its been a while

My dear hubby is away on a whirlwind business trip to CA ( 32hr rooundtrip) so I am taking a bit of time to reflect upon the past few weeks. I had not realized that it has been over 3 weeks since I last blogged. The time has flown. Life has been life I guess- when one is in the midst of the whirlwind it can be hard to notice the breeze.

Our new roof is on, and it is beautiful- all the more because of the knowledge of the attention to detail that went into its installation. As the old roof (s- in some places) were removed the reality of the lack of care was fully revealed. Now we know that all was properly and throughly done. The group of seven men who worked on our home were phenominal by todays work ethic standards. They all worked steadily at their tasks. Each knew their task and rarely was any supervisor seen giving guidance. They put in 11 and 12 hour days with a lunch/ seista break around 1 pm each day. They were courteous and considerate and hard working. I longed to have spanish language skills to be able to communicate with them better. Yet we managed. I cheered on Jenny the reluctant air compressor. We helped them with parts and tools when she was stubborn on the second morning. We thanked them often and served up cokes and snickers to help keep their energy going. My youngest and I joined in the cleanup- the rolling magnet was too much fun to pass on. We shared the backstory and our deep gratitude for a new roof and our hopes that their assurance of "no leaks" would be reality.

At times I grieved over the attitude I heard from others - "mexicans eat anything". hmmm, would he/ she say the same about americans? their realitive? cousins? They are human and have preferences and I expect would be blessed to be asked- so we did. When asked they prefered cokes so that is what we provided. They were reluctant to come in the house to use the bathroom and even the sink to wash hands. It makes me wonder at their reluctance- do folks treat them as nobodies??? Do these men who work harder than any I have ever met not see that we esteem them and wish to do what little we can to make them comfortable after their morning of hard work?? I believe they left knowing that we esteemed them. Oh that we, the modern couch potato Americans , would walk a mile in their shoes and learn from their focused work ethic. I applaud the Mexican men who work so very hard, that have not forgotten what it is to work.

Since the reroofing life has been .... life. Parenting continues to have ups and downs. Some days easy, other days we cry out for wisdom. Some kids are struggling with lessonwork, others don't care much about it- and it shows, and then out of nowhere comes a piece of work that reminds us that there is hope within. That beneath the "temporary (we hope) brain altering that seems to have overtaken them that there is a core of character and solid base that might be seen again." Some training lessons need to be resumed, and others begun. I have other plans but life just keeps being life- so we adjust and adapt and breathe deep or laugh or cry or rejoice in the midst of it all.

I am always amazed at what ebay provides. At therapy last week a tool was shown to me that the therapist planned on getting through the system, though I was told that it could be a slow procedure. she gave me a name and I thought, why not look. Ebay came through. For $15 it is now on its way here so we can begin to implement it and begin building strength where it is weak. yeah for ebay and how it connects need to needy easily!

We find ourselves on the sidelines of a soccer field often these days. Each game is different and each team and coach has its own flavor. This past week one team was younger and had many members calling out to one another in a foreign language. Tonight the teams launched the ball higher than I have seen yet this season and then bounced it from head to head for a bit. Our son is reluctant to use his head- something I didnt understand until he revealed his concern for his teeth. About 5 years ago he busted a few front teeth in a superman leapfrog manuver that went awry. I guess the memory is still quite fresh and real so he guards them well. He is learning the sport- enjoying the defense postion more than the sidelines. As a new team member it is often a bit more on the sides than in the field. The lessons of supporting a team are still being learned.

The tomatoes keep coming, lots of japelenos and the compost keeps doing its thing. We are seeing deer wander in yards again- soon will be searching out the acorns that continue to "plop" to the earth around the yard. Fall is creeping in and we're loving it. Soon it will time to tuck in the flowerbeds and drain the hoses for the cool weather to come, but until then we are enjoying the time to commune with nature again with ease.