it, use the bathroom without interruption, and perhaps, read an entire magazine article from start to finish.

But I definitely will not blink. 



Crazy-Pain/Day Planner

So I was busy today working at the Wilton Chiropractic Clinic.
Massage therapy.

But before I went in I was in a whole lot of pain that made me feel crazy.

Crazy enough to almost text my chiropractor that I will write her a check for a million dollars if she will please PLEASE just crack my neck and fix my jaw.

Ever since I had a little "minor surgery" to my spine in the neck area, I tend to suffer from the occasional, albeit regular, bout of  severe jaw and upper neck pain.  

Yesterday I was home with the kiddos, nursing the jaw pain, sitting in my massage chair, firing up the heating pad and alternating a cocktail variation of tylenol and ibuprofen.

(it feels sort of sad that i refer to my over-the-counter medication as a "cocktail.")
(maybe i'm getting old)

(no.  no....I'm clearly not old.)

(does anybody else hear these same phrases?)

(am i crazy?)

At any rate, the first thing I did was get an adjustment today and felt relief like....Immediately!

Which makes me wonder why I just didn't start there.

And why I had to put myself through the experience of almost writing a bad check for a million dollars.


SO ANYWhOO......

Work day went great.

The receptionist at the clinic googled me on the Quad City Times website and found all sorts of really great, feel-good articles that I have written for the paper.....which makes me look pretty good.

And business there is good.  People are re-booking.

....to the point that I actually need to keep track in my planner now.

And at the end of the day I got a check.  I was asked to look it over in the schedule to make sure I agreed with my paycheck and I took a little longer than I probably should have to feel comfortable.

You see.....the schedule they gave me....well, it was so
so
organized.

And I just wasn't used to anything on a calendar that I am involved with to look organized.

And then I was asked to look at my schedule and see if there was a day and time that worked out in my schedule for September.

I opened up my day planner right next to the one at the chiro clinic....and do you know what my planner did to me....right there in front of the other calendar and everyone?

.....it laughed.  And mocked me.  Right there in front of the organized schedule at the chiro clinic.

(does anyone else's calendars laugh out loud when you try to add things to them?)

(do all of these parenthesis mean I am crazy?)

The good news is that I am not in pain anymore today.
And someone else isn't afraid to add me to their calendar.
Which is far more organized than mine!  

Mommy Math for Back to School

I registered the kids for school last week.

I came home with some math to do.

It's a word problem, and it goes something like this:

1.  There were 5 forms to fill out for school registration.  All were available online to print off  so you can go to registration with all filled out.  One form has two pages, but the last page was not available to print off.  Another form had enough room to include 3 students on it.  The 1:1 computer form had two pages, needed initials from both student and parent, and both pages were available to print.  One form was for high school athletics only.  The last form was to inform school officials what language was the most prevalent language used in our household.

Question:  If you have two kids in high school and two in middle school, how far is it to the local bank to take out a loan to sign up four kids for school?


I'm more of a words kind of girl.....I never really "got" math.  But this math word problem makes total sense to me.

It's just one of those days....

It's a chicken-noodle-soup-sort-of-day for this kid:

(not to mention a "mom...do you really have to take a picture of this" moment)

And for me.....
It's a comfort food day.
Meaning homemade Bread and some bacon to go with it:

(there isn't a picture of the bacon because apparently there were others in the house that felt the need for bacon when it was cooking)

Things I Love About Today.....

In no particular order:

This super big BLT sandwich.

A new writing assignment for the Quad City Times.

Some massage work at a new location.

Technically, this didn't happen today, but this picture of Brian teaching Marz how to drive made me smile today.  

It's a good day.