Friends

I recently went to Oregon to visit with some friends. I was super excited to be going because not only was this my first trip all by myself (which made me feel grown up), but it was also the first time I had seen my best friend in almost 4 years. Well, best besides Toby.

Well, in the nice good while that I was there, I spent almost every minute allowed with my dear friend Christa. We talked about everything we could think of about what had happened in the 4 years that we had been apart, and still had more to say. And sometime in there, probably while we were laying on the rocks silently enjoying the sunshine, I realized that we had really built a strong relationship over the years.

I mean, we have known each other for like 10 years, but we were never really "friends" until she moved away, because then we started writing as often as we could, sending our messy scribbles across the country to someone who treasured every word. At first, we were still starting to get to know each other, but after a while, we were able to laugh at each other's jokes and trust each other to keep our little secrets. And guess what? When I moved a year after that, I knew that I wouldn't be losing her because as long as I had her address, we could still keep in touch just fine.

As we spent that quiet time together, I realized that after those years, we had built a relationship. Not out of friendship bracelets and sayings like "You're my BFF!", but from paying attention to one another and making sure the other person knew how much we really cared. Sure, it took a long time. It took 10 years! But we both kept working at it for the other person's sake, and look where we're at now!


I love and miss you my dear sweet friend!

Beginnings

I began school. I have been bragging to my friends on Tman about how cool my school is. And it is better than the past few years... at least so far that seems to be the case. And here's a good place to start enjoying school again... at least it's a better place to start than 10 years from now.

I started a new job. It's not too bad. I'm getting paid fairly, and I like that. I also like having a few bucks of lubrication when I go somewhere... I don't have to stick to a budget like a leech to a leg. I like the change. Which brings me to my next paragraph:

It feels like I've started this really cool thing where people want to take me places to do fun stuff... last week Mr. and Mrs. 2poor invited me to come with them to the WI trapping convention, and this weekend 2poor has invited me to come with him and Stinkey to Owatonna, MN for Cumberland's trapper appreciation day. The weekend after that, Pellethead invited me to his place for a board meeting for the MTA, and I hear there will be donuts (due probably mostly to Wheelers' request that they be there) and barbecue sandwiches!

I started a journal. I haven't had a journal since 2001 because I couldn't remember what all the meaningless pictograph was supposed to mean, so I threw it out and gave up hope. This time though, I am writing real words, with real letters, even if they aren't the letters normal Americans can read. About half of it is in an ancient alphabet that hasn't been used for about 700 years... call me Egbert the Scholar from now on.

Beginnings

Well, we have begun a new school year, and I am now a Freshman. I think. Anyway, we have done a very good job staying on task, and I must say that I am under the impression that this is our best school year yet. You might be wondering why I would say that, and even if you are not, I would be happy to enlighten you.

First off, I am very excited to have started 9th grade, because that means that when I'm finished this year, I will have only 3 more years of school left, which is definitely worth celebrating.

Second off, we have stayed on task so well that I am inclined to think that we will finish this year's school this school year. (Isn't that awesome?!)

Third off, I am using curricula(?) that are not horribly boring, which is good, because I get sick of horribly boring curricula very quickly, don't you?

And fourth thing is, I am doing a lot of reading. In fact, I am doing more reading than anything else. Except maybe writing. Anywho, I love reading, so naturally, I love what I get to do.

And these my friends, are the reasons for my being so excited about school this year.

I dare say it's time for an update

There's a lot I haven't blogged about this summer. I think it's time to share some of it.

This is the ninth week since my husband was terminated (not laid off) from his job. That was a new experience for us both, and the first time he's been out of work in about 20 years. God provided very well for us during that time through our garden, our friends, and our neighbors. I'm sure He did even more than we noticed. He's good like that.

During the 19 years we've been "together", Loren and I have always done well spending time apart. It was a pleasant surprise for me to see how well we got along once we settled into spending every day together. I'm actually going to miss having him around when he starts his new job next week!

Last month was a big travel month for part of the family. In blogging about the trappers' convention, Toby forgot to mention that Loren took all the kids camping there for the weekend. That gave me a nice, quiet break. Shortly after they returned, Lynae spent two weeks in Oregon visiting dear friends. Loren spent time with friends and family. And Toby went on a canoe trip, about which he has already shared. All of them were enormously blessed during their adventures! And since these trips overlapped, I spent several days at home with Jon, Michael, and Grace. I, too, was blessed; it was wonderful to see the "little kids" step up to share the additional household responsibilities.

Those kids aren't going to be little for long. The three youngest have each grown at least a couple of inches this year. And of course, as we wrap up the birthday season, they're all older than they've ever been.

This is the part where I should think of some clever closing paragraph, but I missed my nap today and I'm feelin' it. So it's either publish now or send this post to the draft pile, never to see the light of your screen.