A Birthday, a Change of Attitude, and Some Other Things, TToT 105

Well, it's happened.

I've gone viral.

Don't worry. I won't forget all of you who were with me in the early days of bad writing and pointless posts.

I may not have time for you, what with signing autographs and all, but I won't forget you.

....

....

It's so absurd I can't even take the joke any farther.

I'll explain later.

But first (also known as 1.), I must say a gigantic thank you for

this guy.

Fourteen years ago, Star brightened our world and made it just a wee bit (ok, a lot. A LOT) louder. He's brilliant. He's funny. He's brave. He's extreme. He's maturing into a thoughtful, helpful, responsible young man. Most importantly this week, he's forgiving and patient. His birthday plans have been blown to bits. Every single thing we were planning to do had to be put off for a variety of reasons, and he has rolled with it with no complaints. Even when his birthday party had to be postponed because of the endless rain we've had.

He could easily be my favorite kid this week. :)

OK, back to my fame (aka 2.)...

Normally, when I put a link on my Facebook page about a new blog post, that update is shown to 25-75 people.

This week my post on my kids' lack of smartphones must have struck a chord. Both Melody  and Susan shared it. And then more people did. Last time I checked, 21 people shared it. I've gotten over 500 hits to that post from Facebook alone. (That's about 100 times what I usually get.)

I had that post in my drafts for months. Even during the A-Z Challenge, when I dedicated the whole month to giving unsolicited advice, I chose not to post it. I was nervous about it for some reason.

I'm glad I finally just hit the publish button. Not because it brought me fame (I can hardly type the word "fame" without laughing.) without the fortune, but because I've heard from some people who said it actually prompted them to have discussions with their husbands. It got people really thinking about the subject. Whether they agree with me or not, I just want parents to go into a smartphone purchase after dedicated thought, not just because it was the easy thing to do.

As an added bonus, I got some serious back-up for when my kids mention their sad state of being the only kids without smartphones. :)

3. It's been raining. For days. While I grumbled about the landscaping we couldn't do, Cuckoo cheered.

IT'S RAINING! (As opposed to snowing, which his foot attire might indicate.)

So, we've embraced the rain. It's warm, and there's usually no thunder or lightening, so there's no reason NOT to play in it. Only difference is their crazy is now wet.

I'm cool with that. And yes, they were in their pajamas to play this morning. I'm cool with that, too.

4. A couple of times this week, we enjoyed a couple of breaks in the rain (Well, as much as one can enjoy a sauna-like atmosphere.). One day, we even saw the sun for an hour. Take a guess how they spent that time...

Yup. Playing in water. Falling from the sky. In their clothes.

 I am happy to know about this great, free park to take the boys once the rain eventually stops (It will stop, right?!?!?) and the heat of summer descends upon us.

5. Buttercup is coming home tomorrow!! She's had one heck of an experience out at the reservation, but we're ready to have her back.

6. I have to say, even though the rain is making my life a bit more difficult, it has been marvelous for all things fruits and vegetable. The black raspberry bushes on our property are popping with fruit. I've already frozen 5 cups of them, Turken has eaten about a quart, and I have enough in the fridge to make a cobbler tomorrow. And there are plenty more to pick.

7. The green bean plants are out of control, too. When I was in the garden pulling weeds on Thursday (during a break in the rain), there were teeny, tiny beans all over. I'll be doing plenty of canning in the coming weeks. I'm excited, seeing as how they all went to waste last year thanks to my injury, our trip to Europe, and my surgery.

8. I took the boys to see Inside Out this afternoon. It was THE BEST movie. No joke. I loved it. The kids loved it. I even had one of the teens with us. I won't embarrass him and call him out by name, but he loved it, too. It's funny. It's touching. It has some real truths about emotions in it.

9. Our summer of getting projects done has been derailed, but I'm not letting it go for good. We've gotten some cleaning out done inside the house, and it makes me happy. The game closet has been reclaimed!

10. I love summer. (Have I mentioned that before?) To go with the cleaning/project completion, we also get to try new things. Today, the little boys and I made homemade lemonade. We used this recipe, and my word, it lived up to its name.

We'll be making plenty more throughout the summer.

BONUS THANKFULS!!!

11. In one break in the rain, Giant and Phoenix and I did manage to get some landscaping work done. There is one area in the back of the house that we have not touched for two years. It is filled with poison ivy, and we're all terribly allergic to it, so we simply avoid it. NO MORE! The three of us donned our long pants, long-sleeve shirts, gloves, and hats and had at it. We pulled out 4 (little) trees and innumerable tree-sized wild rhubarb bushes. (No joke. They were as tall as me.) That was Monday. As of today, not one of us has come down with a rash. WOOHOO!

12. Blast. I know I'm forgetting something, but I can't remember what it is. Consider this a place holder.

Well, Friends, it's your turn. (And yes, you are friends. Internet friends are real friends, no matter what my family thinks.) Link up your post or tell me what made you smile this week.

Have a lovely day!

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