The J6 Journey: Year 5, September 4th-6th, 2020: Labor Day Weekend, 2020

Last year, for Labor Day weekend we were at Ron and Nina's cottage and I was in major pain from my skin cancer surgery. I still need to go find a picture of then and now....but what a weird weekend that was. I learned that I couldn't take Tramadol anymore with Cymbalta, which is ok because Tramadol is a controlled substance/pain killer. But I had nothing else I could take that would keep the pain at bay for long. And I didn't have the right bandages. I was a mess and slept a lot. At least I didn't have to take care of kids and cook. But this Labor Day weekend, I'm looking forward to seeing my dermatologist this week and ask her what we can do with this scar. I'm sure there's not much we can do, but I'm going to ask. It itches at times, it's ugly, and yeah, I'm over it, bring on the long sleeves so I don't have to look at it, please.

But, also this weekend, we have nothing planned. Jared's having pain in his thigh from a knot or something, so he can't even begin to think about building bunk beds or painting a bathroom. I'm not happy about it. This is why I keep telling him we just need to hire someone or these things will never get done. Surely we know some friends that need some cash on the side. And it would be way easier to buy the bunk beds and just screw them together instead of figuring out measurements, buying the right materials, cutting the wood, staining it, etc. He's got to come to the conclusion that we need help. He can use his brains to earn money to pay someone. It's just like how I've always gone to hair stylists that are my friends and paid whatever price they asked me to pay in order to support them. I know we can't cut hair. Gary can't cut hair. So, I'm more than happy to pay someone else. But it's pride. And worry about not having enough money later. And it's something we need to sit down and figure out.

But first, I need to catch up with the blog. I need to catch up on Keturah and Justin's homework from today. I need to focus on these book piles before I get to anything else. The boys and I went to park day today, about 30 minutes away, and had a lovely time. I try not to think about my to do list I left at home, but there's always that feeling when I do come home that it's so overwhelming. I could have tried harder between 2-4pm to be productive perhaps, but I am tired from some late nights and early mornings and social interactions. I couldn't organize my thoughts enough. I was going to try to take a nap but played on social media instead. Then Jared came home, we started supper, Justin and I grocery shopped and the day is spent.

Keturah spent the morning and early afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa helping out with their little garage sale. Other families are doing it as well. She had an awesome time! She told us all about the people that came, who bought what, how she helped wrap things up, and rearrange things on the tables. She's going to go back and help out tomorrow, too. She didn't set an alarm but claims she can tell her body to wake up early. Grandpa wants her there at 7:30am sharp. We'll see. I'm not setting my alarm. Abishai was in my face at 7am this morning because Keturah woke up so early. But, what a neat experience to encounter Indian, African American, and Spanish speaking people all in one day! You can count that all as cultural studies, right? She worked on the rest of her homework here and there and will finish it by Monday, no worries. I'm just glad she enjoyed herself and was outside in this gorgeous weather all day!

It was PERFECT weather! 72 degrees and a nice breeze! I wore long sleeves and long pants to keep bugs at bay and in the shade I was at the perfect temperature. But soon after we got there, Justin was coming over on the cement bridge with his penny board, hit a "rock that came out of nowhere" fell, and tried to catch the penny board, but it ended up in the water. He took off his socks and shoes and got his penny board. Then I think he went to the car to put the penny board up and look for something to stop the bleeding on his knee. By the time he had worked himself over to me, he had a piece of newspaper in his hand soaking up the blood. I had some newspaper in the back ready to go to recycling. He couldn't find the first aid kit, so we walked back there and I found it. Eventually we got the right bandage on that stayed on the rest of the 3 hrs we were there. He's just a surface wound, but it is the size of a quarter. He was still able to play a lot of gaga ball and climb a tree. There was an awesome mixture of ages and an equal amount of boys and girls. I think Justin was the oldest, but our friend brought her 2 week old as well. The majority of kids were 5-13. 9 families were represented there. Several came from last week, including the new military family. We were 30 minutes northeast of where we live, so I'm guessing it took them a good 45 minutes if not longer. The mom with the new baby came at noon when it was supposed to be time to leave. But we all congratulated her for getting out of the house. We stayed until about 1:30. It was awesome though. Lots of great talking and the kids had a blast. Abishai was a bit clingy here and there, but eventually found the 5 yr old friend "little" Caiden of the military family to hang out with. So now we have "big Caiden," Brenda's son that play video games with Eli and Justin, and "little Caiden" the youngest of four and the newcomers. Little Caiden is outgoing enough that it seemed like he and Abishai got along just fine. Perhaps we can invite them up to our house soon.

