Kudos to Patrick

So, this post is going to be about Patrick.  He doesn’t get much press around here.  Usually it’s all about the kids or me.  Which is really a shame because he’s a pretty terrific guy and he’s very much a part of our lives, what with being my husband, the father to the aforementioned kids etc etc.  So, this ones for him.

Patrick has had a pretty terrific summer.  He’ graduated with his Masters from Emporia State University’s School of Library and Information Management (SLIM as they called it) and had a full on production of his play “Continuum” produced.  Both of these things are wonderful accomplishments, but when you think the past year we’ve had I think they become even bigger.

In case you missed it, in the past 12 months my father passed away, I spent 3 weeks in the hospital and another 3 weeks at home recovering, my mother passed away and over the course of time I spent a total of over 4 weeks in Iowa.  (Which is going to be a story to tell in and of itself!)

Now in the midst of all this chaos Patrick kept the children fed and happy, the bills got paid and he kept his job, there were papers to write, presentations to give and re-writes to be done on the play, dishes to be done and laundry to be folded.   Oh, and he tended my incisions and comforted me when I thought I’d never recover. He ferried kids to birthday parties and kept up Friday night movie and pizza tradition. He was like the Energizer Bunny, never stopping. And if that wasn’t enough he did all this while managing to keep his 4.0 grade average.  It never once slipped.  I MEAN COME ON!  WHO CAN DO THAT?!?  Patrick Wohlmut that’s who.  When lesser men would have thrown in the towel (and to be fair, there was a point when I thought he would) he kept his wits about him kept his eye on the prize and just kept doing what needed to be done.

We are just so lucky to have a man who is as passionate about his family as he is about his school work and his creative endeavors.  He is a modest man when it comes to his parenting skills. He will often say that I am the better parent.  I say the jury is still out on that one.  (I mean let’s face it there’s puberty, teen-age angst, curfews, body piercings, boy/girlfriends and my own menopause to get through.  So, you know there’s a long haul to go before giving either one of us a “Better” rap then the other.)

Patrick would also be the first one to say that he didn’t do it all alone.  We had a “village” of family and friends who rallied around us and kept us sane and afloat. But, I am still so very impressed and proud of how he kept his head about him and stayed the course.  I know he was stressed, I know there were times when he thought it was too much and he would never see the end, but for the most part he kept that from us. (He also found that running was a great stress release) 

Summer is over and Patrick has landed a part time job at Washington State University (Vancouver campus) as a reference librarian.  He starts his training today.  Go Patrick!

Feeding the fish

 

Ms L remembers to feed the fish after lights out.  

 

Photo of the day "17"

17: the number of the times I said, "Oh, look it's another Lego" today when we were cleaning the house.  (This creation is courtesy of Mr N.)

photo of the day

You're never too old to need your Daddy.

LOVE

Kindergarten circa 1972

Can you believe it, Ms L starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks.  That means N will be in second grade. Where does the time go?    Flashes from my own kindergarten days danced in my brain this week.  Here are just a few of those flashes:

The first week of Kindergarten Susan Stevens lost her red tennis shoe down the storm drain in the school yard.  It was raining and so she had to hop all the way to the doorway of the school.  She then made her way to the classroom, a gaggle of concerned girls by her side consoling her with pats and smiles.  I am sure she expected sympathy from Mrs Reasland, I’m sure we all did.  After all she lost her RED! shoe.  (I in my clunky orthopedic shoes with the metal braces attached to them coveted those shoes) None of us expected that she’d get in trouble.  And yet she did.  She was deemed, “irresponsible and foolhardy” and these words followed her the rest of the school year.  She became an example to us all anytime someone was careless with an object they were admonished with, “you don’t want to be like Susan and her red shoe do you?”   Even at the tender of age of 5 that phrase rang so harsh in my head and I felt it in my gut every time I heard it.  I hope somewhere Susan has a closet full of red tennis shoes (and pink and green and blue ones, too).

“Look Out, Mrs Doodlepunk” was my favorite book in Kindergarten.  I loved how the heroine of the story got the better of Mr.Frizzboy and his squirt gun.  In addition to simple drawings there was a map at the end of the book that showed exactly the route Mrs Doodlepunk walked her baby and where Mr Frizz boy hid in the tree.  That map was fascinating to me, I would stare at that map and trace her route endlessly.  What that map represented to me I cannot say, perhaps I was in awe of the freedom Mrs Doodlepunk had to be able to go all around the neighborhood without her mommy.   One day I got to read the book out loud to my kindergarten classroom.  I felt pretty grownup sitting in the little chair while everyone else sat on their mats in a semi -circle around me.  It may have been my first taste of a large captive audience and I loved it!

