Man, it's hard to think about much else except the flood, even though it's been 2 weeks, and we were very lucky to have been spared any damage.

The grass is officially taller than the dog. An admittedly squatty dog, but still...

Hoping passers-by will just mutter, "Oh, those poor people", figuring it's from the flood, and move on.

We're in the home stretch of the school year, and for lots of reasons, I can safely say I've never been more ready for a school year to end.

We will have 2 kids in high school next year, that's wild.

I was just like you once, ya know.

I tuned out some of the ramblings of people with older kids because they were, well...old, and their kids were all...old, and how did that relate to me?

It was absurd to think about dealing with the stuff they were dealing with, and besides, my precious snowflakes would never do any of that stuff, anyway.

When Busy Girl was starting kindergarten, I can remember sitting in a back to school meeting looking at the parents of the "older children" and wondering how they could be so disinterested and cynical about school.

Didn't they understand there was magic about to begin? Why, teaching and learning are getting ready to get underway in those hallowed halls!

And, look at me now, ready to run away from there screaming (except for the minor problem of having a 3rd grader), who knew?

I'm telling ya, you just wake up one day, and boom...you've got teenagers.

OK, so I have a real teen, and what I call an "apprentice" teen, as 13 really just doesn't seem like a full-fledged teenager to me.

He's nearly 14, but still can't bring a coat home from school, so until the last day of school no longer produces an enormous wad of jackets from his locker, he will be a junior varsity teen.

What's really freaking me out is that I will have a junior in high school.

You know what this means, right?

It means I can no longer plug my ears with my fingers when people try to talk about college.

She'll go to college, sure, but she'll just magically get there, and start going to class, I have no concept of what happens in between.

It also means she will be driving.

A car.

On the road.

She has a September birthday (as do I), and is young for her grade, so she is among the last people to get a driver's license.

She also seems to think that she will be getting a car, namely mine, but that puzzles me since I will be, you know....using it.

(Yes dear, I see you here, I'm not kidding. My car, I need it.)

With driving comes a whole new set of rules and expenses we've never navigated.

I often apologize to her as I call her the "experimental model" as we try to figure out how this stuff is going to work on the first kid.

By the time Busy D. drives, we'll be all, "Sure, here's a car, it's about danged time you got your own self around town, play the lottery while you're out and don't forget to pick up my Metamucil."

Whoa, wait.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Yep, I still can't think of anything to write about.

Here's a cute picture of a puppy to compensate you for your time: