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Thanks, Kat and Cadet!

I'll tell D18 hello when I see her tomorrow. She's with her dad this weekend. She's developed a nasty respiratory thing, and is laying low. I had to keep her home Thursday when we got to school and she threw up all over herself and my car. It was all mucus. Poor kid. Any thought of traveling next weekend went out the window. She doesn't bounce back quickly, and I don't want to jeopardize her further by forcing her to endure four flights next weekend.

Cadet, you can infer that they won the league championship this afternoon. Against our favorite floor mopping team. It was ugly, but they did it. Now to get through three rounds next weekend.

I've been busy paining two bathroom Formica countertops a faux granite LOL. Well, I got the black primer down and seem to be donning some myself. So far so good.

Kat, I love my house. But without child support come March, I'd be hard pressed to eat, let alone save for retirement. I despise yard work, and don't enjoy shoveling snow on a 3 car driveway either. The upkeep is sometimes more than I want to manage, and it's time for a family to enjoy living here and going to some awesome schools. I'm staying in the same school district, but not the same schools. D18 is grandfathered in through transition, so I'll have a commute now. I've been spoiled! It will be strange. The first time I'll be making this transition alone since I was 27. I'm actually apprehensive, if that makes sense. I moved in here married, got a divorce and raised my girls here. Lots of memories, good and bad. Mostly good. I've grown up in this house. I've become a better person in this house. I've transformed from a type A, angry, fearful and controlling person into one who is grateful, peaceful and drama free (for the most part). I'm grateful for this roof over my head. It's been good for and to me. And it's time to move forward.

Cadet, I know D21 will come around. She's usually not such a biatch. But she's not been here through our big transitions, either. From the deaths in my family, to D18 becoming a legal adult, to the guardianship and me grieving all of this. It's been the hardest 2 years of my life. Well, since the divorce, anyway.

BTW, her BF's mom was crossing the street in a crosswalk Thursday night when a car hit her. She got out of the hospital last night and is ok but terribly sore. She's lucky as hell that she walked away with no broken bones. I'm sending her flowers in the next day or so.

So that's it from my part of the world. Time to make something for dinner and resume my Blue Bloods marathon. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Betsey

Hi all,

Now that everyone else is updating, I figure I will too. My D21's volleyball team is playing for the advancement to the Elite 8 in less than a half hour and I'm nervous for her. She's had such an emotionally disturbing season, and as the mom, I just want to see her end her career on the same note she began: putting herself out on the court and playing with the love of the game she feels. She struggled yesterday and asked me for some prayers to do well today. Of course, that was easy to oblige.

I've been really sick since coming back from Atlanta. This chest congestion and ever present cough is dogging me. I continue to hold out hope that with some rest and avoiding people in general that I'll lick it. We'll see.

My big news is that I bought a townhouse and closed on Wednesday. Actually, the trust bought it. I'm so incredibly grateful. Real estate is abnormal here - multiple offers, bidding wars, especially on townhouses. I really didn't have the stomach for that. It gives me some time to get some stuff done over there, move in and then get my current house ready to sell. We're going to be busy over the holidays, and I'm sure my peanut gallery isn't going to be too happy about that. But I'm excited to live mortgage free and without yard work and shoveling. I seriously need a change of pace to enjoy life.

Which ties to the realization that I needed to put myself in a position to do just that. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of my brother's death. I just feel the importance of living every day. I'll get on that as soon as I can shake this respiratory thing that has me sidelined for the moment.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Time to go login to the VB stream. I'm anxious about that. Not the result as much as wanting my D22 to be satisfied with her contributions. Must be a mom/dad thing.

Betsey

How did she do? I bet it's going to be a huge adjustment for her to realize that that part of her life is undergoing a fundamental change. I hope it is smooth on both of you.

Congratulations on the home! I hope your move goes really smoothly and that your house sells quickly and without drama.

I was sick recently, a low grade thing that just put me under for more than two weeks. It felt like an eternity. I fought it and fought it and then finally I just let myself be floored. It kind of forced a reset and now I have a new energy to move forward in my life in a healthier way. I hope that you find your reset button too, but I have no doubt you're going to find your happy place. Such a wise woman can't fail.

Hugs to you, Betsey, and feel better soon!

Hey MB,

Thanks for the comfort! I've already taken 2 sick days and now I'll be out more to travel...

D21 played well, and so did her teammates. They won the region, advance to the Elite 8 for the 4th consecutive year, and now D18 and I are heading to Michigan bright and early Wednesday morning. Hopefully? We have a blizzard warning tonight and tomorrow. We shall see. It could be really ugly.

