From a Distance

Before the World Wide Web, did we have all these special moons? Or did we just not know about them?

I think in the past year alone, I took decent photos of the Red Moon, a Blue Moon, a Harvest Moon and some form of Lunar Eclipse. This week the big hub-bub is about the Super Moon, also called the Beaver Moon. (I swear I read that on the Internet, so it must be true!)

Apparently, this is the closest the moon will be to us until 2034. Frankly, to the naked eye it doesn't seem that much different than a regular full moon. But there have been some amazing photos of it online that I almost think were Photo-shopped... or maybe some people have really, really, really nice cameras!

I took the photo above with my smart phone camera. Nothing fancy. Just wanted to capture history before the cloud cover took the opportunity away. And, although the moon still is very far away, in my mind it brings me closer to loved ones who are also far away, but gazing at the same sky.

Although my long-distance baby might not see it too clearly tonight. Nothing to do with the clouds. He apparently has Pink Eye (again) in both eyes. He's an expert now at recognizing the signs. But now – as an adult – he has to deal with it on his own. Get to the clinic himself and the pharmacy, etc.

Empty Nesters will tell you it is not easy parenting from a distance. While our boy is only 3 hours away by car, there are times, he might as well be as far away as that Super ball in the sky. He might be fine with the arrangement, but I still want to mother him when he's sick. OK, I'll be honest, I just want him to need me – and not just because he's under the weather!

I'm sure seasoned Empty Nesters will tell me that this is the new reality. I guess I will have to cherish those moments when I still get to be Mom. Hopefully they will come along more often than once in a Blue Moon.

That would be Super.

Itch and Famous

The video above shows the news coverage of yesterday's Torch Run and Carter's interview. Some friends even saw it on another CBS network in Toledo, Ohio! Our son is so famous he couldn't even go to school today for fear of the paparazzi.

Or perhaps it was fear of spreading germs.

We interrupt this Homecoming Week to bring you an infectious disease. Eww. Yes. It is as bad as it sounds. After on and off coughing and congestion over the past week, he woke up with pink eye!

So I took him to the walk-in clinic the minute it opened at 7 a.m. The doctor put him on medication for his eye (antibiotic and drops) and for his cough. So, no, he didn't go to school today. And no, he was unable to run in the cross country meet at Athens, where the team took first place!

Of all the weeks!

I suppose the important thing is getting healthy enough he can return to school tomorrow, perform with the marching band at the game tomorrow night and not be contagious when he escorts his date to the dance on Saturday.

And on a positive note, I have more pictures... thanks to some other mothers.

Senior class boys take off in one of the class vs class competitions this week.

Carter and buddy Macyn hangin' out. Yes, she's as sweet as she is cute!

Dance Squad strikes a pose. Still amazed with all their moves! Gotta love creativity paired with self-confidence! I believe this senior class will be missed.

Even the ones with the infectious... smiles.

And We're Clear

I love when drugs do what they're supposed to. I mean legal drugs, of course.

Thanks to some good antibiotics, Carter's Pink Eye is completely cleared up! It has really helped that Mr. Anti-Medicine has been very good about letting us put the drops in. We have also wisely kept him out of the swimming pool, too, so we aren't doing anything to irritate the eyes and prevent full recovery.

This is good news because this means when we're done with the drops at the end of the week, we'll have another shot at getting those contacts in. Hopefully we'll find success this time without any drama.

This time, too, Carter really, really, really wants it to work. Partly because he is embarrassed he couldn't get them both in last time. And partly because playing football the past 2 days with broken glasses has been no picnic!

Thankfully, they haven't had any player-to-player contact yet. That's when things will get interesting. Carter is much more the sensitive type over the aggressive type. If he would have grown up with a younger sibling to boss around, I'm sure it would be much different. Heck, my twin sister and I would only have to be slightly bored and we'd say, "Let's fight!"

Not that I'm competitive in any way.

Right.

Maybe Carter will grow into that some day when he hits his "regular" growth spurt. That will be coming soon, I suspect. We checked tonight and he is 5 feet, 1 1/2 inches tall. Yes, he's closing in on me. And yes, that means I'm actually taller than 5' 1"!

Not that I'm competitive in any way. Just so we're clear.

Stick a Fork in it

You can stick a fork in our vacation. It is officially done.

Had one final good day, though, so I won't complain... until the alarm goes off tomorrow morning.
Got to sleep in today since we had a late church service at the park. We got lucky and the rain held off. It was a nice service with extra music, which I always enjoy. Hey, if you can get Lutherans to clap along to a song during church, you know it's something different! Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch in the shelter.

