My Crazy Life

So many thoughts, so much going on.  I seriously need some therapy.  So you've been warned.  (I think I've said that before, you know it's true!)

In the past month plus, we've done a LOT around here, mostly good, but even good stress is stress.

Matthew came home from his two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 12th.

Joseph went through the temple for the first time on September 22nd, the same day we did Deborah's bridal pictures.

Matthew spoke and we had family and friends over for dinner on the 23rd.

The wedding was the 29th with all it's attendant parties, etc.

We moved the three boys from the basement to upstairs bedrooms and the newly weds moved in downstairs which has been turned into an apartment. 

In the meantime, if you remember, Aaron's heart rate and seizures kinda kicked up and he was on a two-week (okay, ended up being 6 days) heart monitor.  'Cause he'd been told to be good, and he was trying, but still, you gotta make sure you're not forgotten, right?

Then there are all the preparations for Joseph leaving for Louisiana for two years.  He spoke last Sunday, the 20th and again, friends and family joined us.

If you're counting, that's four weeks between Matthew speaking and Joseph speaking.  Deborah's birthday was in there.  It's soccer season, which means two games and two practices a week, plus refereeing, because it all costs money.  And Deborah had a birthday. And music lessons and school, and oh, yeah, that homework thing that the kids would really prefer we forget. 

By the way, I'm still subbing (mostly) full-time.

Tired yet?  I am.

Then Aaron got sick last week.  Pretty sure it was the norovirus.  For those who don't know, that's a fairly nasty intestinal bug.  Last time, he ended up in the hospital.  Fortunately, this time we were able to stay home, but still, so grateful for a washer and dryer!

Anyway, it all kinda caught up to me.  Wednesday I ended up in the ER with what turned out to be my ulcer acting up again, which is a much better answer than the initial concern of a heart attack.

So there you have it, folks.  My life in a nutshell.  The good news is, we're all still here, still kicking, still getting things done (mostly).  Aaron's monitor results came back pretty good, which means that we're thinking the low heart rates we're getting on his pulse/ox may be more seizure related than

heart related.  I don't know that that's a good thing necessarily, but since he's not having seizures that we have to "rescue" him from, that's better than additional heart issues.  You know, trying to think positively here.

And with soccer season coming to an end, I really am hoping for some more "down" time, or at least a break from the reffing drama.  'Cause you know, asking adults to actually act like adults is way too much when they're on the sidelines.  Nevermind.  I'm not going there today.  I'm going to clear my mind and focus on my blessings.

Whew!  I needed to get this out!  Don't know about you, it probably didn't help you, but I'm feeling better.  It's been a long crazy several weeks since the beginning of September, but you know, most all of it's good, and I've learned from all of it, the good and the rough. 

This life is to learn from, to give us experience.  Those are good things.  So even though both good and bad stress is stressful and sometimes hard on the body, so do good and bad (okay, difficult) experiences teach us, if we let them.  Think I'd better make sure I learn, right? 

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

Maya Angelou

So Many Thoughts! And Taking a Break

Well, we made it!

Deborah and Bronson are married, and it couldn't have gone better!

The boys from downstairs are now moved upstairs and the newlyweds are in the basement apartment.  In some ways, that was more challenging than the wedding!  Probably because there wasn't a beautiful fun party at the end.  (giggle)

Aaron did his heart monitor, sorta, kinda.  Well, for a few days anyway.  He wore it for five days really well, and we babied it through a sixth day, sorta, and then it was all over.  I'm still waiting on the results, but we did get some good data with bradycardia and tachycardia both showing up.  (Yay??)

And now I'm sure we're getting ready for the next big adventure, but I'm hoping for a couple days of downtime first.

This weekend is General Conference for our church.  Every six months we gather to hear counsel from our leaders.  It's been a spiritual feast along with new announcements and some challenges.  There's movement to bring more gospel teaching into the home, more towards a family-centered and church-supported ministry.  I'm thrilled, and excited, and scared and nervous.  For quite some time Ive slacked off in formally teaching my kids, and it's past time to stop pawning that off on others.

One of the challenges, probably one of the hardest for me, is to have a ten-day social media fast.  Kinda interesting the way those thoughts have gone in my head.  "But how?"  "I can't."  "What if I miss something important?"  "What if someone needs me?"

Then, "what if I really need this?"  "What if I follow the counsel of the prophet?"  "What example am I setting for my kids?" "What blessings am I willing to give up in order to spend more time on Facebook?"

And these past five weeks have been beyond frantic.  I've been barely hanging on.  Thursday night, I broke down sobbing because I was so tired, and those who know me know that I just don't do that.  Ever.

So yep, I need a break and that's the plan.  As of tomorrow, I won't be on Facebook until the 18th.  If I'm truly needed, I'll be accessible by text, direct message, or just good old fashioned phone call.  I'll miss wishing my daughter "happy birthday" on Facebook, but since she now lives downstairs, I bet we can make it work.

Aaron is doing well, as far as we can tell.  I'll still post to Instagram and his Facebook page because my phone can do that automatically, but I won't be checking to see who has "liked" it or commented.  Because I think I need this rest, and I know I need to follow the counsel I've been given.  I'm even looking forward to this.

Almost everything will work again 

if you unplug it for a few minutes ... 

including you.

Anne Lamott