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It was a challenge he wanted to face. He had specific reasons for doing so. It was almost his reason to continue on living. His teacher at the Professional High School had recognized his life goal and threw down the gauntlet. To do what most scientist couldn’t do even with their vast knowledge and various doctorate degrees. It was a challenge that he had no choice but to accept. The final presentation of this project would be due second period tomorrow. He had to present his theory to the class with a slide presentation and a chemical demonstration simultaneously. It had to be perfect. This would make or break his chance to get into Vanderbilt and he needed to pass it with an A+.

It wasn’t easy trying to prove the link between household chemicals and leukemia. He knew it existed by the chemical structure between lye and genetic mutation of certain types of the cancer. This was doctorate work. What was the teacher thinking? He had certainly pushed him this year. This class was the hardest, yet the most fulfilling. “I only wish Mom were here” he thought. She was his motivator. If she were around she’d be standing beside him with her left hand on his shoulder and her right hand holding that huge Ruben stacked sandwich which he was craving. There would also be a gigantic oatmeal and raisin cookie on top. He could hear her words of encouragement, “Go on, son, you can do it. It will all be worth it in the end.” She was right about everything except the last part. The end had already past. Dad was a hard working man. He worked in the coal mine and his days were long and arduous. He was already passed out on the couch from exhaustion. He was a good father but could never take the place of his mother.

He shoved the school flash drive into his computer and brought up the last slide on the presentation. It was a challenge, because it needed to show a formula and it was long. The process of working through it was complex and perhaps flawed in the most obscure way. He checked his notes again and proceeded to plug in the formula. There was at least another two hours of work ahead of him and it was already after midnight. It would have been completed if his computer hadn’t failed earlier. Thank goodness, he had thought to back up the work on the flash drive that he had completed last night. He only had to reestablish what he had lost since then.

Time chugged on and as he neared the completion, weariness fell over his body. He was tired but also relieved. He had figured out what the link was between lye and leukemia, the thief that stole his mother from him two years ago. She had worked in a soap plant and became suddenly ill. The cancer had been in her body for years, but she never let anyone know. Tomorrow he would give the killer one final stab of death when he presented his findings.

Busyness seems to be an ongoing part of life.  There is always something else waiting to be done. There is always another place to go.  Take this weekend for example:

Tonight there is a fun event at church for young married couples and singles that I’m looking forward to.  There will be babysitting (hopefully the babysitters will remember!) and then the adults get to have a fun event for themselves for a change.  I think we’re going to be playing blow darts with Nerf blow dart guns.  Most likely we’ll find time to eat as well (what’s a church fellowship without food?)  It’s really a fun time!

Tomorrow I have a party to do.  Being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator in Southern York County provides me with a way to get out and about and meet new people.  I am going to be in Brogue, PA tomorrow.  If you note the card, it is the one everyone will get to make and take home with them.  I will also be demonstrating a scrapbook page and another card, quite possibly a Christmas card.  I still have to find the time sometime today to decide exactly what I will be presenting at this particular party.  The time I spend on my stamping tends to be some of my favorite time in the day.  I greatly enjoy creating and sharing it with others.

Sunday we’ll be back to church in the morning and evening and then my sister-in-law will come on Monday to stay for a couple days.  It seems like the whole month of October is going by at this pace!  Every morning I wake up with tons to do and at night I go to bed with a list in my head of what I have to do the next day. 

If only I could find a way to get things done a little easier with three children ages four and under.  I’ve actually mentioned to my husband several times that it would be nice to have some X10 home automation items.  Surely they would make it a bit easier to get things done.  If I could have an HR12A PalmPad Remote Control I could turn off those light switches the boys leave on without having to leave the work I am doing.  It seems like when I have to get from working just to do something little, I always end up having to do lots of little things before I can get back to the original job.

There have to be some ways to get myself a little more organized and productive.  I think perhaps I need to visit the Fly Lady again and start actually using the methods she teaches for being more productive.  The Fly Lady gives so many tips and ideas and actually sets a schedule for getting things done that sounds easy to follow - note that I say “sounds”.  That’s because I’ve never actually tried it yet. I think I need to head there right now and give it a try.  What can it hurt?

My husband is an electrician by trade, in conjunction with myriad other things. He and his boss do pretty much everything that has to do with houses (or any other kind of building, for that matter).

They are technically focused on HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), but as a privately-owned, small-business contractor, they end up doing all things mechanical and a whole lot of things construction and cosmetic. From framing out new walls to installing light fixtures and towel bars, they do it all, and judging from the many referrals and repeat customers, they do what they do well.

One of the side benefits for our family is that my husband is exposed to an incredibly wide range of products—not only the ones they install, but also many other things that people have in their homes. Since we’re in the midst of home renovations, ourselves, we’ve been able to incorporate many of those discoveries into our house. Probably my favorite of his discoveries is the motion sensor he installed in our laundry room/office area. It’s set in such a way that, no matter which way you come into the space, the overhead light kicks on and stays on as long as there is movement (then for fifteen seconds after movement stops). In addition to the sensor option, there’s a button on the sensor plate that you can push to turn it off entirely or turn it on “permanently.”

I have discovered only two drawbacks to having the motion sensor. The first is that I get so used to having the light come on automatically that I often walk into other rooms and am surprised when the light doesn’t pop on. The other drawback is that I often switch it to “off” or “on” and forget to switch it back to the automatic sensor setting. When that happens, it stays on after I expect it to shut off, or it doesn’t come on when someone walks into the room later on. All things considered, the pros far outweigh the cons, as far as I’m concerned!

We used to have another motion sensor set up on the light in our storage room. Our house was a poster child for “unconventional construction,” according to the inspector that walked through it with use before we bought it (okay, he didn’t call it a “poster child,” but he did use the phrase “unconventional construction” quite a few times!). One of the best (or worst, depending how you look at it) examples of this was the way the entrance into the house from the garage was directly into a bedroom, with a door then opening into a hallway that went to the rest of the house. Since the room was a) the storage room and b) the entrance from the garage, it only made sense to have a sensor there, as well. Now, though, that room has become the baby’s room, so we’ve eliminated the motion sensor (just what we need is something else to wake her up!).

So, from motion sensors to handheld shower heads, we’re having all kinds of fun, picking and choosing from the many, many gadgets out there on the market today. Best part of it is, we don’t have to take the time to visit a million showrooms—my husband gets paid to check out the options!