Day 309 or Hurricane, Thy Name is Isabella

So you may have noticed that this week I have not fared so well with my promise to post daily. It has been one hurricane of a week. Now that Alex has proven to be a non-event for us Texans (I am sorry for those who have suffered in Central America), I feel I can vent a little about how this little hurricane has wreaked big havoc on my life.

My husband was not home a full two days before he was called to one city for this storm. A city away from his family. Two days later when we had made a plan to join in him in that city, he was sent to yet another city. This is confusing and frustrating for adults. It is hard for my steadfast six year old son. It has been out and out devastating to my daughter.

She does not understand any of it. What she knows is that she is now spending the better part of a third week away from her dad. She understands that the plans keep changing. She understands that her routine is gone, her life is in flux, and basically nothing is normal. In three year old terms, this is more Category Five than One.

And what I understand is that she is as unpredictable as a rogue wave or pop-up tornado. Her emotions are as choppy and uneven as the waves raging in the Gulf (okay maybe I need to chill on the Hurricane metaphors) and I literally can't keep up. One minute she is her lovely self and without warning her war flags are waving (technically nautical, not Hurricane!) or she is dissolved into tears for the slightest infraction by her brother or myself.

Tomorrow afternoon, he should get the all clear and we should reunite together under one roof for at least week. Until then, batten the hatches (again, really nautical) and say a prayer for me because this captain is tired, looking for her "Candle on the Water" so she may pull this ship in for the night.


I'll be your candle on the water
My love for you will always burn
I know you're lost and drifting
But the clouds are lifting
Don't give up you'll have somewhere to turn

I'll be your candle on the water
'Till ev'ry wave is warm and bright
My soul is there beside you
Let this candle guide you
Soon you'll see a golden stream of light

A cold and friendless tide has found you
Don't let the stormy darkness pull you down
I'll paint a ray of hope around you
Circling in the air
Lighted by a prayer

I'll be your candle on the water
This flame inside of me will grow
Keep holding on you'll make it
Here's my hand so take it
Look for me reaching out to show
As sure as rivers flow
I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go...


P.S. For those of you who know my blog well, I did consider Styx's "Come Sail Away" but good old Helen's anthem from Pete's Dragon won out by a nose. Maybe tomorrow night I will be set for smooth sailing and then I might be ready to sail away to freedom with DeYoung and crew. 'Til then, smooth sailing to you and yours.

Day 267 or We Interrupt This Program...

I am interrupting my Lessons I Learned on a Mexican Cruise to ask this question. Do you DVR? Because I do. And it has gotten out of hand. Seriously.

I don't know how to watch live television anymore. I can't stand watching commercials. I literally get antsy.

But that's not the worst of it.

Here's the real trouble. I have so many shows recorded, scheduled to record, wanting to be recorded, sad that they are not recorded.. etc., etc., etc. What started out as a lovely little way to not miss my favorite shows has become part of my to-do list. I literally feel guilty when I start seeing the exclamation mark appear next to older shows. Oh No! I better ramp up my TV watching so that the four month old episode of "The Forgotten" won't get erased. I mean that show has zero chance of renewal so if I don't watch them, who will? Tell me that. Who will watch Christian Slater helm a group of mismatched heroes as they bring unidentified bodies home to their families? I will.

Unless, of course, there is a new recording competing with it. Like three "Modern Family"s, two "The Office"s, and about a dozen "Cougar Town"s. In other words, my DVR habit is OUT OF CONTROL!!! I feel the need to have a recording on at all times just so I don't have to erase my children's shows.

Yes. That's right. I am horrendous! I have hunted through the recordings for "Max and Ruby" (You know that Ruby will ignore Max until Max proves that he knew the answer all the time), "Go, Diego, Go" (He is going to save the animal, after all), or "Dora the Explorer" (She did it. She did it. She ALWAYS does it, is there any surprise left???) Just so I don't lose a movie I recorded in January. January 2009!!!!

Somebody help me. I am swimming in the cheap thrills of commercial-free, anytime TV Viewing. It seemed so innocent, at first. Now. I am on the metaphorical street corner stealing from my own children to fuel my habit.

Please stop me. Because. I. Can't. Stop. Myself.