Where I've been
A few of you have asked lately where I've been. The long and short of it is - not on LJ.
Come catch me on Facebook if you like (post a comment if you need help finding me on facebook). I'm there a little more often than I'm over here.
Laura is 16 months old, walking, talking, sharp as can be. She knows eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, tongue, elbow, shoulder, hands, belly, knee, toes. She can tell you the sound of cat, dog, sheep, owl, cow, bird, goose, duck, and bell. She follows some simple instructions and loves to help do laundry. She mostly sleeps through the night and tolerates the childcare at the gym and the nursery at church. She loves to read books (for hours on end...) and go to the mall play area. She is marvelous and beautiful and phenomenal. It is so much fun watching her learn new things and test her boundaries. (Some days it is exhausting to watch her learn new things and test her boundaries.)
John is doing okay at work. It is time for a new job for him. This week he is in California and we desperately miss him already.
I am starting to feel almost competent as a parent. We have run the gamut from misery to surviving to nearly competent, and I've got my eye on flourishing. It's clear that I'm doing something right - she's really an amazing kid. We have found a pretty good rhythm. The hardest part is the end of the day, when I'm a little fatigued.
Being able to go to the gym and put her in childcare is helpful. Going back to Bible study was a big deal. I am finding myself reminded that I am a person with a name, and reminded of the goodness of God. This is huge. A very wise friend recently brought me back to reality by reminding me that all the ways I have tried to redefine myself in my lifetime have failed - except the grace of God. I have been working on living into that.
Paradoxically enough, I am doing very well with diet and exercise. This time around, it has not become an obsession. The last few times I have tried to lose weight, I have felt like I was drowning. This time, I have felt like I am doing something good for myself. I've been exercising a bit, eating mostly low-glycemic rather than counting calories, just trying to make better choices.
I think the difference between this time and last - perhaps one of the defining things of this phase of my life - is that I have not adopted the "good me, bad me" thought pattern, the "before bad/after good" mentality.
I have a handful of marvelous friends who are so supportive and helpful. I love that they get it. It's just as simple as that. Truly, it is.
For all the challenges of the day-to-day, I can't help but feel like I am living a charmed life. I have given up some things; I miss some of them (like my job at the church). I so wanted to be a mom, but I didn't realize how much my life would change, and I didn't realize how hard it would be. At the end of the day, though, I have come out way ahead on that trade.
Come catch me on Facebook if you like (post a comment if you need help finding me on facebook). I'm there a little more often than I'm over here.
Laura is 16 months old, walking, talking, sharp as can be. She knows eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, tongue, elbow, shoulder, hands, belly, knee, toes. She can tell you the sound of cat, dog, sheep, owl, cow, bird, goose, duck, and bell. She follows some simple instructions and loves to help do laundry. She mostly sleeps through the night and tolerates the childcare at the gym and the nursery at church. She loves to read books (for hours on end...) and go to the mall play area. She is marvelous and beautiful and phenomenal. It is so much fun watching her learn new things and test her boundaries. (Some days it is exhausting to watch her learn new things and test her boundaries.)
John is doing okay at work. It is time for a new job for him. This week he is in California and we desperately miss him already.
I am starting to feel almost competent as a parent. We have run the gamut from misery to surviving to nearly competent, and I've got my eye on flourishing. It's clear that I'm doing something right - she's really an amazing kid. We have found a pretty good rhythm. The hardest part is the end of the day, when I'm a little fatigued.
Being able to go to the gym and put her in childcare is helpful. Going back to Bible study was a big deal. I am finding myself reminded that I am a person with a name, and reminded of the goodness of God. This is huge. A very wise friend recently brought me back to reality by reminding me that all the ways I have tried to redefine myself in my lifetime have failed - except the grace of God. I have been working on living into that.
Paradoxically enough, I am doing very well with diet and exercise. This time around, it has not become an obsession. The last few times I have tried to lose weight, I have felt like I was drowning. This time, I have felt like I am doing something good for myself. I've been exercising a bit, eating mostly low-glycemic rather than counting calories, just trying to make better choices.
I think the difference between this time and last - perhaps one of the defining things of this phase of my life - is that I have not adopted the "good me, bad me" thought pattern, the "before bad/after good" mentality.
I have a handful of marvelous friends who are so supportive and helpful. I love that they get it. It's just as simple as that. Truly, it is.
For all the challenges of the day-to-day, I can't help but feel like I am living a charmed life. I have given up some things; I miss some of them (like my job at the church). I so wanted to be a mom, but I didn't realize how much my life would change, and I didn't realize how hard it would be. At the end of the day, though, I have come out way ahead on that trade.