Oh to be young again...

I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping up on this blog. But this past month has been such a busy month for me emotionally and there are just some things you can’t share. I must say that there have been plenty of times where I wished I was still a kid again. The responsibilities of being an adult can at times be so overwhelming. I mean why did I ever want to hurry and grow up? As a grown up you have bills to pay, a job to go to where at times you may not get along with the people you work with, parents who need you to take care of them, mortgages to pay, your health to worry about. So can anyone remind me again of why it’s so fun being a grown up? Oh and did I mention that being a single person your choices on a mate deteriorate with the years passing you by. Yeah right now I’m wishing I was still 10 years old! Running around the playground with friends, my biggest worry is how to solve fractions and long divisions, and still living at home (okay so the latter part is still true in my life! But hey with the economy the way it is, living at home is cheaper than on your own these days =])

Goodbyes

There is a quote from Shakespear's Romeo & Juliet "parting is such sweet sorrow" that is often cited in different occasions. Tonight I had to say goodbye to one of the best supervisor's I've had the honor to work with and it was just like the quote sweet but at the same time sorrowful. This man was such a great person to work with, he managed to find that balance between authority and comraderie in the work place. For the most part I like my shift but before Mel came to our shift there wasn't that bond between the new peopel and the veterans. Mel brought our shift together by his sense of humor. He would try to scare us by hiding around corners and got me good a few times including once while I was on the radio talknig. But he also managed to maintain his authority and there was never any doubt as to who was in charge. Good leaders like him are hard to find these days! The kind that can motivate their people to work without raising their voice, create an environment where people still feel free to express themselves and yet be productive, and yet maintain a sense of decorum and order. He was wonderful and we're going to miss him.

But like most good people he had to move on and leave us quicker than the rest. So being the good team that we were, we gave him a good farewell to show our appreciation to him being a great supervisor. Hopefully he will stop by to visit once in a while since he's still with the department. He just moved to a different division, so it's not a complete and finite parting!

Letting go of Friends

These past two weeks have been rather trying for me in my relationships with friends. I've had to say good-bye to two friends who I've known for a combined total of 25 years. That's a long time! One of the friendship that I've had to let go I was tried of being the only one inputting time and effort to keep it alive. It was like trying to give oxgen to something that was brain dead, yeah not a pretty picture I know but that it seemed like to me. So I had to cut that relationship and let it go. The other one came out of nowhere! I was not expecting a "Dear John" e-mail from this person even though I haven't heard from her in a month or two when I do call her. But she sent me the e-mail and asked me to not contact her. I was rather sad on reading the e-mail but respected her for letting me know. I wish I could say that I cried but my tears ducts have decided to quit working for me right when I need them too! So now there is just this dull feeling inside. But I know as in life there are many twist and turns in our journey and friends may come and go.

Weekend in VA

This weekend I drove 7 hours to VA so I can visit my old roommate and friend KB. I haven't seen KB since she was a newlywed and kids free. These days she has two adorable kids and I'm so thankful she blogs so I can keep up with her. The drive was long and Friday it was raining from Greenville, SC to VA. All through North Carolina I didn't see much since it was such a torrential down pour that I can barely see the cars ahead of me. Then just as I crossed over the VA state line there was a "traffic jam" which made me laugh because it was a two lane highway and all traffic was at a standstill. A trip that mapquest said would take me 7hours 21 minutes ended up being about 8 hours. But it was lovely seeing KB and her family, the kids were still up when I pulled in and I got attend their bedtime routine which included prayer and a Bible story. It was so refreshing to see godly parenting!

Saturday Laura came up and we all (with the exception of Jon, KB's hubby who had to work) went to the Marine Corp musuem. Michael was fascinated with what he saw and I must say I was very inspired. It made me want a Marine! LOL But seriously the museum is worth visiting if you're near Quantico. First off it is FREE admission and then you learn about the history of the Marine Corps. They had lectures too, which was interesting but you needed more time to sit in and actually listening. I thought it was rather concidential that the lecture of the afternoon was the Irish in the Marine! But I didn't last long since there was more to see and of course a gift shopt to visit! =)

Life size images of Marines getting out of a helicopter.

This man is a statue!

