For Now

Do you ever have so much to blog, you don't know what to post so you get kind of stuck? Life has been zooming by and everyday stuff happens..and I have not blogged due to exhaustion and stuck-ed-ness (yes of course its a word, I'm a TEACHER, remember? Heh heh) So anyway, I am going to just ramble a bit now, and then you can go back to your reality tv shows or dirty dishes, or other blogs where people are not quite as lazy. I forgive you, in fact, do YOU forgive me?? Why thank you! I knew you would. :)

Michael has been gone since August 5th, except for a few days. You would not think I would post that, since you could hunt me down and come in and steal my silverware. Oh well, if you do take that awful set, I can get myself some good stuff, right? Besides, I know how to shoot. (Pictures, that is but at least it sounded threatening) But I digress. Lets just consider this whole thing a digression and keep those expectations nice and low. I told you its a bum post.

So he has been gone and as is my habit this time of year, I try to make up for missing him by having a wonderful time pursuing fun with friends and going on road trips. Road trippin is what I do best!!

So I drove up to Anchorage, and a friend flew in from Fairbanks, and we all went to see the Lion King play. It was FANTASTIC. We don't get professional theater up here very often, and this was the first of its kind my children had ever seen. I think their jaws dropped open from the opening scene on, and my eyes actually filled with tears a few times at the magic of it all. We had the time of our lives.

After that, we stayed at a B & B, and the next day we drove to Palmer to the state fair. It was a hot day, and we moved quickly and covered a lot of ground and were able to see so much! I think I'm used to my honey slowing us down, he eats his way through the fair, gets a new goodie at every booth, and then has to lay down and nap it off. Me, I only had to hit my absolute favorites, bacon-wrapped scallops and crab cakes, and Pioneer Peak stuffed breadsticks, and I was good. No napping necessary!

I was going from booth to booth, and rounded a corner and there it was. Shiny and rough, and smooth at the same time. It glistened. It gleamed. It was as cute as a bug's ear. And the words from an old movie came into mind "You will be mine, oh YES, you will be mine!". What is this fascinating object you ask? Only the thing I had been looking at and dreaming about on Ebay for months. Only the thing I had checked into at online stores but never "added to cart" because I could not find the perfect specimen. Only the one item that shipping to Alaska was totally outrageous for....a miniature saddle!!!!!!!! For Mukluk! I swooned. I think I caught myself from falling by grabbing onto the tiny perfect saddle horn and lowering myself on a cloud of nine. I was smitten. It took no time at all for me to decide I didn't need to eat or buy a smidge of anything else that day except my prize. And I carried that sweet little baby right to my van with a huge grin on my face.

After the fair we raced out (as fast as you can race in fair traffic) and headed out toward Hatcher's Pass. I had an appointment to see a horse for sale there, an Andalusian/Thoroughbred cross that I had been dying to see. Since its four to five hours from my house, this was my only chance to meet him. So I was able to see him, and ride him, and fall for him. I'm not sure in that order but I told you this blog post was full of digressions. (and confessions it seems). I'm not sure he is going to be our next horse, but I am certainly interested and I will keep you in the know. He's sweet, and beautiful, and needs training. I love to train, and love a challenge, and am very fond of Andalusians and Thoroughbreds, so it looks promising....

We got home quite late, I only stopped once to take a picture of the beautiful full moon. It was gorgeous, just stunning..and was so gracious to light my way home when I knew I should have left much earlier. Its a dangerous highway, has claimed so many lives this summer alone, and I hate to drive it in the dark. I always try to leave the city in time to drive home before the sun is down, so I can manage the tricky curvy roads through the mountains safely, and so I won't be too sleepy.

As it turns out, I owe the full moon more than casual thanks for shining so brightly. We found out the next day that right at the turn-off to my road, there had been a terrible fatal accident. My friend's teenage son had a head-on collision and lost his life early Sunday morning. When I saw what time the accident had happened, my heart raced, and I had to sit down. It was less than five minutes from when we had turned down my road. He was less than five minutes behind us, following the same bright moon. He crossed the center line, his fiance asleep beside him, and another younger teen in the backseat, and hit a lone taxi cab head on. The cab driver is going to be okay. Jeff's fiance is going to be okay. The teen boy is still fighting for his life. And Jeff, 19, a motocross racer, a future stock car driver, a brother to his 15 yr old sister and 11 year old brother, was killed on impact. He was a sweet kid, his mother adored him, worried about him, and fussed over him. He was a dare devil, he had broken his arm and both legs racing motorcycles before. We don't know the details about what happened, did he fall asleep? Get distracted by something in the car? Send a text? Search for a CD? Details will come later.

I guess I didn't know where this post was headed, I saw it more as random thoughts about all the things we have been doing lately. I didn't want to be sad. I didn't really want to dwell on how close we came to disaster because I drove home way too late. I didn't want to talk about another boy who is gone from us forever.

But since that's where I ended up, please offer up two prayers. A prayer for Jeff's family and their comfort, as they grieve. And a prayer of thanks that God still has plans for me, my two precious girls, and my dearest friend, Janet, and he sent the moon to light our way.