And of course, the best part was being outside and not wearing masks. This is the "I only wear masks if a really have to and let's find a church that doesn't require them" crew. It's a place I can feel like life is still normal. I don't know if gym days will happen and what they will look like. But for now, this works. We are back at a park near our house next week and it will happen in the afternoons again, which is so much easier for us. We were a bit late today, plus I had to pick up a book on artists that also has some actual art lessons on projects to do on the different techniques. I'm going to try to do a few of those with the kids this year with all the nice supplies I've bought over the years. I'm excited. I just want to introduce them to some of the techniques like shading, pointillism, realism, using those waxier crayons, different lead pencils, cubism, modern, abstract, etc. We'll see. Anyway, I picked up the book before the park, which was very smart because Justin was anxious to get home. He was livid. Usually if I try to lighten up the mood by laughing at the situation, he will ease up on the tension. Not today. He was extremely mad. But he's pretty good at keeping it under wraps, so I tried to give him some space to process through those feelings. He doesn't shout like Keturah and Benaiah do. He's reserved in nature. But nature got him good today. And he was embarrassed. No one from our group saw him, but still, to trip, and bust up your knee and have to wade in a creek to get your skateboard, as a 15 yr old boy? Yeah, that was super embarrassing. He didn't take his ADD medication today and it showed. Oh well, live and learn. Esther's sister Lilly also got hurt again this week because she stepped on a stinging insect and she thought she was dying. Poor Molly can't catch a break!

Oh my, I just want to escape into a movie, so that's what I'm going to do. And try to get to bed on time. I was on time last night, but Jared wanted some time with me, so yeah, it was really really late. But I can't be lazy this weekend. I need to hit the ground running tomorrow. No excuses. I've got to tackle these books, prep my paper calendars, catch up on videos for the blog, etc. Sigh. Moving on.

Justin's injury from falling off his skateboard on a concrete bridge. And I had no lavender essential oil on me! Bad mom! He was resourceful and used some newspaper that was ready for recycling to help stop the bleeding. There was a bathroom but neither one of us thought to check for paper towels. We found some bandages in the first aid kit in the car though.

Abishai was a little clingy at first, but then he managed on his own just fine. I did go down this slide after him like he wanted me to.

At first I thought, wow, is he growing out of 5T pants already? Nope. These are size 3T. Little guy!

Gaga ball! Abishai loved being in it with the big kids!

It's been awhile since Justin's been able to play gaga ball. Yeah, we all know they aren't properly social distancing. But we are outside!

King of the Mountain!

Nothing too exciting but he is getting bigger! That shirt looks small and was originally Justin's. Those shoes were Benaiah's Sunday shoes, but he prefers them because they are velcro and don't have laces. Those pants are size 3T. Whoops!

Can you spot Justin with his injured knee and bandages that are about to come off?! Boys!

Big 5 1/2 yr old here. Huge steps!

Ooo, I took picture for Benaiah since he and Ava like Cheesecake Factory. We like it too but can't have it because dairy, gluten and price. I think these were $3? We were at Aldi's.

Interesting clouds.

Uh oh, either Keturah is instictively more like me than previously thought or she's gleaned some organizational skills from me. She was at first frustrated trying to stick all the veggies into one drawer until I told her to just put them on the shelf (this is our 2nd fridge in the garage that we bought just for this purpose to handle the overflow on grocery day). But look at hos she put the like things together and neatly arranged them! I'm so impressed! And I told her so! Sweet!

Not sure if Jared will actually find a quiet place to do this or maybe he brought it home for Gary to use at his house this weekend. But, it does give the phrase "bring work home with you" a new meaning. That's one expensive microphone sitting on my bed! Yikes!

