Things I'm Glad Of

As I sit here in the chilly lobby of the church that houses Bree’s homeschool co-op listening to her dress rehearsal going on in the sanctuary, I am glad. This year has been strange and weird and not easy, but I find I have more to be glad of than upset about.

I’m glad that I decided to go back to part-time for my day job. Yes, it’s been tough financially, but it has allowed me to be home with the kids more and I am glad of that.

I'm glad I still have Lilla Rose. Working less I have had more time to focus on it and that money has helped each month. I still love seeing the confidence it brings Bree as well, especially when she's helping me at an event and teaching people how to do their hair. My Lilla Rose family has been a source of joy and positivity this year and I'm glad of that.

I'm glad I finally learned to narrate audiobooks. I bought the course to teach me how a couple of years ago, but never had time to sit down and work through it. Since I was home from the day job more I took one of those off days and knocked the whole thing out, then figured out what equipment I had and needed, recorded some samples and audition pieces, and off I went. Does it make a lot of money? No, not yet, and it might never make lots of money, but it will build slowly and it is so much fun! If I could afford it I'd narrate full time. My authors are all promising me more work and I have my own independent projects I'm working on as well, and I'm glad of that.

I am glad that Conner’s class got to have an actual graduation - belated, and the whole family didn’t get to come, but they did get to have a real graduation and get that closure and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that Sabrina was brave and told us she wanted to be homeschooled this year and that we agreed. And I’m glad that we decided to try the homeschool co-op (BHSE) that my brother’s kids attended when they lived here. She has found her people at BHSE. The kids here are like her, they understand her, they appreciate her quirks, and she has found friends. She is also thriving with the combination of being around the people at BHSE and homeschooling. She loves being able to get her work done and spend the rest of the day painting, baking, going outside... doing whatever she wants to do - and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that Conner was brave and told us he didn’t want to go to college right away and that we were ok with that. College isn’t the right place for everybody. School has never been his favorite thing (dysgraphia makes school not fun, too much writing) even though he makes good grades. This has been a particularly trying semester for college life - or so I’ve heard from friends and family who have college kids. We’d also rather have him figure out what he wants to do before he goes to college rather than going with a vague, or no, idea and changing his mind, drifting aimlessly through pointless classes... he might go eventually. He might go to a trade school. Right now he is working at a music store and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that I decided to take a jump and go to school at IIN for a health coach certification. I learned so much and am excited about using that knowledge to help people live healthier lives, solve their gut and hormone problems, and feel better. That’s something I have wanted to do since Conner first got sick and we began to learn more about natural healing. I now have a way to help people learn to be healthy and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that Drew is home for a little while now. His job, building mountain bike trails, requires lots of travel and he has been gone for most of this year - home every other weekend or so, but he truly loves and enjoys his job and that’s important. And I think, somehow, his being gone a lot helped bring us closer together. Maybe it made us appreciate the time we have together more. I’m glad that when he is home the kids see an example of a wonderful marriage. We routinely gross the kids out and I’m glad of that.

I'm glad that we have a Naturopath to go to for our health needs. We haven’t been sick since we started seeing her a few years ago. Conner is completely over his illness (as long as he avoids dairy and pineapple). Bree started showing some of the same symptoms this summer, so we had her tested for food allergies/sensitivities as well and discovered she also can’t have dairy. There are some other things she has to avoid right now until her guts sort themselves back out after being aggravated by dairy. Hopefully, those will go back to normal soon. We knew what to look for this time, caught it early, and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that we found a new church. Leaving our old church was not easy - especially not leaving our jobs as music ministers - we didn't want to leave them in a lurch, but we’d been feeling led to leave there for a while and God said it was time, so we listened and did what we were supposed to do. The church we were led to is wonderful and alive. We have friends there, Bree’s new best friend is there. We worship, meet new people, and make friends, serve, and continue to see what God has planned for us there, and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that Conner wasn’t hurt when a deer jumped in front of him a few weeks ago. Yes, his car is wrecked, but we have a “spare” vehicle so everybody is still able to get to work while we find him something else, and I’m glad of that.

I’m glad that my family is healthy, immediate, and extended. We did lose a great-uncle suddenly this summer and one of my aunts had to have heart surgery. One brother had Covid (very mild symptoms.) We have continued to gather. We celebrated my Grandmother’s 100th birthday in July. I got to meet my new baby great-nephew who was born in August and see my other nieces and nephews (and my parents and siblings) in July and again at Thanksgiving. We got to attend Drew’s mother’s wedding to a wonderful man and visit his family in July.

I am glad that the sun still rises and sets, that we have a house to live in and food in the fridge. I’m glad the chickens lay eggs (just not many right now!) for us to eat and the dogs and cats love to snuggle. Even though I do not like cold weather at all, I am glad the seasons are changing because that means - despite all the doom and gloom on the news and internet - that the world is still turning.... and I’m glad of that.