All’s Well

My husband is a tech geek.  Have I mentioned that before?  He does things like mess with the computers in the house fairly frequently.  And I’m ever so glad, because all I really know about them is online.  He makes it all possible for me to be here.  Like last spring he cancelled our phone service and went out and bought an Ooma – voice over I P.  I was skeptical.  But smiled and waited for the awesomeness, because by now I know, when he has a great idea – it usually is.  The Ooma has now provided us with uninterrupted phone service, just like we had, but with no monthly bills.  I’m not kidding.  The man is a genius. 

So, when he got mad at our television provider last week for the umpteenth time and told them he was through (as in, send the box – we’re packin’ this thing up – through) I just waited patiently for whatever would come next.  And, of course, awesomeness is in the making.  He’s using open source blah blah blah to get tv through the internet and blah blah computer talk blah we need an antenna and something about video cards and cables.  I don’t know.  I just know that for right now my living area is littered with cables and computers and my husband goes between the computer, the tv, and the antenna outside mumbling cuss words and occasional “hey, look at this, little woman, we’re gettin’ there!”s.  But what it also means is that he spends a lot of time in what I consider MY seat.  Looking at MY computer.  And when he does all that switching between computers I can’t find my pictures that are uploaded somewhere in all these little black boxes that have blinking lights.  I don’t know.  I just know that I need pictures to write.  I’m visual.  I also have to have time in front of the computer. 

 And my homeschooling has picked back up with a firestorm.  And I’ve been skipping my naps lately to clean out rooms and closets (again).  Which makes for a very sleepy me at this hour.  Then there’s my homeschool group I’ve been going to again (I’ve been a little cooped up with the new-baby-in-the-midst-of-swine-flu-insanity), shopping trips I’ve felt up to with everyone, ice storms, I pulled my back like an old person, found out the wall in my bathroom is mildewing (so THAT’S what that smell is), the dryer has gone out 2 times in the last 2 weeks, and learning how to juggle this many kids without constant guilt of not being enough.  Plus, sweet (almost 4 month old) babyhead is all about face time now – so much cuddle time with him now that he’s less sluggish.

Then there’s the dog drama – I regretted my decision, deeply.  Like, cry myself to sleep too many nights to mention to you.  I had reached out to the owner just to check on him and ask her if she would email some pics to my kids (they were begging for “just a picture, Mama”).  She promised she would.  She never did.  I was just beginning to feel a little less constant pain over him when I found out that she had taken Chikezie back to the groomer and he had been placed with another family.  Had I only known I would have taken him back.  We’d have made room in the budget.  Had I only known.  Much more regret and pain.  I called the new owner to check on him and to let her know if he didn’t work out with her that we would be here, just a phone call away.  She was diagnosed with cancer a few months back and suddenly became a widow just after.  She was loving Chikezie’s companionship, taking him on short trips around town and allowing him to sleep in the bed with her.  They were fully bonded.  After the initial sadness (I had secretly hoped for a different answer), I prayed and prayed.  I have so much more peace now.  I’m able to answer the kids’ continuing questions without tears.  It’s okay.  But those cats.  We still have them.  They still need a home.  I have no guilt about them whatsoever.  And no home for them.  I’ve called shelter after shelter, “foster” homes, pet stores.  Nobody. 

Add all of that to a husband that fell off the roof tonight.  He’s okay.  Well, okay, as in we don’t know if anything’s broken, but he survived a fall from the roof.  I was bathing the 2 older babies (TheFinalist in the swing in the bathroom with me) and the 2 older boys were in the bed.  He went out to install the new antenna (unbeknownst to me) and the next thing I know is that the boys ran in yelling, “Daddy fell, he’s okay, but come quick.”  I blacked out.  Really.  No idea what I said to my children.  I remember pulling the plug on the bath and running (TheOldest said I moved quicker than a cartoon character) to him.  He was leaning on the deck railing (he said he HAD to get up, because he knew if I saw him on the ground I would freak out).  Y’all, I know I love that man, but when you come that close to disaster you realize just how much you’re in love.  And in true Matt style he asked the boys if when they came to check on him they had seen a mist over his head.  They looked at him like he was crazy.  “You didn’t see one?  Because I just know there was a cloud of obscenities hanging over my head.”  So many reasons to love that man.

So, all that said, I’m still here.  I’m crazy busy.  I have lots of posts rolling around in my head that I’ll get out to you soon.  When I’m not grocery shopping, teaching, cuddling, chatting, church-going, Valentine’s partying, Wii playing, tooth fairy cussing, cooking, nursing, or sleeping.  And when I can find where the folder is that holds my pictures.  I know there’s a file here somewhere…