Snow Dog

Every blog written by someone living on the east coast today will include snow ... here's mine featuring Kilmer the wimpy snow dog and Willie.

Yesterday morning, before the snow got so high, Kilmer ventured out without fear and enthusiastically ran to the fence and summoned his backyard buddy Pepper.

This morning, after the snow finally stopped at 20" deep, Kilmer again ventured out, but this time very reluctantly. He stuck his head deep into the snow, went about 5 feet, then turned around and came back in.

Worried about Kilmer's bladder and my floor, I enlisted Willie's help. He dug a path to the grass for the wimpy dog and worked hard to coax him out along the shoveled route.Despite Willie's valiant attempts, the dog refused to go beyond the path.

I suppose, if the snow came up to my belly, I'd stay out of it too!

And so, school is cancelled. The snow is beautiful. The cookies are yummy. The fire is warm. God gave all of us a day to remember the importance and love of family time.

And yet, Gary just declared with great enthusiasm that the sun was supposed to be out tomorrow.

I suppose enough is enough.

Back to reality.

God Bless Us, Everyone

Kayti is calling me Tiny Tim. Makes me laugh every single time she says it. Somehow I injured my ankle by just walking up the stairs on Friday night. Yes, I felt an awful "twang," but made my way upstairs and into bed anyway. About 12 steps into Saturday morning, the "twang" came back and by Monday my ankle really hurt, walking was difficult and the swelling had started.

My new favorite doctor, Dr. Wilson, sentenced me to two weeks of boot or crutches, no driving and threats of a full-blown cast if I didn't "listen to the pain" and put my foot up immediately whenever it started hurting. Apparently I damaged a tendon. Not the big Achilles one, but some other one and tearing or breaking this particular tendon leads to surgery and a year's worth of recuperating. Hence, the boot and the crutches and about 15-20 minutes of moving around every 2 hours or so.

Got the bills paid. Got the graphics work almost all done. Got the iPhoto book created. Working on the Christmas cards and a few other graphics projects. Watched Julie & Julia (love it!) and countless tacky but addicting Fa-la-la-la-Lifetime Christmas movies!

My parents got the lights on the tree and drove me all over town yesterday, helping me get some errands done. Gary's doing the dishes and Kayti's carrying things all over the house for me. (I didn't cook with two good ankles, so a little swelling hasn't changed that!) And, while the little devil on my shoulder says: "Poo, Drat, and Cuss," the sweet little angel on the other shoulder says: "Thanks for the rest."

God Bless Us, Everyone!

Thanksgiving 2009: Love and Laughter!

Thanksgiving 2009 for the Mears family

was all the holiday is meant to be.

The entire Mears family, all 18 of us, gathered together in one place.

That hasn't happened for a long time. Here's "Grandma Betty" with all of her grandchildren ... a.k.a. Grandma's Heaven on Earth!

To help me prepare beautiful tables for the Thanksgiving meal, my mom leant me her prized "Pumpkin Turkey Kit" to use as a centerpiece. However, Betty volunteered to bring the centerpieces, so alas, there was no need for the Pumpkin Turkey. I didn't have a pumpkin anyway, so all was good. Willie felt bad for the lonely Pumpkin Turkey and made due

with ... bananas!

As the day's festivities came to a close, sweet little Jamie left us with one last laugh ...

On to Christmas!

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Addiction

Aren't these little circles so cute?!? I'm addicted to them. I have purchased two new "toys" for my home business ... 1" and 2.25" button machines that can make "Flair" pins, magnets and compact mirrors.

I have created dozens (and dozens!) of small and large circles full of wonderful things ... birds, old sheet music, funny sayings, beautiful fabric, silly pictures, etc. I need to stop. There is more to life than the button machine, right?

I also bought a very old copy of Mother Goose Nursery rhymes. The book is so old, in fact, that the amazing pictures in it are now considered public domain and I can hardly wait to get my big printer churning out poster-sizes of these adorable pictures. In the meantime, I've put them in my circles. They make me smile.

