On Friday, June 29th, 2012 Eric and I, and much of the United States, experienced a derecho. A derecho is a powerful windstorm that blows wind straight through an area, unlike a tornado that blows wind in circle, exceeding at least 60 miles per hour (ours was around 75 miles per hour). To my knowledge I have never gone through such a storm and I hope I never do again. I was on the phone with my dad when Eric came in and said that the wind was going crazy outside. About that time, the lights went out. That wouldn’t have been such a big deal except for the fact that we were going through the … [Read more...]

Recently, my husband liked a quote on Facebook from Gary Chapman which read, “When a man is down, he needs his wife's gentle arm and soft assurance that things will work out.” In my head, I am that gentle woman who is always there and ready to support and assure Eric that everything will work out. But, for reassurance, I asked Eric if he felt a lack of support and assurance from me. He looked at me with big eyes and shook his head… yes. Wow. Sometimes what we see in ourselves is not true. We can think that we are doing so well in our relationships, but it’s good to ask for a progress report … [Read more...]

On December 23rd, sometime around 11pm, Eric and I were in Wal-Mart picking up a few last minute Christmas items. The store was still full and only a few registers were open, so the lines at the express check-out lanes were long – to say the least. We got in line and waited some time when the cashier in the line next to us turned his light off and told the people in his line that he would take the next couple of customers, but that the other customers would need to find a different line. Almost everyone would agree that it is terribly annoying to wait in line only to find out that you … [Read more...]

Today, I am home sick. This morning I was supposed to attend a women's brunch at church. I baked for it last night and woke up feeling miserable this morning. I started getting ready anyway because I really wanted to go, but I couldn't get all those young mothers out of my mind. If I went and coughed all over them, they would possibly take all those germs home to their little people – and for a family with many kids, one simple cold can last for weeks. After giving up the brunch, I went back to bed for several hours. When I woke up, I felt even worse than when I got up this morning. This … [Read more...]

This subject is near and dear to my heart because I'm writing this at 1:10am. For some reason today, other things kept coming before writing this blog post. Now, the day has slipped away and I am writing a blog with drooping eyelids. While I wish I could say that I almost never procrastinate, I struggle with it like many others do. If there is a task that seems more enjoyable that the task at hand (e.g., watching TV, spending time with friends, or eating my favorite treat), it is always tempting to have that pleasure before taking care of business. For some self-disclosure, my personality … [Read more...]