When I Was Normal

Darn, I hate that this photo is blurry. Big Joe and Cristy were telling the other kids some stories about when they were kids here with me. Now 26 and 32 respectively, CW used to be a toddler wearing Joe's football helmet and jersey....before Big Joe blew out both knees on the field, sidelining him something terrible back then.

A grown kid day surprisingly. My phone battery eventually went dead as I had ten tons of stuff to deal with all day long.

Most surprisingly might have been Edgar, getting all over me for being so distant, but I've truly had to work through stuff. "Son, I have trust issues now," I told him.

Big Joe came by with his daughter, Alyssa, checking on CW's collar bone break, offering non-encouraging words, "Sucks, doesn't it?"

Daniel was calling to check on Dubs, and Jesse and I finally got caught up.

Wonderful news came in by mid-morning, as the one who wanted me dead, who threatened to shoot out my windows with a 12 guage shotgun, telling folks in town, "Mom's done for," was finally found and arrested, due to diligence, folks hunting for him, and a very quick police response, plus the probation officers that I called as soon as I got wind of all this.

I'd had nothing to do with this grown kid since I'd been given an order of protection. What the heck was he mad at me for? We'd had zero contact, no problems, no issues.

A step back for CW though, the break is bad enough to sideline him for THREE long months, man will this have to be a character building time. "He's needs to put on some weight," Jesse suggested, "Lena isn't gonna let Isaiah play football now because of this."

Daniel opined, "He needs way more upper body bulk and strength."

He truly does, he's shot up this school year, tall and thin, yet he eats like a horse. Cristy bought over fresh, stinging hot tabasco sauce she'd made from garden ingredients, plus two salsas, one verde, one red. We dumped it on the barley, corn and rice dinner that Big Joe turned his nose up at, "Dang they serve better food in prison than that," he snorted, while Cristy ate two plates of it. I chowed down too like a starving kid. No, he's never been to prison, he just constantly trash talks.

I'm eating everything in sight that isn't nailed down.

Soccer evaluations tomorrow morning instead of yard sales and then Chuck's gonna bring some tools over to help put my house back together. We need some down time around here, hunkering down as a family, no pressure, no heavy duty schedule.

My baby's daddy, my first husband, texted me when he'd arrived at Sarah's today, bringing another of his daughters, pretty Jenny, and her family. Ole JB and I have managed to remain friends for nearly 40 years now, happy grandparents together, and seeing him reminds me of how normal my life used to be. His wife, Lynn, didn't come this trip, I enjoy seeing her as well and their other kids and grandkids.

Yolie reminded me how many, many years ago when they (my biggers) first met Jenny and the abject shock written all over their faces because Sarah and Jenny are startingly similar, tall beautiful blondes, Monica had even cried because it had so upset her to learn of Sarah's other family, to see such a surprising resemblance in her sister, Sarah, and this stranger who showed up at the beach house.

A lot of my kids don't even know I was ever married, much less twice so.

You know, I really did used to be normal...I really did.