Fall is Gone

Well, it’s official. Fall is gone and summer has returned. It’s been in the upper 80’s here for several days and I’m about as accurate as the local weather man at predicting when things will cool off. But, it’s not too cool to scare away a hurricane, now is it?

Autumn Manka, our managing editor, is in North Carolina, about 30 miles from the coast. She’s been anxiously watching that big hurricane because her hubby, a Marine, is away on assignment right now and she’s home alone. Last weekend, anticipating the storm, she went outside to survey her yard. She knew that any leaning or weak trees could mean a huge insurance claim if one fell on her house. She found one, but she couldn’t find anyone to cut it down for her. So, she rented a chainsaw and cut that big hulk of a tree down all by herself. Remember, she’s the same one who saved a full-grown man from drowning in the ocean last year.

Today is Zach’s 17th birthday. He’s a junior, so we’re going to meet with his guidance counselor to talk about college options and possible scholarships. Scary stuff for Zach, but scarier for us. How is Zach going to survive when he leaves home? Who’s going to remind him to do his homework each night, or to wash those dirty dishes in the sink, or that he needs a haircut, or that he forgot to put his seatbelt on? And who’s going to wash his undies and socks? I wonder if moms stop worrying so much when their sons get married, knowing another woman is there to take care of all the “important” things in life.

We started potty-training Max yesterday and it’s going great! He likes to sit on his potty because that means Mom or Dad will sit there and read to him…for a looooong time. He sat on his potty this morning several times, but he didn’t potty. Around lunchtime, he crawled onto my lap and, you guessed it, pottied on me. I managed to run fast enough and a few drops landed in the mini-toilet. Then, Max, Richard and I celebrated by doing the “potty dance.” If we’re consistent, he just might be potty-trained by Christmas!

Hugs to everybody!
Ang