Saturday was a work day! Jared managed to switch out the light bulbs in the back of the van, but it took several trips to Autozone (thank goodness it's 5 minutes away) and several hours of frustration. It just proves my point. Sometimes it's a waste of your resources, in this case time, to try to do it yourself, especially when you're hurting. So how does he think he can do the bathroom the way I want it done? Today he suggested putting new baseboards. Um, the only baseboards you've done were plain and ugly. And I want to keep the red color. Don't touch my baseboards. I just want I professional to do it. I don't want to hear Jared yelling at the project and frustrated and spending too much time or money. He also took a nap. Justin mowed both our yard and Grandpa's yard and finished his homework. Keturah was at Grandpa's house from 7:30 to 2:30 helping out with the garage sale. Overall, they brought in $110 and they let Keturah have half of it. The sold about half of their things. The rest they took to Goodwill I think except maybe some plates they were going to try to sell online or something. Abishai wandered and got underfoot most of the day. I made my monthly calendars, consolidated my notes, marked readings for Justin, organized American Revolution and Constitution books, decided on which curriculum to use for what, put out the fall decor, washed the front glass door, made Abishai and I lunch, put away a load of laundry, read a tiny bit, switched out the table cloth, put some books on a shelf, put old school work in a plastic bin for the shed, prepared art lessons, took down a curtain rod so I could put up a different decoration. and laid down for about 20 minutes while Justin made tuna for dinner and did NOT take a nap. Oh, and Keturah wanted to test me today, so I had to push back. Yup, I'm exhausted. And I get mad when Jared thinks he needs to sleep off whatever medication he took to help his pain. He also needs to dump the pool. The van lights weren't on my list. So I put them on and checked them off. So much more little things that need to get done, but I have to light a fire under everyone's rears. So, for me it was very productive. For Jared, not so much.

Tomorrow I'll check homework, but first, we have Justin's birthday dinner after church with Grandparents. I even organized my "watchlist" for a certain actor. Sigh. Tomorrow I will try to rest and read outside in this gorgeous weather.

These photos belong to that JC Arial guy, but here's the bridge near us! We can't wait!

Yeah!!!!

39 years! Dated and got married within a few months. Crazy, crazy!

Does anyone have many calendars but for different purposes? I like to see the week/month in advance like this so I can plug in different trips depending on how busy each day already is. Then I have this other weekly calendar book with the week on one side and a spot for goals and to dos on the left. I'm trying to use that instead of setting up little scrap of paper with basically the same info. I do have most things in my phone as well, and some items like "call this person" with the reminders on. We have the kids' assignment books, too, and wall calendars. I also have a gazillion to do lists, all with different purposes. Some have long term projects or "if I'm bored, I could do this" on it. Some are more important and immediate. And some are in between. So today I consolidated what I had and set up September through December. When I looked at September when I was done, I was like, "Woah, that's a lot of appointments and events. I'm going to have to double up to find a time to do apple picking. And school might take a hit for a bit. But, the weather is incredible so I'm fine with that.

My sister was asking about what book I'm using with Justin so I sent her this pic. It's working out pretty well.

Very short concepts and stories showing a principle.

Then questions to make us think or what to do next, which is what a counselor would do.

So we are calling this Justin's high school health class. And saving a ton of money on seeing a counselor at this point. I'm glad I found this workbook. I have another one that is similar if we need it. It's a process to learn about a new diagnosis and how best to handle it, but we are trying.

I told myself that Labor Day weekend was when I was cleaning the glass door from our stained window project back in April. So, 4 1/2 months later, and guess what? It only needed water and maybe a bit of soap! It was THAT easy. I just let the sponge sit on the paint for a couple of seconds and then I could easily wipe it off. No hard scrubbing at all. I was impressed!

Abishai encouraged me to leave the cross, so I did. If we decide we don't like, it's easy enough to wash off. I did go over the rest of the glass inside and out with glass cleaner as well so I could get rid of the residue from using now dirty water. Super easy, and looks great!

Abishai helped me get out the fall decor which was also on my list. We put the pumpkins on the dinning room table and I used what I felt was more like a fall tablecloth, but everything seems to clash. I might just use the red tablecloth after September and after I wash it. We put out placements again, too, so it's extra clashy. Whoops.

I'm sure he would really enjoy Grandma Howell's (and Grandma Koski's) rocking chair if it wasn't blocked by his drum set.

It's a good reminder for when you are cleaning out, and to make sure I put the bins in the shed where they belong.

Keturah was looking at the placemat of PEI, so at the same time, Jared and I were looking up the stats. 40 miles wide and 139 miles long is not very big. 154,000 is just about 1.5 x the population of our township. Crazy!