Fun at the Register

Last week Kayti & I stopped at Rite Aid to pick up a few things. We roamed through the store, paid for our items and got in the car.

As the car doors closed, she said "Did you see that Dad and boy behind us at the register? I want to go home with them." I hadn't noticed them.

"Why in the world do you want to do that?" I asked with great curiosity. "Because all they bought was a poster board, a glue stick, Fruity Peebles and ice cream. They're gonna have a lot of fun!"

Yes, indeed. What a great Dad.

My new favorite word

P E R S E V E R A T E

To repeat or prolong an action, thought or utterance after the stimulus that prompted it has ceased.

I just learned this word today.

It is my new favorite word.

I can hardly believe there's a word for what I've been doing all my life!

My kids always get frustrated when I do this.

So does my husband.

I'm a pro.

Learned it from my mom.

[Love you, Mom.]

Don't you agree?

I was told to post a new blog a couple of times each week to keep my readers coming back to visit my site regularly. If you're reading this, then thank you for checking in even though I did not follow that advice for the last 2-3 weeks.

Important Note about today's blog:

Kayti has given me permission to write this.

I got a text in the middle of the day from Kayti. After reading it, I promptly replied "Be there soon," grabbed my purse, and hopped into the car to head to the school. Sometimes as parents we need to let our kids learn lessons the hard way. You know, like when they forget their homework, we should let them get a bad grade so they won't forget it next time. This was not one of those learning situations. If I let this go, it would have life-long ramifications.

On the way to the school, I thought through all of the things I could tell the secretaries about why Kayti would have to come home with me. My rule of only telling the truth was requiring me to push the envelope and be creative.

As I walked out of the school with Kayti beside me, she said "Thanks, Mom." "My pleasure, sweet thing," I replied. "I understand all too well. I think every other woman on the planet would feel the same way."

Kayti's text:

"Mom, you have to come get me. I have PE next and I haven't shaved my legs for 3 days."

Sweet 16

Back in 1993, on October 26 at 4:15 in the morning, Kathryn Anne Mears was born. Today she is sixteen years old.

It has been so much fun watching Kayti grow into the amazing young lady she is today ... a confident, genuine, intelligent girl who loves movies, music, and reading. As one of her birthday presents, I cleaned her room and in the process I found two of her cute little wallets in the back of a drawer. In them, I found almost $100 in cash, a couple of gift cards and her library card. When she got home today, I showed her all that I found and she said "My library card! You found it!" May her priorities never change!

To celebrate her 16th birthday, we took 4 of her closest friends to Disney on Ice on Friday night and then had a party on Saturday for all the kids. It rained all day Saturday, so instead of taking everyone to the Pumpkin Patch, we bought little pumpkins to carve and ate Tina Book's amazing Sweet 16 cake with Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream Ice Cream. It was so good! (Thanks, Tina!)

Happy Birthday, Kayti. I love you & I am so proud of you!

Front Row: Kayla, Kayti, Olivia

Back Row: Siria, Cinderella, Matthew

A Lesson on Sharing

It is hard to teach your children to share when you aren't willing to offer bites of your long-coveted, finally here and completely frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Halloween Pumpkins ... you know those don't you, the ones with LOTS of peanut butter in them? Oh. My. Goodness. There goes a day's worth of Weight Watchers points in 3 bites.

There are some things that are justifiably off limits when it comes to sharing, like germs for instance, or brand new tall sweat pants, or the last sip of the Chick-Fil-A Diet Dr. Pepper, or the new couch, or your new car.

Well, alas, Kayti wore my new sweats to school yesterday. The soda is long gone. And I have to keep tons of pillows all over the new denim couch to keep the dog off.

