September 2024 Family Update

Welp, Skylar is officially an Eagle Scout. She was very nervous about her Board of Review but it went great! I think she was in disbelief for several days. She kept saying, “Mom, I’m an Eagle Scout.” I hope we can all relate to the feeling of yearning and working hard towards a pretty lofty goal and then experiencing the satisfaction of achieving it.

I know I brag on her a lot but the way she handles her business is truly impressive. She takes 3 dual enrollment classes at Cumberland University, works 20-25 hours a week, has theatre practice 4 days a week, and plays travel hockey. Speaking of, they just had 3 practice games and it made me really excited for the season to come. Our first travel weekend is coming up next month in Indianapolis. I don’t have to be the “team momager” this season, which means I get to relax some and really enjoy and be present for her Senior Year. It’s going by really quickly already so I’m trying to soak in as much as I can.

College tours have started and she visited the Aviation Department at Auburn University with her cousin and grandparents. The girls first visited the campus with them 9 years ago so it was fun to see how much they have changed in this photo. Skylar is considering several different higher education routes but likely won’t make a decision until Spring.

I strained my calf muscle on Labor Day and then completely tore it a week later. Recovery has been very slow and frustrating. I’m a couple weeks into physical therapy and guessing I still have 3-4 more weeks to go. My mental health has been on the struggle bus. I was finally cleared to walk and that has helped but I’m still having pain. I miss playing pickleball so much. I feel like I’m loosing both strength, skill, and stamina by the day. The problem is, there isn’t really anything else I enjoy as much to maintain it and I’m also still limited by the range of motion and discomfort. Here’s hoping I can be patient enough to let it heal properly and then make my comeback. I mostly hate that I played through 100 degree days and now I’m missing out on the best weather of the year. Plus, it’s nostaligc because this is the time of year I learned to play last year and it holds fond memories for me.

We had an unexpected baby squirrel drop into our life who was abandoned and brought to me by Ace. I tried for days to reunite him with his mama but she was nowhere to be found. Skylar named him Toaster Strudel. We took him in and cared for him for 10 days before he took a sudden turn and ultimately passed away. He brought so much joy to us and many others so I’m trying to remember all of that and not the sad ending. At least he didn’t go alone out in the cold.

I think that’s all of the high points for September. Cheers to spooky season!