crossrhodes

Oh, no!!! Our big TV died. Don attempted CPR to no avail. I think this is the perfect opportunity to quit television altogether but…. I doubt I’ll win that battle. (See related post here.) Fortunately, my sister is disposing her large household items. The TV I passed on to my niece when I married Don is coming back to me. So it won’t be the end of the world as we know it.

Isn’t there a replacement patch or gum for this kind of addiction? I’d like to see an anti-TV ad on the dangers of too much tube.

This is your brain.
This is your brain on TV.
Any questions?

What’s the purpose of a vacuum? Vacuum today, dirt tomorrow. Same cycle over and over and over again. What about sweeping and mopping floors? What’s the point of that? In our next home, I want floors with built in suction along the baseboard that’s programmed to swallow dirt and debris, including but not limited to grass, dirty laundry, and loose change. There is a place and container for eveything. If it’s not in it’s place, it needs to be swallowed up and never seen again! Don’t yah think?!?!

I feel like I’ve been James’ chauffer more than anything lately. Today began in school for track practice and ended in school for band rehearsal. And we got a lot of stuff done in between. It was a productive day, not only in terms of chores but quality time as well. We read jokes and quizzed each other’s vocabulary from a magazine while waiting for his sleeping bag to dry at the laundromat. Back home, we worked together on his summer writing assignments. We got a little too silly now and then but that put him in a better writing mood. Making him write essays in his summer vacation is like pulling teeth (an exercise in patience for me) but that’s what he gets for being in Honors English. He tries to cop out, saying maybe he’s just not honors material. But when prompted with the right questions, he has all the right answers. He’s just too lazy to make his fingers do the walking.

School has not officially started yet but his schedule is already half full. I’m not taking courses this fall until I get a feel for how busy this school year will be. High school will be a course in time management for James. Don has 2-3 semesters to go in addition to work. I’m still working 3 days a week. We cannot ALL be in school and live together harmoniously. Someone has to man the post. Unless my mom comes to live with us, I guess the “post mom” is me! (U.S. Post Mom Slogan: We Deliver!)

Speaking of my mom, now I know how she felt when we constantly called her at work when we were kids. James must’ve called me 4 times at work the other day to ask about this, that and the other thing. For a teenager who has a know-it-all attitude, he sure asks a lot of questions :)

I should probably stop wondering what I want to be when I grow up. Looking through my previous posts, everything seems to revolve around James. I guess God already answered my question, at least for the time being. There’s much room for improvement as “post mom”, but I’m confident I’ve got all the training I need from my Creator and the awesome parents who raised me.<

It’s crabbing season for my friend Charlie again. He’s a retired NYPD who goes crabbing for pure sport but he doesn’t eat crabs. I gave him a bag of chicken for bait. He gave me one dozen short of a bushel of sweet, Maryland blue crabs.

I’ve got more crabs than I know what to do with! I’ve already taken some to my parents for dinner and still have a ton leftover. So guess what I’ll be doing for the next day or so? Shelling half a bushel of crabs for crab bisque, crab cakes, crab newburg, crab tortas, crab-stuffed mushrooms, crab dip, crab quiche, etc. It’s a Lani Rhodes meets Bubba Gump crab marathon! Ready, set, shell!

How awesome is the Lord? My brother had been praying for a job. God answered with not just one offer, but two from which to choose. My sister-in-law is going to make me an Auntie again. My sister found galleries in Hawaii to represent her art. There have been other miracles in my family lately but I’m not at liberty to share them at this time.

So, my sister and her husband have decided to move to Hawaii. She told me on the phone tonight that they already signed a lease for a condo. And I haven’t stopped crying since I got off the phone with her and my niece. The good news is we’ll have a place to stay in Hawaii. Until then, Auntie Lani will be crying for the next few weeks. We’ve said goodbye before but never to leave the mainland. Hawaii is sooo far away. But my sister and family have been prayerfully considering this move for a year. It’s time to send them off to fulfill God’s plan for them.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ” Jeremiah 29:11