Again with the no time for a real post ...

On the day before I left for Mexico, the landscaper and sprinkler guy that I had hired to do some work at the cabin at the beginning of the summer called and asked me to meet them at Cultus. I explained for the hundurd-millionth time that I was going away til the long weekend, so they asked if I could meet them there today.

So I got up early and drove to Cultus this morning. And saw something that made me cry. Then waited for them to show up. After 4 hours, I gave up and joined the holiday traffic on the freeway.

What made me cry? Thanks for asking ... while I was gone, the landscaper, (at our new neighbour's request?) planted a row of hedging cedars right through the middle of our backyard, cutting off our view of the lake completely if one were to sit on the lawn. Then this new neighbour "claimed" the other side of the hedge (still legally our yard according to the documents I have right here in front of me) and parked his boat trailer on our grass. If I want to walk out to the lake now, I have to push through a hedge and climb over a trailer. He has taken ownership of our right-of-way access/yard. And that makes me very very angry.

So I cry.

Because I don't want this to be the way our relationship with these new neighbours ends up. All summer long I've tried to communicate with them regarding the yards, their garbage, the right-of-ways, the landscaping ... but because he is they type of person he is, I'm intimidated and unsure when talking with him. And now, the summer is over, and they have 'moved in'. And it's all very unsatisfactory.

Clint wants to take over. He offered to be the family spokesperson and be the person to deal with them. Maybe I should let him? Although that would make me a quitter. And we all know I never quit. I am a finisher.

So today, the day I hoped to edit the 3000 photos I took and process my thoughts, feelings and memories of Mexico, became a day when I obsessed about our cabin at Cultus, grieved the loss of our big back yard and looked for legal documents to support our claim of lake access via a grassy patch of land.

If you've dropped by to read about Mexico, I'm sorry I haven't got anything good for you to read.
But if you're desperate for something, I'll cut and paste some notes I made last Wednesday night on my laptop while reclining on my princess bed waiting for morning to break:

Oh my goodness, I am SO mortified.
One of the other reasons I did not want to go on this trip was because I snore. I’ve mentioned that already, haven’t I?
I’m tenting with Tanya, Kara, Sophie and Michelle and I apologized to them in advance for getting stuck with me as a tentmate because of my night noises.

Tonight the dads were playing cards at the kitchen table, there were a few kids around, and Garrett was here nursing his hurt ankle. I spent the evening walking back and forth between power sources downloading photos and recharging camera batteries, and so on.

At one point I went over to my tent, (it was about 10 pm) and found 3 of my girls in bed already. (The fourth one was keeping Garrett company…) I mentioned to the dads that my girls were in bed already.
“No kidding. They’re trying to get some sleep before you go to bed."
"Huh?" I asked, fearing the answer.
"Your snoring...it's keeping them up at night."
“What? They’ve talked to you about me?”
“Yeah, apparently you were so loud last night, you woke them all up at 3 am. They tried to wake you, kept calling your name and bumping you, but you kept on snoring. And were laughing so hard, they couldn’t get back to sleep.”
“OH! Charlotte said there was a group of girls out of control and she had to yell at them to quieten down last night. Was that because of you?” Linda the cook asked.
Dave is chuckling … “They taped you.”
“What? They taped me?”
“Yeah. They couldn’t believe how loud you were. ”
“OK. That’s it. I’m changing churches. After this trip no one will see me again. I am so embarrassed,”
“You didn’t snore on the bus …” Chad observed, trying to be helpful.
“You’re right. She didn’t.” Others agreed.
“You were watching and listening to me sleep on the bus?”
“Well yeah …”

I’m not going to bed tonight.
I’m going to stay here, at this table, all night long.

You know what else happened today?
I went to sit on my princess air mattress bed and I tumbled off the edge, bouncing into the tent wall and falling out the back door flap. I was wedged in a tricky position and could not find anything to grab to hoist myself back up.

I didn’t go to the build site today. I spent 6 hours printing off photos. They turned out real good. But I missed breakfast and lunch. And supper (which was spaghetti) was skimpy. I wonder if I’ve lost weight.

We went to a church service this evening.
We walked in during a worship set (drummer behind glass, guitar player and female lead) where there was not as much enthusiasm as I would have expected. (I think I was expecting an African church. In Mexico. What kind of drugs do I take?) Our group went up to the balcony (where it was easily 10 degrees hotter than the lower part) and took over the whole front section. We could see that there was a powerpoint person trying valiantly to get the song lyrics up on the screen with little success. Some things are universal.

And then.
And then the next song was one that we knew. Not in Spanish, mind you, but we knew it. So we sang along in English. And the sound? Was full, and rich and beautiful and lovely, and so much like home that I started to cry which is a bad thing with a head cold and no Kleenex.

My stomach doesn’t feel right. Kinda barfy. Somewhat unsettled. Mostly I just want to be home. I’m not cut out for missions work. Pretty sure God is not calling me to take up this particular cross …

I’m pretty pleased with the way the photos have turned out. Some people have said nice things. Mind you, the other things people have been saying about my snoring outweighs the compliments.

How soon til I can sleep alone again?

Oh. And one more thing.
I hate sleeping bags.

Tanya and Kara brought bedding. From their beds. I covet their blankets and sheets.

While I’m in a complaining mood, I might as well mention that I’m not getting enough time with my boys. They’re fine with it. But I miss having a few minutes a day with just us.

OK. End of rant.


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Three things I'm thankful for:
1. My mom brought over a Christmas-worthy turkey dinner for us this evening. There was lots. And it was delicous.
2. Julie and Daryl joined us, brought some fixins to add to the meal, and let me talk about Mexico for hours. Thanks for listening.
3. Drew and Clint did laundry today and Max cut the lawn while I wasted far too much time going back and forth to Cultus. Thanks, guys, for helping.

Shalom,