eggs for supper

I served bacon and eggs to my family for supper tonight because we are out of most everything and I have yet to make it to the grocery store.
It’s Fair Week you know…
First it was gettin’ the projects done
Then it was gettin’ them judged
Now, finally it’s just goin’ to the fair for fun
And we’re goin’ quite often
We’ve been there four days in a row
With two more to go
And don’t you worry…
We’re goin’ those days too
Temps are in the 90’s
Middle mostly
With central Illinois humidity
And not a rain cloud in sight
That’s why I shouted from the kitchen, as I dished up eggs for supper, “I’m doing the best I can!”
For the 4-H motto is
“To Make The Best Better”
~ Janean

August 3, 2012

my turn
to break glass
I was on the phone
about the broken car
getting breakfast for my boys
reached in the cabinet
heard a crash
saw the broken shards of glass
thought the glass glass had broken
but no
it was the nice glass bowl
that was a wedding gift
15 years ago
it took me nearly that long
to figure out what to do with it
bought the coffee pot in January
put the bowl to work
holding half and half
now I’m looking for a plastic one
I can’t be trusted with glass
too delicate
and I’m feeling like that bull
the one in the china shop

August 3, 2012
9:00-ish a.m.

I first e-mailed this poem to my friend. The one who sent me a note about a glass that broke at her house while the dishwasher was being unloaded last night. She’s sharing it with her fourth grade daughter (the dishwasher unloader/glass put-er away-er too).

heart puzzle

my sister texted me this morning
a note about her oldest son being back home in Arizona, from his two month visit home to Illinois, where he stayed and played with his grandma and papa, aunts, uncles and cousins too, over summer break

she wrote, “Kids were elated to have him home. It felt great to all be under one roof again.”

I replied:
All is well
As it should be
The missing piece of your heart puzzle back in place
I’m so glad
For all of you
Hugs and love

she replied, “That is exactly the way I felt to… Kinda off all summer and just felt complete. It was so fun watching all three kids walk inside the house together with smiles.”

then she added, “I love u so much Janean.”
making my heart squeeze and my throat close and my eyes water because Arizona feels really far away today.

August 3, 2012

Our local newspaper is counting down to the fair on the front page by the masthead. Like I need any more reminders that these 50,000,000 4-H projects need to be ALL THE WAY DONE and handed in between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m on Tuesday, July 31, 2012?! A-l-m-o-s-t. T-h-e-r-e. Our children will have their projects completed. S-o-o-n. Repeating this like a mantra and remembering to breathe. ~ Janean

July 28, 2012

Our local newspaper is counting down to the fair on the front page by the masthead. Like I need any more reminders that these 50,000,000 4-H projects need to be ALL THE WAY DONE and handed in between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m on Tuesday, July 31, 2012?! A-l-m-o-s-t. T-h-e-r-e. Our children will have their projects completed. S-o-o-n. Repeating this like a mantra and remembering to breathe. ~ Janean

July 28, 2012

We had some more rain this evening followed by the biggest, brightest, most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen stretch across several houses that face my own backyard. I looked for a rainbow such as this all last summer. A sign from God that He keeps His promises. The significance of seeing a rainbow today, tonight, after a brief rainstorm, is that the printed copies of my oldest son’s book arrived today. The one he wrote for 4-H. The one that honors his father and the fight he’s been fighting for over a year now. The title is, “On May 25”. It’s a beaut of a little book that also honors the Lord as my twelve year old shares his heart, faith, belief in the power of prayer and the comfort that comes from the prayers of many for our family during this difficult time. My heart was already dancing, soaring and flying. This rainbow, a double rainbow, was an unexpected gift. SO BIG! SO BEAUTIFUL! Praying this new type of chemotherapy works. Praying for complete healing from stage four cancer. Praying to weather this storm with my family of four intact for many years to come. Thank you, God, for the reminder that You are there. Always. From the dark of night to the glow of sunrise, until the sun sets once more, and sometimes, the most special of times, You are in the translucent glow of a rainbow in a perfectly formed half circle.
~ Janean

July 26, 2012

the moon man

headin’ home as a family
when from the backseat
my nine year old boy said,
“I see the moon man.”
as he gazed out the window
at the dark night sky
I asked, “Do you mean
the man in the moon?”
he confirmed,
“Mmmhmmm, him.”
then he asked
a science question
about the moon
and the tides,
“How does THAT work, anyway?”
I mumbled something
about gravity
and lookin’ it up
later
and went back to grinnin’
about seein’
the moon man
as I gazed out my window
too

July 25, 2012