Some Monday Ramblings

This weekend I got stuff done. Like cleaning out the junk closet I refer to as "Mom's Command Center." That is a nicer way to say it than, "Place Where Mom Puts All The Stuff She Doesn't Know What To Do With."

It's also shorter.

Whatever you call it, I love when it's all clean and neat and no longer subject to those "I don't know what to do with this so I will just throw it in here and shut the door and deal with it later" moments in life. We all have em. I say it's not that we have them, it's whether we get in there and deal with them at some point down the road. It's also about whether you can open the closet without fear of being beaned in the head by falling objects.

An aside: I can hardly think while typing this because my husband is having himself a JAM session to "Separate Ways" by Journey, a particularly heartfelt live recording in which Steve Perry screams something in Japanese at the end. Surely you're familiar with this version? I am. All too well.

Ok, moving on.

What else did I do this weekend? Finally watched Iron Man 3. 11 yo son begged to have family night and watch it together. So we got pizza then all gathered together in our small(ish) den and snuggled (read: squeezed together) to watch. These are the moments I dreamed of when I imagined my future family life. Of course my fantasy left out the parts where the kids say things like "Move your foot." or "It's my turn to sit by mommy." Or "Ow! Mom, he hit me." Or "Your elbow is IN MY WAY!" And then one of the parental units yells, "If you all do not be quiet so we can hear the movie we are turning it off and going to bed!"

Ah, yes, family movie night. Somehow it always sounds better in the planning than the executing. And yet, we are eternal optimists always holding out for the next time.

That gets us to Sunday, when we had a mother and child reunion, sparked by a chance encounter at a local restaurant. Curt and I were having a quick date that involved me scarfing down a salad while we talked. While we were talking, he noticed this man walk into the restaurant. He asked me if the guy was who he thought he was and I looked behind me to see that yes, indeed it was. The guy in question is the brother in law of the girl who owns the mother of our puppy. Y'all following this?

Seeing him prompted me to text her and tell her that we saw him across the restaurant and that, while we did not go speak to him (because he does not know us, so that's probably a good idea), it made me think of her. We haven't seen each other since December (nearly a year now, Lord have mercy!) when I went to her house and picked up the most adorable bundle of black and white fur the world has ever seen. We've sent pictures via texts so she could watch her Grand-Dog grow up. But we've been remiss in the physical laying-on-of-eyes department.

So while we were texting about the brother-in-law I do not know but saw across the restaurant, we went ahead and made plans to get together. We were wondering what to do when she suggested that I bring the dog (and whatever children happened to want to come along-- which was ALL OF THEM) and come to her house so we could have a little mother and child reunion. Then she threw in that she would make us Pumpkin Spice Lattes and I was SOLD. So we got together on a sunny fall afternoon and let the puppies and kids play while we sipped lattes and caught up and, I'm telling you, there is just not a much better way to spend a fall Sunday afternoon. (My husband would say in front of the tv watching football but... I disagree.)

Which one's the mom and which one's the daughter? Remember those commercials?

And now we begin a new week. It's a week that is blissfully, wonderfully empty for me. There's a (much needed) haircut and a lunch with some friends on the docket but nothing that means work or unpleasantness. You can bet I will be writing, writing, writing, as I'm working steadily away on a novella that will be out this summer. And I'm expecting my edits for my newest novel to be back any day now. They sent me the cover for this one and my goodness I just can't wait to reveal it. I expect I'll wait til January or so when y'all need a little pick me up out of the winter doldrums. Nothing like a glorious summer scene to do that and to set your sights on what is to come.

But for now I'm setting my sights on these glorious fall days we've been having, savoring them before winter comes. And determining that, no matter what the season, or how much my kids fight with each other, I'm going to enjoy it all.