Rain and more Rain

We have lots of rain this week! I'm not complaining....it is actually nice if not just a tiny bit of a nuisance. This is the first year since we have moved into our current house just over 4 summers ago that our lawn is still lush and green now that August is behind us. I attribute that to our milder than usual summer AND all the rain we have gotten this year.

Our lives have settled into a nice, predictible rhythm, one that I am sure is common to most with school-aged children. I know that there are people out there that would go crazy in such a pattern (when I was young and single, I would have counted myself among them), but, for the time being, I am finding it comforting. As long as we can punctuate the monotony with the occasional holiday and/or vacation :) We do have Disney coming up over Thanksgiving!

I think the real key is that, in theory, the rhythm and pattern of married-life-with-kids-in-suburbia sounds just about as dull and undesirable as it gets...but the reality of it is that when that existance is filled with love and laughter and happiness on a daily basis, then it's not just tolerable but actually enviable. I literally soak up life each day...I savor every smile...I try to find the joy in the mundane...it's there and you know what, I always find it...because I am on the look out for it. It is not lost on me...I refuse to let it be lost on me.

The problem with the predictible routine of life is that we tend to just coast along, day in and day out. It is no different with me, I notice that the days slip away much faster when they are predictible and scheduled and segmented. I too am powerless to slow it down and savor it as I would prefer. That is all the more reason to just thoroughly enjoy the ride.

I don't want to sound too 'perky' or 'cheery' because don't get me wrong...I lose my patience with my kids; I have disagreements with my hubby; I don't have enough time in the day to get it all done; I sometimes wake up tired, but I try to keep these things in perspective. I am infinitely and painfully aware that I won't get a 'do over'. What I am experiencing and living is a one-time-only gig...love it or not...it will be over all too soon.

The economy will be up or down, there will be email in my inbox, there will be dinner to make, laundry to wash....but I won't get another childhood to experience with *my* children....or another chance keep my marriage on track....and while there will always be other football seasons and other falls...you never know when it might be your last or the one that matters most or the one where your life takes an unexpected turn. I like to be in the drivers seat too much to allow myself to become to complacent of a passenger.

I have been very surprised with my path since the tragic loss of my mom. I still miss her painfully, but I have lots more good memories coming back now. Considering that for a few decades of my life she was the person at the top of my 'people I could not live with out' list, I think I am making it ok without her. But this is one of the side effects. A profound, first-hand knowledge that our lives can be too short and we really don't know when our ride will be over. Things we all *know* but don't really grasp. I feel that is the gift I have now...the lesson my mom taught in her death.

Wow, this post has gone off track....that's why I love my blog. Didn't even know that was all on my mind, and I would have never explored it had it not been for this. I had just planned to tell you about our life...update you...and here I am going on and on about one of life's fundamental and all important and inescapable realities.

Rosh Hashanh is tomorrow - the Jewish New Year. We host dinner on the 1st night and Alan and Andrew on the 2nd. I have been baking round challah all week....and had a blast doing so. Ryan is such a good sous chef! He loves to add the ingredients and roll the dough and even braids it with me.

We had dinner with an old friend tonight. I got an email earlier this week from Andy, a guy that David and I worked with at NexGen back in the late 90's. Andy and I actually joined NG out of college in '97 and were in the same training class together in California. He is from the Irvine area where the company was based. He married his wife the same year David and I married. They have two kids and live in Texas now. He was in town for business and had the evening free, so he wanted to see if we were available for dinner to catch up. We had a GREAT time at dinner with him. Great to remember those times...that were a full decade ago now :)