Where, exactly, is HOME?

I moved across the country, from Oregon to Massachusetts, to marry my husband. I didn't choose the location, I chose HIM. Fortunately I like my little town very much. I'm very active in town and church, and have made wonderful friends. I've lived here 15 years.

Fifteen years, yet I still call Oregon home. My parents, sister and her family, aunts & uncles, cousins, all are in Oregon. If I lived there I probably wouldn't see most of the extended family that often, but I sure miss not being able to get together with them all.

The thing is, living in Massachustts, I call Oregon home. When I'm in Oregon, I refer to Massachusetts as home. This polarity drives me a little nutty sometimes. I feel a constant pull to Oregon; yet I have roots here, too.

In my own perfect world, Massachusetts would be about where Idaho is. Close enough I could still drive home for family gatherings and visits.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else experiences this mixed bag of emotions about HOME. Maybe it's a KathyLikesPink phenomenon.

Filch-It Friday: The Lottery

I'm finally ready to begin Simply Nutmeg's fabulous Filch It Friday. As many times as I've read a great blog post and thought "Gee, I wish I'd stolen thought of that", when the opportunity finally presented itself last week I choked!

But here goes...

The idea that has sparked me to filch today is The Compact: When I win the lottery .

Being the good mother that I am,

I would put enough money away to pay for Darling Daughter's college, and a safety net trust fund for her future. My husband and I were middle-aged when we had our one and only child and I worry about us dying while she is still a young woman. I want her protected and safe.

My husband, daughter and I live on the east coast, and the rest of my family lives on the west coast. I would buy a house back in my hometown. Then I would pay off the mortgages of my parents and sister. Nothing would make me happier.

I would take all of my family away on a vacation, somewhere warm and relaxing and fabulous...and where they are not shocked by a chubby woman on the beach in a bathing suit ...

I would be generous with my church. I love my church family, I love my church buildings - I would like to assist in helping it survive another 225 years.

I would make a generous contribution to the Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage in Tibet. My church contributes to the support of this wonderful haven for children, and The Hubs and I support a child at the orphanage. A member of our church spends several months each year at the orphanage, teaching the blind children how to read braille.

I would love to create a safe place for rescued and abused animals.

A farm, a shelter, a combination of the two.

I guess that about sums it up. Man, I'm gonna need a LOT of money to do all this...

I guess I better start buying lottery tickets!

Happy Easter

This year, Darling Daughter is 13 years old.

I am not climbing into the attic to search for her Easter basket and the ziplock bag of three dozen colored plastic eggs.

I am not going to insert coins and chocolate into three dozen colored plastic eggs.

I am not going to get up at dark-thirty to hide three dozen colored plastic eggs filled with coins and chocolate.

I am not going to take pictures of Darling Daughter hunting for three dozen colored plastic eggs filled with coins and chocolate while wearing jammies with feet.

I do observe yet another sign of my daughter growing up.

Easter morning, we will all sleep in. When we awaken, I will give her Lindt chocolate bunnies. Because she will always be my baby girl.

And I will be well-rested.

Hello...Can you hear me now?

Here I go. First entry. I've been thinking of trying this for quite a while but didn't know if I could pull it off. There are so many great bloggers out there, it's pretty intimidating. I'll just do my usual ... jump in with both feet.

I'm 49 years old and fifty is coming up fast. I'm going through menopause which is a source of endless delight. Have you read the email going around full of jokes about menopause? I'm here to tell you they are NO JOKE but are the God's honest truth. Hair on my legs seems to have stopped growing...but now I have to keep an eye on facial hair! It's just WRONG, I tell you.

On the plus side, I haven't had to buy a winter coat in a couple of years. My hot flashes are enough to roast marshmallows with. This morning it was 3*, so I drove my daughter to school rather than have her have to wait in the cold at the bus stop. I took a coat along just in case we had car trouble - it's winter in New England, you have to be safe - but it stayed in the backseat the whole 20 minute trip. And I did NOT warm up the car first.

My daughter is 13 years old and has started her period. Between the two of us, our house is Hormones Gone Wild. My husband quietly retreats to his own little man cave and tries to stay out of the rough sea of estrogen flowing around him.

Our household also includes two elderly cats and a hermit crab my daughter has had for six years. I have to mention that, because every family I know who has ever adopted a hermit crab has had it go to that big beach in the sky within a couple of months. It's a double-edged sword - on one hand I'm impressed that we have treated him well enough that he has survived domesticity so long - on the other hand...it's a freakin' CRAB, six long years that aquarium has been part of the decor in my dining room. Enough already!

Well I guess that's more than you would ever want to know in one sitting about my life. Hope I haven't bored you to tears.