Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Year In Review – 2021

January 4, 2022

January – My mother died on January 3 at the age of 86 – a rough start to a new year. :( A lot of emotions to process. At my house we had a new water heater put in and gas line rearranged to bare minimum to accommodate that. Our master bathroom finally has hot water again! That first shower in our own bathroom was bliss.

February – Had a health crisis which forced me to get to a new doctor and get back on some meds. I would like to say I changed my eating habits, lowered my stress, and got healthier in 2021 but I felt I couldn’t because of everything else gong on. Also – the midwest deep freeze showed up – praying with everyone else that it doesn’t happen this year (or ever again thank you).

March – Started process of selling my mom’s house by getting an Estate Sales company involved. The sorting took over a month to do and they unearthed precious family heirlooms that were stowed away who knows where. Very emotional time seeing all those old things again and reminiscing about times gone by.

April – My mom’s estate sale took place and the day it wound up there was the smell of her perfume all over the upstairs of the house – like Mom was still there. That was also the last time I felt my mom’s presence even though it felt like her house right up until we sold it.

May – My brothers came in to finish getting all of our mom’s stuff out of the house to prep for selling. I ended up with the coffee table that had graced my parent’s living rooms since at least 1972. Still in excellent shape and it looks great in our livig room. Also – our air conditioner died and so we replaced it and the 50+ year old heater. Turned out to be the best and coolest summer we’ve spent in this house.

June – Decided to clear all the foliage from around the house so that the bug people (and anyone else) could more easily do the work they needed to do and I could stop apologizing for the forest we had growing on the side of the house and backyard. We ended up finding out what a huge backyard we really have! I also contacted windows people and at least got the estimate to have that done. I wish I could say we got new windows but maybe in 2022. I also got the bug guys out because we had a nest of wasps living in the mailbox and I wasn’t keen on a DIY on that. Turned out to be another great decision.

July – My two sons and (then) soon to be daughter-in-law came to visit. The son from Seattle was a total surprise and so happy was I to see them I totally forgot about having a big birthday bash for my husband and two far flung sons – sorry guys! One thing that was really special was that STBDIL showed me a picture of her wedding dress – yep there were tears. It was an incredible act of love for her to do that and I felt it tied us a little closer. I’m still working through this adult children gig and it’s harder than the toddler phase. :P Also, most of us were fully vaxxed by this time – yay!

August – My two youngest daughters started their senior year in high school which they are supremely glad about. Me too for various and sundry reasons. Also – had a tooth issue which meant going to the dentist for the first time in years (I won’t say how many because it’s ridiculous how long I put this off). Bad teeth got removed and I started my mouth on a long road of recovery.

September – Started the process of taking down the big tree on our front lawn. It had been dropping limbs from time to time and our tree guy also said it had tree rot so it had to go. I was going to just thin out the branches and totally remove it later but, as you will see next month, it was RIP tree. Lawn maintenance started to be a thing too from lawn guy’s son, Lawn Boy. :D Got everything mowed and edged and looked fantastic. Glad we have someone to do maintenance now. Also, closed on my mother’s house. I went through her house one last time and closed the door on the house and that chapter of our lives.

October – A big limb fell off our front tree around 2am one morning so I begged our tree guy to put it out of its misery before anything worse happened with it. He did and while I miss that tree (it was over 80 years old), it is nice to have it gone and not worry about it dropping limbs in an ice storm or high winds or just because. Started panicking about the wedding next month – how I would face my anxiety and get there. Too bad this got in the way of what should have been a joyous occasion.

November – The big fail was a road trip to CA for my oldest son’s wedding. Two of my daughters and I decided to go on an epic road trip while everyone else in the family flew out. In retrospect – five hours of anxiety on a plane versus 6-8 days of anxiety on the road should have been uppermost in my mind. We didn’t make it to CA, only as far as AZ, but on the return trip we stopped to stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona (see “Take It Easy” by The Eagles). It was the brightest spot on that trip. Because the wedding was the weekend before Thanksgiving and my youngest daughters’ birthdays were on Thanksgiving (twins – both turned 18) we did something a little different. We celebrated their birthdays on Thanksgiving Day (a first), but had a scaled down dinner instead of turkey. Worked out beautifully!

December – Finished the major parts of my teeth problems and after four months since it all started I have the most of a better smile and healthier teeth and gums. Was it fun? No. Was it worth it? Yes! It was also expensive and insurance didn’t totally cover it (my plan was maxed out earlier than expected) so the rest will have to wait until the wallet recovers from that. Otherwise, a quiet month for once. No house crises like the ones we’ve had the last three Christmases. Thank you God!

So that’s a wrap kids! Another year in the books. Not sure I want to put the welcome mat out fully for 2022 yet – I think we’re all a little anxious instead of joyful at the coming of a new year after the last two. Anywho – Happy New Year to all!

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No More Resetting

January 3, 2022

Reset – I think that was a considered word of the year from the past and the title of a post from September 2021, but resetting is not what I want to do. I can reset until the cows come home but it’s like rewinding a video tape – you just keep restarting and doing the same things over and over and you don’t move any further in the end. Well, I don’t anyway. I reset all the time. “Maybe I just need to start over with my spiritual life and start with the basics…again. Maybe I need to start over with my skincare routine and just get back to basics…again”. I did this with homeschooling too. Kid not understanding? Let’s get back to basics and start over. Guess what? None of us moved forward. Every time there was a bump in the road I hit reset/rewind and so no one moved through the problem/challenge and that doesn’t do anyone any good.

The main thing I need to do is just push through those challenges whatever comes. I’m trying to lose weight but there’s another house crisis – what should I do? Keep drinking the water and taking the vitamins and eating the fruits and vegetables. I don’t need to stop drinking water and eat 5 pounds of ice cream and give up until things get better because guess what? There’s always going to be another problem! What I really need is a way to get through those challenges so I don’t get derailed anymore. Someone to talk with, prayer, inspirational quotes, books, go for a walk, change my thinking – you get the idea. But I need to keep moving forward and keep on swimming because if I don’t I’m dead in the water.

The other thing I need to do is to add to what I’m already doing because I’m already doing the basics. Skincare not working? Add to the basics with products that will bring the change desired. Spiritual life in a slump? Pray on a deeper level – trust God more – do more. House getting cluttered again? Keep those routines in place and add in decluttering and detailed cleaning I’ve done the basics now it’s time to add something more.

So, cheers to you and 2022! I’m with everyone else hoping and praying for a better year but I’m going to build on that. My negativity needs to stop and it’s time to change that – time to treat myself and others better. That’s something we can all do.

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» 2022 » January » Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Year In Review – 2021

January 4, 2022

No More Resetting

January 3, 2022

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