Whole Lotta Nothing in Particular

I just finished an entire bag of Brach's maple nut goodies. Truly, there's nothing better. But I feel a little sick. I mean, how old am I? Eating a whole bag?

I know I've been missing in action in the blogosphere, and I apologize. It's a busy month for us all. As crazy as it gets in May, I love it. Tonight is my ED's band concert, and I can't wait to see her and her clarinet. I'm secretly hoping that my younger three children will be so enamoured with the band that they'll all one day play. This week-end is dance recital for daughter #2. Can't wait for that, either. I am, however, NOT hoping that my sons become so enamoured with ballet that they'll one day join up. Sorry, but this is a small southern town. We'd have to move for them to pursue such a dream.

In all this business, it's tempting to run from one 'burning building' to the next and forget how significant these events are. Okay, I'll spare you all the personal details of MY life, but let's all try to slow down and ENJOY these milestones in our childrens' lives. (and let's be honest, they're milestones in our lives, too!)

I'm smoking on my novel. I'm very excited. Although I will say I felt a bit deflated last week after reading a new mg novel that I loved because one of the characters slightly resembled one of my characters. But now I know I've just got to press on and not worry.

I feel so much pressure to do all this stuff with my youngest child because school will be out soon, and in the fall, he'll start kindergarten. So I gave him a bunch of choices of things to do today, and he just wanted us to stay home and play. Of course, we've played outside and run some errands, but essentially, he just wanted to play with his toys. Duh. Am I making my job harder than it is, yet again?

We're having a family challenge this week if anyone wants to join in. It was spurred by some middle school meanness to my ED, so we're trying to be nice in the face of not-so-niceness. So here's the challenge: before you speak to a person, ask yourself if what you're about to say will be encouraging. If not, don't say it. Then we report back at dinner. We're ALL doing it, even my husband and I. This morning I found myself saying, "I like the way you've eaten that one delicate little bite of your breakfast. I know you can do better." Instead of my usual, "Jeez, eat your breakfast for it'll be a hungry ride to school." Ouch. It seems meaner in print.

Yesterday my YS and I were talking about his friend whose dad is the Baptist preacher. I was trying to explain that he was like the priest at our church, and my son said, "Oh, yeah, the boss who gets to make a speech every week." That's pretty much it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day. All day long mother's day blog thoughts floated through my head, but they just never made it to the keyboard. I guess that was the sign of a good mother's day, eh? Have a great week. Slow down and enjoy the sights and sounds of your family. They're precious indeed.

xoxox