Honeysuckle...

Well, the honeysuckle is blooming again. That's a smell that I always associate with summer and May and school getting out!  A very, very pleasant smell.  I love to sit outside on my backporch or swing in my hammock and simple breath that honeysuckle in...down deep into my lungs.  Always makes me think I inhale summer into every cell of my body by taking that honeysuckle way down deep.

I'm so ready for school to be over.  We all have finished state testing and now the kids are officially done...stick a fork in them done!  Done, I say!  Very difficult to motivate done...especially my son and all my students.  I'm trying very hard to keep a happy face and a happy voice when I speak to them, because quite frankly, the teachers are done too!  I think that's why I enjoy the honeysuckle so much.  When I'm out there breathing, I'm not thinking about finals and grading and trying to get my son to do one more thing....I'm simply enjoying the warm evening, playing with the dog and breathing that sweet scent.

I truly believe that a warm summer evening is what contentment is...you know the feeling, the breeze is just cool enough to keep you from being hot, the leaves on the trees are so fresh and green that they almost seem unreal, the flowers are blooming, the air is scented just enough you can almost taste it, you're walking hand and hand with your love talking about the day.  Not the bad stuff, just the good stuff..oh, and you have a glass of iced tea!  Can't forget that!  I never want in that moment.  I never want anything more than to live for that moment, I'm not cataloging my coupons for the next shopping trip, I'm not worrying if my house is clean enough, I'm not thinking about anything except being there, in that moment.  If that moment is the last one I have on this earth, it would be enough....that's contentment. 

If you've never had that type of contentment,....move to Oklahoma and experience the month of May! I guarantee you, it will change you!

The Plague!

Well, the plague has hit me! I ended up in the emergency room on Sunday with, what my husband thought was a heart attack, but was really a pretty bad bronchitis attack.  When I went into the cold, I couldn't breath and then ended up hyperventilating.  Pretty scary really. 

If you want to get into a room fast at an emergency room, I'll tell you how to do it.  Sit down in the chair, and say you are short of breath, you feel numb and your heart is beating out of your chest!  Then almost pass out and immediately, they are wheeling you into a room and several people are working on you at once....maybe not the best way to get into a room. 

It scared my husband and daughter more than it scared me, apparently, I wasn't looking too good! My son, since he was listening to his ipod and playing a video game while we were driving to the hospital, didn't know what was going on....oh, teenage boys!  They live in their own world!

I'm ok now, got some meds and have been told to rest and stay out of the cold.  It's going around but I honestly didn't feel that bad.  Of course, I was moving slowly but I figured it was due to being cooped all this last week with the blizzard.  My kids are helping out a lot and checking on me when I go lay down.  My daughter keeps reminding me to drink orange juice and liquids.  She'll be a pretty good nurse when she grows up.

As of now, we are scheduled for another winter storm tonight.  My daughter hasn't been in school since last Monday. She's missing her friends and school!  I honestly don't mind being home.  I'm able to work since I work for a virtual school.  May 28th will be my last day of school for my kids and my son regardless of what the weather brings!   

For now, I'm just going to take it easy for a few more days.  I've got the humidifier going and the Vick's vaporub on my chest.  Being sick is no fun but it is a bit better when I can't go anywhere....staying home for the next few days is the best medicine!

AHHH!

School started last week.  For all of us!  Since I'm starting a new job, I'm training everyday for about four hours online.  It's hectic at our house!  I told my husband that I feel like I'm in a big building with no windows and all the hallways and doors look the same.  I can't find my way around or back where I started again.  That's what I feel like training in the computer school!  I'm sure it will get better, everyday I'm beginning to remember more and more but it sure is difficult at first learning a new system!

My kids are fareing better than I am in their prospective schools.  Both seem to enjoy what they are doing and are learning the ropes of getting around much better than old mom.  This week, we have open house for our daughter's school and next week, a phone call conference with my son's teacher.  We seem to be settling into a routine pretty quickly.  I'm ready to get there!

Yesterday, a cold front moved through Oklahoma bringing us some much needed relief from the hundred degree days! This morning when I stepped outside, it was pretty chilly!  Today will only be about eighty-five so some people will be wearing sweaters! My daughter actually did.  She says it's because the school is pretty cold in some rooms but I think she just was wanting to wear some new fall clothes....

I'm resorting to easy options for dinners these next two weeks.  Quick things that I can make ahead in the afternoon and get out fast before we rush off to whatever event is on my kids calendar.  Tonight, it's asian chicken salad.  I've made it before and posted the recipe.  The grilled chicken is in the fridge thawing and I can just throw it all together and serve it in big bowls so clean-up is also a breeze.  Which is a good thing because my kids have youth group at six tonight about the same time my husband gets home from work.  Afterwards, they have a swim party until nine. 

Next week, starts dance for the daughter and Oklahoma State football games for all of us! Bring on fall! I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!