Normal

Ever read the children's book called Too Much Noise? 

That's how I feel tonight. 

Strip away one bronchial infection, one two-week trip to Italy and Switzerland, the writing of 36 individual lesson plans for various substitute teachers, the finding of a substitute teacher for one primary class (for two Sundays--from the airport), one pacemaker for my mother, one relative moving in with us, one daughter's wedding reception in our back yard, one wedding, one wedding dinner, one bridal shower, one loved and lovely bunch of extended family members staying with us for the one wedding, several of other people's wedding receptions, one 3-hour BYU class every Tuesday night, one trip to the ER, one adverse reaction to an antibiotic leaving two shins to look like they had [really] bad razor burn (for over a week!), two afternoons and evenings of parent/teacher conferences, two or three soccer games for one grandson, one husband with anemia, one daughter and her family unexpectedly moving from PA back to Utah, one house-hunting trip for the movees, one daughter moving back home (if only for a month), one garage filled with college-student stuff, one attempt at trying to be helpful by taking a meal into another family (but taking it to the wrong family), the start of one school year, the missing of three days of school for illness (I never had a sick day before now), three days of school for a wedding, and six days of school for a trip....and the packing of all of the above into less than one 8-week period....Strip all that away and what do you have?  You have normal, but what used to feel like Too Much Noise!

Instead, on this first day of back-to-normal in less than 8 weeks, all I had to do (bronchial infection nearly gone) was get up at 5:30 a.m., unload the dishwasher, make the bed, eat a bowl of cold cereal, water the plants, wash my hair, and go teach my classes.  Piece. Of. Cake.  Ahhhhhh.  I LOVE normal.  Shoot me, please, if I ever complain again!