Musings....this page is a diary of my thoughts, observations, and experiences since becoming a full time parent. There was no 9 month pregnancy filled with joy, anticipation and anxiety. There were no questions of will the baby make it to term? Will the baby be healthy? Who will it look like? Is it a boy or girl? There was no nursery preparations, no baby showers, no one asking about the due date. I had 10 months of legal uncertainty filled with anxiety, worry, hope, and stress. There were many questions. What if we don't get them? What if we do? What school will they go to? Will they like it here? Even though we believe that the change is warranted, what if the kids don't see it this way? What if they don't understand? We already knew they were physically healthy. We already know who they favor. We know that they are boys with all their fingers and toes. But we didn't know when or if it would happen. Here is the start of our new lives!
March 2003
April 2003
March 20 Our attorney Linda called this afternoon. We have to be at her office at 9:30 in the morning. Our court time isn't until 2:00 so maybe there is good news! March 21 - 12:30 pm The news was good and today everything was finalized! The new agreement was signed by the judge so it is official! It's a boy and another boy! Hallelujah! Now Jeff and Kelly have to tell the kids. March 21 - 4:00 pm Jeff and Kelly sat down with Zach and Ben to tell them about the change in custody. They knew that the possibility for change was there and neither was surprised. Somehow they knew that their parents had been in court this morning. They seemed to be prepared. Jeff said the boys took it better than he thought they would. No tears, no unpleasantness, just "OK" and "cool". They have plans with Kelly's parents this weekend, so we won't pick them up until Monday after school. March 24 Jeff and I visited the schools to notify them of the change. Having done that, I went to work and Jeff and his dad picked the kids up from school for the first time. So far so good! March 28 We had a good first week! Since the kids are staying in their current schools, we're getting up at 5:00 am every day. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a night owl, not a morning glory! Zach's school starts classes at 7:15 - my normal wake up time! But it's only until the end of this school year, so we can make it for a couple of months! This is Kelly's scheduled weekend so the boys are riding the bus to her house after school. We signed the boys up for baseball at the Boys Club. We'll know about tryouts in a week or so. March 30 Today was Jeff's birthday! We picked the kids up about noon so Jeff could spend time with them for his birthday. It's amazing how quickly our routine has changed and everyone just does their part. It's like no one has skipped a beat. I think that Jeff and I have much more to adjust to regarding day to day routine. We're used to hanging out most days after work and now we have to make sure homework is done and dinner is on the table at a decent hour. Fortunately, we're not shackled to our routines. We would rather have a new routine that involves the boys everyday! It's more interesting and satisfying! April 1 Did I mention that we not only got 2 sons but that one comes with a girlfriend???? Zach has a girlfriend, Brittany, who is none to pleased with Zach moving, it seems. They have a couple of pre-teen conversations every night. I remember being in 6th grade and the things we talked about then. Man, do I feel old!!! It occurs to me that as their stepmom, I've missed out on the teething, crawling, toddling, walking, darling kindergarten and early elementary years and jumped right into puberty! I'm not sure if that's quite right! Although, I always enjoyed teaching middle school kids on up, so I think I'll be fine! I'm not so sure about Jeff....Zach's nearly half-grown. He's not a little kid any more. I'll have to use what I know of the human preteen to help Jeff through it! April 3 This is TCAP week. TCAP is the standardized test for Tennessee schools. Ben is not a big fan of TCAPs and Zach is not thrilled. Both boys have had a problem keeping out of trouble at school this week. As a result they are gounded for a few days - no TV, no video games, and no phones calls from friends or girlfriends. It's going to be painful! Such is life! April 4 Jeff got the call today - baseball tryouts are Saturday. On the way home from school, I asked about Brittany (the girlfriend) and Zach said that she has been his girlfriend since the beginning of the school year. He also commented that this is the longest "relationship" he's had - all the others lasted no more than 2 weeks. When I asked what was different this time, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I dunno. I'm smooooth." As I laughed, he just grinned. Ben ate Reese's cups and had a Coke for a snack and was talking ninety to nothing in the backseat about several random topics at once. Too much sugar - but it's Friday! Gotta live a little! April 5 Baseball tryouts went well! Zach and Ben both did a great job! Zach will play for the Braves and Ben for the Yankees. Ben's life long friend MacKenzie (Max) came over with his mom, my friend Kim. Zach met a boy who also plays baseball, Clinton, and is in the 6th grade in West Memphis. Clinton lives across the street. They played video games and played toss all afternoon. Max spent the night so we had a house-full! Jeff grilled burgers and hot dogs to feed everyone! Jeff's in heaven! He walked around with the biggest smile all day! He has his boys here and they have their friends over, doing their thing. He couldn't be happier! We went to bed tired and happy. It was a great day!
