This and That

It's been a little heavy around here lately, no?

Like I said a few posts ago....life is beautiful and life is brutal.  But we move on through it all.

So we are.

The last few posts have been a breakthrough for our family or a purging one might say.  Things that were once unspoken and ignored are out in the open and I must admit....it's easier to breathe. 

Quite frankly, I hate keeping secrets.  I truly do.  Not because I want to spread information around and encourage gossip but because I believe in aunthenticity.  I believe in transparency.  I believe in being honest with people about the experiences I've had in life and how they have shaped my vision of the world and my place within it. 

But now we're onto a post of a different sort.  I haven't done a random life update so here we go...

1. My 8th grade team is 0-4 as in zero wins and four losses.  Ouch.  Granted, our district is divided up into two zones for the middle schools, the difference between the two being median family income....if you know what I'm talking about.  Our side of the zone is firmly ensconsed in the upper-middle class bracket and therefore many families have the ability to pay for expensive club volleyball teams, private lessons and personal trainers.  For middle schoolers.  Seriously.  The kids at my school?  Not so much.  We're definitely middle class but that's the way I like it.  My athletes and their families are supportive, down-to-Earth and compassionate.  The first four games of our season were against the "rich" schools to put it plainly and they all had several girls that played a whole lot of club in the off-season and my girls just couldn't compete.  So it's been tough to keep their heads up and focused on OUR goals....which don't always revolve around winning.  I want them to improve their defense or take more risks on the net.....and I try not to glance across the net at the superior arm swings or perfect passing form and just focus on the massive amounts of HEART that my girls play with. 

2. Natalie likes to sing.  Usually the songs that include lyrics such as "mama, mama, dada, dada."  Repeat.  It's pretty adorable.

3. I decided to go grocery shopping yesterday afternoon.  On the one day in six months that it decides to pour down rain all day.  But it was either forage for food or starve and I've got a very hungry toddler so off to Target I went.  Upon my departure there was a downpour and I sprinted through the parking lot with my cart full of groceries to the Tahoe.  While I was unloading a young Target employee (a high school student most likely) was pushing in a line of carts.  He sweetly stopped and kindly asked if I would like some help, while simultaneously reaching for the heaviest items on the bottom of my cart.  We finished up quickly and he took the cart from me so that I could hurry out of the rain and into the sanctuary of a dry car.  As I was leaving I could have kicked myself.  I should have said something to that young man.  I should have let him know that his mother and father (or other parental figures) did a great job raising him because he has fabulous manners so rarely seen among teenage boys. 

4. Right now I feel like the exact opposite of King Midas.  Everything I touch or own is turning to crap instead of gold.  We still have no flooring in the living room and the exposed concrete seems to coat everything in a light layer of dust.  This morning while folding laundry, I discovered that Angie had eaten through two pairs of my underwear at the same exact time that Natalie was parading through the house proudly wearing my bra.  I just want to have a few nice things for myself without the threat of a destruction by dog or child.  Is that so much to ask?

5. I'm tired.  Every year I forget how absolutely exhausting volleyball season makes me.  Not just from the long days but it's the emotional toll.....the management of 67 12-13 year old girls and their feelings and skills wears me out.  The preparation for practices or games and then the reflection afterwards - "did that drill go as planned" or "what do we need to focus on this week."  It's just tiring.

6. I joined a book club this fall through a fabulously fun friend of mine in the neighborhood.  Over the summer we were supposed to read any book by John Irving, of which I chose A Widow for One Year.  Terrible.  I hated it.  There were no redeeming characters in the novel and I just was fairly bored the entire time.  Now we've moved onto Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn which (two chapters in) is promising but also a little creepy.  We'll see.  I suppose it will be something good for October.

7. Speaking of October.....I have a volleyball game on Halloween.  Yep.  Sigh.

8. When Natalie was a baby I really didn't mind the washing and sterilizing of bottles.  But I will tell you something - I HATE SIPPY CUPS.  With a passion.  I hate taking apart all those individual pieces and making sure all the milk or water is out.  Ugh.

9. We have picked flooring!  I think.  Maybe.  Well, we're going to check at Home Depot.  Just to make sure, you know!  We just want to compare all the prices.  At the rate we're going on these floors, I'll be hosting Natalie's graduation party on exposed concrete.  I'm sure there are some hip kids that would love my exposed concrete - it's a cool architectual design, right?

10. I hope it snows this winter. 

That is all.