Shut-up Nancy!

Turn left here, Make a U-Turn...
...You know that annoying voice that usually puts you in the wrong place.

My morning began on just two hours of sleep due to excessive homework and studying.  I had to be out of the house by 6:30 in order to get to Arlington for my scheduled check-off.  I grabbed breakfast, which was the same thing I had for dinner the night before...a package of Austin brand Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter and ran out of the door.  Perfect...I not only would be there on time, but I was going to have a few moments to go over the check-off one last time.  Wouldn't it be nice if life worked as good while it is happening as it does in our heads? 

Halfway to Granbury, I realize I don't have my watch, an important piece of equipment in the check-off.  In a split second several things run through my mind as I pull to the side of the road and whip my car around...driving all the way home would make me late, I could borrow a classmates watch, but it's scheduled check-offs so there might not be anyone else there, if I am late the instructor could actually count it as a fail, three fails and your out, can't be out of the program, could call Terry who might grab my watch and head my direction with it, (quick glance at the clock and back to the thoughts flying through my head) Terry could already be at work, Terry might be gripey, can't be late, awe heck just call Terry.  Well, I did, he was not gripey, and he met me on the road between the house and Glen Rose with my watch.  Lifesaver!

That turning around did take about 20 minutes of the clock, which was cutting it pretty close, but getting to Arlington on time was still possible.  That was until the flat bed truck in front of me started losing tools off the back of his truck.  So there I was dodging a large combination square at 70 mph, hoping it didn't hit my car and feeling sorry for him when he go to the job site.  I needed to get around him, but it wasn't gonna happen.  For fear of getting hit by a table saw I slowed down to a crawl.  Yes 55 - 60 feels like you're crawling when you have to be somewhere by a certain time.

Now, I know which roads to take, which exits to use, so I didn't need the navigator, but Nancy, the navigator, has that neat little feature that shows your arrival time, and she is always right on the money.  (The kiddos named the voice Nancy, but my husband usually calls her something else)  I reach over, turn Nancy on and she shows my arrival time to be 8:49.  That is 19 minutes late! 

By this time, I am out of the country and in traffic, on the phone with my instructor, and going over the steps of my check-off.  Yes, I was going through the steps out loud, and yes, other drivers were most likely wondering, "What in the heck is wrong with that girl?".

My lack of sleep, hunger, test anxiety, and stress got the best of me.  I could see far enough ahead to know there were no cops, so I decided I could go a little bit faster, ya know just to get through the traffic.  Before I knew it, Nancy is yelling "CAUTION".  She yells that when your speed is 10 miles over the posted limit.  I am a multi-tasker, but even I couldn't keep my eyes on the road, drive a little bit faster than I should, fight traffic, go over my check-off, and turn Nancy's volume off at the same time.  Come on, It just wouldn't be safe if I did all of that. 

So, every few seconds, I hear, "CAUTION".  I slow down just a tad, but speed right back again.  There she is again, "CAUTION"  I repeat the slow down - speed up. "CAUTION", "CAUTION", "CAUTION"  Like I mentioned before, my lack of sleep, hunger, test anxiety, and stress got the best of me, and I holler out, "SHUT UP NANCY!"

She just replied, "CAUTION"

In case you were wondering...I was 15 minutes late, Ms. Todd did let me check-off, and Yep, I passed first attempt.  We'll see how next week goes.

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style.

A Nine Year Celebration

It's hard to believe how fast time passes...
...Our baby boy turned Nine.

Corey woke up to find a "Happy Birthday, Love Dad" note Terry left on the counter before he headed off to work.  Corey thought it was pretty special because when I got home that was the first thing he told me.  And when Cameron said, "I was the first to wish you Happy Birthday," Corey quickly responded, "Nu-uh, Dad was, He left me a note!"

I spent the majority of Corey's birthday running around and getting things together for his birthday party that evening.  A quick run to Stephenville followed by a quick run to Cleburne.  Yep, two different towns - two different directions....some of the joys of living in the sticks. 

