What Month Is It, Again?

I know my two readers are getting tired of me whining about what a weird "winter" this has been. I guess I am just the kind of person who likes predictability. I like it in people and I like it in my weather. I guess that is why I get so bent out of shape when either people act contrary to what I expect to be predictable behavior, and when the weather is just completely bonkers.

It is supposed to be cold in Tennessee in the winter. I don't like cold, especially, but it just comes with the territory. It is the last day of February, and my kids are out playing in their shirt sleeves! I don't think winter is officially over until March 21st or so. Yet, the weathermen are saying we will be up in the 70's this week.

So what is the big deal, you ask? Well, it goes back to this predictability thing. I just really have a hard time of it if things are not what they are supposed to be. It messes with my mind, and I don't have a lot of mind left to mess with! I got all psyched up for the winter, and it never came! Well, we did have a smidgen of it a couple of weekends ago, but it is hardly even noteworthy.

The same principle goes for my interpersonal relationships. I like to know what is coming. I am o.k. with bad things happening sometimes, but I like to see it coming. Take my first husband, for example. I was so naive when I married him that I never saw a lot of things coming. He was never really predictable or stable. I guess all of this may have come to mind today, because this is his birthday. You never really forget some things, no matter how hard you try.

That is why I am so much happier with the husband I have now. He is as predictable as they come. He very rarely surprises me! I know, by now, what he is going to do next 99% of the time. There is a lot of comfort in that!

I should interject here for the stray readers that may happen along on this blog that I don't believe in frivolously ending a marriage because your mate is not predictable. I don't want to leave anyone with that impression. I believe the only reason God approves of for ending a marriage in divorce is when your mate is unfaithful to you. I totally am against frivolous divorce. I think when you make a promise before God, you had better be serious about keeping it. So, for all of you with unpredictable mates, you have my condolences, but I am afraid you are stuck. Maybe you cope with it a whole lot better than I do! I surely hope so.

So, now that we have established that I am totally dazed and confused by the unpredictability of Tennessee weather this year (and will stay that way until the unyielding heat of summer sets in,) I will move on to other news. (Of course, if it is not hot this summer, I am going to probably have to be committed.)

I am delighted to be penning these words on my new Gateway computer. My dear husband has seen fit to upgrade my system to something that will handle all the graphical work that I do. I have a lovely 21 inch screen that is capable of playing television, though I could not tell you to save my life how to do it. We got this so it could double as a flat-screen t.v. in our bedroom. We have been wanting something newer but could not justify spending the money on a flat screen t.v. So, eventually, when I remodel my bedroom later this summer, I will move my computer upstairs to my room and we will use the screen to watch t.v. and movies. We don't have cable, so I am not sure if this will work, but I am sure my hubby will figure it all out.

I am so looking forward to learning all the capabilities of this system and using it to edit my home movies (I have needed to do that forever) and to get a lot of family pictures scanned in and stored in such a way that I can share them with extended family. I have a new printer, too, which came with the package, and I cannot wait to test it out. I have not had a new printer in years, and they have added so much to them now. This one scans, prints and copies, so I can eliminate having multiple machines.

I have to start getting ready for the "birthday weekend." We have numerous members of the family who have birthdays over the weekend, so all that live in Tennessee will gather and celebrate them. Maybe I will be able to do some of my first editing on this computer on those pictures. Micah turns 12, Sarah turns 6, my niece Kelsey turns 8, Dad turns 66, and my mother-in-law turns 29. :) My uncle has a birthday on the 7th as well--the same day as Sarah and Ginny, my MIL. I have lost track of how old he is. We will miss my step-grandmother this year. Her birthday was the same as Dad's on the 5th. Daniel tells me that his new girlfriend's birthday is on the 9th. I told him that was pretty appropriate, as we would have birthdays on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th if she was in the family! I know all that is way premature, but I just thought it was funny!

Well, that is the update for now. I am getting Spring fever. I need to do a lot of cleaning (when don't I?) and a huge yard sale this year, and then I am going to remodel until the cows come home. This is all, of course, dependent on how in keeping all of this is with the Lord's plans for me. He may have other things in store this year. That is o.k. God is extraordinarily Predictable and Dependable, so I can be fine with whatever He has in store.