Fifty-six

Oh, damn. Damn, damn, damn!!!

Probably shouldn't put up a pic of him with a cig but it's one of my faves. Wow, am I going to miss him!

Fifty-five

Week 3, and I just took Seth to his last swimming lesson in Warrensburg. I was discontent two weeks ago, the first day. Too many kids, not enough instructors, very little actually happening. Last week, slight improvement, willing to keep at it. Today, Seth almost drowned.

Have you ever thought about how things can happen in a "split-second"? Literally, a heartbeat. The blink of an eye. A blind eye on a disinterested swimming instructor who has too many kids in the pool and isn't getting paid enough to be there in the first place. Seth let go of the side of the pool and slipped under. Thankfully, luckily, I was watching him. I had a book in my hands, I hadn't been watching a moment or two earlier, I was reading. Trying to take advantage of five, ten minutes of Seth not tugging on my shirt, needing something. But I was watching then, and was immediately up, on my feet, running to the pool, yelling at the instructors. They finally saw him, noticed, got to him, and he was fine. I waited a minute to be sure he was okay, then sat back down. He finished the lesson, we drove home. It wasn't until we were in the car that I started shaking, feeling sick to my stomach, scared shitless. A split-second. A heartbeat.

What are they called...helicopter parents? Always hovering? I don't want to to be one of those...but it's moments like these where it's easy to see how it comes about, how the impulse is born. Who can you trust but yourself sometimes? Certainly not the Red Cross swimming instructors at the community center in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Fifty-four

Is it just me, or do any of these things give anyone else a warm fuzzy?

Hot apple cider
Leaves changing to yellow, red, and orange
Getting to wear my favorite sweatshirt (a literal warm fuzzy...)
Hayrides and bonfires
Construction paper turkeys you make by tracing your hand
Five Little Pumpkins
Chili suppers and cakewalks
Making your own Halloween costume
Caramel apples
Buying school supplies (Trapper Keepers! 64-count box of Crayola Crayons! art gum erasers!)

The days and nights are getting cooler here in mid-Mo and I couldn't be happier. I love Autumn!! Love it!! And we're having a Welcome to Autumn party next month and I'm having so much fun planning it. Many of those things listed above will be featured. (Not the Trapper Keepers.)

And, show of hands -- who thinks I'm retarded for joining the PTO two years before Seth even starts kindergarten? I did it so I could start meeting other parents and getting to know the teachers. I'd also like to make myself useful and help out where it's needed, and I know teachers often need a hand with things. Brian expressed the opinion the other night that it's "weird" and basically a waste of my time. I'm curious what other people honestly think.

In other news...there really isn't any other news. Things at my job have finally slowed down to a normal pace. I'm now doing the work of one person, versus doing the work of five people, as has been happening the entire rest of the year. It has been psychotic there! But we're in the middle of a breather and I don't actively dread going in right now, so it's been nice.

And I've been trying to upload some pictures I took this past weekend but they won't. I'll try again later.