We planned on having grilled hot dogs at 7.  Which was way too long for Corey to wait.  His excitement increased throughout the day, while his patience decreased.  He could hardly wait for everyone to get to the house.  Once they got here, he could barely wait for everyone to get finished eating dinner.  I think he ate his hot dog in one bite, and was asking, "Are you done?"  He even cleaned up everyone's plates in hopes of of speeding up the process.  Finally, we were all was finished and it was the moment he had been waiting for...time to open presents.

He got everything he was wanting.  A Dale Jr. beach towel (which he says he is hiding from Dad), a watergun, new swim shorts, an electronic light saber with batteries, Mario Galaxy for Wii, one size fits all - Cash, and a bright green bicycle.  He could barely decide what to do first, shoot someone with watergun, ride his bike, head to the room to play videogames, run outside in the dark to see his light saber glow, or jump in the pool so he could dry off with his new towel.  He did squeeze in a quick, "Will you put this money up, so we can go to the store," and then I'm pretty sure he did everything within ten minutes and then repeated his list.

When he got settled down, he threw his arms around our necks, and said he had a Great Birthday!  Makes your heart happy.  I am very greatful our family was here to help make Corey's birthday Great! 

This birthday marked the last year of the single digits for Corey.  Next year he hits the doubles. Milestones....10, 13, 16...time just keeps on flying by.

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style!

1977

I woke up yesterday morning...
...to the beginning of a new year.

Yep that's right, it was my birthday, and my day was full of surprises!  From a beautiful, fresh bouquet of summer flowers to Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss (8 tubes of it) to Blingy, Oversized sunglasses to sweet smelling Sexy Little Things Love Me perfume and lotion (another Victoria's Secret Special), to MORE Beauty Rush lip gloss and makeup...(Love that girl, Vickie and her store)!  A Very Big Thank-You to Dad and Kelly; Mom and Rick; and the fabulous Queens of Quality.  By the way, I am thinking all of that lip gloss will last me approximately 5-6 months.  Although, certain individuals might argue with that statement.  Actually, I think they have placed some bets on how long it will last me.

Terry had to have been a pretty busy fella yesterday afternoon with all of his birthday planning he was doing.  When I got home, I walked up to the house and could smell the sweet aroma of a freshly baked cake, so I knew Terry had been doing some baking after he got off work.  However, I was instructed to go immediately to the room and wait.  A few minutes passed and he told me I could come out. There stood Corey, holding the cake, Terry, Tillman, Brooke, Colby and Cameron.  They all busted out in song...  "Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear Ma, Happy Birthday to you."  Terry had definitely been doing some baking.  The kitchen counter was filled with Terry's Famous Burritos, Homemade Rice and Beans and the yummy chocolate cake decorated with colorful marshmallows. 

My birthday was FOR SURE a day of surprises, and I love them all!

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style.

Waterlogged

From just about sun-up to sun-down...
...the swimming pool was where the boys spent their time.

Seth, my nephew, spent the weekend with us.  We don't get to see him as often as we used to, so it was great getting to spend some time with him.

The boys, well Seth and Corey spent every evening this week with Memaw, Papaw, Aunt Teresa and their cousin Shelby, at Vacation Bible School in Morgan.  Cameron joined them on Thursday and Friday nights, when he got back from camp.  I have been told they had a baby goat, chickens, and all kinds of crafts during VBS.

Since Friday evening was the last night, it lasted a little bit longer than the other nights.  That sure didn't slow the boys down any.  They busted through the front door sometime after 9 that night, all three of them talking at once.  I don't know if they were all just so excited Seth was staying or if it was all the sugar they had been eating; my guess is, it was a little of both.  They eventually settled down enough for Terry and I to rustle them into the bedroom and get the Netflix streaming.  After a few moments of quiteness coming from the bedroom, we felt it was safe to go on to bed. 

I'm not sure what time the boys went to sleep, but they didn't wake up until just a little after 10 the next morning.  I still haven't told them they slept right through Grandaddy and Mi-Mi's visit. 

Seth and Corey woke up with just about the same excitement as they had the night before.  I saw a streak come from the bedroom, right out the back door and straight into the swimming pool.  I finished up the little bit of cleaning I was doing and decided those boys had the right idea.  I joined them for a day-long swim.

The boys would get out just long enough to get a snack, and they went right back to swimming.  We spent the day floating toy boats across the water, sinking plastic army men and then swimming to the bottom to rescue them.  Seth even got to meet the frog that lives in our rock waterfall. 

