yeah, just a little teeny tiny post....

This morning, I got up and got moving. You know, sweeping and doing dishes, feeding the puppies and letting them out. Scooping up the kitty kitten and hearing her purr under my chin, she being as glad to see me as I am to see her...I wrote out homework assignments, and brushed my tangly hair. We were in the car by 9:00 am to go to the library! First, however, I had to stop by the high school to drop off Margaret's project which she forgot to bring in.

I dropped kids off there, and headed over to the grocery store for some important things like fresh spinach, pretzels, grapefruit, dog food, kitty food, and kitten litter. I picked them back up, but they didn't want to go home yet, please Mom, let's go to Target. Okay, I guess so. I bought a few Christmas presents, some stocking stuffers, and we were on our way...almost. McDonalds, please, Mom, we're starving. They have no idea what STARVING is, but I gave in. I only had some coffee and four chicken nuggets. I have a love/hate relationship with that "food". It IS crap, no doubt about it. Salty fatty garbage. But it tastes so good....

Anyway, they each chose one thing from the dollar menu, plus they had a few nuggets, and one large fries for the whole vehicle, of which I only ate two.

Then...home. Ah, home. We put away the groceries, discussed schoolwork, and I put my feet up for a few minutes...then I headed over to school to pick up Sonja K., who was babysitting for my niece's twins and kindergartner with Suzanne while we went to work at the college basketball game. Home again for a few minutes...then over to drop them off at Susan's house, pick up Susan, and home again, to pick up Joseph, Kathryn, and Margaret, and on to the basketball game....

The game wasn't bad. At the end, we sometimes pack up the food and it is taken to the Rescue Mission for the homeless people. But some nights, it just gets thrown away. We aren't allowed to take it out of the Dome, it goes in the garbage. So...I put two pretzels in my purse to bring to the little kids...but we gave them to a homeless man pushing a shopping cart down the road. He seemed very grateful.

He wished us a Happy Holiday, and my niece said, "Happy Thanksgiving!", then clapped her hand over her mouth...that man doesn't have much of a chance of a happy Thanksgiving. The sad part is that he seemed mentally challenged, and it isn't fair that he fell through the cracks somehow and ended up out on a cold night, pushing a grocery cart with all his worldly goods in it.

I'm glad I broke the rules and those pretzels will fill his tummy instead of being at the bottom of the trash bag with the rest of the leftovers.

I am home now, obviously, and the house is quiet. Tomorrow is Pie Day, and Mali is coming over. We are having hummus and tortilla chips and queso cheese sauce and veggies, and some other snacks. Mali is a vegetarian, and since she can't be here on Thanksgiving because she's a nurse who doesn't have it off, I wanted to get her some things she would eat and enjoy.

And, we will be making pies.

Black Friday: I don't think I'll go out this year. I have already bought some stuff online, and there isn't that much I would want to go out into the crowds to buy. Years ago, I would look at all the ads, go into the 24 hour Walmart at like 4 a.m., fill the cart with stuff that I would price match from Toys R Us, and RiteAid and Walgreens. Then when Walmart's sale started, I would just send Abigail over to grab stuff while I waited with the cart. It seemed worth it, but the crowds have gotten bigger, and people seem pushier, although I honestly have had mostly good experiences with people on Black Friday trips.

I had an interesting experience this fine morning. I got up and was doing things, and Margaret was getting ready for school. She was just being herself, but I felt she was a bit rude. I was yakking about this weird dream I had (I dreamed that Emily bought us a huge amazing house, each room more spacious and lovely than the last, but the town it was in was so strange....there was a huge megaphone/sound system that played intermittent reminders for all sorts of things,it was like living in a vast airport (do not leave luggage unattended!), but it was mixed in with advertisements, like a really loud radio one couldn't change the channel of. In the dream, no one else minded this sound system. I was livid about it! I went to the town board and requested a meeting about it, and they just brushed me off and said there was no town meeting until at least next March, besides, everyone likes the megaphone!) (Why I have such weird dreams is beyond me) Anyway, I was telling Margaret about this dream, and she was basically ignoring me (but I do think I might be a tiny bit responsible for her forgetting her project)...and....and I felt like an idiot. I felt bad. Then Evelyn got up, and said something to me that I didn't appreciate....and oh, the thoughts that came flooding in! I am just sick and tired of being nice to everyone just so they can be mean to me! Done! No more!

Then Margaret texted and asked me to please bring her project in, she forgot it. And then I had this huge revelation! If I had been awake each and every time I had gotten offended at the way someone was toward me, and said NO to my own sin, and had overcome in each of those situations, then it wouldn't have snowballed into me feeling so hugely wronged! And surprise surprise, when she texted and I was tempted to say Too Bad Baby, guess what I heard clearly? ...do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good....(romans 12:21) Oh what a perfect opportunity to just bless and be good and forgive and forget!!!

But, I decided to talk to a few particular daughters of mine too, because they need to be more respectful, regardless.:)

Oh I do go on....it is very very late, and I am very very tired...