Just the two of us...

Our children were born one by one, so the chaos sneaked up on us.  One day we were young and innocent, and suddenly we were bewildered.  The house was FILLED with kids!  Babies, toddlers, teenagers, they were everywhere!  They needed dinner every night, and new sneakers, and  their clothes and bedding had to be washed, they needed baths and showers, oh bed time was a whole comedy show.  

Then, one by one, they grew up and moved out.  Each move left an ache in my heart, and as the bedrooms emptied, I struggled to adjust the newness of the quiet.  Now we're down to two girls home, and when they're here, they are HERE.  (They are so much fun!). But, they're in Norway still.  So it's just Paul and me.

Last night after dinner, he said let's do something, ice cream?  Well.  I had just opened an after dinner yogurt, but I wrapped it up and put it back, grabbed my sweater, and off we went.  There is an ice cream place in the next town over, with the best soft ice cream...chocolate vanilla twist with rainbow sprinkles...mmm.  

We drove around the countryside and ended up at a little church with a graveyard.  We had been there before, I remember seeing a gravestone with the name Chloe, with our last name, and Paul suggesting it for a baby name...we were expecting Emily at the time.  Obviously I didn't share his enthusiasm, ha.  Anyway, a lot of his relatives are buried there. 

We ate our ice cream and wandered around...we're weird, but we do like old cemeteries.

Our dinner tonight was the same as last night:  I've been craving barbecued chicken, and our air fryer does the job.  Chicken thighs marinated in cajun spices and lime juice, then dipped in corn starch with salt and pepper, placed on parchment with plenty of avocado oil, coat in oil, flip...425 for 18 minutes, flip, brush with Stubbs bbq, air fry for a bit longer....flip again...until they are crispy and done.  

We've been eating a lot of arugula too, I like mine with cucumbers, maybe green olives, craisins, blueberries if we have them, salt and pepper, olive or avocado oil and a splash of lime juice.  

This fine morning, I picked up my car, it passed it's yearly inspection.  I did give the mechanic a Norwegian chocolate bar:). He said he just happens to be a "chocolate feen".  I haven't heard the word "feen" in a very long time:)

I'm working on this little table: 

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I regret that I didn't get a true "before" pic.  This is after I sanded all the old brown varnish off the top, exposing some nice wood.  I scuffed up the legs and lower shelf, a few coats of primer...  Now it's had a few applications of wipe off polyurethane on the top, and some creamy Biscuit color (Sherwin-Williams cabinet and trim enamel)(which is wonderful, it goes on like a dream, all buttery and smooth).  It still needs a few more coats on the top....but it'll be lovely, I'll show you in a few days.  

Kathryn came over with the kids today.  

Jamie fed Sunny her food, one piece at a time.  

Ellis is getting so big!  He's too cute.

They had pbj's and some blueberries, and played kitchen and house and in the fort I made by draping a few blankets from the back of a chair to the couch.  They played store and ran around and then were gathered up and brought home.  :)

Tomorrow, after swim class, I have a Target order to pick up, nothing exciting.  But life is exciting, and I do love summertime.  I am choosing to enjoy my days.  I am super blessed, and have nothing to complain about, but that doesn't stop us from feeling so tempted to be disgruntled and miserable sometimes!  This fine afternoon, before dinner, Paul had to go to the hardware store.  He asked if I wanted to go, and sure, I'll go for a ride!  Well.  Seeing me get in the truck would make anyone either feel super sorry for me, or laugh their heads off, or both.  There are no running boards, and the seat is so high, I just put my back to it, reach for the handle built in, as if Nissan KNEW an old grandma would be riding in that truck, heave myself up, turn around, and ahh, I did it.  Well.  Paul seemed to notice this debacle more than usual and said, "you seem to be struggling."  Duh?   Honestly, I was very tempted to feel sorry for myself.  I said, "Well, it's high up, if it was that high for you, you'd struggle too."  I knew that wasn't really so, and he said, "I doubt it."  I said, "I know.  I doubt it too."  I was so tempted to feel sorry for myself because I do try so hard...then I opened my ice cold peach seltzer, which I had just dropped on the truck floor, and it exploded in the new truck. I laughed my head off.  His face!  He took it really well after a second though.  I could NOT stop laughing.  

Anyway.  I do struggle.  My mobility isn't magical.  It's hard work, and I still get so sore and stiff.  My "old" knee is clicking and catching, but:  I can walk!  I choose to work to be thankful for that.  I choose to not get offended, and to not let doom and gloom capture me.   I choose not to be ensnared by thoughts that scribble the future with a black crayon.  There are plenty of things to worry about, but we have TODAY.  Why waste today on worries about tomorrow, especially when we are expressly chastised NOT to?!

Anyway.  Life is good, and I am enjoying it.