As for the new car, I taught my kids how to share, too. Andy's car, the one that he bought with his own money this past summer, is now in a heap up in a College Park salvage dump. Andy wasn't driving. He wasn't even in the car. He lent his little white Versa to his very good friend and well, accidents happen. To add cliché to cliché, we thank our lucky stars that no one was hurt. We will get Andy a new car as soon as possible (after we get through the GEICO nightmare that is now upon us). In the meantime, he will get rides from his girlfriend and life will go on. Frankly, despite what happened, I am very proud of my boy for being willing to share.

As for the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins, well I'll quote my father ... "Do as I say, not as I do!"

Goodbye, Versa.

Homecoming 2009

Kayti looked so beautiful, even as a banana! Here's Kayti and her friends from Homecoming 2009:

Kayti and her friend, Olivia, dressed up for Twin Day.

Kayti and Matthew have been friends for a long time!

The Young Life Small Group: Kate (leader), Siria, Kayla, Kayti, Paige and Rachel (leader).

The whole group. No, Scott, I won't name 'em all!

Out of the mouths of Mears Kids

Andy: I'm considering double-majoring in Accounting and Philosophy.

What an amazing brain that my boy has ... he loves the black and white, right and wrong, yes or no of accounting and the all gray, maybe, what-if world of philosophy. No wonder Andy can do anything he puts his mind to! It sure will be fun watching the world open up to him and traveling along beside him as he explores the many opportunities that will come his way.

Willie: I'm not coming home for Fall Break. Oh really, why not? There's a Young Life Mens' Retreat at Rockbridge this weekend. Cool. Are you going to help with the retreat? No, Mom. I'm a man!

Willie is 19. My goodness. He is a man now. Not only that, but this young man is now also a JV basketball coach at a high school in Newport News! Willie has always been drawn to younger kids and it warms my heart so much to see him follow his passions. He will be an amazing coach. (Can a mom show up at a game to cheer on the coach?)

With Andy only a little over a month away from turning 21, I guess I need to come to terms with the fact that both of my boys are now men. While I miss the little guys running around in cowboy/ninja/army/pirate outfits, I am so very proud of the adults they have become.

Kayti: How nice it would be to win that much money. Yes, but the government gets a big part of it you know. They have to pay taxes on Lottery winnings? How much? About 30%. You're kidding? That's three times as much as God needs!

Ahhh, out of the mouths of babes! I never get tired of seeing the world through Kayti's eyes. Her brain moves faster than I thought humanly possible and her connections and segues simply fascinate me. One blip in daily life to the rest of us can bring to Kayti's mind a stream of music, lyrics, scripts, pictures and new ideas that will flow for hours. She makes me smile every day!

Medicine Mom

Years ago there was this TV show about moms. I don't remember the title of the show and it certainly didn't last beyond the first season, but what I do remember about it was the how the actresses talked directly to the camera now and then. One of those scenes came to mind this past week. The moms came out and wondered aloud if it was bad parenting to withhold Tylenol from their sick kids "because it took away the fever and just perked them right up."

This week Kayti has been home with a terrible sinus headache ... one that wouldn't even go away with Tylenol AND Motrin. It is very hard to be a mom and not be able to make the pain go away. I couldn't kiss it and take away the pressure that made Kayti feel like her face was going to explode. For two days Kayti felt awful and for two days I got to hang out with her ... when she wasn't napping, we watched movies and giggled despite the throbbing in her head. It was both awful and wonderful at the same time.

The pain finally eased on the third day. The virus ran its course. Or the storm front passed. Or the white blood cells kicked in. Whatever it was, my sweet girl felt better and before I knew it, she was off and hanging out with her friends again, just as she should be. It was both awful and wonderful at the same time.

I'm Living in a Cartoon Today

Today I am getting a close-up view of those devil vs. angel shoulder conversations you see in cartoons. I ended up on the losing end of a business transaction in which I was Buyer B, patiently waiting to see if Buyer A, who had legitimate "first dibs" on a sale, was going to be able to complete the transaction. Out of the blue today, the Seller sold to Buyer C, despite our scheduled appointment to discuss the sale this weekend.

