16-12-01 (Read 2/28/26)

Tyler thanking me for going over his homework with him.,,,So, it was really a kind of challenging evening. Strong evidence suggested to me that Tyler had not, in fact, been reading for 30 minutes every day even though he answered that question with a yes every time I asked it. I was calm. Told him I now needed to weigh whether I had been lazy, or misjudged whether he was ready to independently do his reading, without my requiring that he tell me about it, or what page he had finished. That I wanted to raise him to be man who did what he was supposed to do even when he wasn't being checked up on. That the point was to acquire reading skills so that he could finish high school and college. And then we went back to the rest of his homework, and when we were finished, he said, "Thank you for going over my homework with me." 

When we finished with his homework Tuesday night, he went to his room, saying that he wanted to get something to show me. It was a shell that he'd kept from the Panda restaurant. Seafood was served in it, and he said he thought, "Hey, that would be cool to take home," so he took it to the restroom and washed it out. 

I got to talk to Daddy yesterday. He and Jim Thompson and John Jewett went to lunch, and he said Jim's bad knee almost made it impossible to get up out of their booth. He said that he and John have hearing aids (or Jim, I've forgotten for sure which one) but Jim doesn't so they started talking louder. He said they were talking politics so he was sure some of the other diners weren't happy about that. I told him they'd get over it. We laughed a lot. 

I came back to the writing shack yesterday at 4:15 and stayed till 5:15. I spent the time reading articles I'd saved on Facebook, and making decisions about them. I enjoyed that time. 

My new ritual is to eat my little evening treat before I take my bath and to stop eating in the living room, and I did that last night, so I was happy about that. 

16-11-02 (Read 3/1/26

Just a really happy day for me. When I left the office Monday, I left it clear of things that needed to be taken care of before Thursday. I did the HH Bookkeeping and Home Administrative duties yesterday, as scheduled. I kept at the laundry all day, so I can get by without worrying about it today. There are some things dry / drying that can be put away, but they can also wait till tomorrow, so my mind can really be cleared of that. I really can just spend the whole day writing without hurting anybody. That's a rare treat.

When I talked to Daddy yesterday, he told me that Andrew had written "Our phone conversations mean the world to me," on the card he'd sent. Daddy said that Andrew calls him from time to time, but he hadn't realized how much the conversations meant to him. He said that Andrew's saying so meant a lot to him. 

Annette sent a text yesterday to check on Beverly and Barry. 

Brittany helped me with Tyler's homework. :-) I posted a question in the Goodtimes group, and she answered it --- and then the next one, and gave me really good, easy to understand answers, too. 

Angela and I are counting down the days till her graduation, and got excited together yesterday that her graduation announcements had come in. 

Touched base with Beth a little. 

Did I tell you that Evan came over Sunday and visited with me for awhile? Chelsea came over yesterday with their weekly payment and I got to visit with her for a little bit and play with Jaden. 

Shawn called Tyler yesterday, and that made Tyler happy. 

Tyler said  he saw Theresa and asked her how it was not tutoring Shawn anymore. She told him it made her sad that Shawn wasn't there when he wanted to talk to him. Tyler said, "I thought that was really nice for her to say." 

16-10-31 (Read 3/1/26)

I had a good weekend. 

Beth came over Friday night. She brought the fixings to make spaghetti, so we had supper and then watched "Bad Moms" together. We laughed a lot. And she spent the night, so we got up the next morning and went to Waffle House for breakfast. 

~Noah, something about girl gossip. The hike. 

Tyler and I went Saturday and got his hair cut and we did our grocery shopping for the week. Saturday night we went to the fair with John and Noah. 

~ John, as we sat on a bench talking and watching the boys as they waited  in line for a ride, re: Tyler, "and a kid that I love." 

Noah spent Saturday night with us and we got up Sunday and went to Graham Creek preserve and Beth went with us. We had a picnic and took the two mile hike. It was fun, but I wouldn't drag the whole family over there. The hiking trail is more like a farmer's roads around the edge of his fields. Beth said it was like we'd run out of gas and were walking to the gas station. ;-) But, we did see some pitcher plants. 

I did a lot of just hanging loose this weekend. Just messing around on Facebook, and not really doing much of anything. 

Annette and Brittany finished their race in Texas. 

