Time to Get a Grip

Here we are in the aftermath of my grandmother's passing, and life's still a little foggy. To be expected - we trudge on. And now I'm finding all kinds of goodies in our mailbox thanks to relatives sending things Grandma wanted us to have; family photos, letters handwritten to her by the kids and me, dinosaur pictures our son drew while in preschool, rosary/beaded necklaces, etc. Interesting what Grandma treasured while she was alive, and now those treasures belong to us. Simple things can carry such golden memories - I get that now more than ever.

On with parent/teacher conferences and Fall Break over the previous week. Meetings with the kids' teachers involved rave reviews and big high-fives to both hard-working “conscientious” students. So as reward, we allowed extra screen time and kicked in a Wii Sports Resort game with more family togetherness included. There's absolutely nothing like an afternoon of Wii skydiving and water-skiing to celebrate a decent report card, let me tell you. Unfortunately the long weekend ended on a sour note with Hubs falling victim to the latest flu bug circulating the area, which basically goes to show you just can't win 'em all. We're still giving it our best shot anyway.

Now for something uplifting from memory lane:

Sister (left), Me (middle), Santa (right)

In Memory

This week will go down in history as one that carried major milestones for me and the family with the biggest being my Grandmother's passing on Hubs' birthday. The unfortunate part of it all was the fact that Hubs' work sent him out of town, impacting plans for attending Grandma's funeral. But I didn't put funeral attendance out of my mind completely, especially with my parent's willingness to do whatever they could to make sure I made it there in one piece. Mostly, the issue I faced was the sheer lack of last-minute backup support for transporting the kids to/from school, etc. Ugh.

So I missed it. There. But guess what? My folk's Blackberry turned out to be the saving-est grace of all time, as they sent actual PHOTOS of Grandma to me in real-time as the viewing took place, then more images of her estate as family sorted through items that had no designated home. Not only that, but they also sent pictures of distant relatives whom I hadn't laid eyes on in years, making me feel like the fly-on-the-wall that I wanted to be. Technology saves the day, once again.

Yes, I'm forever disheartened about not attending Grandma's funeral. However, despite the physical distance between us over the years, I will always be proud to have actually been present for Grandma while she was alive by remembering her all year long with cards, family photos, clothing, holiday/birthday checks to help supplement her income, etc. The peeps and I visited, not as much as she would've liked, but we made the trip to her apartment in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and spent real-life time with her. So in a basic sense, we'll always be glad for keeping her in our thoughts & prayers, taking the time to remember her properly, making the extra effort before she was called to new life.

Grandma left behind a legacy; and when I focus on describing her as a person and the life she lived, a few words spring into my mind: faith-filled, dignified, gracious, lived a simple life and loved her family. Grandma is in Heaven now, reflecting on memories with Grandpa, enjoying time with Pudgie, the pet dog they owned many years ago, watching the fuss centered around her possessions, smiling and shaking her head at it all and patiently awaiting the day she reunites with the rest of us again.

I will miss Mary Patricia Green, my grandmother.

Grandma, Me, Mom (@1989 in Bradford, PA)

Pieces 'n Parts

Deja vu. That's what I'm feeling right now while sitting in my Parent Orchestra Chair listening to the group rehearse. Ok, and I just had an epiphany... wouldn't it be cool if I had a name tag here at my 'lil place? I mean, the kids all have name tags on their music stands, so why not? We parents have names, too! Anyway. In the meantime, I'll just keep quiet and do my blog thing, nameless.

So what's been up over the past week? On with List Time:

• School – two words: FUNDRAISERS OVER. And let me tell you, I couldn't be more relieved about those two words. Why? Because we have absolutely NO family members living nearby to hit on for support in this arena, which basically means we have to open up our wallets and hand over as much as we can part with so the kids get some sort of prize for participating. No, we don't have to do this, but schools push sales and we're just big fat suckers when it comes to these things. Erg.

• CCD – this past week the class enjoyed Outside Time after completing the lesson at lightning speed. Amazing what can be accomplished when rewards are to be had. Really, who would've thought GOING OUTSIDE would be so motivating? I guess being couped up inside a middle school building all day does that to a 7^th grader. We grown-ups forget about little things like that.

• Music – remember that additional orchestra I mentioned last week? The new one the oldest applied for recently? Well, it's now in full swing and eating up our Saturday mornings, but in a good way. This particular orchestra group is GINORMOUS with what appears to be @100 musicians. I know! And before knowing this, I actually volunteered to help on the first rehearsal day and ended up directing @100 families to the rehearsal hall. “Up the stairs, straight ahead down the hall, and in the cafeteria on the right.” I felt like Vanna White sans the evening gown and turnable letters. Great, now I'm all famous and important. Cool beans.
  

• Consulting – guess what? Client who requested that website makeover held a meeting over the week and decided they actually LOVE the redesign prototype I created for them. Yay! This means more serious crazy busy-ness to come in the near future as we re-launch the site with the new look & feel. (I'm trying very hard to contain my excitement on this topic, as you can tell with all of the exclamation marks, right?! Yay, again!)

• Miscellaneous - reading is going on like gangbusters at our house, with me finishing 2 more novels and with the youngest and I halfway through our newest series. Speaking of which, another cool thing in progress involves eBay and several online auctions with children's books and toys taking up way too much space in the Peepstead. Sadly, Fisher Price toys and board/picture books really don't have a place in our home these days, hence the auctions.

Leaves falling, tans fading, temps dipping... October just about here? Seems like time is screaming past us at the speed of light. Or maybe it's just the espresso talking? Probably not.

Duly Noted Stuff

Friday here at the Peep Homestead, and guess what? I'm finally sitting down with 30 minutes of FREE TIME to myself before the afternoon Kid Shuttle. So what to do... I know! After uploading random photos/video from the family camera, here are a couple blog-worthy bytes to keep this here website fresh:

Yes, this is a view of that lovely, make that blinding, sunrise we've been experiencing each morning during our morning commute:


And to close this blog post right, snicker along with me at this video of Hubs' exciting discovery while mowing the lawn earlier this week:


Ahhh Fall Fridays.