I never know what to title these...

Due to:

1) encouraging words from my sister Mary Beth and

2) a kind nudging from a one Mrs. Jamie Rives, ;)

I am now updating this darn blog.

I'm not all that interesting, and I sometimes feel like this whole idea of writing about myself is narcissistic. Is it? Tell me. 

Warm weather is here! Oh how I love it... until it's been here for a month or two. Then I'll turn around and start complaining about the heat. I try to keep my complaining on a consistent cycle. Summer in Texas is the perfect example of how you CAN have too much of a good thing. I love how my students scream with joy now that they don't have to wear jackets on the playground anymore. In about a week their red, sweaty faces will be begging to go inside. 

One funny thing ( funny in retrospect, I mean) during my first few weeks of teaching happened when my little Margo came up to me on a hot, September day on the playground. She heaved a sigh of exhaustion, grabbed my hand, and rubbed it ALL OVER her sweaty face. 

...I kind of freaked out.

"NO Margo! You cannot do that to people!" 

She then laughed and ran away.

One funny thing (funny in retrospect) that happened TODAY was when I led my students from lunch in the courtyard to our front office where we were to take pictures with our administrative assistant who is retiring. We got there, took the picture, and I stayed for about 1.5 minutes to run a few things by her. When I turned around to lead my kids out to the playground, I found that EVERY single last one of them had completely disappeared. I started down the hall, kind of frantically. There I saw just TWO of my sweet little girls waiting for me.

"WHERE IS EVERYONE ELSE???"

"...They ran out to the playground..."

...I kind of freaked out.

Needless to say, 3/4 of Mrs. Thibodeau's Kindergarten class sat out during recess.

In other news, Pat and I are getting a new SUV! Well, new to us anyway. My parents are selling us their "Big Blue Tonka Truck," as Meredith would say (aka: the FJ Cruiser). We probably won't be actually getting it for a little while since we are insanely busy over the next few weeks, but we're excited. 

It's funny to hear my dad trying to sell a car to us by saying, "You knooow, when you start to have a family you'll need a car like this..." Like that's a huge selling point 10 months after our wedding. :) Oh well. His intentions are good. 

I suppose...

Tomorrow is Wednesday! My favorite day of the week!

LOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOSTLOST.

That is all.

"I have GOT to get a planner!"

...thus the words I uttered after the FIRST forgotten commitment today. When the second one rolled around, I was even more upset at myself.

I have always hated keeping a planner. I buy one at the beginning of the year and tell myself I'll use it and write down all of the important dates I need to remember. Shortly after, I stubbornly and pridefully tell myself, "Who needs a planner? I can remember all this crap all by myself!" And I usually can. 

My mind is like a steel trap when it comes to faces, phone numbers, and dates. I still remember my first phone number and the phone numbers of childhood friends, birthdays of friends' parents, and the faces of pretty much every person I've ever met. OH, let me tell you, I never forget a face. All of this to say that I tend to be pretty prideful about my ability to remember things and stay organized. 

Lately, however, I've noticed that my brain is having trouble handling all of the information I expect it to store and hold for me to remember at the opportune time. I tend to over-plan, commitments sometimes overlap, and I have to arrange the dreaded "reschedulings." I DO need a planner. Make no mistake. 

I also think these situations are arising due to the recent addition of my second job. I had no idea how complicated all of this would be. This all probably ALSO has to do with me aging. I never seem to tire of blaming things on that.

I am not self-sufficient. I really can't do any of this without the help of a planner (and, not to be too terribly trite, the help of my heavenly Planner). 

On an entirely different note, I am growing more and more weary of this horribly cold weather. It is supposed to freeze YET again tonight. Will summer ever come?

Oh, AND, if you haven't joined thegrocerygame.com yet, DO IT. 

You won't be sorry.

Aging, death, and other musings

It's funny to me that 10:55 p.m. is "late" now. 

In my younger days I didn't even yawn until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. 

Such is life. 

I'm trying to get used to the fact that I graduated high school 5 years ago. 5 years. That is SUCH a long time to me. Maybe it was graduating from college, maybe it was getting married-- SOMETHING has jolted me into hyper-awareness of my age. 

Now, to be clear, I'm not afraid of aging. I look forward to all of the things that growing older will bring to my life. I think I'm just getting used to the fact that this adult chapter of my life is going to be so much longer than that of my childhood. Childhood passed by so quickly (although it definitely didn't seem like it at the time). When I was 8 I probably couldn't have told you what I did 5 months earlier let alone 5 YEARS. It blows my mind that I can say I did something a decade ago, remembering every detail with perfect clarity. 

**Just as a side note, the first thing I thought of when remembering being 12 years old was "RV trips." The Highs were a rambling crew back then.

I'm also getting used to the fact that everyone around me is aging. 

Grandparents, parents, sisters... 

Sisters aging --> precious. I get nieces and nephews (selfish reasoning, but true)! Also, I've noticed that the older we get, the more me and my sisters love each other. That has been a really sweet blessing to me. The older we get, the more we'll be able to laugh about (i.e. poopy diapers, crows feet, grey hair, menopause...).

Grandparents and parents...

That, I don't like to think about so much.

I've always been pretty comfortable talking about my own death. I love my Jesus and I know whatever life brings my way, He will protect me until the day He brings me home to be with Him. Talking about everyone else, though, isn't so easy. I'm very naturally protective of those that I love. It's kind of a maternal instinct. I'm the one who's always checking seatbelts, locking doors, being EXTRA paranoid about strangers, etc. 

I am still learning to trust God to take care of more than just me. Sometimes I tend to think it's up to me to take care of people. I think it's because I can't feel what my loved ones feel. I can't sense the presence of God in their lives like they can. It's hard for me to grasp the fact that they are in His hands just like I am, and that He knows the plans He has for them just like He does for me. 

Anyway, that's what's on my mind tonight.

Tomorrow brings all kinds of joys.

This is Jessica Thibodeau... signing off.