Catching Up

So I've been pretty darn busy. Halloween came and went a little too quickly, then, before I could even blink, Thanksgiving was knocking on my door. How do days go by so slowly, yet years zip by with astonishing speed? I've never understood that. Maybe we're so focused on the day to day things, the big pictures slides on by when we aren't paying attention. In any case, this has been an unbelievably fast month.

My Mother-in-law came down and spent two nights with us over Thanksgiving. I can honestly say it was a wonderful visit, but that could be because I hardly spent any time outside my office. I had a monster of a term paper to write, one that required books and books of research, complete with citations, so it wasn't something I could try to blow off or fudge. It took many long hours at my computer, but I managed to finish that darn thing. Now the only thing standing between me and finishing this semester are about two weeks of classes and finals. I say bring it on. I'm ready to end the classes I'm in and move on to something else. I am carrying a 14 hour load next semester, plus I'm going to try my hand at substitute teaching a couple of days a week. Time to make a few dollars and get out of the house. Did I mention Katy went on her first date this month? The first official un-chaperoned, out with a boy evening. Of course, he had no car, so we picked them up and dropped them off at the theater, so it wasn't too stressful, but she was happy. Then the guy stood her up on Thanksgiving, so I suppose they have broken up. Such quick relationships these days. At least Katy doesn't pine over lost love. She goes through boyfriends like I go through socks.

The big excitement last weekend was the Christmas parade. Why they insist on having it before Thanksgiving, I'll never know, but it always is. This year, Katy and Shona both marched in it. Katy was in the band, as usual, and Shona carried a flag with the Girl Scouts. Both were very excited, but I must admit John and I were a little lonely without the girls on the sidewalk. It is harder to get into the spirit of the parade when there are no kids to scream and get excited with. The other problem was it was so incredibly hot outside, we kept getting overheated. Two days later, we hit the freezing mark. Gotta love Missouri weather.

This weekend we have been putting up our Christmas decorations. I'll update again if I ever get finished. Of course, tomorrow will probably be Valentine's Day if I blink.