This may be the longest stretch of time I haven’t blogged. My last post was in June, and frankly, after all the car troubles on vacation, my youngest broke his arm, we needed to replace our entire HVAC system, and I just was not in the mood.

It was “a summer,” to say the least, but things have been looking up lately.

Fall Semester 2022

First, we are three weeks into the new semester, and I am having a blast in my classes. Students seem to be coming out of their post-pandemic-shut-down fog. They interact with me more, and I’m trying all sorts of new ideas in the classroom.

I am attempting, again, to do a video journal of the semester on TikTok. We’ll see if I’m able to keep it up this semester. I like reflecting at the end of every week, but sometimes I get into a funk about it.

Still Car-less

My car is STILL 6 hours away in upstate NY! The mechanic, however, is hopeful that he’ll have it repaired by the end of next week.

Even though it sucks to be car-less, CarMax honored their warranty! So that was a HUGE relief as my engine needed to be completely rebuilt. Actually, I think they are just dropping a new engine in it.

We were okay as a one-car family for most of the summer, but as the semester approached and it was clear my car would not be ready, we needed to do something.

At first, we thought we would purchase a new vehicle, but HOLY COW, are car prices absolutely ridiculous right now. Thankfully, my in-laws were holding on to one of their older cars, and now I’m the proud driver of a 2002 Corolla.

Teaching The Teen to Drive!?

The car issues couldn’t have happened at a worse time as The Teen (yes, the original “The Toddler!”) is learning to drive!

This is something no one prepared me for as a parent. Usually, I’m the laid-back parent. Probably the furthest from a “helicopter mom” I could be, but HOLY SHIT, am I just a ball of stress and anxiety when teaching him how to drive!

He’s doing great too, and I keep letting him know it’s me, not him. He is scheduled to take the test in a couple of weeks, and I’m ready to be done with the lessons.

I know it’s not going to be any better when he’s out there driving on his own, but me being in the passenger seat white-knuckling is no fun. I swear I grow a few new gray hairs every time!

Middle School Round Two

As for The 11-year-old, well, he’s now a middle schooler, and I’m also stressed about that transition.

He seems to be doing well, but he’s more of an extrovert like me, and I know the social aspect of changing schools and making new friends is more important to him than it was for his brother, who’s a bit of a loner, in a good way.

He just joined his first club, and I think that will help him immensely.

In Other News…

I just looked through my IG to see what I did between my last post and today, and even though it would be easy to focus on the negatives, like my car breaking and such, we had a kick-ass summer.

The Husband and I have been talking about how we are on the cusp of another transition as parents. The boys are growing up–I dare not say fast, although it always feels like that when you look back. Instead, I’ll say they are growing up so interestingly. I know that may not sound like a good thing, but it is! It is interesting to watch them mature and become confident in who they are and what they want to do.

And, even though it’s different (not harder but different), I am enjoying my role shift from caretaker to advisor.

That’s all I have in me. I felt like an update was in order. I hope you are well!

Oh! And I had to pick a featured image for the post. So I picked my favorite family shots from the beach this year. I absolutely love how stinkin’ happy we look!