After the museum we went to the mall where Michael got his own Build-A-Bear. He chose a stuffed doggy with a police uniform. The naming part was a bit tough since Michael had all sorts of ideas on what to call his new toy from Boney to Bob Jones, KB finally settled for Sebastian. =)

We stopped off at the Home show where Jon was working and walked around for a bit. It was cool how some of the booths were elaborately set up with a full fountain or patio sets. Michael was fascinated by the fake fireplaces. Then it was back home for dinner, put the kids to bed and a few hours of Dutch Blitz. I must say I got caught up with my lack of Dutch Blitz in years just this weekend! Boy did that bring back some memories of mid-terms and finals at college. =)

Jon and his business

Michael copying the frog pose

Sunday was church then lunch at Olive Garden. Laura had to go home so we took afternoon naps, myself included =) which was nice in KB's couch in the great room. Got an evening service in and then I was taken to a Fredricksberg landmark, Carl's Ice Cream. That was some delicious ice cream and the place has been there since the 1950's apparently. They were still using the same ice cream maker so it definitely had the old fashion feel, too bad I left my camera in the car. But it was so quaint and very All-American to go get ice cream after church =) gave me that warm fuzzy feeling I thought I'd lost due to the harshness of my job. It's nice knowing you can still feel that way around good wholesome people!

Needless to say I had a great weekend! It was fun seeing KB again and getting to know her adorable kids. They were such a joy to be around. KB and Jon are doing some wonderful parenting where they're not afraid to discipline and correct their children. I've never known someone so young who could just start to talk say the "magic word" of please and thank you at that age. That is such a rare thing to find in this day and age.

A challenge

Last night's speaker at BC was Pastor Ollila and he covered Nehemiah 8. He had three points:
1.The Preacher
2. The Preaching
3. The People

I'm not going to go over every note I took just because I took some really lousy notes =) But what I got out of the night was this challenge during the second point. A subpoint under the Preaching was that the Preaching of Nehemiah brought Conviction to the people. It was actually an illustration that he used. Bet I got you curious now right? =) Well the challenge was list 50 "I am" about yourself. Can you do that? I'm still working on my list!

Back at the bubble

Yes I have returned back to my Alma matter, Bob Jones University aka "the bubble". The flight back east was uneventful it was what happened once I got into town that stressed me out. Let's just say that there are times when I wished I wasn't so impulsive to take up a challenge without really thinking it through!

The campus has changed a lot since I graduated and even though I was here a little over a year ago to drop of my brother for his Freshman year; change has occurred since then. The Rodeheaver Auditorium got a much needed face lift and it looks very sleek and modern now to really complete the front entry look of the campus. Lots of new modern looking buildings, lighting around the campus and the general landscaping has changed since my freshman year 10 years ago. Yeah I felt old when I realized that too! =)

One of the first things that made me sigh in contentment and gave that coming home feel was entering the FMA. The ushers were still there handsome, standing tall and directing traffic, the fact that from almost anywhere you sit you get a good view of the whole place and can spot familar faces of teachers in the crowd. Then the singing began and oh my that is when I finally calmed down from the earlier drama at the airport. I missed the beautiful sound of people singing in perfect harmony, at times I used to think this is what being in heaven and singing with the angels must sound like. The music and just the general aura of people glad to be there, smiling wholesome faces of law abiding citizens. It was so refreshing! Of course I had to peek at the first page of the University Hymnal and there it was...the University Creed. For those reading this and who have gone to BJU, can you still remember the creed? =) I only got as far as the first statment! LOL

The speaker of the evening was Dr. Hartog III and he covered Numbers 14 with Murmurring as the topic. It was such a good sermon and reminder of how you miss blessings because of griping. His three points that I got were:
1-Murmurring shows lack of gratitude to God
2-Murmurring shows lack of submission to the Devine leadership
3-Murmurring gives evidence in the lack of fatih.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the week and my visit!

Lasik

Okay so one of my closest friend and I have been talking about getting Lasik done these past few months. She did the research, being a nurse and all, while I just followed. A nice change of pace since on the trips we take, I do the research and she just follows along. But she found this doctor who's had a great reputation for successful surgeries and he's done a few people in the Department. So three weeks ago we both went in together to get our eyes evaluated and see if we are a candidate for surgery. The process wasn't too bad, it was just like going to vist your optometrist.

My friend did her surgery last week and I met up with her on Monday. She could see clearly and was able to drive herself to the post-op visit the day after surger. It was amazing and she loved it! So today it was my turn to go. Let me just say that reading the consent form will scare you a lot and then your imagination starts goin off in that "worst case scenario" way. Not a good thing! They offer you some Valium before surgery, which I was told I should take. That totally helped mellow me out and by the time I was going in the surgery room I was really feeling relaxed. The nurse kinda smiled as she said "so you took the Valium? your eyes are glazed over". But hey that made the post op nap really nice and long. The actual surgery was really quick about two minutes long!

When I woke up I could see the TV from where I was sleeping on the couch, the clock on the wall and then looking out the window I can see the trees clearly. It was such an odd feeling to see things without glasses. But I must say the dryness is starting to bother me and I've been using the artificial tears like crazy to sooth my eyes.

Was it worth it? YES! Absolutley! The amout of money you save through the year from not buying contacts, solutions, new glasses and increase in eye prescripting is a big plus.