Life on Hold but not really

[I have edited this post, like, 5 times already but I keep thinking of other stuff I want to say. . .]
So, my last day at the website was Wednesday. I had to leave early to go to Dunbar (High School that my eldest child attends) for the "Reading Extravaganza." This event was the culmination of the sign up and reading of books by students at the high school and various adults from the community, many of them teachers at Dunbar but a few, like myself, just folks who like to read. The kids signed up at the beginning of the school year for the books available, read the books and then, Wednesday night, discussed them with a mediating adult.

I wanted to do "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." But that was taken already (but I'm the mediator for that discussion next semester!) so I picked a book I read almost 20 years ago by one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy-ish authors, Sheri S. Tepper: The Gate to Women's Country. It's a sort of dystopian story and makes you think about societies and why we are the way we are. None of the kids in my group "liked" it. But all the girls (there were suppsed to be 3 guys but only one brave young man showed up) said it "stretched" them and made them think -- which, in my opinion as a frustrated would-be teacher, is very cool.

So, for two days I've been off work. Shuttling kids to school, having lunch with my third grader (invalid husband in tow), paying bills I've been putting off, bullying the doctor's office into getting my husband into PT. . . and today will be busy too.

Tim starts PT today. He has a herniated disc -- discovered Monday evening in an MRI. We were going to have him go to a friend of ours from church for PT, but she's out of town this week and he is in a great deal of pain and needs to get started working on it. In two weeks he has to sit through three days of talks for Emmaus. . .

Mary's getting her hair cut. Yeah, yeah, it's beautiful, but it's a pain and she hates it being as long as it is. So she's gonna get it cut to around shoulder length. And we're going to start talking about straightening.

After I drop Mary to get her hair cut, I am going back to the website for a farewell party. They had already planned on having it -- in fact, Alex (graphics guy) took my picture Wednesday before I left so that I could be there in "spirit" even if I didn't make the actual party. I continue to feel superfluous.

Last night we had a phone "interview" with a guy from FamilyLife. Tim and I continue to feel we are being "Called" to assist in this ministry. We also believe, however, that, for the time being, we are called to volunteer as opposed to being in full time ministry (aka moving to Little Rock, AK). We are praying for some clear guidance.

My Aunt (great?) Marie died. A couple of weeks ago, she had her kids call my mom and dad and ask them if they'd ask me to sing at her funeral. She heard me sing at my grandma's funeral. She told them I sing like an angel. Wow. I'm humbled. However, the funeral will probably be Monday -- my first day at KET. So I'm gonna call my dad's counsin, Ginger, today and see if it's okay for me to sing during the visitation.

So, I'm not working but I'm not resting. . .

I'm waiting. . . but I'm not standing still.

My parents were in Florida two days ago, but Wilma has forced them (and their sweet neighbor, Anne) to evacuate to my cousin, Becky's, house in Atlanta. Is all of Florida heading north?

How much more tragedy and disaster can one world take?

Praying for healing. . .waiting for the turn of the page to the next chapter.

But while I wait I write things down so I can remember them. Tuesday night I came home after Noah was in bed (I was selling pumpkins at church -- youth fundraiser) but I laid down next to him and kissed him and just held him for a bit. The next morning, I said, "for your information, I did kiss you goodnight last night," and he said, "I know." I asked how he knew and he said he woke up in the morning and there was this smell, like me (mom). I asked if that was a good thing and he said yes. I have always equated a certain smell with my mom and it soothes me. I am now a mom with a "smell" that soothes. . . cool.