Catching Up

Monday, September 12th I showed up for jury duty.  My first jury experience a few years ago involved sitting and WAITING in the jury pool room for an entire week while eight months pregnant.  Not wanting to relive that boring experience I was praying that they would call my name as groups of thirty plus headed out the door to various courtrooms.  After several groups I heard my name and went skipping out the door book bag in hand.  Just in the waiting and walking I made friends with a lovely lady willing to serve but fearing being sequestered since she takes care of a handicapped veteran son overnight.  I assured her that I couldn't believe that sort of thing happens that often.  Eight hours later, I was phoning my hubby to let him know I'd been assigned jury duty on a sequestered murder case.  I may have prayed a little too hard...but I was certainly not going to be bored this time!

What a week!  I wish I had pictures, but I didn't take my camera because I was afraid it wasn't allowed.  No phones, televisions, computers/internet or outside contact made me think they might not appreciate me snapping photos of every plate of food, or interesting characters in the courthouse, or my fellow jurors including the retired NFL ex-Patriot player and ex-roommate of Tom Brady, or our lovely top secret motel.  Security was pretty tight.  I had to beg to get a bailiff to accompany me to the treadmill one evening.  Boy did I ever need that treadmill.  They took really good care of us, and stuffed us with food.  Lunches and snacks all day long followed with dinner to nice restaurants (Half Shell and Carrabba's Italian Grill).  After all that sitting, the last thing I needed was food, really, but I wasn't alone in enjoying our feasts.  I don't know if it was freezing to death in the jury room kept at 55 degrees constantly, or listening so carefully your brain hurts, or trying to balance out the seriousness of the situation with some happiness in food, but something about the entire process made all of us look forward to eating breaks.  Maybe it was the mystery in what they would serve.  We couldn't talk about the horrific case until it was time to deliberate on the last day.  In a way that made the conversation lighter during our breaks. encouraging a little snacking by all to relive the stress.
It was a very short trial, and we found the defendant guilty.  The afternoon we deliberated I just kept shaking...reminded me of when I was in labor and I couldn't stop shaking.  The gravity of the situation was not lost on me, and even though I was sure in my decision (after a lot of prayer), it was such a sad time for everyone involved.  It left me thinking about how our choices affect so many people.  More people than we may ever know.  Our good choices, and my bad choices.  Obviously that defendant ended a life causing some of the deepest pain and consequences to many people.  It struck me that  even I was affected forever by his choice  by the graphic pictures, details, testimonies, and lives I witnessed changed forever.  

It is hard to believe I have been home a week now.  Our jury group became very close, and I volunteered to hostess a reunion in a few weeks.  It was a really nice group of people that I was blessed to serve with.  I hit the home turf running by hostessing my son's twelfth birthday party last Friday night.  Below are the yahoos that partied nearly all night. A sweet group of boys, but it nearly killed me staying up so late after my week.

Sunday my youngest got his first grade Bible in church.  I explained the process to him while I was combing his hair in the mirror earlier that morning, and I couldn't help expressing my sentiments that he is my last baby to get his first grade Bible.  He told me not to worry; saying I could "have a LATE baby."  I told him that I had news for him.....HE IS THE LATE BABY.  He tried to argue the math/spacing with me, but I think I finally broke through his denial and convinced him that it is the truth. It added a little humor to a moment I thought was slightly sad....he keeps me smiling that one.  He is the handsome one in the sea of first graders in the very back row in the red striped shirt.  MY LATE BABY: a first grader!

Soccer, school, and cross country filled up the rest of this week.  Below is my cross country girl.  The mom who ran with the coach and team all summer/fall looks like she has lost twenty pounds.  Maybe next year I'll try to jog along behind them!

How did my eating survive through this crazy month?  NOT WELL.  Or maybe you could say too well...in the wrong direction.  I came home from jury duty afraid to step on the scale.  I told myself after a couple of days I'd be ready.  NOPE.  I was never ready...finally made myself step on it this morning and my children thought that high pitched sound was our alarm going off.  It wasn't pretty.  Fall is always a dangerous time for me and food.  Really from now until January will be hard.  Anybody else find fall/winter harder?  I am trying to get a grip....I have several days left in September, and I still have that wedding to go to in October.

Tomorrow I am taking two of my daughters to visit my collage girl.  We are going to enjoy a girlie weekend full of movies, shopping and talking....oh and watching her induction into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars on Sunday.  Pray for my hubby while he holds down the fort AGAIN.  I am blessed to have him!  I hope to eat healthy all weekend, and give it my all next week at losing and blogging.  Have a wonderful fall weekend!