Rambling Reflections

I had intended to log on tonight and write up a book review. Alas, we were out of some staples and a night run to the grocery store devoured some of my time. Then, I twiddled away more time reading updates on Face book, wanting to write something about where my mind has been today, but not really knowing how to effectively capture it in short enough form to be a status line.

When I finally brought up my blog, I was blind-sided by the last post. Has it really been a full week, since I've taken a moment to write in the evening? Granted, I do realize that much has gone on in that time, but still ... a week?

My parents arrived for a visit on Tuesday night of last week (thus, they enjoyed waiting and watching to see how my dinner experiment went - they argued that they had already eaten dinner, but hmmmm?). I managed to talk them into staying one day longer (even though, out of all my siblings, I think I have had the longest amount of time with them during this visit). They only come up from Florida, to make a round of visits with their children, twice a year, so I take every minute I can get.

I certainly didn't miss my blog, while staying up late in the evenings talking with my parents. Despite the advances in technology (hey, my dad is actually on Face book, too), we really don't talk often enough. Unlike my husband's family, where a week without a phone call would raise serious eyebrows, we don't have weekly chats.

I think I know my own penchant for gabbing. If I managed to snag a moment to call my parents, I can be fairly certain that I will ramble on and on for at least forty minutes, during which all you-know-what will break loose in my absence. Thankfully, my blog has filled that gap somewhat. However, I am still waiting for them to jump start their own blog (I can tell you, they have ample material to draw from and my dad would certainly love a slightly modified preacher's podium).

Anyway, after their visit, Tuesday through Friday morning, we began bracing for the weekend. My husband had already intended to spend the weekend with his parents, but his father ended up in the hospital. I'm sure my mother-in-law enjoyed a weekend with all of her kids home.

Sunday afternoon, I drove to Monticello, Indiana, with the boys and my husband joined us shortly thereafter for a mini-vacation at Indiana Beach (future post necessary).

I returned home with the two little boys last night, feeling thoroughly spent. Today, my ES informed me that a boy from his gym class this past year died over the weekend in a fire at his grandmother's home. I have been reeling. I didn't know the boy. My son didn't really know the boy well either. Still, it has been on my mind all day.

Needless to say, my thoughts are hardly in order this evening. I have been contemplating the wonderful time we just experienced with our boys at Indiana Beach. I keep putting myself in the shoes of this unfortunate family. Even when I was at Indiana Beach, I was putting myself in Peggy Larson's shoes, thinking, "What would it be like to enjoy a day at Indiana Beach with Caden, while aching for the luxury of having his twin brother Coleman there to experience it with him?"

I don't know if ES's classmate was an only child, but I did remind ES that this very possibility drove my husband and I to have our two youngest children. ES was our world when he was an only, but we knew that we would be devastated if something were to happen to him and we were left with no other children to ease that pain.

I also asked ES if he would have done anything differently if he had known that this boy would not live out the month of June. I don't know if my own thoughts and reflections will impact my son, but I deeply hope it causes him to think about how he can make a difference in other people's lives merely by befriending them and showing an interest in them.

Anyway, this is a highly unpolished post. But, at 1:20 a.m. I'm merely hitting the publish button and calling it a night. Hopefully, I will snag some time tomorrow to write a decent post about our Indiana Beach experience and a review of a memoir.