Ask Me Wednesday!!

Well, Happy Wednesday, my Peeps.

What a difference a Circle makes.

I haven't seen these women in weeks .... and I cannot believe how much I missed being with them and how much I needed to see them.

We met tonight and I really needed it.  Very much.

It just amazes me how we all "get" each other and don't even have to finish a sentence. Everything is understood ... even without words.  Unfortunately.  But also, fortunately.

I laughed a lot tonight.  I cried a little.

And then I laughed some more.

This was a much-needed medicine for me .... especially this week.

And, before I begin answering the Wednesday questions .... I want to give a huge shout-out to Teresa in Las Vegas!!!  HI TERESA!!!  Roberta told me that you two had "met" and that you'll be at the conference.  I look forward to meeting you!  :)

OK .... on with the questions:

Nat asks:

My question this Wednesday is:
Did Jim ever ride in the MS 150 to Austin?

Hi Nat ....

Yes he did.  He had ridden in it twice and was training to do it the third time when he died.  He loved it.  He got into biking in a huge way a few years before he died.  HUGE.

He loved the MS 150.  And to everyone who doesn't know what that is, it's an annual bike ride from Houston to Austin (over 150 miles and two days) that supports Multiple Sclerosis.  It's a very big ride here and thousands enter it .... even more are turned away.

He loved it.

Tamara asks:
I'm so sorry that you are in so much pain...physically and emotionally. My question is, "What, if anything, makes you smile lately?"

Tamara .... ahhhhhh, good question.

Well, one thing that made me smile today was watching Son #2 play in the band at VBS today.  He loves doing it and the kids love him.  

THAT made me smile.

And ... time with my friends make me smile.

(You make me smile, my friend.)

I had an e-mail from someone who asked what medication I was using as an anti-depressant.

Since I have not hidden this fact from all of you, I decided to answer it here, as well as in the e-mail.

My doctor put me on Lexapro the very first time she put me on meds.  I'm still on it.

She upped the dose after about 6 months, when I noticed I was not doing as well.

I'm still on that dose.  

Some days (like this week) I wonder if it's time to look into something else, but I'm waiting on that to see if this wave will pass on its own.

So far, thankfully, the Lexapro has worked very well.

Ann asked what my favorite Saturday morning cartoon was, and how I made it for over a week with no power in Hurricane Ike (they lost power this week from a twister):

First of all .... it was TWO LONG WEEKS!!!  And I'm not sure how we did it.  It wasn't much fun, after the first couple of days.  But ... we did it.  You do what you have to do.

     As for the cartoon ...... well, I liked "H.R. PuffnStuff", "Land of the Lost" (cuz it was hilarious), ........ can't think of any others at the moment.  Saturday mornings are not what they once were, that's for sure.  There are so many cartoons on 24/7 and children's channels that Saturday morning isn't the special day that it was to us.  sigh .....

Shorty Mom asks:
My question is how did you handle "But it's not fair!" like when one gets to go somewhere and the others don't?

Shorty Mom --- great question!!

And I'd love to say, "I'm sorry .... what?  My darling children never presented this predicament to me." ..... but I'm laughing so hard at the thought of that that it's difficult to type.  Give me a moment .......

     OK ..... I'm composed now.  Here's how I handled that irritating statement:

"You're right.  It's not fair. But that's the way it is.  Sorry."

The motto in our house was always this (and you could still ask my children this to this day and they'd say it): ........ "You get what you get."

I never went along with the "I want the red cup!",  "I want the blue plate!", "He got a bigger piece than I did!" ....... if I heard that my response was always, "What's our motto?" and all 6 would chime in together ..... "You get what you get."

When you have a lot of children you don't have time to make sure everyone gets exactly what they want.  Nor do you have time to make sure that everything is exactly fair.  It's not and that's life.  So the sooner they know that and learn how to deal with it, the better.

The older children get to do things because they're older ... and for no other reason than that. 

Another child gets to go somewhere because she/he was invited ... the others were not.  It's as simple as that.  Fair?  Maybe not .... but that's the way it is.  The earlier they learn to deal with that, the easier it will be for them. 

     And now, of course, my children know better than most ..... that life is certainly .... not fair.

W asks:

Is it too late in the day for a question? Did you ever have a day where you fantasized about crating up all your children and putting them on any international cargo barge that would accept them?

W --- nope, not too late.

Did I ever fantasize about packing my children off to some far-off land??????  No way!!!!

Ummmmmm .... I probably fantasized more about packing MYSELF off to some far-off land!

     Of course I thought about it!!!  We ALL think about it .... we just don't ALL admit to thinking about it!  Don't get me going on that ........

There have been many times over the years when I had to send the children away from me, rapidly, because Mommy needed a time-out, before somebody met with a very unfortunate accident.  I would either lock myself in my room, in time-out, or tell them to leave the room very quickly, before I lost all control.  It didn't take long for all of them to understand that I was not kidding.  At all.

So yes ...... we all dream of being alone in our home ..... or alone on a deserted island ..... childless for a day .... or a month.

Too bad that when we do get those breaks ..... we start missing them after about an hour or so.

Sigh ..... what a waste.

:)

OK, Peeps ... that's all of the questions for this week.  I'm glad you're still asking them .... I wondered if it was time to give up "Ask Me Wednesday".  I think I'll keep it .... I enjoy reading your questions ..... and besides ..... it's a very easy day for me to post!

Have a good evening ..... and hopefully we'll all keep swimming!

:)