A way to organize the last month and a half:
UP: Justin and I celebrated our first anniversary on October 18th. It was a very low-key celebration that included Justin being home for four days straight without working (the next time that might happen is when we have a child...and they might not even let him have that much time off then) so we enjoyed the company of each other from Thursday to Sunday and found it strange to eat dinner together four nights in a row.
UP: I coach some of the best cheerleaders around. We are now out of competition season and I am proud to say that the JV came in third in the state competition and Varsity placed first in the small co-ed division at the Indiana Cheerleading Association state finals. Yep, first. Which means they are state champions. Which means they have gold medals. Which means that they will be fitted for state championship rings in the next couple of weeks. And it means that they are a great group of kids and I'm pleased and thankful that I got to be a part of such a huge accomplishment.
DOWN: My grandmother passed away last week. She was the head of my family on my father's side and the whole heart of the family, really. I spoke at her funeral and felt honored to do so. I think several of my family members will feel lost for a long time, but we will find comfort in each other, and like I said at the funeral, we are the lucky ones that got to be on the receiving end of her love and while she may not be here, at least we get to hold on really tight to that love.
INDIFFERENT: School. Ugh. So overwhelmed. I should be grading something or making an answer key for something or writing a lesson plan for something right now, but I had to take a break. But now that I just wrote that I feel guilty for not doing something for my job. Geez.
UP: I went to a Relay for Life leadership conference this past weekend and had an amazing time. More on that in separate post, but I got re-energized to plan this event. It really just confirmed that I am doing something awesome to honor my mom and that makes me feel good.
DOWN: My dad is selling my childhood home in Muncie and Jess and I had to go there yesterday to help go through some stuff. I'm having a really hard time with this. Is it just a physical structure? Technically. Is it so much more to me? Absolutely. It's hard. I feel like one chapter of my life is ending and I'm definitely not ready to turn the page. It is bringing up a lot of grief from my mom's death that I thought I had worked through. And I feel that I need to keep everything from the house. I feel like if I get rid of something, then I'm getting rid of the memory, and while I know that's not true, it's just hard and that's the only way I can explain it.
UP: It is the holiday season and if I didn't have a million things to do for school, I would totally start decorating for Christmas right now. I absolutely love this time of year and if the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas could last for a few months instead of one then I would be one happy girl!
DOWN: My little Maggie kitty is, indeed, getting older. Justin and I took her for her yearly check-up and found out that she has the early stages of hyperthyroidism. Basically that means that her metabolism is extremely high (which explains why/how she digests food so fast and is hungry all the time...including wanting breakfast at 4 a.m.) and she will continue to lose weight gradually (which an 11-year-old kitty should not do) and eventually it will be full-blown and by then her life expectancy should be about two to four years, which really will be her expectancy anyway by that time. So we are just going to weigh her each month and see when she goes into full hyperthyroidism and go from there. But I continue to snuggle with her as much as possible and feed her scraps from the table almost daily!
DOWN: I haven't seen my friends since BSU homecoming and I know I haven't been the best friend lately since I have been so overwhelmed and busy with cheerleading. But I will see them this weekend so I can make up for some lost time!
UP: Today is Justin's birthday! He is 28 today. Since it is Monday (and if Justin didn't work at the theater on a Monday the place might cave in on itself) he won't be home until around 8:30 so we are having a party when he gets home. The guest list consists of the two coolest girls around...me and Mags. So I am about to put his birthday cake in the oven (he's not a fan of store-bought cake) and I will be ready to sing a solo "Happy Birthday" to him when he walks in the door...party hats and all. I'll take pictures!
Ok, gotta bake a cake! And grade...