As if traveling through a Pixar short film, I have carried on conversations with both the little shoulder angel and his nemesis the devil concerning this event. The devil's options are so delicious ... they involve accusations, anger, well-made and deserved points, guilt, shame, remorse, separation ... all those things that should rightly be the result of such a deal as this. The angel's options are far less glamorous at this moment ... they involve humility, acceptance, understanding, a continuing relationship, and trust that God knows what He's doing.

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed the fantasized conversations encouraged by the cartoon devil, they will remain in my head and my prayers tonight will be two-fold ... that these conversations become less tantalizing quickly and that I find comfort in God's will for my life, whatever that may be.

Isabella and Black Thunder

Over the summer, we sold Isabella, Willie's beloved old Jeep Cherokee when Willie bought his new Honda. Andy also bought a new car and instead of selling Black Thunder, his old Ford F150 pickup truck, to Carmax, Gary & I decided to buy it from Andy so that we could use it and lend it to our friends.

Now, one of our buddies needs a truck for his construction business. What a perfect opportunity to help someone and to give Black Thunder a purpose beyond moving the occasional piece of furniture or carrying cases of soda from Costco. Selling him the truck is the right thing to do.

That does not mean it is the easy thing to do. The loss of Black Thunder also marks the end of an era for me ... one more step toward empty nesting and Part Two of parenthood. With the boys, I have now moved from being a full-time manager to a mere consultant rarely consulted. Just as it should be, I suppose.

Farewell, Black Thunder. It's been great!

Black Thunder

Isabella

Weight Watchers Online

Weight Watchers allows you to keep track of your food intake, or points, online. You simply enter the food name, or the calories, fat grams and fiber grams of what you're eating and the nifty Points Tracker determines the number of points you've just chewed up and subtracts that number from your total allotment for the day (a whoppin' 18 points ... for some perspective, a medium-sized apple is 2 points. So is a Rice Krispie Treat. Who in the world would choose the apple?!?).

One of the cool high-tech-y things the Points Tracker does is keep track of foods you eat often. These you can mark as your "Favorites" so that it is easier to include them on a regular basis. As I was inputting my morning Kashi Bar and small banana (3.5 points down the drain), I looked over my "Favorites" list and decided I am probably not doing this right. Here's what's on my list:

Freezer pops - 1 point each

Goldfish - 18 fish for 1 point

Hostess 100 calorie cupcakes - 2 points

Oreo Fun Stix (oh. my. gosh. de-lish & quite Fun indeed!) - 2 points

Oscar Mayer Bacon Slices - 4 slices for 2 points

Popcorn - A whole bag for 2 points

Baked Ruffles - 15 chips for 2 points

Kraft Single Cheese Slices - 1 point each

Tootsie Rolls - 2 for 1 point

Arnold Sandwich Thin Wheat Roll - 1 point

(that holds the cheese & bacon!)

If I eat all of that, I only have 3 points left for the day ... which is conveniently the number of points needed for a delicious WW Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sundae!

Simple Pleasures ...

For years now I have been impressed with my mother-in-law, Betty Mears, and her love of nature. One of the most amazing things that I appreciate and understand better as I get older is how the sight of a beautiful bird can make her entire day wonderful. When I was 25, I didn't get it. Today, I describe the birds at the bird feeder in my backyard to my friend Lori over the phone with great enthusiasm ... and I take pictures of flowers and birds and sunsets all the time. I have created a line of blank notecards that feature these photos called TLC ... The Lord's Creation. Here's some of my recent favorites:

Stone Harbor, NJ.

Jean's backyard.

These water lilies are at the National Arboretum. I was fortunate enough to be able to explore this paradise with my in-laws and Willie this summer.

Also at the Arboretum.

Take a look around. Appreciate the amazing beauty of nature that we all too often take for granted.

High School Volunteering Pays Off

A couple of years ago, for security reasons, our high school installed an actual door bell, complete with an intercom system and a video camera. Now, to enter the building during the day, everyone must ring the doorbell, show their ID to the camera, explain why entering the building is a matter or life or death and wait to be buzzed in by one of the all powerful, all mighty school secretaries.

