Humans will pay obscene amounts of money to...

*Hang out with total strangers,

*Stand until they want to chop their own feet off,

*Sweat until their clothes are soaked and highlighting the hidden rolls of fat,

*Allow their sense of smell to be offended by BO, silent-but-deadlies, and public restroom fog,

*Endure obnoxious noises, like an empty water bottle being turned into a drumstick, by a boy, whose mother was just letting him "enjoy his energy"......and

*Waste hours of unproductive time.

MAZ entertainment at a theme park:

After I have done the above, by entering the ride area, turning the corner and waiting in the miles of fence/chain herding lines, and then back around to the original corner to enter the building containing the last 10 minute wait....

At that corner....

I delight in watching the people enter with a smile and then all happiness drains from their body when they see they have rounded the corner into purgatory.

Today I heard, "oh shit..", in 5 different languages.

Emergency and warning signs intrigue me.

For every rule, there is an event that birthed said rule.

I wish I could have seen that unfortunate event.

Speaking of unfortunate events....

I joined Max enjoying "butter beer", from Harry Potter.

However, mine was a Guiness, at 10am, before eating.

This Wizard's Brew hit the spot.

But the spot wanted to return for a complete refund after enjoying this ride!

We all enjoyed Harry Potter's world...

And my addiction to selfies gave me a glimpse of what two 68 year olds do while the roller coaster is climbing the first hill...

Get yo self situated...

Thank goodness for afternoon storms!

I was in bed by 7:30.

Early start again tomorrow!

Thursday night I came home to this...

I have been expressing my opinion of the wiring and hole in the front of my house for several days.

Tonight, I told the boys I would not be joining the family for church tomorrow because the Comcast guy was coming to fix the mess.

Jack: "I don't think you should stay here alone."

Me: "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

Jack: "I know. I was talking about the Comcast guy."

The Comcast technician decided the correct way of running the wires was not good enough for us.

We are spending a small fortune on some renovations, so he decided he would add to the aesthetics.

Tonight I met up with some of my favorite guys, after almost 20 years!

We ate at Edley's BBQ in 12 South, Nashville.
My catfish sandwich was great, but my sides were FANTASTIC!
I highly recommend their fried pickles, mac-n-cheese, and potato salad!

When the guys arrived, I felt like we were back in college and out for a night of fun!  
We immediately began catching up on spouses, jobs, kids, parents, and life in general.
It did not seem like it had been 20 years.......

until a "DJ" announced "trivia night".....

The loud ruckus of the young 20-something whipper snappers annoyed us 40-somethings and we moved to a different atmosphere!

Coffee at

The Frothy Monkey.......and just like in college, we closed the place down......at 9pm....

I literally sat on my phone all night so I would not irritate these guys with my obsession for picture taking.  
Instead, at the end of our evening, in the pouring rain, I made them pose in the parking lot for a selfie.

I had my hands full and had to concentrate on pushing the button, instead of posing.

Hence the constipated look on my face...

Why am I the only one that has aged?

It was time for me to brave the 40 minute trek back to Gallatin, in the storm.
Since I had successfully made it to Nashville with only one U-Turn on the interstate, I felt confident that I could make it back to Gallatin, without any help from my map.

HA!

I made it onto the interstate and then quickly became confused.  I exited the interstate and found myself in a deserted part of town.  

I had driven into a night scene from the walking dead.  I did not want to stop the car for fear the few night people would approach the car.  I could not see well, because of the rain....
AND
2 cop cars flew up into the one-way alley, I was traveling against the arrow, shining their light on 2 people trying to scurry under a loading dock.

Remember I said we posed for the pic in the pouring rain?
Well, if any moisture gets between the otterbox cover of my phone, and the face of my phone, the touch screen won't work.

As I kept my eyes on the rainy street, I scrambled to remove the otterbox cover from my phone so I could use maps, or GPS.....heck! even SIRI (I loathe her), to get out of this area!

I could not drive and blindly remove the case.  I got very stressed and angry.....

angry MAZ removed the case, freed the phone and used the map.  
I was 4 blocks from the flippin restaurant......

Since I went back to work, 2 1/2 years ago, I have grown to hate this question.

Now my vacation days are full of doctor appointments or family trips.

Ironically, I find myself asking other non-teacher, working mothers the same question.  As soon as the typical "how are you" type question leaves my lips, I wish I could take it back.  

I hate "how are you" because I am not going to tell you that I have had a chronic migraine for several months 
(unless you read it on social network.....I'll post it, but I'll pretty much post anything...saying it is different).

I hate "how are you" because I do not want you to really answer more than one word...."fine".

The same with "how's your summer".......what summer.....

Gone are my stay-at-home summer days. 
 
 - - Days of forcing the boys to swim at the YMCA all day long, because if I'm going to pack all that crap and haul it to the pool, we are going to stay until I am too tired to haul the crap back to the car!
- - Days of forcing the boys to play outside in the suffocating humidity and the boiling sun, because it is summer and that means you should be outside.....no matter how miserable and close to death the heat makes you.
- - Days of reading books for fun and doing nothing else until the book is finished, because I must complete anything I start, without interruption.....like meals, or quality time.

What is not gone?  Summer ear infections....

BUT - - gone are the days that Max is excited about sitting in Dr. Chanin's Blue's Clues Thinking Chair....

Gone are the days of a stay-at-home mom of little boys....

My baby Jack will be 17 in a month.  He is never home because he drives and has a job...

Monday, he flew on an airplane for the first time......to Budapest, Hungary...for 12 days.

The red suitcase is mostly full of empty space, 13 t-shirts, and a couple of shorts.

The black suitcase was packed by a youth leader, not Jack, and contains 50 pounds of powdered paint in baggies....much like drugs....and Jack was instructed, by the mission trip leader:
"they will ask you if anyone else packed your bag.  You say 'no'..."

Thankfully, I found this funny...going on a mission trip and lying to the feds....

My baby Max will be 15 in two months....driving...

He has passed his mother in intelligence.  He gave me a complete History lesson at the 3rth of July celebration.  
Being a homeschool teacher/mom, I should have responded proudly:  
"I'm glad you paid attention to my teaching."

But instead I was: "Really??  where the heck did you learn that?"

Gone are the days of feeling the need to provide educational playtime, worrying if he will wander off at the 3rth of July concert....

What is not gone?  Max's fascination with destruction...explosions, taking things apart to see how they work.....burning things with a magnifying glass...

I needed some summer days...DESPERATELY!

So Friday and Saturday, I did nothing but read a book.....one of the best books I have read in a long time!

I donned my Esther Williams swimsuit and lounged in the backyard for two days.  I was transported to Germany during the late 1930s and early 40s.  I laughed and cried as I became another character in the book.  I had not lost myself in a book, in years.  I entered 2014 only to go in the house for water or break for lunch with Max.

Today, as my heart pounded because I was nearing the end of the book, I needed to stop for water.  I ascended the steps to the back door and noticed my neighbor had been watching me through parted blinds.

I told Jeff, "the weirdo is looking at me, in my bathing suit, and probably wondering why I would walk around the backyard without a cover-up!"  Jeff responded with an obligatory compliment.  I rolled my eyes and went back to my backyard blanket, and a riveting story.

Later, my phone buzzed with a text.  I paused my running from the Nazis, to see who might be trying to contact me.  It was Jeff and he had sent an image....

I turned to look at the house, and Jeff stood proudly in the window.

Gone are the days that I need 2 months of nothing.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my two days of summer and am ready to go back to work, on Monday.