A Long Summer.....

Well, where do I begin? It's been a busy summer for all of us. Alec played JV baseball for his high school. Katie played softball and Jennifer played T-ball for the city leagues. Dave went to New York with Alec's high school band. In May, Dave and I made a quick trip down to Mesa to see his Dad and Cathy. Dave's Dad was diagnosed a couple of years ago with McGee-Drager syndrome and he is not doing well at all. We had a good trip and accomplished everything we intended to accomplish, with the exception of being able to stay longer.

In June, I started working at Camp Cavell as the Summer Camp Nurse or, as its official title is: Health Officer. Over all I had a really good time. The Director is wonderful and really good with kids. She has a way of getting in touch with even the toughest of kid-personalities. I lived at the camp, beginning on the 15th of June until the 18th of August. The good thing was that the camp is only 10 miles from home and Dave and the kids could come visit me whenever they wanted to. I ate, slept, and existed there all summer long. We got a break of 24 hours, maybe, from noon on Saturday to noon on Sundays. The camp hired 4 international counselors, which created a wonderful opportunity for me. One of the counselors was from Spain. Her name is Carmen and she is wonderful! We became very good friends and spent most of our time off together doing things near and far. Some of the things we did included going to the Barn Theater, a Detroit Tigers' game, and to Frankenmuth. About 2 weeks ago, we, as a family, took Carmen to the airport on her way home to Barcelona, Spain, via Chicago and New York. As for the 9 weeks at Camp Cavell, Carmen and I really enjoyed the relationships we formed with the campers. Most of them came up from the Detroit area and a culture that is very different from what we are used to. We learned a lot of patience, acceptance, and understanding throughout our summer. (I still can't stand listening to rap music, though! I just don't get it.)

As for my weight loss, my last weigh-in showed a total weight loss of 70 pounds! My kids say that they can tell I'm losing weight by looking at my arms. I affectionately call them my "bat wings." I'm wearing clothes that I never dreamed of ever wearing again, and even they are too big. I'm finding that I can sneak through openings that before my surgery, I'd never even consider trying. One of the kids that is in the 4-H program with my kids made a comment about my arrival at the county fair: "Big Momma is in the house" and it offended me. In the past, it would have rolled off my back, but I guess now that I am seeing a light at the end of the "becoming thin tunnel," the comments about being fat are penetrating deeper. Definitely something I need to work on.

Last week, Dave and the kids and I went up to Cross Village. My Uncle George and Aunt Laurelynn have a home on Lake Michigan and own a piece of property across the road of about 40 acres. Way set back on this property is a double-wide mobile home. They generously allowed us to spend a few days up there in heaven. The wild setting of this place is wonderful, rain or shine. Talk about the "little house in the woods!" We spent a couple of days on the beach and also made trips up to Whitefish Point and the Sault Ste. Marie "Soo Locks."

Now, with Labor Day being tomorrow, it's time to focus on the first day of school being the day after. And I need to get out and secure gainful employment so we can survive the winter. By this I mean, having enough financially to get 2 horses and a goat through the winter, as well as heat our house with a wood stove, in an effort to conserve propane. Another challenge we are facing right now is well problems. I'm hoping a praying that the well is NOT running dry and it is just a pump problem. Ya Hoo!