Tales of the Ordinary Days

Day 10 | 30 Days of Writing The infamous Halloween house display (missing a few finishing touches still packed away in storage bins) I got a call tonight while out to dinner with friends. "Mom, are you still buying Halloween houses every year? You're putting them up this year, aren't you?" After figuring out that Grant's random call was in reference to my beloved Department 56 Halloween house display, I was a little befuddled on the call. Being the mother of boys, I don't get a lot of sentimental comments on my annual holiday decor. "I don't know. Why do you ask, Grant?" To my shock there was still enthusiasm in his answer. "Zach and I are at Target and they have Halloween houses out. You should get a new one. And you have to put them out? It's a tradition!" Just maybe all my years of going over-the-top on my favorite holiday, Halloween, has passed on to my sons? I beamed all the way home at the prospect. My fi...

Grant finishes the front yard Today Grant and I raked leaves. A yard full of nature's colorful palette. And a sign of the change of seasons. The changing seasons is one of my favorite things about living in the midwest, with summer-to-fall as my all-time favorite. Each year I delight in putting out my Halloween decorations. Football, hoodies, and bonfires fill our nights. Trading in the petunias for the peonies and mums, while preparing the autumn foliage for frost. An annual rite of passage. With a 70 degree Sunday, today was a perfect day to do yard work. It was also an excellent time to reflect. Sharing sweat labor with my 16-year-old was frosting on the cake. Physical labor in the great outdoors builds character. I was also reminded of the changes in the seasons of life. Fast forward two years and all Lane boys will be out of the house. I must now confess that I have never mowed my own lawn. There have always been plenty of able men around to perform ...

Friday night lights at Skutt Catholic Moylan Field I love this time of year. Hoodies and fleece blankets are officially pulled out, ready for football games and bonfires that fill our weekend nights. Kids and parents have now nestled into a new school year. School spirit fills the air. My youngest son is now a junior at Skutt Catholic High School. His road to completing high school is becoming shorter. Past the halfway point of his high school journey, the days tick away as my journey through these fun years is coming to an end as well. My oldest, Zach, began as a fresh-faced freshman in the fall of 2007. Since then, not a year has passed that I haven't had a son walking through the halls of Skutt. Living one mile from the school, door to door, I have been blessed with a home brewing with constant activity as an extension of the school. From pasta feeds in the backyard to a meeting place for kids before and after school events, I have enjoyed every minute of the teenage cha...