Rainy Days

It's cool and rainy-ish outside today, and the baseball games are still, surprisingly, a "go." We brought out the parkas and winter blankets for preventing spectator frostbite, and I may need to take a brisk walk or two during the four hours of game-watching. Every year I stare at the calendar in amazement, wondering how swim team can possibly start in two weeks while we still have the winter gear out.

Last night we had nine girls over for a youth group sleepover, and they were the best group imaginable: self-sufficient, easily pleased, polite and light-hearted. Their laughter rang up the basement stairs to where Rob worked on the computer and I watched Michael Phelps' comeback on TV, and even up to the second floor where the boys resisted bedtime and wondered when they could have their own sleepovers. We got the second basement bedroom fixed up just in time for the girls and for my parents' visit this weekend, and once again I feel blessed to have space for  visitors and for the visitors themselves.

I cracked open my GRE study guide this morning and ran into the assertion that most people do well after studying "for three months" for the test. I only have three weeks, so I'm hoping that my extra years of experience (and helping Aden and William with Algebra) can count as a positive instead of a negative / lost brain cells due to years of parenting stress. I thought about taking the book to the ball park, but realistically I will be dividing my time between chanting, cheering, and fighting the chill, so I suppose the studying can wait until tomorrow. Three weeks minus one day and counting . . .