I first looked up Connecticut and it's still smaller but way more dense with people. $75K is the median salary. $55 is the median salary in Indiana, which is pretty much where we fall. Except, we are a one parent household and most of our friends are two parent households. That means they bring in $110,000 at year, leaving us very far back in the dust and in line to receive help from Medicaid.

Then New Hampshire of course.

Then Indiana. PEI is as wide as Indiana is.

See that drop in income? But we also have cheaper housing out here.

So, if I super imposed PEI over a map of Indiana, PEI would go all the way from the west state line to the east line, and then it would be as wide (tall) from that blue dot to that red dot. I loved that I could be on the north shore and then on the south shore in under an hour. You're never very far from water on PEI, that's for sure.

Not much laboring went on on Sunday. We had our last house church service with the Smiths and Mahurins. I was majorly distracted during the sermon (sorry Emerson) but the weather was gorgeous (besides the hornets wanting the apple juice that was out for communion). Jared made his last communion bread. Abishai came out of the house asking for the communion bread because he was hungry. Even Lucky the dog had a piece right out of Adrienne's hand! Whoops! Then the men went to get something from somewhere and the kids and I went to Gary and Leah's for lunch. We had to wait for Jared and Gary to get back, who was preaching about 45 minutes south of us today. We had a great lunch outside, despite the wasps coming out from under eaves! Yikes! And it started to spit rain so we finished our meal and dessert inside. Justin asked of BBQ pork, regular salad, fruit salad, and cheesy potatoes for lunch. And then key lime pie and lemon meringue. Fancy! Leah "burnt" the meringue and was not happy about it but the kids didn't care. Then Justin opened his gift, which was taped up really well and took forever to open. I had to start and stop many video clips. But, he finally opened it and got his longboard skate board! Yeah! It's an off brand, but I'm sure if he really gets into it, he will know what to purchase next. Abishai immediately asked if he could own the penny board now. Uh, no. Nice try. I didn't get a picture, but Grandpa even tried to ride the new long board down the driveway and didn't do too bad! Although he knows nothing about skateboards like grip tape and "trucks" and the different kind of wheels, Grandpa was trying to be enthusiastic. I was surprised when I heard Jared talk about the different parts and told Justin he could loosen up the wheels on the "trucks" and such. My youth group LOVED X-games, so I watched a lot of skateboarders, in line skaters, and BMX bikers doing tricks on ramps and half pipes. I learned some the lingo back then. Some of the guys even had a half pipe in their backyard. Grandpa Johnson doesn't remember the X-Games that well. But Jared seems to.

Then it was screen time and nap time, typical Sunday. Before we napped, and even after, Jared and I discussed more about the details of the bathroom project. I told him that I WANT to do this with him. I know it's our first real DIY project where I really care about colors and he has some opinions, too. I expect to not agree at first, but I told him, this is a chance to learn how to communicate better and compromise better and work on our personal need "to be right" all the time. I'll be patient with how long it will take and he'll try to accommodate some of my wants. We do have some supplies on hand he can get started with. Because paycheck deposits changed, our bank account cash flow got messed up, so I don't feel comfortable buying much right now. I don't know if he will start tomorrow or not. But he has to dump and clean up the pool if it doesn't rain. It's full of gunk and bugs and is a breeding ground for all sorts of things. Dump, clean, dry, and put away. And then maybe Abishai can play in the sand? I don't know. Justin might mow again, too, and lower the decking on the mower. And trim around some things better. But ONLY after school hours. With the little bit cooler weather, with a high at 80, it's not necessary to do it in the cool of the morning. We HAVE to focus on school because we have a lot of appointments and weird days with field trips coming up.

I got more reading done for school and find it fascinating. I wish I had more time and more brain power to read everything the kids read for school. I LOVE this time period, and I LOVE learning. Although, Keturah and I realized that a few chapters in her science book are above her head dealing with some chemistry. I told her to power through it, realize that these scientists were working on these atomic theories right before the atomic bomb was invented and used, so it's all connected with history. The rest of the book is biology related, with some botany, cells, human anatomy, etc. That should be easier for both of us to understand. So, I told her not to panic, we'll still read the chapters and do our best to understand, but if we don't master all the concept, no worries, I'll help her pick and choose what she really needs to take away from the book, just like what I did for Justin and the Great Awakening preachers. I just want him to understand the differences in how they preach vs. how today's preachers' priest, to realize that there was tension and division in the church back then, but having many people actually accept Jesus and become united as Christians helped them unite 50 years later for the American Revolution. We have to be on the same page or we don't make progress. Relate that to the divisiveness of our country now and how stagnant we are in changing anything. Anyway, it's all fascinating to me.

