My New Year’s resolution was to blog more consistently.  In two weeks I have written once.  Is that more consistently?  In my defense, it is only the third.  So technically I have only missed two days since I made the resolution.  However; it looks as if this resolution is going the way of so many others.  I have good intentions.  I truly do.  Life tends to get in my way.

The tennis elbow (how funny is that?) is still the same.  It hurts all the time, and nothing makes it better.  This seems to be the story you constantly hear from me.  It hurts all the time, and nothing makes it better.  I wish I had the resilience of The Precious.  His little broken arm doesn’t even slow him down.  He has figured out what he can and can’t do with it, and utilizes it to his full advantage.  He even manages to look pretty darn cute with it.  It’s red and reaches up above his elbow.  Not because he needs it that high.  Elbow would have been good enough, but it is above the elbow so he can’t monkey his way out of it.

He received some Christmas money and we took him shopping on Saturday night.  He found a castle.  It has “boys” in it.  It also has a dragon that roars and causes thunder and lightening.  He and I stayed together while his parents went to  a movie and Boppy went to play trivia.  He must have played with his castle for over an hour without even looking up.  He had guys falling off the top and getting bonked on the head with boulders and about a zillion other things.  I don’t know if I have ever been around someone so little with such a big imagination.  He has begun to cry whenever he leaves and that breaks my heart.  He has to learn to go quietly.  Seriously, I think his parents have taught him to make me feel guilty so that I will let him spend the night.  I will too, just as soon as he keeps my hours.

We had a great Christmas, and we were lucky enough to have all the kids at home at least one night.  My youngest is working all the time…two jobs basically.  To top all of that off she starts cosmetology school the last of March.  It seems she is never home, and when she is it is a whirlwind of clothes and hairspray and then she’s gone again.  The middle son is working on a play.  Actually (and this is where I get to brag a little bit), he is starring in Bug.  I think it is kicking his ass.   I called him about three days ago, and I still haven’t gotten a call back.  I can’t even begin to imagine learning a whole script, and he is basically the only character.  He has a female lead as well, but she has many fewer lines to learn.  He was able to come in for one night and then he was gone.  He practices and he sleeps.  The older kids…the married ones are just swimming along.  I told my non-vag. daughter the other night that I really don’t even understand how they have clean clothes.  I mean, if I had to do housework, work, and raise a two year old I truly think there would be some naked people running around.  Yes, I know that I used to do it all the time.  I know that I dealt with three of the little monsters.  I also know that I had my first when I was 17.  I had the second when I was 20, and the third at 25.  I am now within weeks of turning 50.  I am tired.  Alot.  I don’t know how any of my kids manage to do all the things they do.  I now think back and wonder how in the hell I did it.  Then it comes to me.  When you have to…you just do it.  You don’t think about it.  If you did you would go nuts.  The older ones are even considering beginning the process of adding to the brood in the next six months or so.  Again, been there done that, but WTF?  I know they’ll manage.  A large part of me still sighs each time they leave though.  I love my grandson to the moon and back, but he wears me out.  I would see him every day if I could, but he wears me out.  He is the cutest little trained monkey you have ever seen, but (I know you know).

So what will 2010 hold?  Hell if I know.  I just know that at this point in time, everyone is well.  Most of the time at least 6 out of the 7 of us are happy, and some days we are 7 for 7.  That’s not bad.  The economy sucks, but life isn’t bad.  Maybe instead of shooting for better we should just maintain the status quo.  I have to believe that things in the economy will improve.  I choose to believe that the family will just get better and better.  Considering how good we are now, I’d have to say things are looking up!  I’m gonna go knock some wood now!