A Day in the Life...

This week my niece experienced her first taste of death. It came as a shock and sent her into hysterics. Literally. I thought it was an interesting experience to watch from the sidelines. Boy was she upset! Actually, when she called to tell me, she couldn't stop crying. From the sounds of her hysterics, I pictured tears streaming down both cheeks and shoulders that were shaking so intensely it affected her breathing. I thought it was interesting because it was only a fish. To adults, this is funny. To her, it's like a little piece of her died! Her grief softened, a little bit, after the burial ceremony, and I think it helped her grasp a little bit of what was going on. Flushing him down the toilet is no optimal burial for a four year old's fish- she had to have the burial in the garden. And the next morning, she asked to dig him up to see if he really went to heaven. It's a pretty common experience in life, losing a pet, but it really got me thinking about ...

Tim and I both skipped work yesterday and spent the day together. It was so much fun! It seems like weekends are so filled with catching up on housework and everything else, and the next thing we know it's Monday again and back at work. Try taking a day off in the middle of the workweek; it's nice! It did make today a little harder to be back there, one more day- I can handle that!

1. I only stop filling the gas tank at an even dollar or half dollar. If I go over, even by a cent, I have to keep going until it's even. If I keep going over and my car won't take anymore, I have to make up the remaining cents the next time I fill up. I think everyone has OCD tendencies- that's one of mine. 2. I had been dating Tim a while and still wasn't sure of his last name. I just couldn't figure out Helferich . In fact, after a couple of months, my girlfriends asked me what it was and all I could say was "Well, I think it starts with an H and has 'hell' in it." I had to steal his ID and really study it to make sense of it, and I'm sometimes still shocked to see it as my last name! 3. I don't drink soda well. In fact, I have to be careful where and when I drink soda because it takes over my body and I have little control over its reaction. It goes into convulsions, and it's sometimes not pretty. 4. I hate wrapping presents. It so...

My newest hobby- crocheting little clothes. Sounds like I should be eighty years old with a lot of time on my hands. Instead, I'm young with little time on my hands and still doing this. Probably why I'm behind on so many other things I need to take care of! This one is a little kimono, so it wraps and ties on both sides. It's probably big enough for a six to nine month baby, and I admit it's super cute! My most brilliant idea, as it seemed at the time, is to crochet the baby's blessing dress. Talk about a lot of work. Working with crochet thread, which is really just string, takes forever. Sometimes it's a bit boring but it's fun to see the progress after a couple of hours! Maybe this will be one project that I'll actually finish; unlike the closets full of other half-done projects. I do love to do it because it's relaxing and I let my mind wander until I'm tired and ready for sleep, which is nicer than lying in bed awake for hours. If anyon...

I should be working but just can't stay focused! I love my job in that I am serving others and the opportunity never stops; I hate that I'm so jaded about life after working with so many dysfunctional and deteriorating families. Sometimes, well- all the time- I wonder what it would be like to live in a world that's not so heavy, for lack of a better word. Sometimes, usually when I'm at church or some other normal part of life, I look at others and think "Wow, they have no idea all this crap goes on... I'm so jealous!" I guess child welfare or social work taints one's perception of things- it gets so tiring! Okay all you social worker friends of mine- do you ever feel like this?

Tim and I have been married almost two years, though it seems like we've always been together. I wish I could say we met in some exotic and wild setting, like skydiving or cruising in Alaska, but we didn't. We met in church, which is not quite as exciting but just as good. Tim is quiet, very laid back, and funny. He'll tell you flat out what he thinks, so I've learned to be careful what I ask for! I couldn't ask for more-he's really great. Except when we play games. In this case, he's very competitive and a really sore loser. What's worse, instead of my "let it go" attitude rubbing off on him, his sourness has rubbed off on me! We are expecting our first in June- she's a girl! I'm 25 weeks along and (usually) feel great. She moves all over now, which feels like nothing I can describe. Sometimes when I lie really still I can see my belly flopping back and forth, and think "Good gosh, how freaky and really cool at the same time!...