Beverly got to have a massage at JeJung spa and she enjoyed hers as much as I enjoyed mine. 

Daddy called just as we were starting our hike Sunday, so Tyler, Noah and Beth all got to talk to him.

Beth said she thinks we ought to go cook Thanksgiving dinner for them. 

Just standing back and watching Noah and Tyler walk the hike, talk at the fair...

16-10-25 (Read 3/5/26)

Valerie called me last night even though she was tired.

Angela sent me a Facebook message.

Brittany texted me back.

Lindsey stopped by for a visit. 

Daddy called. He liked the little book I sent him. He is able to drive short distances again, and is going to have lunch with a car friend of his. 

Beverly came over early this morning, all dressed out in her gear, to go for a practice hike. They decided to wait and do that this evening, but she sure looked cute. When I said that, she said, "Everybody needs (gets, has?) a mommy." 

When Tyler called from school today, he said, "I know it is late notice, but I was wondering if I could stay after school today to try out for honor band." I  thought it was sweet that he started with, "I know it is late notice..." 

It took me from about 8:15 to 11:00 to download AmEx, etc., and reconcile the checking account. So ... about 2 hours and 45 minutes? I also culled the Outlook emails, and I also had trouble with Quicken. Without the random problems, it would have been more like 2 hours and 15 minutes, and if I'd had the office clean and ready to go at 7:35, I would have been in pretty good shape. As it was, I got the household bookkeeping back in great shape by lunchtime, which is great. No exercise, but I may still pull that out of the bag. Rearranged the laundry and did the delicates and needs to be hung up, so that's good. It was my objective and I feel good about that. 

October 14, 2016 (Read 3/5/26)

I don't have any laundry to roll today! I have laundry to put away, but none to roll! 

Yesterday was a good day, part of a week that has been good overall. Instead of trying to devote the whole week to writing, I decided to try to make this week go the way I've been trying to get each week to go. So, I spent most of Tuesday writing and most of Wednesday on Child Advocacy Center type things. Yesterday morning I went to "Stories in the Sand," at Dauphin Island. I don't think they'll be the kinds of events that I've been wanting to take Kennedy to, but the weather was nice, and there was a nice  little crowd, and the it was interesting to hear the history of the island. Mostly, at first, I was happy with myself for going. For not talking myself out of it. 

As relates to the event, the best part came after. 

There was no charge for the event, but donations were welcome and would be used to fund future events. I went into the gallery and looked for the a place to leave a donation, finding it on a back table. A woman thanked me as she saw me drop it in and then said, "You drive the Mini-Cooper, don't you?" So then I knew she drew the little brown Mini-Cooper that I'd seen in the parking lot. I don't know how to explain the friendly kinship, but it was fun. 

At about that same time, another woman walked up and said, "Didn't I see you just the other day?" Suzanne, from the Child Advocacy Serve it Up committee meeting, just Wednesday. And so we ended up looking at her art work, and somehow about Vero Beach, as her uncle lived in Wabasso. It was just a fun, friendly visit, and maybe fun to have someone reach out for me. 

As relates to the morning, the best part was in the middle. Kathi called and I talked to her for ten or fifteen minutes, and then Daddy and I talked. We talked about how he's doing, and some about the kids, and some about what he's doing, and he wished me happy birthday. He said that I am a good daughter, that I make a difference (referring to the grandchildren) in their little lives, "and you make a difference in my life.) His voice is different. I don't think I've ever doubted the sincerity of the loving things he's said to me, but there was something different --- maybe a measure of "I want her to remember this." I told him that he was going to make me cry. That he was a perfect daddy. 

Morgan came over during her lunch break to look for some pictures and it was fun to see her.

Beverly came over after lunch with a beautiful cake. (I took pictures.) She'd decorated the cake cover, and gave me an invitation to my birthday party --- just beautiful. I'll take pictures of it, too. And she wrote me a letter, and I'll have to type it up and save it, because it really touched my heart. 

Andrew and John and Beth all called. Beth had planned on coming to the dinner, but she got stuck in New Orleans. Annette called. Kim sent an email and invited me to lunch. Brittany came to dinner. Skyler wished me a happy birthday when Annette called. Noah got on the phone when John called. Zak sent me a text. Tyler wished me a happy birthday, first thing, as did Barry, and Chris got on the phone when Barry called from the marina. Angela sent me an email Tori called. Kennedy sent me a text. Chelsea and Evan sent a text. Johnny tried all day to call and Mark sent me a text. Valerie sent a text from her and Nick. 

