Author: Karen

So. It snowed.

What does that look like, six inches? Eight?

Luckily, it’s a soft, powdery kind of snow; there’s very little ice.

Thank God.

If all of that precipitation had been ice, we would have been in deep trouble (again).

I really hate winter. I like the cold, but I hate the snow and ice and that comes along with it. I hate to drive in it, but I REALLY hate our boys driving in it. And yes. I need to get over it. Blake is now 21, and Brandon is 18 – hey – they’re not kids anymore, we can drop the pseudo names. So they’re old enough to start living their own lives – it’s time for me to stop babying them – fly little birdies, fly.

For example: it’s slick today – like REALLY slick – like ICE RINK slick and Kevin calls me from the rental house (what? I haven’t told you about the rental house? Good Lord people, I’m so BEHIND, I need to catch ya’ll up) to tell me that someone slid off into the deep ditch across the street from us:

Oopsie. (They ended up hauling it off on the back of a tow truck so I’m assuming falling into that crevice did some damage – what a terrible time of year for that to happen).

And Blake is heading out – to drive – to Wal-Mart.

I confess, I panicked.

“You do realize that it will be like your driving on an ice rink, right?” I asked him, my eyes as big as saucers and my heart beating out “The Little Drummer Boy” song.

“It’ll be fine,” Blake answers back.

And he leaves.

But I catch him, “Hey – do you have your phone?”

“Oops.” He says.

*SIGH*

“Dude. You HAVE to take your phone every time you leave the house now. K?”

He just shoots me a grin, grabs his phone and I watch the growing twilight swallow him whole.

I try not to worry but come on, I’m mom – it’s sort of my job to worry.

But he makes it back in record time (he went to Wal-Mart to buy some techno gadget) and he’s in one piece.

I’m just going to have to accept the fact that he’s a young MAN now and he has to start taking control of his life.

Actually. I’ve been better. Honestly. I’ve been letting go and working 40 hours away from home has really helped me sever the maternal ties.

Kevin made the boys go out and clean/scrape off their cars today. It was a mild 13 degrees. Brr. They had to use the broom to sweep off the snow, then I took advantage of the free labor and handed Blake a snow shovel and they took turns shoveling off their driveway and then our driveway. The thing is, I think they enjoyed it. They got out of their rooms, they got a little exercise and a whole lot of fresh air.

Blake was going to go out in just a leather jacket and slippers.

SLIPPERS!

Sometimes, I seriously wonder about that boy.

Me? I vacuumed the house and finished decorating the Christmas tree.

It’s been up for a week. Kevin put the lights on last week, but I’ve been too lazy to finish it. I made the boys help me today and we got ‘r done.

I don’t know – I just haven’t been in the Christmas mood this year. I think I’m in denial because didn’t we just have Christmas like … a few months ago? It’s scary how fast time flies.

So life has happened these past months. Nothing terribly exciting … just busy. I’ve been so tired lately! I think part of it is my job, well, most of it is my job, it’s just mentally draining, but I think I have to blame part of the problem on the fact that I’m going through the change and I haven’t been sleeping very well since my body decided to declare war on me.

We went on a cruise to Alaska, hosted Thanksgiving dinner and bought the house across the street from us since the last time I blogged (we plan on renting it – but it needs MAJOR renovation before that can happen).

Blake is still working with Kevin, and Kevin couldn’t run his office without him.

Brandon is now working in the restaurant industry (and hates it) and is enrolled to begin school in January.

That sounds like a lot but it all feels so … normal.

I’ll write when I can. It stresses me out when I feel like I HAVE to write but honestly, it sort of scares me when I let my blog go because life just moves so freaking fast … I want to record as much of it as I can.