My third child is now at this high school. I never show my ID or say a thing to the intercom, because when the secretaries look into the video camera to see who has pushed the doorbell, they see me and they push the buzzer right away.

Last week I happened to approach the door just behind another mom who had already pushed the doorbell. She got no response, so I pushed it shortly after she did. Off went the buzzer immediately and in we walked. As we entered the office, one of the secretaries not so nicely told the other mom how the system worked and told her she had to go out to her car to get her ID. Her response, as she pointed to me, was "why doesn't she have to do that?"

The secretary looked at me and said, "Because she's been here forever."

I just shrugged, looked smug and thought, "ahhh, one of the fine perks of volunteering!"

A new morning routine for Kilmer the OCD Dog

As part of my summer routine, I got up, threw on grubby clothes (as if that's anything out of the norm) and walked my sweet mutt Kilmer around the neighborhood. Sometimes we'd walk for 30 minutes, sometimes for an hour. It was good for both of us.

Now that school has started, I have other things to do first thing in the morning, like watch hilarious TiVO-ed Craig Ferguson shows with Kayti. This new morning routine does not mean I don't walk the dog, it just means he has to wait 90 minutes until Kayti hops on the bus before we head out on our daily jaunt.

And yet, every morning for the last two weeks he has bounded down the steps, tapped his nose on his leash and started the bizarre yet endearing circle-jumping at the front door. Denied, he does the same thing when we get to the back door. Denied again he then tethers himself to my legs, staying no more than one foot away from me for 90 minutes. If I sit, his face is in my lap. If I stand, his butt is in my way. If I walk, he nearly kills me with every move.

Then, when Kayti leaves, his enthusiasm rises with each telltale going-for-a-walk sign he sees: She's putting on socks! She's putting on shoes! She's getting her cell phone! She's going to the bathroom! She's getting a poop bag! She's grabbing the leash! And then, he circle-jumps at the door, out the door, down the steps, and down the sidewalk until I say "Sit!" and on goes the leash. Finally.

The Love of Little Things

For as long as I can remember, I have loved little things. Remember Little Kiddles? I had tons of them ... even the Little Kiddles Klub House! I had a huge collection of glass animals, the ones that you can still buy at Hallmark that are attached to little ivory cards. Those animals, along with many other small favorites are still proudly displayed in the type drawer my dad gave me that hangs in my home office:

Well, my love of little things has manifested itself into my latest YMLY product, the Itty Bitty Notepad! These cute notepads are only 3" x 5" and like the larger half-page notepads, they feature fun little pictures and can also be personalized with nicknames, business logos, school mascots, etc. Oh, what fun!

School Cafeteria Seating ... The Agony & the Ecstasy

Memories came flooding back yesterday as Kayti described her 45 minutes of sheer torture thinking she'd be stuck in "A" Lunch without any of her friends. In science class, she sent out text messages* to all of her buddies to see when they had lunch, but got no response.

What agony to stand all alone in a crowded room, searching person after person, table after table, hoping and praying for a familiar face. I still shudder at the thought. I think, if we somehow rated the most stressful social experiences in life, finding a place in the cafeteria on the first day of school certainly ranks right up there for all of us.

After the details of the panic and the texting and the awful science class were all spilt, the ecstasy came in the form of half a dozen of Kayti's good friends who slowly trickled in, all happier to see each other than they ever will be again.

*Just imagine the restraint it took to not interrupt and say "Texting in class? Honey, that's so rude. They're gonna take your phone away one of these days." Thank you Lord, for that restraint.

First Day of School Resolutions

The beginning of the school year is always bittersweet for me.

On one hand, I love having my kids home during the summer ... we play cards, watch movies, eat out (well, that's no different from the rest of the year), and just have a great time together. So when the school bell rings, I am always a bit sad.

