My Hope

I created this post for my Facebook status last night but I want to save it as a reminder to myself when I am feeling persnickity so I am going to post it here as well.

I am currently 47 years old. In my lifetime we have seen interracial marriage legalized and the Civil Rights Acts of 1968, 1991, 2008 enacted. Yet we still haven't gotten it through our collective skulls that equal rights means EQUAL rights.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence (you know, that little document drafted in 1776 that began this country) begins: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It does not say "All men are created equal EXCEPT..." or "as long as their idea of happiness coincides with mine."

Now, I figure I have 20-30 years left on this planet. It is my sincere hope that, before I die, we will finally see truly equal rights for ALL of our citizens- white, black, young, old, gay, straight, male, female. It is my hope that we stop with all of the hatred and treat one another with respect. That we stop trying to legislate other people's bedrooms, other people's faiths, other people's bodies and worry about leaving a great legacy for our children and grandchildren. Let's stop leaving a mess for our next generation and get to leaving an example of how to take care of our families, our neighborhood, our cities and our planet.

Ever-So-Elusive Sleep

    It was not a good sleep night.  I was tired when I went to bed but after the brain fog I had all day I was worried that I had forgotten something in my packing.  That made it tough to get to sleep.  Then around midnight Auggie was barking his face off to go potty and that woke Miss Harley too- so, back up I went.  I had slept just long enough that it felt like a good, solid nap, so there was no getting back to sleep.  If I wasn't traveling today I would have curled up on the couch but needing to be at the airport very early, my alarm was set for 3:15 and 3:30 anyway.  My silver lining is that I have been fairly productive.

Since midnight I have:

• Consumed a pot of coffee
• Took my meds
• Got dressed
• Applied the makeup
• Curled the mop
• Emptied last night's DVR
• Played my Facebook games
• Surfed the web. 
• Balanced my checkbook
• Answered work emails
• Did some pre-work for the meetings
• Made a list of ideas for upcoming posts here.  

And- there's still an hour before we leave for the airport.  I am traveling with a friend/colleague so I won't be sleeping on the planes and that's okay- it's just going to be a very, very long day as we will hit the ground running when we get there and won't be dismissed until about 9:30 pm.  Hopefully that means that tonight- I will sleep well.  If not- Lunesta, here I come.  I will give thanks for that option as well.  Insomnia is much easier to swallow when you know you have an ace in the hole if it continues.

On that note- I hope each of you got plenty of rest and have a lovely day!  Florida awaits! 

Slowing down?

Hi Gang!  It's been a busy, busy, busy few months.

     In January we had our "Rush" period at work.  If you have been following this blog for a while you know that I manage a college bookstore and Back-To-School is insanely busy for us.  I liken it to 3 solid weeks of "Black Friday".  It's just crazy.  I thrive on it but when it's over I deflate like a balloon.  

     Post-Rush I succumbed to the gnarly cold that's been going around.  The problem with that is twofold.  First, with a compromised immune system I am very lucky that it took as long as it did to "get" me but when it does- it's a real doozie! Second, with Rheumatoid Lung Disease  (note in the link that they also refer to it as MTX lung injury!) a common cold seems to go straight into Bronchitis.  It knocked me out for about two weeks, then hubby got it and was miserable, then he kindly gave it back. Thanks Honey! ;-)

     Then- the puppers needed to have their teeth cleaned and some teeth extracted which means they had to be put under general anesthesia.  Last time Harley had to have general she had a bad reaction.  It resulted in a trip to the emergency animal hospital and big meds and me coming home every few hours to give her a saline drip.  It was SO scary so this time I took three days off to spend with them after just in case.  Fortunately, they were both okay about 24 hours later (Auggie was high as a kite when he came home- it was pretty funny) with just a bit of bruising from the catheter and soreness in their mouths so we snuggled a lot.  The good thing was being able to just relax with them.

     In the midst of all of this work has been a whirlwind.  After rush we have about 4 weeks and then we start returning the books to the publishers in prep for the next semester.  It was also announced that we would be doing a huge systems upgrade (yay!) and that there would be 10 weeks of self-guided training on top of our usual daily work.  I have done my training but I also have to ensure that the staff does theirs as well.  It's been exhausting to say the least.  Next up- I fly to Florida tomorrow for our Annual Meeting.  People always say "Oh- rough life, going to Florida in March" but we are essentially booked from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm every day.  We only leave the meeting site for an event on Thursday night and even then we are shuttled back and forth.  The wonderful thing about the meeting is that I really, really like my colleagues and we only get to see one another at these meetings.  The huge bonus is that I get to room with my best friend.  I love and miss her because she's back in New England.  Phone, email and texts are great- but so very not the same.  I so very look forward with our two weeks together every year- the meeting and when she comes to visit in October.

     Oh!  And I started Physical Therapy for my back.  Can I just tell you how bizarre it is to walk on a treadmill under water?  That said- water therapy is not as grueling as "regular" PT so it's just a journey.  The therapist's goal is to strengthen my core.  My goal is to be able to walk a 5k without my back going into spasm and affecting my sciatic nerve when it becomes inflamed.

    The house is a mess, I am worn out and worst of all I hadn't been able to spend any quality time with Mom and Dad until this weekend- and if you follow Dad's blog, you know Mama has been sick, sick, sick.  Speaking of which, though my journey is toward gratitude in a "self-improvement" way- if you want to see someone who has gotten there in a faith-based way, you really should check out Dad's blog.  You can find it here.

     Looking at the calendar, it seems that mid-May should be our time to slow down a bit.  I know- it's about 7 weeks away but then the real relaxation will come in 101 days (on the 4th of July) when Mom, Dad, all the sisters and their families get together.  The only ones missing will be Josh, his fiance' and the kids.  Oh- did I mention that my baby got ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!  I am so very excited for them.  She is a wonderful young lady and brings out the best in him.  That's all I can ask but I get the bonus of really liking her AND two instant grandkids that I already adore.

     Well- this ended up longer than I thought!  That's what I get for letting life get in the way for so long.  As I close, I just want to take a minute to thank each and every one of you that reads this blog and especially those who have been on this journey with me through the ups, the downs, as I climbed and as I slipped back.  It is not easy to keep looking for that silver lining at times and even when I am not writing, knowing that I have you all behind me keeps me going.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  <3 p="">