Every year, since we’ve lived in Arkansas, my children have had the opportunity to spend a few days alone with my mom. This year, they are each getting an entire week with her! My little girls went to her house together last week, and now, my oldest daughter is there for her week. My son will go when Lauren returns. They look forward to this time alone with her all year long. And is it any wonder? She makes them huge breakfasts, complete with Toaster Strudels (a luxury for us), takes them shopping and to the massive Saline County Library, and basically anwhere else they want to go. 🙂 They make lists of what they will do, “Go to library” and “play in sprinkler” are the most popular items on their lists. They all insist that they be there with her for a Sunday, because they love going to her Sunday School class (even if their a bit too young or too old) and her Children’s Church. It warms my heart to think of my six year old sitting in the same children’s church that I did when I was six! I’m so thankful my parent’s were never “church hoppers”, they stayed put, even when the church faced hard times, and they stayed faithful.

When the kids are away, no matter which one is gone, it changes the entire dynamic of how things are run here. I felt like a lady of leisure while the little girls were away! I had less laundry, two fewer baths to assist with (only had to bathe Matt!), and I could work with fewer interruptions. I took the opportunity while they were away to thoroughly clean out their room and closet and I moved a small bookshelf out of their room and into our school room so I could better keep up with our many books! I got a lot accomplished, but I was missing them! I was so happy to see them come through the door yesterday! Now, I’m missing my girl, Lauren. She’s my big helper, my left arm (I’m left handed).

While they were gone, I managed to go through the piles and piles of stuff that had collected here, there and yonder. Yesterday, I cleaned out my file cabinet, throwing away user’s manuals to items we no longer have, old papers, and so forth. In so doing, I came across a file of some of my writing from years gone by. I didn’t realize how much I’d written “pre-blog”. I have about 550 posts on this blog, 130-something on another  blog and many notebooks and file folders, or so I recently discovered! Some of the stories cracked me up! I don’t know what I was thinking! I thought I’d share a poem I found that I wrote on Oct. 7, 2002. (yes, Mom taught me to date everything!) I thought it was so funny! Reading over my old material, I discovered that my writing has improved with practice! I still have a long way to go, but I was pleased with my progress, considering I haven’t  had a creative writing class since high school. 🙂 So, here you go.

Thanks for indulging me as I fill my “deep, dark void”! Haha! I was so silly. Have a great day!