Here is a sadly overdue update:
We started school five weeks ago. Our new schedule is fabulous, thanks to Google Calendar’s ridiculously helpful planning tools. I have the entire year mapped out and now I only have to remember to keep up with it, which sounds easy, but being me, it’s the hardest part of all. Seriously, since college there are days when I simply FORGET there is such a thing as school. I used to have nightmares in which I would wake up on the day of the final and realize that I had forgotten to attend the class at all up to that day. This dream was, in fact, based on reality. Oh, brain. Oh, silly, flighty brain. And now I am in charge of the education of six little humans. May God help us all.
Also, I am still studying Japanese. I love studying Japanese (and history and art and culture). I’m secretly working out ways to make myself useful in Japan and simultaneously get immersed in the language. Well, maybe not secretly, but in a quiet, I-have-no-idea-when-and-so-I-will-be-patient way. I don’t feel itchy about it, but I think it will happen at some point.
My kids are huge. Today on the playground equipment they looked like giants. Yesterday I emailed my mom about next summer and told her the oldest four will be 7, 9, and 11 by then. That’s freaky. I love my crazy little geeks more and more.
Jason is still plugging away at a full time job that bores him to tears. He’s amazing and dedicated and stubborn, in a good way. I love him more, also. He’s started applying to some very cool positions where he could use his head and breathe a little. Be praying about it.
Our little church on the hill is having hard times all around. Lots of losses and changes and storms, but it’s amazing how God makes it beautiful. I love those people.
I’m really happy. Which is weird because this is one of the hardest times we’ve ever had, as far as circumstances go. It feels like what Paul was talking about when he said he’d learned to be content in all conditions– rich, poor, hungry, feasted, sick, healthy… We’ve been provided for and sustained in every situation we’ve met so far, and it has worked out for good.
I’m also continuously, sometimes unexpectedly in the middle of the day, heartbroken over my baby niece, Ruby, and over John and Cristin’s pain and loss and struggle. (If you haven’t been there, they’ve been keeping everyone up to date at http://rarerubyjean.blogspot.com/) But even in that John and Cristin keep coming back to how faithful and how beautiful their God is. It’s amazing. Sometimes these hard times can be miraculously sweet.
Things I’ve been struggling with lately:
- anything related to organizing/ordering/tidying
- managing distractions
- getting to bed on time
- and probably some other things that I’m too dull to notice.
I keep making plans and schedules to get myself in line, but so far nothing sticks. My ultimate FAIL in life so far is my inability to do the same thing twice. Love the creativity and spontanaeity and mobility. Don’t love the ineffectualness in simple, daily living. It’s my nemesis. Probably will be forever. But today I’m not too sad about it, so there you go. It’s getting better slooooooooooowly. Patience, patience, patience. Sigh.
Hey! I remember you! So glad to see you back. Praying like crazy for sweet Ruby Jean and expecting big things from God.
Oh, dear, the everything all at once time. Many times I’ve chalked up my own days of not dealing well with distractions, organizing, going to bed on time and things like dealing with a ‘daily everyday that seems often the same’ syndrome to the fact that I have that 8-5 job. More and more, though, it becomes apparent that it’s a thing moms of many different kinds go through – whether they admit it or not
Sometimes being a grown up is so stinkin’ “real.”!
Every now and then the artist must step back from the canvas and look at the painting from afar.
I am blown away to know the twins are 10 already. I remember starting to read your blog when you talked about being a mom of 4 kids under the age of 6!
You always strike me as the got-it-reasonable-together woman, so that’s nice to hear coming from you! I’m hoping that things will get a little easier in the organization department once my toddler tearing through the house days are over. It’ll be sad, but good. And even then, I have no delusions of magically developing any talent for it. I just want things to stay where I put them for more than an hour. That would help.
And that reasonable should be reasonably. Makes much more sense.
Reasonable? My husband would dispute that for sure. Reasonably together, maybe half the time… but it has taken a few years and a lot of ‘letting go’
But tonight I gave my oldest – junior in HS – advice on an essay, and he beamed and said, “that’s epic, yeah!” So, I think I’m mostly doing okay!
Toddler years, oh, man… I think back and honestly, those days seem like the simple happy days… (there’s this blissful thing about hindsight, or memory, or lack of memory…)
I am late in replying to your post because I’ve been. . .SO BUSY I CAN’T ORGANIZE ANYTHING. For realz. So, yeah. It’s being an adult woman/mother/wife/employee/friend. . .and those of us with incredibly blessed lives tend to have more. I love the quote, “I don’t do too much. I have too much to do.” That is me right now. What do I cut out? Husband? Kids? Work? Students and co-workers AT work? Church? God? Hmmm. . .none of those seem like good choices to me. . .so I cut out exercise, blogging, photography, art, letter writing. . .and those are good things to cut out either. Methinks it might be time for my balance post that I was going to write last spring. If I could only find the Chuy’s napkin on which I began writing it. And REALLY salty chips with jalapeno ranch strikes me as a good thing to eat right now.
I love you both–Steph and Becky. . .and your various and sundry husbands and children type people too.
SUPER-DUPER WONDERFUL about the comment on my bloggy today!!!! Closer. . .closer. . .closer. . .now you will REALLY be within stalking distance. And ALSO near a beach. Just sayin’.