Life and Other Stuff

Sobriety, parenting, life….and other stuff

Category: Family

  • Tapping this out on my phone, from a bathtub in a house we are renting, I’m kind of excited. We’ve owned and rented various homes over the years, as well as lived in base housing during Eric’s career in the Navy. We’ve been house hunting for about 6 months for a long term place of…

  • 14 years ago today we welcomed our first child and it feels like 1000 years ago and yesterday all at once. Time is elusive and crafty, bending and warping depending on perspective and hindsight. In just 4 years, my tiny chubby-cheeked baby will be a legal adult. (Seriously?!) My brain sees the little baby, the…

  • Settling into our new home, we’ve been taking the dogs on early morning and later evening walks. The sun of course bakes the asphalt during the heat of the day, so walking at cooler times works best. (I love that yellow orb in the sky! So delightfully warm compared to the PNW, and not the…

  • After writing up yesterday’s adventures, I was in the hotel doing laundry. Going into to switch the load to the dryer, I discovered that someone had graciously moved my wet things to the top of the dryer and put their clothes in. (There was only one dryer.) 11pm is not when I want to be…

  • There were some specific things I wanted to do this trip. Getting to see the beautiful trees of the Redwood forest has been a bucket list item for me for as long as I can remember. The forest and evergreen trees in particular draw me in like a magnet. Much the like ocean, being in…

  • When the rep walked up to the house we were about to turn back over to the military housing company, I bristled at her container of Lysol wipes. The wipes wouldn’t have been a big deal, but paired with her attitude, I got a little defensive. I get that they have to make sure the…

  • The kids have the same English teacher at our school. All year long they have a weekly contest called “Giggles”. This contest involves writing a sentence and correctly placing all commas. First one done wins for that week. At the end of the year, the student with the most wins becomes a “Comma Master” and…

  • From Fall 2021: “Just do the next right thing, just the things that need to get done today,” I often tell myself as we are muddling through the first back to school weeks. Getting back to our routines and schedules of the fall and adjusting to the ever-decreasing daylight in the Pacific Northwest propel me…

  • “Well, at least the washer is new so there won’t be that deployment gremlin,” I chuckled two days ago as we folded clothes together, getting him all packed up for what will be our LAST separation. Letting the kids finish up the school year, we are staying behind for a few months while he goes…

  • “Can I go with you to the grocery store? I have a list.” “Uhhh, okay,” I responded from the shower. “What did you need to buy?” I asked. “Lemons, sugar, a pitcher, cups, and straws. PLEASE Mom! Please! I have always wanted to do this. It’s summer….” She’d been asking to do a lemonade stand…