Slowing Down and Catching Our Breath

Church, tennis, Scouts -- that pretty much sums up life for us the past few weeks. As a matter of fact, it all runs together so much I am struggling to think of things that sound interesting enough to write about.

TENNIS. Jenna's tennis season is over now. Fortunately, all of Jenna's tennis matches were in White House for the first half of their season so it was pretty easy for all of us to get there. The boys and I could even drop in on Mondays and Tuesdays when we were going to or coming from Scouts. For the last half of the schedule the matches were all away so we were spread thin. Actually, I meant to write a few days ago, but for the last few evenings I just kept sitting on the couch thinking, “So this is what it's like to enjoy an evening at home with the family."

Jenna, being the only 8th grader, didn't win any matches, though she did play well for a beginner. I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do if she sticks with it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Speaking of Jenna, she celebrated her 14th birthday on Wednesday. It's so hard to get that in my head even with the evidence right there in front of me.

We went out to celebrate her birthday last Saturday. We went to see the Hunger Games (good movie!) and she invited her friends Mackenzie and Katie along. After the movie we went Cheddars to eat.

I need to stop here and praise Jenna for something she does right. Jenna really chooses her friends wisely. All the girls we meet through her are really top notch people. They are the kind of girls that I want Ben and Nate to find when they are old enough to seriously think about dating. It has simply been a pleasure to be around Jenna's friends.

We celebrated Jenna's birthday again on Friday. Vicki cooked a big meal and we took it over to Aunt Mar's to share it with her and Mom.

SICKNESS. Nate has been a little puny lately. He was feeling rough week before last so Vicki took him to the doctor. It turns out his allergies were bothering him, a touch of pneumonia, and an ear infection. He wound up missing two days of school. We thought he was better over the weekend, but last Sunday night proved our judgement wrong. Vicki took him back to the doctor (along with Ben who was mildly sick), and he missed four more days of school.

Nate got a shot in the rear end on Monday. He was really proud of it and dropped his pants to show it to me. Vicki said he was a good sport and smiled the while time. He was hoping to be sick enough to have an X-ray on Wednesday that the doctor mentioned, but he was on the mend by then and didn't need it. Those sorts of things are cool when you're nine years old. He's all better now and will be at school tomorrow.

Joe