Friends, frustration, and fish

It’s been a beautiful (although very hot) Sunday, and I’m glad to be snuggling into my bed with Honey. It was a great day of worship and fellowship, and I was reminded of how truly blessed I am. I’m reminded of that every day, but am especially grateful for Sundays, when it all comes together. Being able to spend the day with my friends and family always lifts my spirits. It’s the day I don’t have to be the lone parent and disciplinarian for most of the day, too, so I get a little rest. The phrase, “ask your dad,” flows freely from my tongue, as I return to the relief of not having to settle every dispute and make every decision.

As I fixed my hair this morning, and lifted the sides up to pin them, I noticed 8-10 new gray hairs. I say new… they were about an inch and a half long, so they are fairly recent additions to my mane… and I’m pretty sure I know the cause. It’s Luke. Has to be. Well, I’ll give his brothers some credit, too, but Luke is really trying me these days. It seems that he doesn’t much care to control his fleshly desires (sneaking food, taking things that belong to others, staying out of things that aren’t his), much less obey direct commands (like “don’t pick the pomegranates” or “don’t touch the crowbar”). He seems to forget much of what I say, or just concedes that he knew better, but did it anyway. He also asks for a snack about TWENTY times a day, often saying he’s hungry RIGHT after we finish a meal! It’s wearing on me, for sure. When I was whining about it to Craig, he said, “Well, there’s not much we can do about it. We’ve still got him, and we’ll just have to work with him and try new punishments.” We’ve still got him? As if there were an option? I love the little booger, and certainly wouldn’t get rid of him, but it sure crosses my mind that he could be in school…

Craig went deep-sea fishing with a few buds this weekend, and they had a good time. They, amazingly, went the whole day in the sweltering sun without getting too sunburned (thanks to the loads of sunscreen we all packed – Craig had 3 different kinds) and brought home several pounds of fish. I just hope they let the guides clean them next time. Craig brought home some Red Snapper and a small shark, and that shark STUNK when he cleaned it. It was so gross. The boys enjoyed watching, and Jake, as usual, had to get the whole thing photo-journaled. I think he took 20-30 photos of fish guts that I’ll get to delete, but he did get this good one of Craig and the shark. Tomorrow, we’ll be having Red Snapper for dinner… yum!