Saturday, July 7, 2012

Monthly Report

It has gotten to the point that the majority of my posts are an update from a period of a month or more. This means that, as I'm not creative enough to think of varying synonyms for "Update", rather than have 12 posts with the same name, I've had to enlist the help of my trusty thesaurus. I'm sure that if I keep this pace up, the titles will stray further and further from the initial intent, as I run out of similar words. Like a game of telephone. :]

Anyway, I believe it was my last post that officially put me over the edge of writing more this year than I did last year. And, though they all seemed to be posted at once, I was staying pretty consistent with about 3 posts a month. If you remember, these were two conditions for one of my NYR regarding this blog. So I patted myself on the back and subsequently slacked off.

I wish I could say that we were incredibly busy enjoying summer and I just haven't had the time to write about it. In reality, I spent more than two weeks being really sick with what must have been the flu because a full course of antibiotics only seemed to make it angry. We have hardly gone anywhere or done much of anything. The good news is that as of today, I am finally feeling functional and 99% better. And the whole month wasn't wasted.

Some highlights for June:

*I've gotten into a really good rhythm of plugging in at Training Meetings for Premier. I meet my with my "step-family" every other Monday and it has been SO helpful. It constantly provides me with encouragement, ideas and keeps my mind focused on Premier. I also have monthly meetings with my Premier "Mama", "sister" and "baby" which is fun too.

*I've gotten to have several dates with Jon, which is amazing because I don't think it's been like this since before we had Ella. I know it's only temporary until classes start back up next month, but I have been loving every second of this more traditional schedule. We got to go to a BoyzIIMen concert after a Pirates game (and they're finally playing well, so that made it even more exciting :] )

*We were able to go to Bible Study on Wednesday nights as a family. I miss seeing my dad there, and I don't know what he's been up to. It's not the same without him. But I've been appreciative that Jon has been able to see firsthand something that I've been investing my time in.

*We've both been able to see friends of ours that we have not seen in way too long. I love that have somehow been blessed with relationships that are strong enough to endure even though we have not been able to invest nearly anything in them over the years. We're hoping that we will have time to change that now. Shills, Kate, Ian, and B- thanks for being so patient with us. Love you guys!

*On top of that I've been building some new friendships too. I think I have to count Jacki as new- it had been about two years to the day since we'd last talked and much longer since we'd spent any time together. Not sure about her yet, but I know I've changed a lot, mostly in this last year. Truthfully, I've oftened wondered why she would even want to be friends with me now, because I can't see that we have much in common anymore. But I'm not opposed to the idea, so I guess it will be for her to decide as she gets to know me better now. It is a little awkward, I'll admit. Kind of like going back to a childhood home and seeing echoes of your memories even though another family has moved in and made it their own. Part of me wants to fall into step with how it used to be. Easy. Effortless. Natural. But that's not me anymore. And honestly, I don't want what I had. It was broken beyond repair. Even though I've healed, you can't go back. But it seems to me that God has been pretty determined to put us back in each other's lives and I trust Him. I'm still wary and nervous and I have no idea what to expect. But knowing what we had, I'm hopeful that with a clean, fresh beginning, it will be stronger and somehow, completely different.

As a direct result, I finally met the famous Erin. That was a little weird too,  but in a good way. I had wanted to meet her years ago, so it was kind of strange, like "Gee I already feel like I know you reaaallly well, even though we've never spoken." I kind of wondered if she'd live up to the hype, because apart from Jacki/Casey, I can't remember ever having the same taste in friends as either of them. Which is weird to look back on, because we definitely rotated in the same social circles, but I don't think I'd have called any of the others my friends. Anyway, Erin is awesome. Offbeat, smart and funny. And she talks as fast as Jacki which I find impressive. :P And she likes books. Which is sadly not common, at least in the people I come in contact with. I have met many people who like to proclaim that they're readers, but when I ask for some recommendations, they draw a blank. I don't understand this. Being a "reader" does not automatically make you smart or make people respect you. Kind of seems like a dumb thing to exaggerate/lie about. It's become a pet peeve of mine when people try to define themselves in ways like this ("at work, I'm the girl that's always reading during her lunch breaks") and project a character that is not at all in line with who they really are. It's annoying. It's like, if that's the person you want to be, then make the effort to be that and stop with the smoke and mirrors. I have never had much patience for insincere, unathentic fakes. But having been fooled by a few in particular has certainly not helped with that. Tangent, sorry.

This post is far too long already, so I think I will split it into two.

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