Where Have I Been?

Short answer...everywhere!

I haven't blogged in a month. It's been a crazy month full of exciting events: softball/blast ball, dancing, graduation and babies, baby!

A lot of those events involved my local granddaughters. The older one is in the beginning softball stages where they get 5 attempts to hit the ball and the coach does the pitching. Once we figured out she really isn't a lefty she started getting some hits. I predict a lot of time at softball fields in my future. The younger one played blast ball where you hit from a tee, run to first base and step on a base that has a blast from a horn....hence the name. It was her very first season so we'll see if theres a future in it...either way lots of softball hair in the future.

The dancing involved the same two girls. A recital for both and yesterday a talent show for the oldest. See prediction about softball....

Graduation....ahhh graduation. What can I say. I have a love/hate relationship with graduation. This was my second year to be "she who is in charge of graduation" at my school. Much easier than the first for two reasons, experience is the best teacher and I have the best boss in the world. He got out of my way and just let me do my thing. The only major hitch was nothing I could have foreseen/prevented. When it was finished I went home and slept the sleep of the just or the sleep of someone who had only gotten three hours of sleep of the previous 24. Either way...I slept. But I love it and hate it because while it's the celebration of hard work and the achievements of our graduates it means saying goodbye to some pretty awesome young people, but I have to remember next fall means the introduction of a new batch of awesome young people.

My other graduation was older granddaughter kindergarten graduation. I watched her sit on stage with her legs crossed like a young lady and my heart just broke at the thought that she's not a baby anymore. But she's an incredible little girl and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her. Next year 1st grade and pre-k for her little sister. (Memo to me...find out principal's favorite cookies....)

Now the babies, a new niece and a new nephew. New niece is a first baby for her parents and first grandchild my parents have in the same town...I predict spoiled, but in a totally adorable way. And the new nephew is the last baby for his parents, I predict same. I would say they saved the best for last but he's got some pretty freaking awesome older brothers and sisters. His oldest sister posted junior prom pics last week-end. Go back and re-read part of granddaughters graduation and apply here... Also, new nephews mommy gave us quite a scare, but Jesus is the Great Healer and it's all good now.

And to update last blog post...job still up in the air but it's more which campus will I work on instead of will I have a job. So not as stressed there. And we still haven't had a bad fire nearby but we haven't had more than .05" of rain either. However, I don't obsess about it like I was.

Next up...summer hours. Four 10 hour days and three days off. Also, a wedding, a birthday and an anniversary.

Boiling Frogs

One thing I've learned over the years is that life is never all good and it's never all bad.  Some times are better than others and some are worse than others, but neither lasts forever.  Also, if you pay attention, no matter how bad things are you can always find something good somewhere.  Conversely, if you're the type, no matter how good things are you can always find something bad somewhere.  In my experience, the really good times are easy.  (Thank you, Captain Obvious)  I also have an easier time dealing with life when it's bad, bad, bad.  Not to say it isn't hard, but thanks to the Bible, AA and Al-Anon, I've got tools.  And when life is bad, I get out those tools.  And I use them.  I'm in church, I'm in meetings, I'm in the Bible, I'm in prayer, I'm in my Big Book, I'm working the steps, the 3rd, 7th and 11th step prayers are on my mind constantly.  I'm praying for guidance, I'm looking for the lesson, I'm asking for help.  I work my butt off to get to the other side.

Then there's the some good, some bad times.  Where I've got some good things going on and I've got some bad things going on, but not one more than the other.  Because what usually seems to happen is I find out that someone's been boiling frogs and I'm the frog.

Explanation - if you're going to boil a live frog and you throw him in boiling water, he's just going to jump out.  But if you put him in a pot of cool water and slowly turn up the heat, he'll adjust with the water until he's boiled to death.  (I seriously don't want to know how this was first discovered.  Just work with me people.)

Well, I'm the frog again.

I have some super amazing things going on in my life.  I have not one, but two new babies coming into the family in a matter of weeks.  I just turned 40 which was a miracle and was seriously spoiled by friends and family.  I just got to spend the week-end with family I haven't seen in decades.  I just got to spend Spring Break with two of my granddaughters.  And my husband and I are in a really good place in our marriage right now.

However, it has occurred to me that there's some bad stuff going on too.  I've spent a lot of time lately waiting for the other shoe to drop in two major areas.  Areas that I've had some experience in the past and so they're producing a lot of fear. 

#1 - last year we got a lot of rain.  One of the wettest years in a long time.  It was wonderful.  The grass grew tall and pretty.  This year.  No rain.  In months.  Driest March on record.  That tall pretty grass is now called fuel.  Grass fires are everywhere.  No rain in the forecast.  High temps, low humidity and high winds - the triad of grass fires - are in the forecast.  So far there have been no grass fires in our area.  That will change.  If we don't get rain, that will change.  Three years ago, we had one close to our house.  One of the scariest experiences of my life.  And another one in town affecting a lot of people I know.  So I have been rather obsessively watching the weather reports, news of fires, watching the skies for smoke.  If someone is barbecuing, I panic.  I start freaking out and looking around for smoke plumes.  The husband does the same thing.  We talk about it A LOT.  I didn't realize just how much it consumes my time until the other day.

#2 - There have been some major budget cuts at work.  There will be more.  How bad will depend on the state legislature.  There will be layoffs.  I don't know if I will be one of them.  The husband and I work at the same place.  I don't know if he will be one of them.  People I know and care about may be getting laid off.  Best case scenario is we keep our jobs, but the work has to be done so it gets doubled/tripled and still has to be done in 40 hours.  I don't even want to think about worst case scenario.  I've been there.  It's not fun.  We live in a small town.  I have no idea what we'll do.  The thing is, we won't know anything really and truly definite until around July.  We keep getting updates.  It's all we talk about around here.  My boss is stressed out and I've been his sounding board (not complaining, just a fact).  The husband and I talk about it ad nauseum.  Who will it be?  What can they cut?  What are they going to do?  What are we going to do?

Not much I can do about either one except realize that the water has been getting turned up without me really paying attention to it and all those tools I listed are still available to me as long as I pick them up and use them.  I don't have the power to turn the water back down but I do have the power to keep from getting boiled alive. 

Acts 17:27-28 (NIV) God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.  For in Him we live and move and have our being.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.