My party was mostly girls --- Beverly, Brittany, Angela, Kennedy, and John W. Beverly treated us all, and we had a fun visit. It made me feel good that they went to all that trouble for me, and took time out on a week night, of all things. Then all of us except for Brittany came out to the house and had the cake that Beverly had brought over, and played a game of nines. Lindsey sent me a Facebook email. 

Before I got ready for bed, I showed Barry my hand, with the opal ring he gave me on my 60th birthday, and said, "I just wanted you to see which ring I chose to wear tonight." You should have seen him smile.

He and Beverly had a lot of fun talking about their hike. 

(Read 3/11/26)

Daddy said he wanted to talk to me.

16-10-07 (Read 3/11/26)

Tyler asking if he could go on my walk with me. He went bike riding with Papa, too. He'd done well on his homework, and his Language Arts teacher was satisfied with our substitute motivator. He made a 98 on his math EQT and he was the first one in his class to see the pattern in the bell ringer. His teacher was impressed. 

Barry is talking excitedly about his hike. His backpack came in and he started packing it last night. It is giving him something fun to talk about and think about. 

Daddy and Kathi made it through Hurricane Matthew last night. The eye came close to the coastline as it moved north, but did not come in. Mark was with them, and they do not seem to have lost power. 

Andrew sent me a text to check on them and see if it was all right to call, and John called me to check on them. 

Annette is healing up from her surgery. 

I think JA is getting more time off with his new job.

Angela sent me a message, and so did Morgan. Morgan and Beth are meeting with the photographer today, and Fairhope has their application, so the date is set! 

October 6, 2016 (Read 3/12/2)

Tyler got up and off to school on time. He listens closely when I talk to him....maybe, now that I think about it, listening to me the same way that I told him I try to listen to him. We did the kitchen together last night. 

The temperature has dropped just a little, just enough to let you know that we are headed into fall, just enough to let me know it is time to take Tyler and get some long pants. 

Daddy's voice sounded strong yesterday. 

Some of the berries on the holly bush by the pool have changed color. It is striking even from a distance, even from the kitchen window. 

Beverly and JA played cards with Tyler and took him on a bicycle ride while we were gone. 

Chelsea came over yesterday and brought Jaden for a little visit. 

Angela sent me a Facebook message yesterday, and Monday. She got a reminder to order her graduation announcements, and that was fun. 

Tori said she and Josh are going to Arkansas to go camping, and she's excited about going to a new place. There's a river for Zoey to play in, so that should be fun. 

Kennedy came over a visit last night and we had a good time. She helped Papa set Cirrus XM up on his phone, which took her at least 30 minutes. He had to get logged in to his Facebook account, which was really quite a feat. When she was done she said, "Just don't ever, ever log out." 

In Brittany's internship she has been working on a project with Daphne Utilities. It went into it's test phase yesterday. Her name is on the sign and everything. See FB Joy Journal for details. 

Evan came over to check on Granddad. "How's the man?" he said, in case we hadn't told Tyler yet. 

(Read 3/12/26)

Daddy showing me the chocolate.

Chicken pot pie lunch.

(Read 3/12/26)

Known all along how fortunate I was. .. chicken pot pie with Daddy.

16-09-14 (Read 3/16/26)

No matter how crazy my day is, every time I talk to Daddy I feel happier. 

I woke up at 4, which I'm not all that happy about, but I did get over here before 8, which is something that hasn't happened for a long time.

I got in some volunteer time yesterday. I did some research for MCEI, and I did some for the CAC. About two hours total, I think. I know it isn't four or five hours, but it was two, and that's a step in a happy direction. 

Today is my writing day and I'm too far behind on household bookkeeping to claim it all, but I'm going to claim some of it. 

Barry said he liked my little word table. 

Evan called me about a situation at school. (His teacher asked him to go get something for her from the lunch room. A fellow student called him at work to say that the teacher had told her Evan had kept some of her change.) He said the things he was thinking probably weren't the things he ought to say, and that I might have some suggestions on how to handle it. 

Barry is getting excited about the hiking trip he's planning with Beverly. 

