Busy week

 

Rose turned 7 this week!  My baby is 7!

She also needs glasses.  I hauled six of the kids off to the eye doctor in the last few weeks (Joseph went a few months ago and the older girls are on their own) and it turns out Rose has astigmatism in both eyes.  That was a surprise, and I feel a little guilty about not bringing her in last year. COVID-19 made it hard to get into appointments and she was pretty nutty last year, but still ...

Apparently the curvature of her eyes is fine, but she has astigmatism. It was obvious that she wasn't seeing well in the distance, though she did fine up close. So on Monday, we will go and get her glasses.  Of course, Isaac and Angela and Daniel and Sarah are all getting glasses as well!  So far, only Miriam and Lydia have excellent eyesight.  The genetics are there for needing glasses.

We are still battling an annoying virus.  It has worked its way slowly through the family.  Daniel was pretty sick on Wednesday; he had a high fever and was miserable, but he got over it in a day.  Kevin has been sickest -- he is still coughing off and on.  

Speaking of Kevin, he has started a new position at the base.  This means a lot of extra work as he gets to know people and attends lots of meetings, etc.  So far, everything has been from home.  

I have three friends who were widowed with young children.  I honestly don't know how they do it.  For  that matter, I don't know how single moms due to divorce or separation do it.  It is exhausting trying to do extra stuff when life is already busy.  Kevin has been working a lot and sick, so I've been doing more this week.  Of course, I don't grudge it or anything -- it just reminds me to be THANKFUL that he is healthy and a hard worker.

I recently read a book called "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio".  The focus of the book is Evelyn Ryan, a Catholic housewife who, in the 1950's and 1960's, kept her ten children clothed and fed through winning contests.  These were not 'sweepstakes' where it is all luck. She did jingles and the like. She was brilliant and hard working and won again and again.

Her husband, regrettably, was a total shmuck. He was an alcoholic, often verbally abusive, very occasionally physically abusive.  At one point, he took out a second mortgage on their home and didn't tell his wife. She only found out a few weeks before the loan was due. He had blown through all $4000 of the loan.  They only kept their house when she won the grand prize of a particular contest which allowed them to pay back the loan and pay property taxes.

She was an amazing woman.  I admire her so much for keeping on. She just kept forging onward in spite of the serious struggles of her life.  Her kids all grew up to be productive members of society and even her husband turned things around at the end of his life.

I am so thankful Kevin is a good husband and father!  I am thankful for my own father, who faithfully and lovingly provided for me, my brothers, and my mom!

Speaking of my parents, they have been raring to travel again and have multiple trips coming up in the next year.  They are wonderfully adventurous!

I have been setting aside 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day to write. That is not a lot of time but it has proven helpful in making steady progress on my latest book.  At this point, I have a lot of the plot laid out.  I am guessing it will be done in a few weeks.  Our latest book has done well though not as well as Longbourn Inheritance, which has been my most successful book to date.  Kevin is trying to analyze what makes a book particularly popular.

Isaac is working on getting his driver's license soon.  He has a test scheduled for late July, which was the first possible date.  Everything is backed up thanks to COVID.

Isaac is also taking a Calculus 2 class at double pace, so yeah, he is busy doing lots of math!

Joseph is taking a 1 credit class called First Year Experience, through Clark State University.

So both boys are moderately busy this summer.

Well, it is time for me to take my daily rest/nap.  I did get sick with the same illness Kevin did but am mostly over it. I am still a little tired though.