No Longer Needed

I read The Frat Pack + Me's post about her son getting his driver's license, and it got me thinking about our kids' independence.  After I spent 22 years making sure that the boys were at their extra-curricular activities, umpteen drives to and from sport  and band practices, coordinating all of the practices and making sure we all ate supper together (well, most of the time!), the day came when it all changed.  Once YS got his license and started driving the whole mile to school, my world changed.
No one needed to be picked up or taken anywhere.  All I had to do was have dinner ready when CH and YS were home.  I began to have my afternoons free.  I remember walking into the house one afternoon and just standing there.  And I wondered, "What do you do when you come home and nobody needs you anymore?"  In just another year, YS will be at college.  Not only will nobody need me after school, but nobody will be expected for dinner (except for CH).  I won't be expected to go to high school football games to work concessions or booster meetings.  I'm going to have a whole lot of time on my hands.
So far this year, I'm spending a little more time at school in the afternoons.  There's no need to rush home.  I'm trying to get into the habit of going straight to work out before I go home.  It seems to be working so far.
Guess I'd better work on finding some friends (even though I have sisters!) so I'll have something to do!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What is one piece of advice you would give a 'just turning' 21- year old adult?

Be yourself and don't lose sight of who you are.  (Oops!  That was 2, wasn't it?)

2. Besides cooler weather (or warmer weather, depending on your hemisphere) what is one thing you are looking forward to this fall?

FOOTBALL!!!   GO BIG ORANGE!

3. What sound lulls you to sleep?

Rain.  We finally got some on Monday...all day long.  Nice and steady, enough to make you want to curl up and nap.

4. September is National Preparedness Month...does your family have an emergency 'kit' and/or disaster plan in place?

No.  I've talked about how we used to have one when we lived in SC (especially after 9/11), but we hadn't gotten one together here.

5. How has your blog changed since you started blogging? Or has it?

The posts are getting less frequent!  I'm having mega-trouble writing as much as I used to.

6. What's something you've recently learned to do on the computer?

I learned a couple of cool things to do with our computer IEP program.  I dont' want to bore you with the details!

7. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

In some cases.  Like this one:

This is a picture of OS right after the state championship his senior year.  He said that at that moment, he realized that high school football was over.  That was Small T own's 3rd state championship in a row.  (They're now at 7 in a row.)

8. Insert your own random here.

With the rain, the roof at one of my schools leaked.  It appeared to be confined to just the front hallway and front of the office this morning, but we're getting more rain.  The roofers were there mid-day to patch it, but I don't know if it's going to hold.  We really need the rain, but...!

On that note, head over to Joyce's to participate!

Friday Fragments

~  Can you believe I'm still tired from the big game last weekend?  Well, believe it.  I've gone to bed early every night this week.  Thank goodness this week's game is away!

~  I'm loving this Curves thing!  It may be my imagination, but I already feel like my clothes are fitting a little better.

~  I had quite a feeling of accomplishment yesterday.  On Wed. as I was driving to work, I heard my car making an awful sound.  It stopped when I stopped.  Who knew that there was an audible indicator with brakes to let you know when they needed to be replaced?  Any way, back to the accomplishment:  I took my car to a place that just happens to be across the parking lot from Curves, walked over to work out, walked back and picked up the car, bought a headlight, went to the grocery store for a quick trip, and then went home.  AND, I remembered to get my old brakes 'cause I knew CH would ask to see them when he got home!

~  Guess what?  IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!  The first game of the season is tomorrow.  We have a couple of boys from the Small Town who are on the team this year:  one is a kicker, and the other was the state Gatorade player of the year 2 years ago.  It's always good to see good boys doing good things.  We also have a couple of boys at the Univ. of Ky. who are slated to be starters, a few at some smaller schools, and one in the NFL (GO, PACKERS!) .  Do you follow college and/or pro football?  If so, who are your favorite teams?