Sunday, January 28, 2018

Thankful To Be Back!

How do you start blogging again when you haven't done it in, oh, six months? I guess you jump in with a Ten Things of Thankful, so here goes:

1. The College Boy is no longer a College Boy and now a Med School Student. University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Class of 2021. Boomer Sooner!


Moving day!


White Coat Ceremony

2. My daughter is halfway through her freshman year at University of Arkansas and, as those follow her on social media can attest, is loving it. LOVING it. She's in a sorority, involved with student government, volunteers, has made oodles of friends, goes to many, many Greek functions (MANY), and still managed to get a 4.0 her first semester. Woo Pig!


Moving day. It rained....


Bid Day! She's a Zeta!

3. We are Empty Nesters. Empty nests aren't always a bad thing.

4. As nice as that Empty Nest can be, i.e., we eat when we want, we eat WHAT we want, we go where we want whenever we want, having one of the little birds fly back for a few days is SUCH a good feeling!

5. Smart phones. Both of my kids text me pretty much every day, and Emma calls me several times a week (occasionally several times a day), especially when she's walking on campus alone, and we Facetime sometimes (usually when she's homesick and wants to see the kitties). When I was in college and living in a dorm, I had to use the pay phone down the hall to call home, collect, of course. Now there's a phone that shoots a signal to outer space or something and back to the person you are trying to reach in an instant. How 'bout dat?

6. Power steering. Not that there has been anything wrong with the power steering in our cars, but remembering the dorm payphone reminded me of the car I drove in college and how much effort it entailed to turn a corner (unless you were going at a pretty good clip, not that I ever did that...).

7. There's an entirely new kitty dynamic at our house. Our 14 year old cat, Fletcher, went to kitty heaven this past summer, leaving 12 year old Pete (the asshole of the family) and our one year old ball of fire, Nora. Pete has HAAAAATED Nora since we got her, but after a couple of weeks of it being just the two of them, he stopped hissing and/or growling every time (and I do mean EVERY time) they crossed paths. They have progressed to playing chasing games and sleeping on the bed together, and while they don't quite spoon each other, they can be close enough that they're alllllmost touching. Pete can still be an asshole, but it happens less and less often, and Nora can still be a complete pill, booping him on top of the head when he passes by and now brave enough to grab him around the neck in a chokehold periodically, but for the most part they are harmonious. 


Her feet are barely touching him.


8. Our veterinarian. Some of Pete's assholiness stemmed from a puncture wound (a gift from Fletcher) that he had in his upper arm. He had had it since some time in the early summer, and it just wouldn't heal. It started getting worse in the fall (I'll spare you the details, but there was oozing), and I finally admitted it wasn't going to heal on its own, and it was time to go to the vet. She tried stapling it closed, giving him an antibiotic, and making him wear a lampshade, but after two weeks, it was no better. He had to have real surgery at this point, and afterwards, she said he was all kinds of messed up inside that arm and it was more involved than she thought it would be. Back in the lampshade for two more weeks (which he figured out how to ditch, so we made him wear a t-shirt), and he's finally healed. And is a nicer cat, which makes me feel really badly that he was in pain and I didn't even know it (cats are masters at hiding illness and pain). 


When you ditch your lampshade, you gotta wear a shirt.

9. My husband and I (you know, the Empty Nesters), joined a gym. We have one here in town that costs less per month the more you use it, (I know, right?!), so we hustle our fannies there 4-5 times a week. My only complaint about the place is that they keep the temperature set on "poach," and I'm a little worried about how that's going to feel come summer. Wait, I have one more complaint: there is a row of televisions hanging from the ceiling in the cardio area, and one of them is always set on Fox News. I listen to music when I work out, but you can't help but notice all those tvs, and my eyes seem to be drawn to the one airing Fox, which can get me all kinds of worked up. I guess if it gets my heart rate up without giving me a stroke, I can deal. For now.

10. The Greatest Showman. Hugh Jackman. Zac Efron. Sigh.

I did it! I did it, I did it, I did it! And I'm thankful for that! And for the shout out on Facebook by Clark that I needed to get myself back to the TToT - here I am!



