Almost every home has one - a junk drawer. You know, that spot where you'll find all sorts of random items like batteries, rubber bands, and extension cords. Sometimes my brain feels much like a junk drawer. It just feels like I have so many random jumbled thoughts in my head. Drew pointed out that it's been awhile since I've blogged so this one is all his fault. 🤣
Since my last post, we've been to Saint Joseph five times, Middlebury once and now Michigan City. We've spent time with grandchildren, winterized the outside of our house and spent lots of quiet evenings at home together. We've seen Halloween come and go (we don't really do anything so I can't say we "celebrated") and celebrated Thanksgiving with family. We've taken lots of pictures, shared countless laughs, made many memories and even shed a few tears. Most importantly, we've weathered life's storms together.
One thing I noticed about us is that we work together so much better than we used to. There was a time in our marriage that we couldn't do a project together. We would end up yelling at each other out of frustration. But last Sunday, we worked together to prepare our yard and the exterior of the house for winter. We worked so well together that we got it all done in record time and treated ourselves to a trip to Saint Joseph. Of course, last Sunday we were met with lots of drizzling rain when we got to the lake. But we still had a lot of fun, laughed together and made more memories. Today we worked together to bag up 10 bags of leaves in my parents' back yard. It was hard work but we got it done in record time.My depression and anxiety has been on a roller coaster lately. It always is when we get to that time of year that it's dark at 5:00. There have been days I've wished we could move hundreds of miles away from anyone we know. But then I'm reminded of the fact that God has us here for a reason. My parents aren't able to take care of many things on their own right now. As much as I wish we only had ourselves to worry about, we realize that we're here to help them. It's easy to get caught up in the "I'm tired" and "I'll do it later" excuses. But we're always going to be tired and later may never come. So we push forward and do what needs to be done. I'm thankful that we were both raised with a good work ethic (ok, we're stubborn and determined) so we don't give in until the job is done.
Drew's work continues to be filled with long days that tend to be pretty stressful. But he tries to put his best foot forward. He's working hard to walk more without his cane, despite the pain he deals with. He doesn't let the pain get him down and he never lets it stop him. He walks to the end of his limits and then walks a bit more. He perseveres no matter how he feels. Sickness and weariness doesn't stop him.
I continue to love my job and look forward to going in every day. Yes, I look forward to breaks from school but am always very ready to get back. All students are working on computer coding and will be participating in Hour of Code this week as we wrap up the last 10 days of school before Christmas break. I get lots of computer repairs in and love seeing students get excited about learning new things on the computer. I'm blessed to work with such a great group of educators and teach the greatest group of students ever.As we near Christmas, I wish you an incredible measure of blessings and wonderful times of celebration with friends and family. May we take time to reflect on the real Reason for the season.
