How far west can you travel before you are heading east?

Nearly 2 years ago, our dishwasher had a tiny leak that really pissed off our wood flooring. We had the offended flooring ripped out and lived with sub-flooring thereafter. While it was just a small section near our sink, it was unsightly. Then, last fall, our downstairs toilet began leaking. While I fixed the leak, I managed to break the mechanism inside. It turns out, this mechanism was pretty important in the grand scheme of flushing, which as you can imagine, it sort of important to the entire function and purpose of a toilet. Ahem. So, we have not had a downstairs toilet for awhile now. Which was not too bad because we are blessed with two additional toilets upstairs. However, it did mean that when folks came to visit they got a peek into the mayhem germinating in our rooms upstairs. Yikes o' rama. Finally, as all of this has been going, our back deck has slowly been coming apart at the seams. Literally. Last year, I had no desire to plant anything back there or even spend time back there because it was a constant reminder that the damned thing was slowly rotting away before our eyes. So, we hung out in the front yard like ostriches.

Last week, in one fell swoop, I got all of that fixed. New floor, new toilet innards (and seat!) and new deck stain.

Then? An amazing thing happened. I began clearing clutter from the yard and rearranging pots. I bought new seat covers for the chairs, a new cover for the grill. I pittered around the garage a bit. I cleaned out my car - even taking out the the kids' carseats and confronting The Nasty lurking underneath. I also did a myriad of other tasks that have been lingering on my Honey Do list for ages. I am feeling inspired to tackle even more tasks.

Obviously, the long-neglected broken items were a vast metaphor for other things going on in my life. Regardless, I am excited about finally getting a grip and getting some things done around here. I am tired of living amongst heaps of Things To Do. I am excited to finally get things cleared out. It will take awhile, but our neighborhood garage sale looms in April - an attainable goal.

Whoa. I am so ready to take on life again. It had best watch its back.


Reminder! Don't forget to enter the giveaways going on at my review site: Queen of the Free Bees. I am giving away a copy of the Rookie Mom's Handbook and a $25 gift certificate to Build-A-Bear. The deadline for leaving a comment is Midnight, February 14th.

Thank you.

I simply cannot think of a snarky, smarmy, odd question for today's title.

Thank you. Thank you.

I received so many kind, thoughtful comments, emails and donations regarding my post about autism and how it has wormed its mysterious way into my family. I never, ever expected to raise $200 towards this walk. Realistically, I had hoped to match my own $50 and that was all. I cannot even begin to describe how proud I was that I raised 4x that amount. No, no....I am not proud of me, but proud of the blogosphere. All of us who are out here lurking and connecting.

A month ago, I was with a group of gals and we were talking about blogs in general. One of the gals emphatically declared that she "could never keep a journal online" and inferred that it would be icky to do so. It is very difficult to explain at times how blogging is simply a different form of social media and networking.

Now? I have a sweet story of how blogging is so much more than an "online journal". It truly is a community.

What am I getting at?

I try to keep things fairly light here. I also try to keep things fairly confined to me, myself and I. Oh sure, I unabashedly hawk my children's privacy in the grand tradition of Blog Fodder, but overall, I do try to keep a down low on the Drama.

As such, I have not talked much about my friend J's cancer. Something that is on my mind every single day and often, in my dreams now. Here on this wee site, I leave out most of my fears for her. The horror of what she is facing and how I look at my own children and wonder if she will even live long enough to experience the same milestones as I am with them.

As such, I do not talk much about how terribly I miss my Aunt Peggy and how the little things will rise up and smack me upside the head. Like, this historical election of which I desperately want know what she thinks (I had a dream about that, as well.) Like, how her birthday was this past Saturday. So, no. I do not talk about how I still get weepy over my Aunt Peggy's absence. She was 87 and I know that we were so very lucky to have had her as long as I did.

As such, there are a myriad of other things going on around here that I just do not talk about here.

And.

I also do not talk much about autism here. How it has affected my brother's life and now my younger nephew's life. I do not talk about the frustrations I have felt as I have seen my father, stepmother, sister and brother-in-law all navigate the mystery that is autism. The frustrations they have faced in finding resources - good grief, even in getting a diagnosis. The frustration my sister feels when folks stare at the supposedly "bad mother with the bratty, out-of-control son" because my nephew is totally freaking out because he absolutely, positively terrified to his very core during a thunderstorm. The frustration my brother is feeling as he tries to find his place in this world post-high school graduation. The list of frustrations goes on and on and on.....

I do not talk much about those frustrations because I do not feel that they are my stories to tell. It has absolutely nothing to do with shame or hiding. I love Nolan and Will for who they are and autism is a part of that. To reject the autistic part, would be to reject them.

I am okay with talking about this today because this Saturday, I am taking Anjali and Arun on a walk. Specifically, on a Walk Now For Autism - we are on the Teaminators team. If you would like to donate actual dimes and nickels towards this cause that would be cool - although, in this economy, it would be perfectly understable if you would rather just send thoughts and prayers. Those would be just as much appreciated.

Um. Also. If you would also like to donate some advice as to how I explain to a 3 year old that his much-adored cousin and uncle are different, but are not sick, that would also be cool. I would be grateful. I realized just last night, I need some way to explain to Arun why we are going out to the Kansas Speedway and walking.

Peace.