If someone could please tell me...

...how it is even possible that next week I will be going to an informational meeting at Middleboro High School for parents of incoming first year students, that would be great.

And really how does this happen in what literally feels like the blink of an eye?

She was just two weeks old in that picture and I swear to God and all that is holy it was just like yesterday that I took that.

Volunteer Experience

Below is a list consisting of every volunteer position I have held (since Emily began school anyway). I am in the process of developing a resume that will include in some form my volunteer experiences. I am still not sure how I am going to get this in to resume form without it being pages long as I also need to include some descriptions of what each volunteer position entailed and what I was responsible for. I have a feeling I may need to pick and choose or highlight specific pieces that I feel are important. At some point, I hope to transfer some of these skills and others acquired through my life and work experience to the workforce. Anyway, here is the list.
 

Miscellaneous
Religious Education Teacher	September 2004-June 2005
Girl Scouts
Junior Troop Leader	September 2006-June 2007
Brownie Troop Leader	September 2007-June 2008
Middleborough Elementary PTA
Cultural Enrichment Chairperson	September 2006-June 2007
Fundraising Chairperson	September 2007-June 2008
Mardi Gras Carnival Co-Chair	September 2007-June 2009
Advocacy Committee Chair	September 2009-present
President	September 2008-present
Nichols Middle School PTSA
Member	September 2008-present
Massachusetts PTA
Advocacy Team	September 2009-present
State Advocacy Chairperson	April 2010-present
Federal Legislative Chair	January 2011-present
Middleborough Public Schools
Parent Volunteer	September 2004-present
Memorial Early Childhood Center School Council	September 2009-present
Henry B. Burkland School Council	September 2010-present
Nichols Middle School Council	September 2010-present
Henry B. Burkland School Spring Dance Chair	September 2010-present
Title I Parent Advisory Council	October 2010-present
Anti-Bullying Task Force	May 2010-present
Health and Wellness Committee	November 2010-present
Strategic Planning Committee	December 2010-present
Yes 4 Middleboro Schools PAC	March2007-present

Influence

I felt only slightly bad last night cutting off someone calling for my vote during the election by saying, "I made my decision regarding who to vote for before your call, and it wasn't for your candidate" before the speaker even had a chance to say anything.

I don't know why really, but political calls annoy me. I understand why they are made (mostly for polling purposes I assume) but I wonder how much influence they have on how someone votes. I know for me if you call me asking for my vote I am just going to be aggravated by it. Maybe it is because I am someone who actually researches and educates myself about the candidates and I don't need a phone call to help make my decision. I wonder the same thing about lawn signs. Do these signs actually influence or change the way someone votes? I guess it might make a difference to someone who doesn't do the research and votes solely on the basis of who signs they have seen the most of. Is this any way to vote though? I suppose the candidates don't care, as long as they are elected. It is just a major turn off for me when someone doesn't educate themselves about who will represent them and clearly, someone who votes based solely on signs, is not making a well informed decision.

It isn't all that shocking that every political call I have gotten in this election year has been from a Republican candidate. It makes sense in the current political climate. I am registered as an independent (or is it called undeclared now?) but I honestly don't think I have ever voted for a Republican. I just wanted the option. I truly do vote for the person, not the party. It just so happens that I have always liked more what the Democratic candidate had to say.

Why...

...do overwhelming thoughts of what I need and want to do (with day to day things and life in general things)need to flood my head just before bed time? I am pretty sure that I will not be able to sleep now because my brain won't shut off.

Also? I really should keep a good old fashioned paper and pen style journal in addition to this one. There are just some things that aren't meant for public consumption.

One more thing? I should totally write a book. After I get over myself.

And that, is my rant for the night. Going to cue up the "sleepy time" play list on the ipod and attempt to sleep.

Jackhammer

I woke up this morning with a massive headache...complete with nausea and distorted vision. Somehow, I managed to get the kids off to school without dying in the process (why yes, I am super Mom), then took four ibuprofen and went back to bed. I woke up a couple of times because the phone rang but basically slept until noon. Upon waking, I immediately felt guilty thinking about how I had wasted half the day (yes I realize how ridiculous this is).

So, even though I could have stayed in bed for hours longer, I got up, ate something and attempted to tackle the to do list. This was met with little success (although if I had put, "clear the DVR out and watch hours of tv" I could have crossed that off). The headache lingered (though it was less severe) for most of the afternoon. As the day progressed I felt better and managed to cook a delicious dinner for the family (meatloaf, mashed potatoes and carrots...total comfort food for a blah, yucky day).

I am still not feeling quite right but markedly better in comparison. And yes, I am still annoyed by how much time was wasted while I slept the day away. Sometimes? I really need to chill the heck out when in comes to the to do list.

Anniversary

Nine years ago this month, I started blogging. Wow. To put that in perspective, Emily was just four years old, Katherine was almost two and Julia had not yet graced us with her presence. The girls are now thirteen, almost eleven ,and six. Somehow, nine years seems even longer when I think about it in those terms.

Nine years of my life have been chronicled for the world to see. This blog (and other incarnations of it) has been with me through many trials and tribulations, births and deaths, joys and sadness. It has helped see things in a different light, made me laugh, and made me cry, either through my writing or responses to it. It has been therapeutic in ways that I couldn't even begin to express. Perhaps most importantly it has helped me remember...remember some of the little things that I otherwise may have forgotten as time passing tends to make us do...remember some of the big things that maybe I might have wanted to forget but can now refer back to and see what lessons can be learned...remember the great joys, great difficulties, the happiness,the sadness and everything in between that the past nine years of my life has brought.

I have no plans to ever give this up...writing that is. Whether it will always take the form of a blog...who knows. What I know for sure that this outlet has been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling parts of my life and one that I plan to explore for many years to come.

Today

Today, Ryun got a job.

Today, for the first time in who knows how long I actually made a conscious effort to pray for something (in this case for Ryun to get a job).

Today, just a few short hours after I prayed for this, it came to be.

It's not the first time something like this has happened to me but each time it does, it stirs up feelings that are unexplainable. It makes me question even further exactly what I believe.

Not too long ago I finished reading the book, "Women, Food and God" written by Geneen Roth. As I always do, I went through the book highlighting parts that spoke to me or that I may want to refer back to. There was one part that described the author's feelings about a higher power. It was perhaps the single most reflective part of the whole book for me, in that it seemed to perfectly describe how I feel about "God" most of the time. Here it is.

"I don't believe in a God with long white hair and x ray vision that favors some people, some countries, some religions and not others. I don't believe in the sky dweller, the knower of all things, the granter of prayers. But I do believe in the world beyond appearances, and that there is so much that we can't see or touch or know just by looking. And I do believe-because I have experienced it again and again-that the world beyond appearances is as real as a chair, a dog, or a teapot. And I believe in love. And beauty. I believe every single person has something they find beautiful and that they truly love. The smell of their child's hair, the silence of the forest, their lover's crooked grin. Their country, their religion, their family. And I believe if you follow this love all the way to it's end, if you start with the thing you find the most beautiful and trace it's perfume back to it's essence, you will perceive an intangible presence, a swath of stillness that allows the thing you love to be visible like the openness of the sky reveals the presence of the moon. I don't believe in the God that most people call God, but I do know that the only defintiion that makes any sense is one that uses this human life and its suffering-the very things we believe we need to hide or fix-as a path to the heart of love itself."

I don't know by who or what my prayers were answered-or if Ryun's getting a job just hours after I asked for it to be was mere coincidence. I'd like to think that it wasn't though. There is something comforting in knowing that the universe was looking out for me and that maybe, just maybe there is some greater being listening to and answering my prayers.