I knew it would be a busy day, but still...WHEW!
First, an update on Tommy's vehicle saga: Tom changed his strategy...he left for Dallas at 5am this morning and just drove his Capris, not the truck and trailer. He already suspected the problem was the timing belt, and he was right, but Tommy told me (when he called at 7:30pm to let me know Tom was headed back this way) that it was one of those typical experiences of nothing going right, nothing being easy. So Tommy's car is still up on jacks in his garage, and he'll have to rent a car to get to work tomorrow. Ah, adult life. Apparently Tom is planning on driving back up there Wednesday to attack it again. The good thing about it is Tommy won't be alone on Christmas Day!
(Tom just got home...exhausted, but safely here. He said everything that could go wrong while working on the car, did.)
So back to my day. First of all, it's COLD! Yesterday I wore shorts when Tom and I took the dogs for a walk and I was actually sweating a little. Today, it's COLD! At least for Texas. The high today and tomorrow is in the 30's. I would never last living farther north. (A friend who lived briefly in Minnesota said it's all in the clothes, but I don't know...)
Anyway, Kendall and I went to early Mass because the youth group left for Hope House at 11 this morning. There were ten of us - eight high school/college age kids, Mike the high school CCD teacher (and my new boss), and me. Mike has been taking a group of kids three or four times a year for about ten years to visit the residents of Hope House, a home for mentally and/or physically handicapped children and adults. I only started going about three or four years ago, but I got hooked. It's an intense, sometimes overwhelming experience, but one of those that makes you feel like you have made a difference in someone's life, even in a teensy-tiny way. Today I got two kisses, several hugs and hand-holds, and tons of smiles. We bring pizza, sodas, (today holiday cookies), and then sing songs and play silly games like London Bridge. One of the best things about it for me is watching these teenagers reach out to the residents, seeing how sensitive and caring they can be, even when it's not obvious from some of the residents' responses whether they enjoy us there or not - very few of them can verbalize, and one of them even plugs her ears when we sing. Hmmm, can't say I blame her!
I'll post more about it and include some photos later.
Next, I HAD to go to the grocery store - I'd put it off for three days, and couldn't procrastinate any longer. That took three hours - the rest of my afternoon. Once home again, there was laundry, dinner, dogs, dishes, bills, etc.... I really wanted to get my Christmas cards finished up to mail tomorrow, but I needed the computer and Kendall and Daniel grabbed it first. That's okay - the days are numbered when I'll have to share it with them, so I'm not going to complain about it.
I'll close tonight's post with this quote I stumbled upon - it's one I need to read every day...
"Kiss your life. Accept it, just as it is. Today. Now. So that those moments of happiness you're waiting for don't pass you by." - Unknown
Oh, I almost forgot the Christmas photo! Here's one I love - Tom and seven of his eight brothers (Johnny wasn't around yet)...Tom's the first one on the left, then it's Steve, Robbie, Joe, Mike, Russ, Randy, and Kenny. Can you imagine...eight, well, actually, nine boys...? I can barely handle three kids, much less nine!
