Carlsbad, Old Friends, and Puppy Love

Last weekend, the National Park Service had their second fee-free weekend of the year. Apparently they do this for one weekend in every month during the summer. There are about 13 national parks/monuments/historical parks in New Mexico and the closest one to us is Carlsbad Caverns. I told Loren I wanted to go, and he agreed. He just happened to talk to our friend Mike (best man in our wedding) that night that we decided to go, and Mike said he and his family would like to go and meet us there.
We left Roswell at about 1:30 and got to Carlsbad Caverns at about 3:30. Mike, Carrie, Sophie, and Sam were already there, but just barely. I put Justin in the Moby Wrap- backpack carry, Mike put Sam in his backpack, and we got our free tickets. It was already too late to go in through the natural entrance, so we just rode the elevators down to the Big Room. We started hiking and the kids (little Loren and Sophie) did absolutely wonderful. They didn't complain at all and they asked a lot of questions and just seemed to enjoy it. Justin and Sam weren't so thrilled- Justin got bored and wanted out of the carrier about halfway, and Sam fell asleep about that same time.
Partway through the hike, I looked over and Sophie had grabbed little Loren by the hand. They see each other only two or three times a year, but little Loren has a puppy love crush on Sophie. He always talks about how they got married a while back when we were visiting (she put a ring on his finger when they were playing house) and how they have all kinds of cool stuff at their "house in Albuquerque." They pretty much held hands all the way through the Caverns and were showing each other "look at this" and "look at that!" I'm not sure anything will turn out from their little "romance" but it sure is cute, and I wouldn't mind having Sophie for a daughter-in-law. She's cute and smart!
We messed up with eating dinner, so instead of going to Carlsbad and then coming back for the bat flight, we ended up just staying at the Caverns for the bat flight. The bat flight wasn't as exciting as we had hoped- maybe better luck next time. We ended up driving to Carlsbad (15 miles from the Caverns) and finally eating at Chilis at 10:00 at night. It was great being able to visit with Mike and Carrie. I miss hanging out with them, well, mostly Mike since he met Carrie after we left Las Cruces. But they're a fun bunch and I wish we lived closer to them. I think Carrie and I would get along great, and of course Mike and Loren have been friends for 18 years or so.

I am learning to live close to the lives of my friends without ever seeing them. No miles of any measurement can separate your soul from mine. - John Muir

My heart melted

Just a little while ago, we were all saying our "good nights" and "I love you's." I was holding Justin on my lap, nursing him, and called out to little Loren "I love you." Justin stopped nursing and yelled "Ove You!" So sweet. And then I said it to him a couple more times and he told me "Ove You" back several times and then fell asleep in my arms nursing. Oh, I love being a mommy, and I especially love his age!

My love/hate relationship with my job

I've been doing this paper route for the Roswell Daily Record for a little more than a month and I've developed a love/hate relationship with it. I'm still trying to figure out the pros and cons and make sure the pros still outweigh the cons.

The money is pretty good. Not as much as I originally anticipated, but it's better than me bringing $0 in. Of course, losing 40 customers all in one shot because they're not paying didn't help with the amount I expected and the amount I got. The newspaper collects the money for the carriers now, so my direct customer relations are pretty minimal.

I really like that I don't have to deal with many people. I always kind of thought I was a "people person" but I like doing my job alone. I'm really my own boss so as long as the papers are delivered and I'm not doing anything stupid, the Record doesn't care what I do while I'm delivering. My paper route is also my "alone time" away from the kiddos and I can listen to my radio and not have any running commentary from the 4.5-y-o and 21-m-o peanut gallery. I had to take the boys with me a few weeks ago when Loren went out of town and it was horrible- they stayed awake most of the time we were out and wouldn't be quiet.

The physical demands are actually a little more challenging too. I currently have to roll 225+ papers every night and then also throw them to the customers' driveways or put them in their tubes. My arms get tired after rolling every night, and my butt and back get sore from sitting in my car seat for 3.5+ hours. I try to leave my house around 1:00am and have the papers delivered before 5:15am, so I usually get to sleep around 5:45. Lately I've been sleeping until noon. But I know I'm not getting enough sleep, and definitely not enough *quality* sleep. My body has adjusted to the "time change" (on Mondays, when I don't have to deliver, I stay awake until about 4:30am) but I still feel like I'm in a bit of a fog when I wake up.

I try really hard to get up around 11 because it's not fair for the boys for me to sleep late, but it's hard to wake up. LL is pretty good about staying out of trouble in the morning- he'll watch tv most of the morning and can get his own breakfast most days. Justin is still in his crib and has actually been sleeping in too, so I haven't really worried about him much. I want to be able to go out and do fun things with my kids, but by the time I wake up and get everyone fed and dressed, half the day is gone and most of the things (ie. story time at the library, free movies at the theater) are already done for the day.

My car is taking the new "workout" pretty rough. Loren had to replace my brake pads and rotors on Sunday to the tune of $150- money that we didn't exactly have (well, sorta, since I DID get paid on Friday). Tuesday morning, I got a flat tire and thankfully enough, I was close enough to Job Corps that he met me there (thanks to Tara for going to the house to watch the boys) with no damage to the wheel. And he's my hero for fixing the tire in no time flat (no pun intended)- not even needing to just use a spare. Now I'm getting less than 10 miles to the gallon on gas, and my oil looks low.

Overall, I like my job, and I'm grateful for the job. I keep telling myself that I need to stick it out for at least a year. I don't think I've ever had a job that long, except for the vets and that doesn't count because most of that was volunteering. I plan on going back to school in the spring, but hopefully I can do school and work and keep up with the boys. And I also still plan on bringing Kiowa down here too. I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

Work isn't to make money; you work to justify life. ~Marc Chagall