Does anyone else remember the smell of the blue mimeograph pages?  I loved that smell.  I loved to go into the supply room and watch Ms Gloria run off the sheets for the classrooms.  That smell meant worksheets and coloring sheets.  It meant learning.

I remember taking naps on towels we brought from home that we stored in cubbys in the middle of the room.  We only went 1/2 days and just before noon we'd nap.  Or we were supposed to nap.  I don't remember if anyone actually ever napped, except maybe that's what Mrs Reasland was doing with her head down on her desk.  I do remember that Kevin Snodgrass and Doug Reasland (the teacher was his GRANDMA!) would push a hot wheel back and forth between them as quietly as they possibly could.  I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to do that, but they did.  And it seemed like they never got caught.

Apple butter - we made it for Fall Festival/Open house.  I make it now for my family most years and it brings back such memories.  Some are good, and some are sad... but that tale is for another time.

I loved kindergarten.

photo of the day

Part of the new mural on the Keller Auditorium

Just under the wire for the promise of a post a day.

This image is from a mural on the wall of a the Keller Auditorium in Portland.   It's a wonderful new mural by a local artist.  Once I know his/her name I will share credit.  This image is my favorite from the mural.  It reminds me of popcorn and the Day of the Dead. Someday I'm going to celebrate the Day of the Dead and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.

Despite all my issues with the Catholic Church I love the traditions that include the Virgin Mary.  If her story is true it's one of the greatest love stories of all time.

Photo(s) of the day

"Daphne Rooter Weasley"

At the thought of another photo N fainted

Summertime and the Crime Porn is fine

Summer time and my brain turns to mush.   Not too many serious thought roll around my brain this time of year and laziness sort of creeps into my every day living.  My already lackadaisical attitude towards housework falls into almost a non-existence state. It does get fired up if company is coming.  (Although the definition of company gets looser in the summer, too.  Have you been to my house before, then you’re FAMILY, no need to clean for you!)  

There are new definitions of clean through out the house:

Kids Room: is there a path that you can safely get from your bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night?  Okay, you’re good

Living Room- Again clear path for walking.  Are the clean clothes at least folded and is there room for at least on adult or two kids to sit on the couch.

Kitchen/Bathroom- floors aren’t sticky and there’s nothing growing in any of the areas with water. 

The Yard - Can the lawn mower dudes run the mower without running over a barbie-pokemon-soccer ball-wagon? Cool.


My evenings consist of lounging around with the kids, the Olympics were an awesome excuse to watch more tv in two weeks then we normally allow in a month’s time.  Once the kids are tucked in I wave to Patrick as he heads out for a jog and surf the tv until I find some crime-porn to watch. (Patrick’s definition of all the serial crime shows I can’t seem to get enough of, even if I’ve seen it 6x already).   When Patrick gets back from his run I’ve probably shifted from a sitting position to a reclining position, using the pile of folded laundry as a pillow.  (You need clean underwear?  Check the dryer or the couch)

Now this isn’t too say we haven’t had a busy summer. Oh, lord no.  We’ve been camping, boating, walking, swimming, hoola-hooping and practicing for our own Olympics.  There’s been Puppet camp and Invention Camp.  There’s been bar-b-ques and many random evenings sipping wine with good friends. Summer reading, hikes and concerts in the parks.   Patrick finished Grad school, opened a play and is getting set to give the commencement speech at graduation in a couple of weeks.

There have been concerts by the kids featuring songs from “The Sound of Music” as well as Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and original songs by N & L to round off the bill.   We’ve been treated to the kids penchant for turning every car ride into a rolling opera (my personal favorite includes a battling vocal duet about Skippy John Jones the Siamese kitten who thinks he’s a Chihuahua ).

Whew.. For a lazy summer it’s been a busy one.

Eventually my thoughts will turn to the end of the summer and the new school year. In about two week’s time I’ll get obsessed with the messy house again. That dresser in the kids room with the broken leg, yeah that’ll get replaced.  Those holy tennis shoes and to small rain-boots, time to replace those too.  (Who notices feet growing when you’re barefoot or in flip-flops all summer?).  Too small clothes will make way for things that fit and are appropriate for public viewing. (Don’t really care how they mix and match their outfits, but we do insist that underwear be worn under their clothes and also not on their head when headed of to school) 

There’s calenders to be filled with school events, dance classes, dentist appointments and theater rehearsals.  Patrick will begin looking for a library job in earnest and I’ll buckle down and get my stage mangers kit ready for another season.

But...before all that there’s still a birthday adventure at Oaks Park on the books and a secret trip to Enchanted Forest.  There’s more ice cream in the fridge and berries for pies.  There’s a pool party and traveling relatives to entertain. 

There’s also no shortage of crime porn for lazy hot summer nights, so if you’re in the neighborhood bring over that bottle of wine, pull up a corner of the couch and sink right in. The viewing is fine.