Since the sun was coming out to stay, Carter wanted to stop at the car show at the Lions Park. These were most of the cars we saw drive by last night in the cruise. Carter just wanted to drool over the Corvettes and I definitely enabled him! I picked out a Mustang or two I could live with, too.

When we got home, I knew I should do some housework but my deck chair is having withdrawal symptoms, so I thought I better tend to him first. It was pleasant out today -- high 70s -- so I sat outside and read for a bit. Then did the chores I neglected yesterday.

Got some grocery shopping done so we have stuff for lunch this week. Do not want to be thinking about that! After I got home, I went for a little run and then Carter and I watched the movie Rio, our first Blu-Ray rental. Cool!

Somehow during the movie he was going to take his glasses off and they broke. Not just a screw loose, the whole bow broke off. So now we really, really should get contacts but we'll have to wait until the Pink Eye totally clears up. I taped the glasses so he will look like a first-class nerd when he goes to football camp in 2 days. But I guess I won't have to worry about him breaking them in football!

See, there's a positive side to everything.

Except the end of vacation.

Hall of Fame

This evening they televised the induction into the Football Hall of Fame. I don't care what team those guys played for or whether I cheered for or against them, they obviously are stellar athletes with long lists of accomplishments in their wake.

Wouldn't it be cool if we had a Hall of Fame for moms and dads? With all the blood, guts and glory we go through, we'd pretty much earn our spot on a daily basis!

Just today, I saved my child's life... well, I rescued him... well, actually I got him to the doctor so he could officially be diagnosed with Pink Eye. Then got to the pharmacy to get his antibiotic drops so we can get this cleared up as soon as possible.

Then being of sound mind and body -- well body anyway -- I rescued my slightly injured hubby, letting him nurse his very sore back as much as possible while I mowed the grass. I shouldn't admit how easy it was but dang, that self-propelled lawn mower I got him for Father's Day is awesome! It really did almost mow the lawn by itself. That was not as big a sacrifice as I was going to make it. Plus, I got 2 hours of sun!

In the category of organization and planning, I got Carter's school supply shopping done. I think that was more painful for Carter than his Pink Eye. He really does not want to think about school being only 27 days away! Neither do I. Let's look at it as almost a whole month left of summer!

The only reason I wanted to get the shopping out of the way is because I couldn't turn down the deals like paying pennies for folders, etc. We still ended up investing $60 in this next school year -- this does not include clothes -- so he better get straight A's. Or really good grades anyway.

This evening, Carter and I watched a big classic car cruise held in Rapids each August. Basically, spectators park their lawn chairs along the 21-mile loop and just wave, take pictures and admire the hundreds, yes hundreds, of different cars. It started out nice and sunny but was cloudy and then raining at the end. Not good for those expensive wheels!

Got home and hubby was gone taking a walk to loosen up his back. He called when it started to downpour and this time I really did get to rescue him! He was able to stand under a park shelter to stay somewhat dry but it was really, really coming down when I went to get him.

Now it looks like our hot streak has snapped and we are in for a welcome cool spell. It's still warm enough to have some ice cream, naturally. There's definitely gotta be a Hall of Fame category for that streak.

I'm counting on your vote!

T.G.I.F. (Thank Golf it's Friday)

Remember what I said the other day about having a Plan B? Well our golf got rained out on Tuesday and we wisely rescheduled for today -- and it was perfect!

We hit the road by 8 a.m. to go to Green Bay. Carter actually got up before we left because his left eye was sort of red and a bit swollen. I suspected he might have gotten some pollen in there last night when we were golfing. It didn't seem all gummied up like Pink Eye would be, so I gave him a few eye drops and told him, just in case, to not touch it all day if he could help it. And wash his hands as often as possible.

Naturally, we'd check in on him via phone throughout the day, too. He said it hadn't gotten any worse and that he'd given himself more eye drops. So we sort of put that out of our minds and had fun golfing with our friends Scott and Sandy.

The course today was the Brown County Golf Course. It was a really nice course and we had some fun pitting the boys against the girls. Yes, the girls won. Did you doubt it? Yes, they had to spot us strokes since I am a terrible player and we needed to even it up a bit. But that doesn't take away from the sweet taste of victory!

We did luck out and have perfect weather -- low 80s with enough clouds to keep it bearable. Plus not nearly as muggy as it has been. Made for a great day.

Afterwards we went back to their place for supper then headed back to Rapids by 7 p.m. For some reason the car insisted on stopping at King Cone, but then we got straight home.

Carter's eye definitely does not look any better and I am much more inclined to think it might be Pink Eye. So we'll have to bring him somewhere tomorrow if he wakes up and it's no better. This also will postpone another eye appointment to try those contacts again, too. But let's worry about one thing at a time.

Daddy and Mommy need to rub lotion on our pink skin. And Carter needs to not rub anything!