Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go. Our house sitters come next week and Kaleb is down to counting the hours until we arrive back in Norway. He’s plotting how he will spring his arrival on his friends. Last I heard, he was planning to hide behind some bushes near the school and jump out at them.
Oh, I have such things to think about.
I often think if I were childless, I would have so much more time to write. I love to write, but it takes energy. But when I stop to think about it, if I were childless, I probably wouldn’t have much to write about. Kaleb has given me a lot to document over the years; if it’s not something he says or does, it’s something that gets me thinking. I love to write about what I’m thinking, even if no one wants to read it. It’s just therapeutic.
The other morning I was thinking about several things – most of them revolving around our upcoming annual trip to Norway. I let Kaleb to his own devices and trusted he was getting his school work done, as he should. When I came downstairs and passively spied on him, I noticed he was doing his Honors Algebra class with Johns Hopkins, using his laptop. He has a piece of scratch paper next to him that wasn’t being used. I saw him staring at the screen and I could tell he was working the problem out in his head – which I discourage. I told him, “You need to use scratch paper when you are figuring out your math problems.” He said, “I’m using the computer.” I wasn’t totally sure what he meant by that, since he shouldn’t be using the calculator feature, or that would be cheating, so I said, “What?” He repeated, “I’m using the computer to figure it out.” I walked over to get closer to him so I could see what he was referring to, and he pointed out all his calculations that he had actually written right on the plastic cover of his laptop. How weird is that? I asked him why in the world he would do that and he said because it rubs off easy, like that’s a good reason. I guess he’s using it like a dry erase board, but with the black plastic, he can only see his work if the lighting is just right. I never claimed he was a normal child.
We’ve all had many busy weeks with rarely a moment to rest. We’re almost over the hump, but not quite yet. The Destination Imagination team I lead with seven boys (most from our church), went to Regional competition two weeks ago. By default, our team won because no other team in our region competed in their particular challenge. It was a good thing/bad thing deal. It was bad they didn’t have any competition, but it was good that they came in first to encourage them and allow them to move on to State in their first year of being a team. There has been much drama going on in the team as they work hard to accomplish their goals without any parental “interference” since that would cause us to be disqualified, which we almost were for more than one reason. But God is good, and we managed to hang in there and now the boys are heading off to East Wenatchee to compete the day before we leave for Norway. Now THAT will be a stressful week! Kaleb was pretty proud of his blue ribbon medallion hanging around his neck and wore it for several days straight – even over his bathrobe. Considering they only earned 46 out of 100 points, they certainly wouldn’t have won if anyone else competed against them, but the good news is, they have a lot of room for improvement. It’s fun (but a lot of work) to lead this team, but it’s the best way I know of to get Kaleb involved in being a team player, since team sports are not his thing. A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.
Kory had his annual physical exam, which could have been a stressful time if we let it. The doctor found a lump under his chin, which he was worried was thyroid cancer. The minute I heard that possibility, I just laughed. After all we’ve been through with the heart, I was pretty sure we could trust God for whatever little lump He brought our way. I didn’t even give it another thought until Kory got the results of the MRI back and was told it was nothing to be worried about. Like I hadn’t already figured that one out. I think God just likes to keep us on our toes –and on our knees. It’s good to know we can trust in God, no matter what the outcome.
Our church, had a Fine Arts Festival a few weeks ago. I entered some of Kory and Kaleb’s art work and Kaleb played two songs on the piano. It’s the first year we’ve entered, so many people were surprised at the talent hidden in our little family. All I had to offer was a photo book of Norway, but that doesn’t show any talent on my part as much as it shows that it’s hard to take a bad photo of such a beautiful land.
My office computer died yesterday. I had everything on it. At least my documents were backed up. I lost a few hundred e-mails and addresses, videos and some photos, but I’m starting to get used to the way technology messes with my life. I’ve noticed life goes on anyway. I’m just glad I’d ordered a new laptop to take with me to Norway so now I’m having to work through a learning curve, since I finally got smart and ordered a MAC. As a friend said, “Welcome to the world of stuff that just works.” So far, I’m pleased and I’m trusting my life won’t get nearly as messy now that I have this sweet new toy. Life is good.
(The photo is taken from our deck. There were 13 bald eagles out in the field on the edge of the flock of snowgeese. One of the eagles got a goose and ate it in a tree on our property. Yuck.)
