Odds...that's me!

It's been an interesting week.

Little League practice started, we've had some FREAKY weather, and I had a birthday. I'm amazed that I'm not in a funk about it like I have been for the last few years. It seems I am beginning to really believe that I do matter. Life isn't passing me by....What a relief! No, I haven't ended world hunger nor have I cured cancer, but there are people on this planet that are caring and loving because of something I did. (and not just the ones I gave birth to!).

I have a hard time occasionally letting other people lead.. I keep doing it with the Team Mom at LL. She's a very nice woman, harried, because she has two boys about a year apart (like me), but her's are still babies. She's frazzled and frantic, and I remember that so very well. It makes me appreciate just how nice it is to have the boys all grown up! I need to back off and let her do her stuff instead of being the control freak that I secretly am.

We had a fierce lightning storm last night. Only a half hour, but we counted close to 100 strikes that we saw and heard. My oldest boy was a bit stressed. I had to remind him to breathe, and reassure him that Daddy would be just fine (he was driving to work at the time) and called DH to show that he was OK. I was more worried about having the power go out and having to entertain three kids until bedtime! We didn't lose power though, so it turned into a mellow evening by 8pm.

I'm trying to be more honest about who I am and what I do and don't like. DH asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I told him:
1. A bike
2. A necklace that I have been eyeing in a catalog since Christmas.
3. An evening away with just him.

I MEANT I wanted one of those things, but he did all three, with mixed results. I love the bike, I wish the weather would get better so I could ride it more (hail isn't really comfortable to ride in, y'know??).

The evening away was a total disaster! I asked a friend to watch the kids, and told DH that I wanted to be surprised. So on my birthday, he says: "So, where do you want to go?" He's actually trying very hard, and he wants to please me, but he doesn't fully understand the amount of planning that usually goes on, and clearly, he didn't do any. I gave him an easy way out, told him I wanted to go to a Casino that is about an hour away from here and go to dinner at a nice place in that town. He decided that he would "make it even better" by going to a different Casino, in the middle of nowhere, and spend the night. Problem: He had no reservations, didn't have directions, and did I mention the weather? The snow level fell to 500 feet that night. I'm in a truck without 4-wheel drive, on a dark country road, without a CLUE as to where I am in relation to the main highway. He's got less than 1/2 a tank of gas, and there is thunder and lightning everywhere, which soon turns into snow. The warmest thing I have is a sweater I happened to put on, and we don't even have a bottle of water with us, and the cells phones fell outta range about 20 miles back.

Yep, I completely freaked out. Tears and all. I hated to do it because he really did have the best of intentions, but it just wasn't his night, KWIM? We did finally find the place, but there was 6 inches of snow on the ground, and of course, the hotel was sold out. I was so pissed at the trouble we had finding this place, that I insisted we leave at that moment. So back into the car, heading back downhill into civilization. We ended up with dinner at a Claim Jumper and a night in a college town known more for it's "agri" than it's "culture". Oh well! Hubby felt awful about it, and I know it'll be funny after a while....

Three days after my birthday, a package arrived. Turns out he DID order the necklace I had been wanting. It's just beautiful! I'm thrilled to have it, and proud that he gave it to me. Life really isn't too bad, when someone you love really listens to you.