We finished our evening off with watermelon and ice cream cones.  I think the watermelon was a big hit with Seth, because when Uncle Terry got it out of the fridge, Seth grinned a big ole grin and said, "I'm in a good mood for Watermelon!" 

I had plans of meeting my sister Sunday after church, but Seth ended up hitching a ride with Grandma.  I'm hoping he had as much fun as we did this weekend.

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style!

One Long Week for Mom; One Great Time for Cameron

Holding back the tears...
...I gave Cameron a hug and said "Good-Bye".

It wasn't like he was going away for a long time, it was only four days.  This four days happened to be the first time any of the boys had gone to camp, the first time any of the boys would be gone for longer than a day or two, and the first time any of the boys didn't have dad, me, a grandparent or aunt with them.  Cameron was on his own.  I guess, not exactly on his own.  He had his best friend, Hunter, Clay the boys' camp sponsor and eight girls and their camp sponsors traveling with them for the week.  Still...this four days was the longest of my life.

The church van left out on Sunday afternoon, so Cameron and I spent the morning packing his suitcase.  I'm sure I overpacked, but he needed clothes for four days plus an extra set, swim wear, flip flops, tennis shoes, sheets, covers, towels, pillows, band-aids, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, money, mine and dad's phone numbers, ink pens, and his Bible.  We got all of that in one, very large suitcase. 

When we pulled up to the church to drop him off, I could already feel the lump in my throat.  He was so excited, and I couldn't dare let him or any of the other parents see that at any moment I could possibly turn into the bawling crybaby.  I kept telling myself, It is only until Thursday morning.  He will be fine.  I knew he would have blast, but believe me it wasn't easy watching the van pull away.  (I'm guessing this is some foreshadowing of what is to come when they go off to college)

I got to work the next morning and learn I can see some pictures from camp through their website.  How awesome was that?  Technology sure is a great thing.  I opened the photo album, and sure enough there are pictures from Day I and some very good pictures of Cameron.  Of course, I shared the pictures with every person who walked by my office, and of course, I left the pictures up on my desktop so I could look at them every hour or so.  Alright, Alright - every few minutes.

Monday came and went, then Tuesday, Wednesday and finally Thursday was here.  Those four days seemed to drag on forever.  I was getting ready for work, when I got the phone call - the kiddos are back home and at the church.  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.  I ran to my closet grabbed the closest pair of flip flops and ran to the car.  As I backed out of the driveway, I realized I have no make up on and my hair is half straight.  The other part of my hair is piled on top of my head in a clip because I wasn't quite finished with the flat iron.  What a sight. 

Now, the church is only a short four or five blocks away, but I am positive that I drove miles and miles at the top speed of 1 mph to get there.  Two blocks away from the church - the best feeling a mom could ever have...There stood Cameron on the edge of road next to the church van, his arm stretched as high as it would go and waving his hand back and forth.  The smile on his face reached from ear to ear.  He waved nonstop until I put the car in park.  From the moment I saw him standing there, tears filled my eyes.  There I was again, pulling myself together and wiping away the tears before I got out to say "Welcome Back". 

Cameron had a blast at camp.  He had so much fun, he no longer had a voice.  Cameron gave me a hug and in a raspy voice said, "Hello."  He said, he cheered and hollered so much he actually lost his voice on the first day of camp.  The kids were given four Bible verses to learn, and Cameron learned all four of the verses on the first night.  He slid down a 100 foot water slide into the camp swimming hole, took a 300 foot zip line through the park, and shot Clay, their sponsor, with paintballs at the camp paintball field.  Cameron and Hunter, the only two boys from Walnut who went to camp this year, were given the Cleanest Cabin Award.  Out of the 550 kids at the Next Level Kids Camp, Cameron and Hunter kept their cabin the cleanest throughout the week.  I'm thinking this type of behavior should carry on to Cameron's bedroom.  (I won't hold my breath.)  On the last night of camp, Cameron and Hunter got take part in the pizza party since they memorized all of their memory verses. 

Memories to last a lifetime.  The smile on Cameron's face, the excitement in his voice when he shared all of his experiences at camp are well worth the tears on a momma's face as she watches her kiddos grow up right before her eyes.