Linking up with Josie Two-Shoes and her Ten Things of Thankful blog hop.






25 comments:

  1. So glad you're back, and hoping I type fast enough to get frist comment! :-)

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  2. Now that that's out of the way, glad you are enjoying being empty nesters. 2018 is our year for that, too, and I must say (though I love my kids) I am looking forward to it.

    So nice that your cats have decided to be on more friendly terms.

    The Greatest Showman was great, wasn't it? I want to attend a sing-along showing of it sometime!

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    1. It feels good to be back!
      You will like the empty nest thing. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it a year ago, but now, it's pretty nice. My husband said it was almost like we're dating again!
      It's a blessed relief that the growling and hissing has stopped. As Pete loses more weight and gets more active, they get more rambunctious, though!
      Wouldn't a sing-along be FANTASTIC?! I have a tendency to sing along when I'm listening to the soundtrack at the gym. Hopefully, everyone else is tuned into their own music and no one hears me!

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  3. What is it with Fox "news" in public places?! I don't get it. I complain....have for years. Our orthodontist used to play in during the first of Geo W's administrations, and I complained then. So, you better believe I would complain now. There is no need to sew seeds of discontent in a public place...especially one that people are paying to be at. Ellen is a good choice for a public place. She sends an overall message of acceptance like Aibilene in the Help . You is kind. You is smart. You is important. We all need a little Aibilene now

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    1. I KNOW, RIGHT?! I know I'm in a minority around here, but I think, particularly in this current climate, that a channel as controversial as Fox should not be playing in a business. Thank goodness for my ear buds and Spotify! And you are spot on with your comparison of Ellen and Aibilene! We definitely need a LOT of Aibilene now!

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  4. I loved reading this post in entirety . Could visualise everything. Sad to know abt the kitty. Nora reminds me of Mrs. Norris (Harry Potter). God bless ur kids. Am sure they grew in no time. Yes I keep seeing their updates. I stopped blogging many months back. Recently wrote something abt a fav movie (as thats my Mojo and comfort topic) but I need to get back to blogging too. Its so good no, getting back to blogging . it is like reunion with ur closest buddy. May be I shud try TTOT too ! I laughed at that fox news thing. Reminds me my gym too. ITS HIGH TIME I SHOULD HIT BACK :( also thats a cool policy ur gym has (less money more workout) . Keep it up and keep on blogging

    Love

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    1. Thank you so much, Afshan! It really does go by quickly, but, as I'm sure you are already finding out with Zaara, each stage gets better and better! You do need to get back to blogging, and I think the TToT would be a terrific place for you to start! It makes you think about your week differently, because you're always looking for 10 things to write about as you go along! (I keep notes on my phone so I remember all of them!)

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  5. 'bout time, yo.*
    Jeez when did ya adopt the two young adults!?
    That's the thing I get the most kick out of from the friendships here in the internet. Sometimes people say, 'yeah but the internet friends aren't like people in the 'real' world.
    And I think of things like, "hey! remember the time when you had the fire fighters come to school" and 'remember when you and Christine broke into (ok, you didn't 'break into'.... you merely trespassed) the radioactive military base on your road trip?'

    Kinda like what we say at family reunions and such.

    *lol**
    ** a clark and scott thing, nothing bad...

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    1. I had started my TToT post Saturday night, and when I saw your FB post on Sunday, I knew I had to finish it and get it posted. Thanks for the extra feet-to-the-fire nudge I needed! And you know what? I think my blog friends know me better than most of my IRL friends. And sometimes, you are lucky enough to make your blog friends IRL friends, like Christine and me, and it's doubly beautiful. And yes, we were only really trespassing....

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  6. Taking that first step back is difficult. I did it last week. You must be one proud mama! My hub and I have been empty nesters for awhile now. It does have it's advantages. And cell phones keep us all connected. Good to see you Dyanne. Reading your posts always puts a smile on my face.

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    1. So many things held me back from writing (that may be a post in itself) but when I finally took the plunge, it felt SO GOOD. You tagging me on FB about a Pinterest post helped. I need to get a box and get to work (here, kitty, kitty...). Thanks for your encouragement, Val! It means the world to me!

