Summer Break

Today on the radio I heard a phrase I had never heard before: “Not all watermelons are red in the middle.”  This is a loosely translated Italian phrase.  It would be similar to “Life is like a box of chocolates…”  Sometimes your choices yield something sweet and juicy and sometimes not so much. Either way, usually you can find something good.

This summer has been so exciting; full of adventure and change.  As usually happens, my best laid plans fell by the wayside.  I haven’t been to the farmers market in the last 4 weeks, and due to the weather I haven’t been able to tend to the garden. I put many miles on my new car and have seen Ande for less then 24 hours in the last 2 weeks.

In May, Rick handed me a help wanted ad for Development Director for the Vernon County Humane Society. I put it aside as I thought he was joking.  After all, I am a nurse!  After a series of events, I decided to send in a resume and cover letter to see what would happen.  Because I really did not think I was qualified I had a lot of fun writing the cover letter and figured I really needed to be myself. I put the formality aside and wrote from my heart about why I would like an interview to explore the possibility of this position.   It worked.  After two interviews, with much laughter and serious conversation, the position was offered to me and I accepted. I am so excited and overwhelmed.  It will be my responsibility to raise the funds to keep the Humane Society running.  There is so much good work going on and many volunteers giving of themselves to see that these abandoned and surrendered cats and dogs have some quality of life and are treated with dignity. Please check out the web site and give me some feed back about what you think.   http://www.vchumane.org/  I welcome your suggestions.

The Fourth of July was a blast. Our Pastor and his family came over for dinner. What started as a friendly badminton game turned into a competative tournament.  The Dads were the ultimate winners with 5 wins and no losses.  The Moms had the most fun and the kids were the most competitive. We had a big bonfire and Jay and Ande set off fireworks.

John and Krista

The next week Ellie, Maddie Ande, Jay and I headed to Oshkosh, WI for Lifest…A Party with a Purpose. We met up with my friends Starr, Krista, John and John’s daughters.  Lifest is a 5 day festival with Christian bands, speakers and family friendly activities.  There was a kid’s area with face painting, kids’ music and art stations. Ellie and Maddie had so much fun. Ande and Jay went off on their own and listened to different musicians and met peers from different backgrounds. The adults listened to speakers and played with the kids.  We all went to concerts each night. First we heard Mercy Me, the next night Toby Mac and Saturday night was Skillet.  What a variety….easy listening to hip hop/rap to heavy metal…all were equally exciting and powerful. We slept in tents, used port-a-potties and bathed in communal showers.  I am definitely going again next year, but I will be bringing the travel trailer or getting a hotel room. I am too old to sleep on the ground.



Jay and Ande llama dancing



All the girls with face painting



When we got back home, the girls and I had fun at the farm, playing with the dogs and cats, cooking and the girls made a neat fort under the old apple trees and overgrown vines.  I drove Ellie and Maddie to Middleton where I met my brother in law Scott to drop off the girls.

Middle of July brought a mother’s biggest fear-sending my baby out on the road alone.  We sent Ande to Illinois to my parent’s home 200 miles away, driving all by herself.  My Mom and Ande headed off to New York for four days. They toured Columbia University where Ande might like to attend college.  They ate at different restaurants including a sushi bar!  They also saw the Statue of Liberty and other touristy things. They flew back into O’Hare airport and the next day Ande flew out by herself to spend time with her godfather and his fiancé.  After a few days in Ohio she flew back to Chicago.  A day with my parents, a day with her big sister in Maggie’s new apartment and then Ande was home for 24 hours.  Now she is off for the next 8 days to dog and house sit for a friend of mine.  

So, my garden is a mess but I found cucumbers, pumpkins, beets and onions under three foot weeds. My oldest daughter is so grown up and in her very own apartment.  My youngest daughter has traveled far away and has the desire to live in New York.  My dreams of the farmer’s market have disappeared but goals for fund raisers for the Humane Society are so exciting. Boy, that watermelon is very red and very sweet.