Just Me and the Dogs

The hubby is actually in DC this week...I'm so excited for him about this trip! That said, I'm gonna really miss him...he won't be back til the 22nd. Til then it's just me and the pups. And he's going to be gone over my holiday weekend too! Grrr. Again, really excited for him...just wish I could go too lol. Except it's going to be in the teens temperature-wise and that's too damn cold for this Texas girl.

Anyway, on to life. We signed on the house on the 30th, and as of this last weekend, we are completely moved in! It's starting to feel more like our home every day. We've still got lots of boxes to go through and unpack. I'll be getting quite a bit of that done over my holiday weekend. I thought about heading up to Waco to see a friend...but I really don't feel up to the drive. Remember that whole RA thing? Yeah, due to one thing and another, I haven't taken my shots in about a month. So I'm achy and flared up, and long drives aren't my favorite thing in this condition.

Anyway, I am going to get my hair cut on Friday...don't know quite what I'll do differently, if anything. This is starting to be a tradition--last time the hubby went on a work trip, I colored my hair, this time I'm cutting it lol. The stylist is also one of my good friends AND I have her last hair appointment, so we'll probably go do something after. Saturday, another friend is supposed to be coming into town...I haven't heard anything since last weekend though, so I'm not really sure what the plan is there. Honestly, I'm looking forward to a chill weekend...the past few have been crazy busy with house stuff and moving. I'd be looking forward to it more if the hubby was going to be here to share it with me, but oh well. I guess one can't always have everything lol.

As for school, the kids are taking their semester exams this week. Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Didn't the semester already end?" Yes, yes it did. But because the state of Texas mandates a late August start date, the "Fall semester" and the "Spring semester" are unequal in regards to number of weeks. So, we had one week after the break for "review" and this one for testing. Which is foolish. My kids are apathetic right now, and the break has not helped their retention. In short, having the exams now is a great way to even up the semesters from a bureaucratic standpoint and a crappy one from a student-oriented standpoint. As I've been told several times since I've started teaching: Welcome to the world of public education.

Anyways, I love our new home. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that (if all goes according to our loosely configured plan) we're going to be here for the next 30+ years. Don't get me wrong, it sounds WONDERFUL! I've just never been anywhere that long. And for the past several years it's been a move a year, if not a move every less-than-one-year. It's wonderful to look far into the future and see my husband and I together in our home. Of course, our home will be anywhere we're together. But I sure do like the one we're setting up at this house!!! And so do the pups...they run up and down the stairs, wrestle in the gameroom and living room, and love the backyard.

So that's a life update.

As far as introspection and contemplation--the original purpose for this blog--I've done a bit lately. School and house stuff has occupied the majority of my mind, but there's still been deeper processes going on. One of the particular trains of thought had to do with the people we are during everyday life versus the people we are in the crucible. A certain conversation with a friend brought up a time I've mentioned previously, when my world was upside down and inside out all at once. I started thinking about the person I was in all that mess, and the person I am now in my day-to-day life.

The person I was then: There were very few constants in my life at that point in terms of routine and (I felt--wrongly or rightly--at the time) relationships. All I had that was constant was my conviction about a certain belief, and my knowledge of the kind of person I did NOT want to be (coming both from personal belief and from observation of the actions of a particular person). During the beginning, I was extremely fragile emotionally and everything in my head was all jumbled, but these things shone through. I started following those beacons, and my actions were guided by them.

The person I am now: There is a lot more consistency in my life: relationship-wise and routine-wise. I am stronger emotionally and mentally, and in terms of self-knowledge and identity. That said, it is easier now to lose my beacons among all the other, lesser lights that are in my life right now.

It's interesting how when everything is falling apart , it's easy to pick out the critical elements in your life to focus on and let the rest all fade into a dark haze. And it's interesting how good things and positive additions to your life accumulate can cast a glow that can cause the critical elements to seem to blend in with the rest of the light. But thanks to that turbulent time, I am fully aware of the risk of the "glow effect" and can make sure that my beacons get the attention and focus they deserve.

That said, the light analogy is fitting: my life has never been brighter or happier!

Anyways, I was just thinking.