Let's get caught up

So after a ridiculously long dry spell, I reappear.   It's been a wet, weird summer.  Mostly a good summer, but wet.  Ick.  So to catch everyone up, school is over, LT stayed out west for work and still loves it.  He did a great job in school, and continues to make this mama proud.  Maggie is a very good teenager, and sometime drives me nutty, but is headed into her senior year, and we've been traveling the state looking at colleges. Abby is on her own vacation, and thankfully, seems to be enjoying that too.  So glad for some time home alone with Jack.  Isn't that a surprise? 
We've had a good summer so far, even going on our own vacation, sans children, the first ever.  It was delightful and I now want to move to the mountains of Alaska.  I realize that isn't a real possibility at this moment, but still, I was moved to tears by the beauty of that place.  Simply beyond words, and photos don't even remotely do it justice. 
My work continues to be the same, but I've come to a better place with it.  Part of it may be that I've been at the same place for nearly 10 years, and that is the longest I've ever done anything, except parent and drive.  There's some perspective for you.  I apparently have a whole lot of quit in me.  Ha ha.
Celebrated 50 years of marriage for my parents a few weeks ago.  What an incredible and awesome achievement.  I am so proud to have parents that still love each other, and even went on a quick week adventure to celebrate.
That's the quick recap.  Hope you have a great day, and that it is summer day with sunshine!

thank you to: http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee120/JustAnEngineer/Alaska/Denali/IMG_2364.jpg

A Job

This is typically my place to examine and reflect on life at home.  I am really struggling at work and thought maybe this would be a good place to examine life on the job.  Over the past few months, I've become increasingly unhappy.  I'm not sure if it's because I've remained in the same place with the same people, who really are almost all like family to me, or if it's because my supervisor is gone so often.  While frequently that is a good thing, it's gotten to the point where I feel like I'm just a small person in a small place with a small job, where my sole purpose is to clean up after other people, not in a housekeeping sense, but in a crisis management sense.  Like the failure of others to do their job, for which they are paid big bucks, results in me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and never being able to complete anything or do a good job at any task.  Frustration.  With a capital F.

So I start looking for other work.  At the same place.  But they decide to do an overhaul of time off (vacation, sick, etc.).  So now do I want to continue to work here?  I don't know. I'm so cynical and tired.  And really, I want to make pretty things.  I'm tired of doing what i have to do to take care of my family.  Thankfully, the day to day existence is better now, but I'm still stuck.  Clearly I have first world problems, but I want to make a difference to the world.  So, I will continue to wait and see what God may have planned.  I will look for windows he's opened, and hope for a giant garage door flung wide open that I need to walk through.  I can't figure out what is next.

Thankfully family is well and safe and healthy (as much as we can be with our dysfunction).  For that I'm grateful.  And the sunshine.  It makes winter a lot more bearable.