16-05-03 (Read 7/8/26)

Barry and I went to Rouse's last night, and he stopped at the Pop Tarts, asking me what kind Evan liked. He got a box to take to him at the Waffle House. We dropped the groceries off, went to Waffle House with Evan's treat, and then sat and had a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. 

Angela sent me a text this morning. 

Kennedy had planned on coming yesterday afternoon, but they worked later than expected, and traffic was stormy-weather bad, so she let me know they'd be coming today instead.

Daddy and Kathi called and both talked to me. They got their "Thank You" flowers re: Morgan's graduation, and said they were really beautiful. Daddy said that he had talked to the bank and was pleased to learn that Marianne had gotten some flowers, too. He said Andy overhears her talking about the kids, and that they are like family. 

Tyler hugging me this morning. Not a hello or good-bye hug, just a hug. 

I think we are rounding a corner out in the office, that other people are coming on board with the way we need to make things happen. More cooperation. Hope.

Beverly is going to be off on Friday, so we're going to see if we can't snitch some time. 

Kim shared a post about the things the author liked about having an only child. #10 was "feeling complete" of "feeling like a family," or "like a complete family." Something like that. I wanted to comment but when I went back to find it, I didn't see it, so I sent Kim an email. 

I saw your post this morning re: only child and #10, and wanted to say that it is fun for me to watch the three of you together, but Facebook is messing with me, and I can't find it anymore. Still... your family brings me happiness. Love you!

I love my family and we love you

16-03-19 (Read 7/16/26: Andrew and Daddy both dismayed at Trump's victories.)

Lunch with Andrew
Politics with someone sensible.

 Andrew came out to work on a weight for Annette to use in her Spartan training. He and Barry worked on it in the morning and then Andrew treated us to lunch at Taste of Thai. 

He said he and Granddad had had a nice visit --- discussed politics. They were both dismayed at Trump's victories. I mentioned that Donovan was for Trump, and later Andrew said that made him think of something that Granddad had said ... that is was nice to talk politics with someone sensible. 

16-03-18 (Read 7/16/26)

Shawn started doing some of his research last night. 

Barry and I planted four more rows in the garden last night.

I reconciled the business bank accounts last night. 

I got an email from Daddy. 

I don't have to do any laundry today. 

Beth said they'll be able to stop by Sunday.

I found the suggested palettes for the color I have painted in my writing shack. 

I got a good night's sleep. 

Tyler's handwriting was careful with his "d's" 

The azalea is in in full bloom, although it surrounds some other plants that are not. I'm going to have to think about what to do with that. 

Annette had a good visit with her doctor. She has to be careful with her stretching, but other than that, she's good. 

16-03-15 (Read 7/15/26)

When Barry mowed the back yard, he left the daisies for me. 

Tyler started a dinner conversation last night --- asking me if I could do one thing differently about the day, what would it be. I don't know if that is because of what he and I talked about on doctor day --- the lack of conversation at the dinner table --- or not, but it was nice not to be the one bearing the responsibility of getting the ball rolling. 

Shawn's math teacher got back with me, and he and Theresa worked on his catch up work last night. 

Did I tell you that Daddy called? I keep remembering it. Always makes me happy to talk to him. 

Mark called to tell me that he is sending me a print of the photo he gave Daddy and Kathi for my anniversary. 

I had fun talking to John about DC, at Goodtimes.

Blue jay!

Beverly stopped in this morning for some juice, and Barry and I both got to see her. 

Maranda, re: the vacation request change that she emailed me, "I just want you to know that I knew that was going to be your answer, but they wanted me to ask, so I did." I loved that she had absorbed my reasoning and knew what I would do. 

I got a text from Angela. :-) 

I think I already told you that I got to have a phone visit with Valerie. 

16-02-22

Kathi said, "I meant to tell you. That fingernail polish looks pretty with your skin tone." That made me feel good about it. I'm also glad I squeezed in the manicure. ;-) 

As Barry and I were getting in the car Sunday night, to leave, Daddy said, "That was a pretty dress you wore Friday night." (to the anniversary dinner.) I thought it was sweet of him to compliment me. 

Mark gave Daddy and Kathi a framed print of a photograph that he had taken. Daddy took sweet time, noticing the shadows and the light, letting Mark tell him about the burnishing (?) etc.