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style.

Didn't Know My Own Strength

"Education is when you read the fine print...
...Experience is what you get if you don't." - Lydia M. Child

That quote just about sums up my spring semester.

I had taken all I could at Hill and was needing to transfer to El Centro College right smack in the middle of downtown Dallas, to take HPRS basically an Intro. to Nursing Course.  You see THR (my employer) has a contract with El Centro, so the actual Nursing Program is completed there.  A 5 hour Saturday class, 3 hour round trip drive through traffic (and those Dallas drivers are crazy) was definately something I was NOT looking forward to, but I put my big girl boots on and got through it.

I read my medical terminology book and learned the difference between Sporotrichosis and Paronychia....the fine print....BUT I didn't know the experiences I would gain from the lab portion of this course...

There were three pass/fail checkoffs during this semester.  Pass/Fail meaning you fail the checkoff, you fail the class.  No ifs, ands or buts about it. 

The first checkoff...Vital Signs, temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and blood pressure.  Easy enough. Checkoff Passed. 

The second checkoff...Wound Care.  This is a sterile procedure.  It isn't a "rub some dirt in it, slap on a band-aid," procedure.  By the way that works with kids.  There are several steps to maintaining a sterile field.  Enough steps, that the first five individuals failed their first try (we were given three chances to pass).  In I go and out I come - Checkoff Passed first try.

The third and last checkoff...Catheterization.  Now for the true experience.  I headed to class knowing that several students still needed to work on the first two checkoffs, so I wasn't mentally prepared to attempt catheterization.  In walks the teacher with the sign-up sheet, so I figured what the heck, might as well give it a try.  Unfortuneately, my nerves didn't feel the same way.  I walked in to the lab with uncontrollable red splotches on my neck, legs weak, knees knocking, and hands shaking.  I had decided the checkoff would be easier performed on a male mannequin since there is something to hold onto, but I didn't know the part wasn't secure.  I prepared the patient, the room and supplies, reached over with trembling hands and took ahold of the man part.  BUT the man part came right off in my hand.  I let out a holler and looked at the instructor with huge eyes, mouth wide open and a rubber penis in my hand.  I had two options, I could stop the procedure and try again next week or I could continue with a detached member.  I decided to keep on truckin'.  Good thing I did, because I passed that round of checkoffs - first try.

So most definately, as Lydia M. Child said, "the Experiences are what you learn the most from". 

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style.

For God so Loved the World

Several months ago, the youth leader knocked on our door to share with us some exciting news...
...Corey had talked to him about asking Jesus to come into his heart.

Corey seemed to understand what it meant, that Jesus died on the cross for everyone's sins, and he wanted to be part of it.  The next step...Baptism. 

Now, Corey, my daring child, who shows no fear at most anything, has an extremely shy side.  He doesn't like change much, so walking down to the front of the chuch during the invocation was not something he was ready for.  He wanted to be Baptised; he just wanted the gettin there part to be well, behind the scenes.

So for the last several months, when services were over, Corey would ask me very quietly, "Momma, when am I going to get Baptized?"  I would again explain to him the process of walking down during church service when Brother Jason asks for anyone to come.  He would quickly repond by shaking his head and saying, "No, I don't want to do that." 

I guess Corey had really been thinking about all of it because, well, this past Sunday was different.  The preacherman had finished his sermon and stepped down from the pulpit.  Soft piano and organ music was playing in the background.  Everyone's heads were bowed.  The congregation stood quietly, as people listened to Jason's inviting words.  The church was calm, except for a fidgity 8 year old who was standing right beside me.  I hear a very loud, youthful whisper, "Mom, MOMMM!"  I quickly responded in the motherly fashion, "SSHH!" and shot Corey the "This is NOT the time to be making noise look."   He sure didn't listen to me and continued to whisper, only this time just a little bit louder, "MOM!  I've got to go."  I soon realized what he meant and together we made our way down the church aisle and up to the preacher. 

Corey was filled with nervous, excitement that Jason barely got down to Corey's level before Corey was saying, "I wanna be Baptized." 

A big step for a shy little fella and a proud mom.  Corey will be baptized next Sunday.

Until next time...
...We're gonna keep on doin' it Townley Style.