Of course, you know the "other hand" side of the story ... it is quiet here today and I have a nice long list of things I hope to get done. Nothing dramatic, mind you, but crossing anything off the list is an accomplishment. (Yes, I admit used to write "take a shower" on my list when the kids were little ... sadly, that one didn't always get crossed off!)

But here's the biggest bonus for me ... the first day of school is way more effective than New Year's Day for successful resolution following-through-ness. This word may be new to your vocabulary, but I am ever so familiar with its antithesis. I have started many a successful diet on the first day of school, and I intend to do the same again this year. I have already walked the dog for half an hour (it was slug-dodge today ... why in heaven's name were there so many slugs on the path?) and I shall drink 6 glasses of water and eat my fruits and veggies before the day ends.

To all you moms out there, best of luck with your First-Day-of-School resolutions!

Here's my sweet Kayti

(and the mutt Kilmer)

on Kayti's first day of

her sophomore year

of high school.

Jean -- thanks for teaching me

how to post pictures.

Hi, Lexi!

Menopause & Teenagers ... Why would God do this?

"Menopausal women often complain of fuzzy thinking, forgetfulness, and difficulty concentrating; some even wonder if this is the beginning of dementia."

Hence, one of my first questions for the good Lord when I enter the pearly gates: Why in the world would you give us menopause at the same time you give us teenagers and college students?

My children, as sweet as they are, already think I'm an idiot. Now add the mood swings. The incontinence. The hot flashes. No wonder they think I'm nuts ... I am!

Kayti laughs at how often I have to use the bathroom ("Never waste an opportunity to go" is my motto). I wake up sweaty and stinky every morning. I can't remember what I ate for breakfast or what I was planning to do when I got to the top of the stairs. I have a Master's degree and I am a member of Phi Beta Kappa for heaven's sake. And yet, I can't recall the name of the song that Kayti played for me 5 minutes ago ... and, after she said "Okay Mom, now remember this, it's called "Northern Downpour." Got it?" Apparently not.

Way back when, I didn't want to hear about my mother's hot flashes or menopause. That was gross. And so, I have no viable explanation to offer except "You're right. Sorry. Tell me again please." She'll get it one day. I hope I'm still on the planet so I can say, "See? I wasn't that stupid after all."

Kayti

KAYTI

Kayti loves Stone Harbor, music, and movies, but not in that order. Movies come first, especially those featuring her favorite performer, Gene Kelly. She has studied all she can about him, as she does with anything she loves. She'd like to be involved in the movie industry someday ... as an actress, a producer or a critic. I don't doubt one second that she will be successful at whatever she decides to do. Such a proud momma I am!

Willie

WILLIE

Only Willie can pull off this "Jersey Tan." After collecting over a dozen basketball jerseys via Ebay last spring, Willie dedicated much of his sun time this summer to reaching his goal of obtaining a perfect Jersey Tan. I'm not sure Dr. Moreland the dermatologist would find it funny, but he will surely charm everyone else on the planet with his new look. Such a proud momma I am!

Andy

ANDY

This boy has wanted a kayak for several years now ... he got to paddle around the pond last month while we were in Williamsburg. He wants to take scuba diving lessons someday. His classes at Maryland started on Monday ... he's taking 5 classes in the business school ... that's tough but he'll do just fine. He called yesterday to ask if his new red shorts would be okay in the wash ... he's doing his own laundry. Such a proud momma I am!

But in reality ...

Sunday was Take Willie Back to College Day.

Here's how I planned the day:

10:00 Willie and I would leave for Christopher Newport University (CNU), unpack the car and inspect the house where Willie will live to determine what item(s) he needed to make it through the school year successfully.

10:45 Willie and I would shop for a couple of hours. Based on what Willie had originally guessed he might need, I expected to shop at Target, (school supplies and toiletries), Bed Bath & Beyond (kitchen items), and Costco (food and drinks for all).

12:00 The rest of the family, Gary, Andy & Kayti, would then join us for a tour of the house and a nice lunch out somewhere in Newport News.

