Yesterday, as I was rounding up our luggage in preparation for our upcoming family Thanksgiving trip to Minnesota, I heard Catholic Son yelling from the backyard, “MOM!!  YOU’VE GOTTA COME OUT HERE… NOW!!!”  *Oh no.*

My blood pressure skyrocketed as I ran to the deck door.  Thoughts about some sort of wild beast cornering a defenseless child raced through my head.  What could I possibly do to help him?!  Where’s Catholic Dad?!!  What could he do and would he actually go out there and do it???!  There goes that trip to Minnesota…

But when I arrived at the door, I saw Catholic son standing in the middle of the yard with a smile on his face as he pointed up at the sky.  “BALLOONS, MOM!  They’re everywhere!!!”  All I could think of was, “What the…?”  So I grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos as proof.  And now I’m wondering if this is all a result of our visit to New Mexico… yeah, that has to be it.  The balloons followed us back, and now they’re stalking us.  It could be worse: Aliens. 

Well, after a long day of supporting computer needs at the office and at the Assisted Living Center, my plan was to login to this “Live Writer” gizmo some time after dinner and blog all about my day. At least that’s how I remember it. So after the family and I finished eating, Catholic Son got all creative with his leftover Halloween candy and made a bunch of faces on his placemat. Again. So what’s a mom to do? You guessed it! I did exactly what any other obsessive blogger mom would do and grabbed the digital camera to capture another funky picture for the blog that I was planning to write. So there you have it.

Then… just as I sat myself down to gather my thoughts, I looked down beneath my desk to find Smokie, our cat. Obviously, this particular cat is attempting to redefine the term “Scratch Paper.” Good job, Smokie. You achieved that goal like nobody’s business. Good thing for you that I’m not looking to throw any excess paper in there. Otherwise, you’d be sporting a paper blankie. Ah heck, you’d probably enjoy that too! (I know because I’ve done that before.)

So where was I? Oh yes. Today I bestowed a brand spankin’ new laptop upon my favorite email buddy, Sister A. For those of you who’ve kept up with my blog over the past year, she’s the one who sends me the email jokes that I post here. Unfortunately, her health has diminished to the point where she needs assistance functioning in her daily activities, hence the reason for relocating to the Assisted Living Center. And let me tell you… when I arrived at that place with the laptop in my hot little hands, I was greeted by a crowd of staffers with big smiling faces. No kidding! Why? Because they knew how much Sister A needed the laptop as a replacement for the big, klunky desktop computer that was taking up too much space in that little room of hers. Never have I witnessed such an excited crowd over a laptop computer. Complete madness.

Now as I sit here in my cozy home office, I’m thinking about the genuine smile I saw on Sister A’s face this afternoon. GEN-U-INE. And I remember the many times she thanked me for that piece of equipment. My response? “No, thank YOU Sister A! Because you know Sandy (the ALC staffer) and I are planning to build bunkbeds in your room so that we can take turns playing Spider Solitaire and watching movies on that sweet new gadget of yours, day and night. Party time, Sister girlfriend.”

The scary thing is that I think Sandy is very serious about that idea. So I’m thinking you better stock up on munchies and DVD’s, Sister A.

Today was the longest, meeting-filled day of my entire life. The creative juices have been completely sucked out of me, leaving me without the energy to post something fun, dorky, or otherwise “Catholic Mom”-like in any way. So I’m going to post a short-and-sweet list of things that made me smile today:

1. Mad Dad Bill (aka “Forrest Whittaker”) posted a blog entry after what seemed like a gajillion months of deafening blog silence.

2. Another one of my blogger “peeps” made MSN’s featured Spaces list. (Way to go, Ami!)

3. Catholic Son created a Skittle person on the kitchen table.

I can play that game too, darling Hubs.

*Thanks for the help, Little Buddy!*