Oh reader-friends, oh Twitter-friends, oh all my friends in my little bloggy world, I have missed you! I have! I love writing. I love blogging. (And now I love chatting on Twitter too–and I never imagined I’d get there!) But apparently I needed a break and didn’t even realize it. My poor mind has just curled up in a little ball and been hiding under the covers for a week or so now. That’s what it does when my emotional bank gets overdrawn. And I just haven’t felt much like talking. Or writing. Or anything.

The emotional stresses of Mother’s Day and the accident anniversary and the school situation (and the hard-core financial analysis the school situation kicked-off) and then the kids have been sick with Fifth Disease. (Which is not actually a “disease” like I think of “disease.” It’s just a virus.)

And if that’s not bad enough, it turns out that this Fifth Disease is so mild that basically my kids were sick and I didn’t even know it until two weeks afterwards, when the rash popped up. I just thought they were having trouble with their allergies like I was. Actually, I wouldn’t even know it now, except that my poor Ladybug got more than a “mild” rash and I spent 4 hours at Urgent Care with her yesterday. She’s fine! Itchy, but fine. It’s already looking better. It’s just that normally it takes 24-48 hours to fade, and her’s was so bad that it’s taking more like 96 hours to fade.

And school for the boys ended last Friday so we set them up to spend the week with a friend as babysitter while Ruby finished her last week…and it turns out that wasn’t their last day. Um, wow, MOM FAIL. At least it’s just pre-school. (Poor Mr. Fix-It thinks I’m losing my mind!)

So yeah, I’m feeling like mother-of-the-year over here right now.

Sometimes it seems like there’s just no time to just be.

To just sit quietly on the porch and do nothing.

There’s constantly decisions to make, constantly choices to make, constantly noise and needs and next, next, next…

But sometimes you’ve just got to take a deep breath and keep on plowing forward. Sometimes life is not neat and quiet. Sometimes it’s busy, and messy, and just won’t wait on you while you curl up in bed and lick your wounds. You’ve just got to get back in the saddle and keep riding.

“Cowgirls don’t cry, ride baby ride,

Lesson of life are gonna show you in time, soon enough you’re gonna know why,

It’s gonna hurt every now and then, if you fall get back up again,

Cowgirls don’t cry.” (Brooks and Dunn)

So today all my kiddos are in school. (Yes, I’m sure this Friday is their last day!) And I have frozen pizza in the freezer for dinner so we can all get off to church tonight. And tomorrow Mr. Fix-It and I will be visiting some local schools as part of our decision-making process. (Prayers welcome!!)

And I’m taking a deep breath, or two, and getting back on that horse. Back in the game. Back to work on this life the Lord gave me.

How’s your week going?