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  7. Yay you are back...beautiful thankfuls enjoy

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    1. Thank you, Marisa! You never fail to read and comment on my posts, and I appreciate it more than you know!

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  8. Hooray for you! So good to read your post!
    I did a thankful post a while ago and then...quit again. Maybe I'm just done. Not sure.
    I love that Pete and Nora are getting along so well. Sad that it only came in the aftermath of losing Fletcher. But we take what we are given, no?
    Sounds like you and your flown birds are all doing well - that's awesome!

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! I couldn't even open my laptop over these last months, so I don't even know who is writing and who isn't and I feel like a horrible friend. We've kind of decided in our family that maybe Fletcher wasn't the poor Eeyore that we thought he was and that he was secretly the real asshole. At least we have peace (for now!).

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  9. So glad to see you're blogging again. Sounds like things have been quite hectic. Our youngest is a Senior this year, so we're soon to be empty nesters ourselves. It's a big transition, but I think I'm ready. I remember the payphone down the hall at college! I was lucky. My Dad worked at the telephone company and use to be able to call me from work so I still talked to him a lot, but it's definitely so much nicer with cell phones. Even when they go away, they can still stay in touch which is wonderful. Welcome back!

    WeekendsInMaine

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    1. Thank you, Karen! I remember my brother and sister in law talking about how great it was to be empty nesters, and at the time, I thought it was kind of cold - until I became an empty nester :)
      You were lucky to get to talk to your dad so often in college! A friend of mine's dad had a WATS line and could call him and I was jealous!

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  10. So glad you're back! Love reading your posts. The days feel like a lifetime but the years are a blink. My kids are following behind yours and it doesn't seem like we're old enough to have kids this age.

    Both kids were out most of the day on Saturday and the thought of empty nesters popped into my head! Such a foreign concept. It doesn't seem like it's a reality yet but 4 years will probably fly by (my youngest is starting high school in August!!)

    I had a rich friend that would let me use his brick cell phone once in a while but it was mostly pay phone in college. I liked running into friends waiting in line to use the phone :)

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  11. I am so happy you're back. I had a little moment the other day where I got a bit nostalgic and sad for the good old days when blogging was so much more of a big deal and a consistent thing for me (and so many others) and HERE YOU ARE! A glorious reminder we can jump back in any time. Wonderful thankfuls...though maybe not the Fox News bit!

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  12. Fox in the gym would definitely add to any speeding up of the heart rate.

    :-)

    Nice to see you back again. Glad you both are enjoying your next phase of life and it's all the better to know your children are thriving in their college environments.

    Harmonious cats.

    :-)

    Ouch, that injury he has sounds awful. My animals all hated using that cone thing, lampshade thing, when they had surgeries. I felt so bad.

    Hope to see you return, but we are here anytime you do.

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  13. Who says reunions are just for summer? It seems to me that January has been the reunion month for many of us on TToT and what a reunion it has been. Good to see you back.
    My husband was so patient with me when he was teaching me how to drive a few years after we were married. I don't think he has ever forgotten my turn from a highway onto our lane. I made it fine, but just a little faster than I should have. :-)
    It really is a whole new world with communicating with kids away from home. I think I only called home a couple of times a semester when I was in college. Cell phones didn't exist for the following generation. There was a lot of letter writing to supplement phone calls made a maximum of once a week. Then enters cell phones and the everything changed. The phone is always with us, just in case. . .
    Welcome to the Empty Nesters!

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  14. Wha-hut??!! He is not! Dammit! But how very excellent :) Dr. College Boy! Yay! Totally awesome. Zeta way to go! Gladd Emma is enjoying her first year. They can be challenging at times for sure. (or maybe that was just me! lol)
    Excellent post Dyanne. So glad you're back!! You make me not only smile but laugh.
    Poor Pete! Pain can surely make somebody an asshole. You must be relieved to at least know it wasn't personal :D Glad he and Nora tolerate each other.
    You guys go! (That's my encouragement to people who actually go to their gym :D) I haven't been to mine in 2 weeks :( Bad me. Inspiration all around this TToT young lady.
    P.S. Your hair looks great!

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