Falling...

My office closed early at noon today for the holiday. Labor Day

weekend - the weekend signalling the end of summer, the last chance to go to the pool before they close till Spring, having a final cookout and hanging out on the deck before cleaning up the grill and putting away the patio furniture, vacations are over and kids are back in school.

Many people mourn that summer is ending - especially the kids! But not me - I love fall, it's my favorite time of year. There's a feeling in the air, a crispness - the muggy stickiness of August goes away, it's cool in the evenings and mornings yet still warm during the day. Perfect evenings for sitting around a firepit or bonfire. Time to break out the jackets and sweaters.

Fall means my gardens are full of color (and the weeding is coming to an end - yay!). Spring flowers have their own appeal, but they seem so fragile, pastel-colored and short-lived. Flowers of the fall are bright, bold and hardy as hell. My perennials begin to display their structure as they drop the petals and foliage and show what they're really made of. The vegetable garden has produced a few zucchini and some cucumbers over the summer, and now with fall upon us all that remains is a veritable plethora (yes, plethora - look it up if you don't know it, it's a great word) of cherry tomatoes!

Of course fall brings college football, and with it the Saturday "tailgate" parties at friends' houses. As an OSU alum, the sound of the best damn marching band is music to my ears, and watching as they perform Script Ohio and the dotting of the "i" always makes me smile. When the team takes the field in that beautiful old stadium overflowing with scarlet and gray, they'll kick off another great football season. If all goes well, we'll be watching and cheering them on - hearing neighbors and friends shouts of "O-H," we'll answer with the requisite "I-O" - till the victory bell rings and the team sings Carmen Ohio on the field after the game.

Other bonuses of fall? The colorful leaves as they change and drop from the trees, pesky bugs start to die off, grass mowing comes to an end, my husband and I both celebrate our birthdays, and daylight savings time ends giving us a bonus hour of sleep.

It's obvious - I fell in love with Fall!

Which one are you?

Last night was D's turn to visit her school, get her schedule, find her locker, meet her teachers ... and WORRY. She is a worrier. What if I can't find my classroom? What if I can't get my locker open? What if I break my pencil? What if I don't have anyone to eat lunch with? What if..? what if...? what if? Aaaahhh! Needless to say, it was a bit stressful - for both her and me.
When we got home and I shared the story with her daddy, he asked her to come outside with him where he was grilling our dinner and had a chat with her. He tried telling her how a positive attitude can really make a big difference, but she wasn't quite getting it.
Then, being the good father that he is, he came up with a great analogy. He asked her, "Are you Eeyore? Or are you Tigger?" She completely understood what he was getting at, and thanks to my wonderful husband, overnight she has become the most bounciest tiggeriest Tigger there is and is truly looking forward to the first day of school tomorrow.
Which one are you? Are you Eeyore? Or are you Tigger?
Me? Definitely a Tigger through and through.

Back to reality

We've been home from our camping trip just over 48 hours, and I'm ready for another vacation! Arriving back in town in time for K's schedule pick-up for her sophomore year at high school, she was able to find out her classes and teachers, locate her locker (almost directly across from her "bestest" friend - what could be better) and finally see so many of her friends from school (lots of hugs and screaming all around). As for the Readin' and Writin' - she made the honors block for English and U.S. History (they combine the two classes together for some honor roll students upon the recommendation of their teachers) and she is very proud and excited. For 'Rithmetic, she has Geometry. Rounding out the curriculum courses, she has Chemistry, Health and
Spanish II. She has Symphonic Choir again this year, and in addition, she tried out for and made Show Choir - so now K will be dancing as well as singing. With all of that, she actually doesn't even get a lunch period (we had to sign to give our permission for them to go ahead and schedule it that way). But the choir teacher has given his okay for granola bars and small snacks to be eaten during his 3rd period class for these kids with overflowing schedules. (D has her schedule pick-up on Monday, so I'll provide a rundown of what she has going on next week sometime.) School starts on Wednesday, August 27th, and they can't wait.
That was just the beginning of the running since we've gotten home - both girls have already had friends over, gone to our parish festival at least once (we're going tonight and doing our duty as good parishoners and volunteering a couple of hours), and done a little school shopping. K went to the high school opening football game last night, and a pool party today.
I know we're just getting back into the swing of things, but I can't help but wish I was still sitting in the pool sipping a frosty beverage and looking forward to a nice campfire and s'mores later.

To blog or not to blog...

Okay, okay. I give up. I'm trying to stay current, so I'm starting a blog.
Me! Netter! Can you believe it? I like computers, I can design spreadsheets, database management is my job, I like to Photoshop/edit digital photos, and I even create and maintain our foundation website, so why not?
Why not? Because I can't figure out why anyone would really care what I have to say. Anywhere you go online you can find someone ranting or giving their opinion about something they know nothing about. Why do they think anyone cares what they have to say?
But I think I've come up with my motivation. To come up with something interesting or relevant or humorous or important is challenging. And what do I have that challenges me? There are the usual daily hassles dealing with schedules and social dramas of my daughters (a 7th grader and a sophomore in high school). My husband is my best friend, and my marriage is wonderful - while he can be stubborn about certain things, there are no real challenges there. I enjoy my job, and even though some of the people I deal with on a daily basis aren't model employees, I'm not particularly challenged by them.
I am a quiet, thoughtful person. In social situations, I have always been an observer, rarely sharing my ideas. So for me to step out of my comfort zone and actually be introspective and say what's on my mind ... that is truly challenging.
This is an opportunity for me to gain some insight, share my thoughts, and on the practical side - keep everyone informed of what our family is up to. (If you know me at all, I am above all else, practical!)
I'm up for the challenge!