Thanks for the hugs, and hugs back atcha! If I don't login soon - I'll be in Michigan this week and DC next week - hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

This message is brought to you by Nyquil Cough and Cold. And now back to the program...

Betsey

Well I just watched the post game video and see she led the team in kills so the prayers must have worked.

Hope the coach is right and they have a long weekend at the elite 8.

I will be rooting from far away!

Safe travels to Michigan - one of the best states in the land in my opinion, but I am admittedly biased having grown up there for more than half my childhood.

Congrats on the new home as well. I would be kicking my feet up and doing a fine Irish jig if I was living mortgage free. Sadly that is not an option for me here in NoVA. :-(

BA

Thanks, BA! We'll see how well Delta does getting me and D18 to Grand Rapids. I will say that driving through Michigan on our way to her school in 2012 was memorable. Very pretty. It erased my memory of going to Detroit during one cold February!

Cadet, my favorite part of the post-match video was watching my D21 smiling from ear to ear. While I enjoyed the content as well, just knowing how happy she is made my day. Of course, that was kind of written over when she heard the NCAA decided not to buy them airline tickets this year (they bought them in 2012 and 2013 - same venue) and to VA in 2014. So she's currently riding in a bus across Canada and none too happy about that. They pretty much take the bus everywhere. And did I ever say she's car/bus sick? She can't read in vehicles. So it's lost time. Hope she gets caught up on some sleep?

Thanks, and it will make me smile knowing you're watching.

Now back to our post-blizzard city. School was closed for the first time in 6 years and I'm hoping to get finished here early before heading home to pack.

Cough free hugs to everyone!

Betsey

p.s. Cadet, this is a really, really strange bracket - only 4 ranked teams remain. The other 4 are snakes in the grass, who took out a slew of big teams on their way, including the host. They have as good a chance as ever advancing, and for some insane reason, I could see them making it to the championship round - if they play as well and cohesively as they did on Sunday. I hope so, because my airline tickets are for Sunday morning and so is my hotel. I'm counting on no sight seeing in Grand Rapids or trying to get to Chicago, Detroit or Indianapolis to get home...

Hey Bets,

Congrats on your new home. I'm totally with you - buy first, settle then sell. I think it is so much easier on us and also on our special needs kids.

You must be so proud of your daughter. But riding across Canada on a bus? Not for the faint of heart. My country is huge. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Not much new here except I got to meet Gineen and Gabby which was SO awesome. We really need a meetup soon.

Take care

Barb

I know we need a meetup! One of these days, I'm going to take Linda up on her offer and show up on her doorstep in PV. Since I've got her car, maybe we can barter for something?

LOL, D21's team did drive across Canada in a bus. That broke down right when they pulled into Grand Rapids. Talk about good timing? She's back at school and pretty much finishing her semester tomorrow. She's stressed and I'm leaving her alone until tomorrow night.

She had to pull some tough duty this past weekend, and got nothing for it. Those of you who know me on the alt know that my D18 came down with a vile enterovirus that landed her butt in the hospital in the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning. I was busy with the medical staff doing mom things when I felt that wave of nausea hit me and then I went down. My poor D21 gave up her TG to take care of her sister (I think helping the nurses catheterize D18 was super sweet of her) while I wallowed in agony on the couch. It was AWFUL. The most awful 24 hours I've ever had in my life. I came out of my fog after my D18, and woke to see her waving at me from across the room. And then true to form, the day after we got home, my D21 and mom came down with it. Apparently, my family won't persevere through the Darwin hypothesis: survival of the fittest. The only one who came out of it was my dad.

Now we're back home, and I'm finally back to working a full work week and trying to get the townhouse ready to inhabit so we can move in. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we move in sometime between Christmas and New Year's Eve - while I've got my D21's muscle power. Okay, let's call a spade a spade - while I've got free labor. Then I'll turn around and get my house ready to put on the market. I'm hoping to get that accomplished at the end of January. We will see. It's kind of a project management nightmare. Right now everything depends on the flooring. I'm wanting to minimize any transition issues for D18 as much as possible.

Like Ryan, she's really not good about stuff like this. Hell, I'm not sure my D21 is going to be good about it. Leaving her childhood home is probably not going to be emotionally easy. But I think my message to both of them this month will be "wherever we are, we're together and a family and we're good". Memo to me to reinforce that. Maybe even to myself.

So glad you were able to meet the G girls. I adore both of them. BA, I promise to work on staying well the next time I fly into town. I didn't even see most of my family while I was home. So, so awful. Don't get it. If you do, you better get yourself ready for a long date with your bathroom. So stay well!

Happy December to all-
Betsey