I swear, I'm well coordinated. I hardly ever run into doorways. I almost never trip. I can walk and chew gum at the same time for goodness sake!
Apparently shaving off part of my pinky over the summer wasn't enough. On Friday I cut off part of my thumb while chopping onions.
*sigh*
So, once again, let's count our blessings: the kids were with their dad, the roads weren't icy, the ER wasn't busy, I didn't cut to the bone, the knife was sharp, I just had my tetanus shot in 2005, the ER crew was AWESOME, my rockin' fiance held my hand (my other hand) through the whole thing, the bleeding finally got stopped, the pharmacist who doled out the vicodin put the cap on in the non-child-lock position, and so much more.
And when I asked for a glass of red wine at the ER the doc said that someone could run out to the liquor store. (I held out for the drugs instead. A wise choice, I think.)
On our recent trip to St. Louis we stopped for a moment, under the beautiful canopy of trees, in their full autumnal colors, to snap this picture.
Julia is being goofy, as she is wont to do, and I'm not sure why she's holding the stick like that or making the face she is, except that it might somehow be related to her being six.
Jasper is hiding behind the tree, pouting that we had to leave the Museum of Westward Expansion early due to his less than stellar behavior.
There you have it: one small, momentary glimpse into fractured family life in America.
I haven't posted in a while. Mark it up to sheer laziness. The camera hasn't been being picked up as much, I've been busy, *she* started it, there's gum in my hair and, oh, there's a really fun election coming up.
And in the midst of it all, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has decided to take action against the state budget shortfalls by closing some state parks (he's also cutting over 150 jobs at DCFS, and it appears that my employer, a state school, will also be feeling the pinch). The state park closures are, from what I understand, temporary. Temporary or not, it saddens me. I spend a fair amount of time at Kickapoo, one of the parks slated for closing, and will miss stomping through the snow there this coming winter.
This picture was taken by one of my kids when we went there yesterday. Some of the trees were changing, some were already missing all their leaves, and most were still green. The kids love going there. It always amazes me that they can leave behind their electronics, their board games and their books and open their eyes to the beauty that surrounds them. The smells yesterday were wonderful. Wet earth, with fresh, crunchy leaves underfoot, makes for a great day.
Is this what they're (or is that they'r?) teaching in public schools these days? This is from my son's homework notebook and his third grade class uses it to jot down notes about what they're talking about each day.
