this morning when i woke up it was still dark out. really dark. i took our senile old dog outside and while i waited for him to remember why were out there (that's been happening a lot lately) i looked up and noticed the stars. the sky was a moody blue-black and there were so many stars up there. it really was beautiful. i've really been noticing things like that lately. i'm sure it was always there, but i'm just really seeing it now. and that's the nice part of my story.
next i headed to the kitchen to brew up some coffee. it's Starbucks Italian roast this week. in case you were wondering. as i shuffled to the coffee maker, my feet got stuck to the floor. at first i thought i might be dreaming, but as i continued on my way, i realized that i really was fully awake and i really was sticking to the floor. my teens are home from school this week on some kind of fall break and let me just say that it's been a new and interesting experience. just about the time i'm heading off to bed at night, they are coming into their "fully wide awake" time. this involves clanging pans and cupboards and smells coming from the kitchen. then some laughter, tv noises and maybe some music. and sometimes, random noises that jolt me out of my sleep and make me listen for robbers. and then, sometime around 2 or 3 am, some door slamming (can't they ever just close it lightly) and probably some water running. then usually it is blessedly quiet until 11am or later. so when they finally got out of bed close to lunchtime (well...my lunchtime), i went about investigating the sticky floor. i knew some kool-aid had made it's way into the house at some point this week, so that was my first thought. "ok guys", i asked them, "who spilled the kool-aid?" they all gave me blank stares and then denied it. "i'm not mad", i said, "i just want whoever did it to clean it up." "nope, not us", they all said. "ok, well, who's going to clean it up?", i asked them. my younger son grabbed the mop and got to work. how nice, i thought to myself, he's so responsible. then he said, "boy, that jar of jelly i dropped last night sure did make the floor sticky." um...hello!?!?!?..
i think i am going to miss this someday. at least that's what i've been told. while trying to unstick myself from the floor this morning, i was feeling kind of skeptical, but now, reading this over, i know that i will. i know for sure i will miss the music. always music at our house. good background music, just like in a movie. and the laughter...for sure i'll miss that. even now, the house creaks with sadness when they are all out doing their thing. and the sticky floors? yeah, i'll probably think fondly back on that someday too.
it's a big year. my oldest will graduate from college. the twins are graduating from high school. and my little baby, who is now taller than me and can sing Johnny Cash tunes with ease, well, he's busy with all of his high school activities. weeks like this make me contemplate all of the upcoming changes. and i guess it's natural to look forward some and wonder how it's all going to turn out. i just thought i would put it out there into the wide world. maybe you can relate? and for now, i'm just going to take those starry sky mornings and those sticky floor days and try to enjoy them to the fullest...