But it's not fascinating to the general public and that's sad. I enjoyed seeing and hearing bits of what the kids have learned show up in the Core 52 book. The other women aren't interested at all or understand how it's relevant or gives a better picture of the concepts being discussed. They want soundbites and quick application. So, my question is, what does Bible "study" mean to someone? Is it something we read as a self help book? Or do we read it as a textbook? Or both? Our culture doesn't have time to dig deep into the background and study the Bible like a textbook, asking "What was Nebuchadnezzar like? Why would a king say that? What would that look like? How? Why?" No, they just want to take the sound bite of "stay faithful to God and he will take care of you" in the Daniel story. There doesn't have to be a "moral to the story" in everything we read and do. Knowledge is knowledge. It brings a richness. It's like you can get your point across with a stick figure and 2D pencil drawing of a house. But the richness comes when the painter adds colors and perception and depth and background scenery. And that's when you have to take more than a minute and really study the painting. Don't just say, "It looks pretty" but think "how does this shade differ from that shade and where is the light coming from? why are the figures painted like they are floating? How does that color in the background affect the foreground?" That's what fascinates me. But alas, we will move on to more of the personal application type of studies. And I'll just be over here reading real words written by preachers almost 300 years ago and the rebuttal someone wrote contradicting what the preacher said and then the preacher wrote back and apologized. Lots of things to look at. I wish I could go back the Museum of the Bible and read more on the history floor. And I wish I could everyone with me. Because I guarantee that their public school education did not include any of this.

To see history as HIS Story is an incredible gift. And so many are missing out. So my kids might not know the ins and outs of the battles and when things happened, but they will understand why the Americans were united (despite theological differences) and how that unity played a part in forming our nation, especially how Christianity influenced the writing of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We will study again how a bill becomes a law, what the three branches are, etc., but the WHY they were put together like that and WHY government was founded and what it's duties were in the first place is what is most important to know. For example, President Trump signed an executive order stopping all payroll deductions (like Social Security and Medicare) until the end of 2020 because the Congress couldn't get a relief bill done. First of all, is he even allowed to do that? Second, was the government founded to give relief monies? Or was it founded to protect our rights and freedoms, organize the army, etc. Everybody seems to be so concerned about Big Brother in Washington, D.C. is doing, but should they even be doing it? No. Not according to the intentions of the Founding Fathers. Oh, and it's for those making $400,000 or less. Um, if you are making even $100,000, you have plenty to live on. Downsize your house and budget. You don't need government relief. You need better spending habits. So, there's that. All relatable if people would just know history!

Ok, enough of the lecture. We finished the day with some leftovers and outside time. It was nice to sit on the front porch with Jared and Abishai, and Socks besides us and Justin trying out his long board. That was a very sweet moment. A not so sweet moment was when we came home from lunch and Abishai was mad that he didn't get a present and he didn't get to come in the house first. So, he went to a time out in his tent. He was writhing in anger, so much so he bumped himself up against Benaiah's bed. And he was claiming he was going to take all of Justin's Legos and not give them back! He was so mad! It was sad and funny to see that side of him. It's something he picks up from video games and YouTube videos but also from the rest of the us. We will have to work on this anger issue, and sitting still. His version of "snuggle" is be a wiggly worm in my bed at 7am. Oi!

Kiddos helping Grandma pull the fat off the pork. I say, leave it on!

Playtime with big brother!

Justin's birthday lunch! Regular salad, fruit salad, cheesy potatoes, BBQ pork, peas, and milk!

For dessert: key lime pie and lemon meringue pie.

Grandma and Grandpa taped up the box really well and it took awhile to open.

A long board! Now he has the shortest kind of skateboard called a penny board and the longest kind, called a long board. We don't have a regular skate board.

How old are you? Are you really 15 yrs old? Goof!

Abishai was so mad that Justin wasn't sharing and he couldn't be the first one in the house that we put him in time out in his tent. He writhed in anger and threatened to take all of Justin's Legos. He used the word "hate" several times. Eek, that's not good. But he did calm down, too.