1:30 We'd all hug (and cry a little) and wave good-bye. We'd hit the road and travel via I-64 and I-95 for the usual 3 hours.

4:30 We'd be home ... all of us except Willie.

Here's how the day went:

10:00 Willie and I drove in his car to CNU. After he alerted his housemates that a mom was about to enter the house, we unpacked his car by stacking all of his things in the living room of the house. No one knew who was gong in what room yet. We looked through the kitchen cabinets, but no one was sure what was needed ... except a french coffee press would be nice.

10:35 Willie and I went to Target and got coffee and a coffee press. He said he'd rather get everything on his own later. We stepped into Bed Bath & Beyond to see if they had any cheap coffee mugs (nope).

11:15 Willie suggested I call Gary to see when they'd arrive. Gary said they would meet us at the house in 10 minutes.

11:30 Willie showed the family the house. We hugged the boy and waved good-bye.

11:50 We hit the road. The traffic was awful on the interstate, so we ended up coming home via quaint little Route 17 ... at least we were moving.

4:30 We were home ... all of us except Willie.

Monday was Take Andy Back to College Day. It went exactly as planned.

Another day on the planet.

My favorite mornings are the ones where I wake up slowly and have the chance to talk to God before I have to talk to humans. On those precious mornings, the first thing I say to God is "Thank you for another day on this planet." What a blessing it is to have another day to spend with my family and friends. I suppose my gray hair perspective contributes to my appreciation of such a gift. Nonetheless, I've tried very hard to teach my kids to also value the opportunities that lie ahead of us at the start of each new day.

Although Kayti is capable of using an alarm clock, I have the privilege of serving that function most of the time. I love going into her room in the morning while she's sleeping ... she's so beautiful and sweet. Memories of my little girlie flood through me as I carefully sit on the edge of her bed and gently pat her arm. "Time to get up, sweet thing. It's Thursday, August 20 and 'This is the day that the Lord hath made!'" My dear daughter reaches her long, feminine arm up, pulls the covers over her head, and lets out this awful, guttural "my-mom's-pathetic" growl and rolls over. Much to her dismay, I love a challenge.

A life in the day

When exhausted mothers of toddlers look to me and my gray hair for advice, I have consistently said, "parenting becomes more mental than physical as kids age, so hang in there." Well, friends, I lied. Here I am at age 49, with kids who are almost 21, 19 and 15, and in the last few days I have jumped-started the old Jeep Cherokee affectionately known as Izabella, packed up the 1999 Ford F150 with furniture and unloaded it at the off-campus house in College Park, ridden countless miles in the front seat as the girlie with the Learner's Permit practiced driving the Nissan Armada (roughly the size of Noah's Ark), instructed and aided in the painting of the upstairs bathroom, put together one of those huge out-of-the-box bookshelves, got the stripped bolt off the bike and sent more text messages than a ninth grader. Good thing I don't have to play Candyland on the floor or "pirates on the high seas" on the swing set out back ... not sure my old arthritic knees could stand that!

Throw in the "mental" part, with the first-born anxious to get back to college, the second-born suddenly deciding he'll get that bike that's for sale up in Pennsylvania so off he drives to Lancaster (3 hours each way mind you), and the youngest who treasures her quiet time so she roams the neighborhood alone looking for a great spot to sit and read. Now understand this: I am thrilled my boy loves college so much that he is anxious to get back there, and I'm proud of my son for researching bikes and being willing to go get exactly what he wants and what he can afford, and as for that sweet girl, who doesn't want some alone time? BUT, the emotional toll of letting go again, the irrational fear of car accidents and the ridiculous panic of a random kidnapping still filter through my mind despite the faith I have that everything will be just fine.

This day, and its physical and mental challenges, is almost over now and it seems as if it has lasted a lifetime. Andy is packed. Willie's new bike is awesome. Kayti is up in her room watching Gene Kelly dance across the television screen. All are safe and sound. This time next week, both boys will be back at college and Kayti will be preparing to start her second year in high school. Where did the time go?