From Chaos Comes Happiness

Last week, I told my dear friend, Peggy, how much I missed blogging. " I don't even know where to begin, " I told her. " It's been so long, I don't even know what to say. "  " Just write," she said. " Write about what you're  doing. Just do it. "  Wise words from a wise friend.  So . . . Me? What am I doing . . . . I guess, I am just up to my eye balls in LIFE.   2014 - it went out with a bang (a new job, four weeks of a horrible cold and cough, non-stop holiday activities, lots of family fun with even some not-so-fun, and everything that goes with it.)  Then, 2015. A new year, new focus, the rebirth of old ideas in brand new ways. A friend making her dream come true, and me being allowed to enjoy the benefits of it. And life. It IS THE life.  To avoid boring you with all if the little day in and day out happenings of the past 56 days - I'll take a few days this week to share two or three moments of th...

. . . and before I knew what happened, it was December 9th.  Damn.  I wanted to blog so much more in November.  I was there. I had so much to share.  But then . . . a few things happened . . . like, I had this home art party . . .    It was lots of fun.  Then I planned a project for Ella's Brownie troop . . .  It was lots of fun, too.   Then Phil planned a trip to this place . . .   . . . which was absolutely awesome and completely magical .  It was a short little trip.  But it was exactly what we needed.  Because there were lots of laughs . . .  And awesome moments like these . . . The next day, we went here . . . .  And it was heavenly. Because, I was here . . .  and they were there . . .  and it was good. So very very good.  Then we came home, and had some people over for dinner . . .  It was su...

Lately, I find myself spending a good part of each and every day trying to not have a panic attack - which is absolutely ridiculous, and I get angry just to hear myself say it. I don't know how other people handle it . . . this thing called life.  How they meet all of their responsibilities and deal with everything on their plates without going into a complete and total breakdown is just beyond me. God Bless 'em.   Some days, as I'm driving in the car, I find myself taking deep breaths in and out and counting to 10 just to keep myself from hyperventilating. The car is when I do a lot of thinking - when it all seems to catch up with me. So I breath in and out, over and over, trying to re-group. It all will get done. It all will be fine. I can do this. I tell myself those things . . . over and over again.   And I've got it so easy, too. Really.  I know this as clear as day. I know that there are  people out there that have it bad. Really bad. I don't ...

It's so strange how the universe works. Like, CRAZY strange. And I love it. Every stinking bit of it. Really. The good, and the bad parts of it. My friends . . . I got the job. The job I was telling you about earlier in the week. The for real 'wake up and go to an office' sort of job. The job that will deposit funds into my bank account every two weeks (insert cheer of ' yay !' here). The job that will help ignite some old skills, dust of some insurance knowledge, and allow me to exceed in a field that I know I can handle. Yes, I got the job. But back to the universe. I love it. A few years ago, for those of you who may not be familiar with my story, I worked in health care - in health insurance, specifically. I have actually held a job in health care, in one way or another, since I was 16. And since I am not one to hide my age . . . that was about 27 years ago. I did well in health care - working my way up from one position to another, and settli...

My burners are full right now, friends. All of them. And things are simmering . . . steadily.  In other words . . . I feel like I have a lot going on right now.  While blow drying the 'do' this morning (because, you know, that is when my greatest thoughts and ideas come to me), I came up with this analogy for life: Comparing it to a great chef in one of the busiest restaurants - with every single burner on the stove running at full capacity, and still keeping up with each of them before anything overflows.  That's how I feel lately. I keep stirring them - going from one pot to another, to make sure that nothing boils over. But so far, so good. Nothing is burning. Yet. ;)   One pot is full of Girl Scouts & Brownie meetings and activities, the other is full of swimming and band practices, one is full of Art to work on, the other is planning for craft fairs, one pot has art classes and home art parties in it, and another is filled to the rim wit...

I love the sound of leaves crunching under my feet. I love to feel them up against my legs as I walk through a pile of them. I prefer to have socks on to avoid as much itchiness as possible . . . but some days, unplanned walks in the woods are the very best thing for the soul. I've mentioned before how blessed I am to live where we live - not only because we are in the Midwest (which welcomes the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall with open arms), but because we are just minutes away from a most lovely nature forest preserve. It is heavenly. I find myself taking a drive through it weekly . . . just turning down the street that leads straight into the path of peace . . . more often than not. Mostly without even realizing what I am doing. During many of these afternoon drives, I pull over and step out into the quiet for a quick walk, to just . . . breath. Sometimes I get my best deep breaths of air - in those woods. It's kind of like my heaven on earth. It...

         It's been a busy, and chaotic couple of days here in our house.  Busy with school activities, Girl Scouts, swimming, broken lawn mowers, doctor visits for coughs that just won't quite, business trips for daddy, art classes for mommy, and a whole bunch of other things that I have already filed in that 'short term memory' box days ago.  In the midst of all of that, I've been trying my best to be a good mom. You know, the kind who stops what she is focused on when she has a moody 6th grader who needs some love. Or the kind who stops cooking dinner and plays school with her 2nd grader when she needs to.  You know, that good kind of mom.  I am not always that kind of mom, though. Because sometimes . . . I just . . . forget.  I forget that it is hard to be 11 and 7. It really, really is. It's hard when your body is changing, when your emotions are going up and down and you can't even begin to understa...