I See What You Meme

As 2013 draws to a close, everyone is focused on wrapping up the year and setting their sights on 2014.  Goals will be set.   Resolutions will be broken .  Lives will be changed one way or the other.  All of this goes without saying. This time of year has been difficult for me since 2009.  In fact, it's only been the last year or so that I approached anything resembling "normalcy" when it comes to acknowledging the holidays.  Just when I started to get my sea legs back, I was struck last year at this time with the sudden death of a good friend.   This year, there is an added wrinkle.  We have spent our Advent season most appropriately, anticipating and preparing not for the arrival of the Christ but for the child or children that UMFS may place with us once we officially open our home on January 13th.  Most of the physical preparations are done.  There are 2 rooms ready (at least generically) for up to 2 children.  The lock...

As we shift out of the last few hours of a long holiday weekend, I'm going to share a few highlights from my hometown vacation.  Where to begin? First, the weather was perfect. While back in RVA they were facing freezing temps, I was happy to leave the house in a light fleece or t-shirt and cropped pants.  Any day you can wake to hear the roaring sound of the ocean from your bedroom window is probably a good day, don't you think?   Second, I was fairly spoiled by my family and friends.  I ate way too much (who didn't this week?) but it was all sooooo good.  My biggest problem (admittedly a first world problem at that) is that my mom doesn't have a coffee pot so we had to forage daily for our cuppa Joe.  Thankfully, there's a 7-Eleven ( Oh thank heaven!)  at the end of the block near my parents' house which forced me into a daily walk routine as well.   I think I might have been the Queen Dork of my high school. I can admit this now....

So unless you've been completely out of the loop for the last 6 months or so, you know that Roger and I have been in the process of training and approval to become Resource Parents (foster/adoptive parents) with UMFS .  On Wednesday, we crossed another threshold with our "opening meeting".  At this meeting, we signed all the final paperwork (Yes.  MORE paperwork!) to become Resource Parents.   Now we wait.  We could have opened our home immediately. In fact, they told us that they have some referrals "in mind" for us already.  However, we needed to get through the holiday season and (more importantly), January 7th before officially opening our home.  I know that these dates and anniversaries will come our way again; however, Roger and I both felt that it was important to get our minds set before welcoming a new child into our home. Am I excited? Yes.  Am I terrified? Heck, yes! But most parents are when waiting for a child to enter the...

On the week of our 16th wedding anniversary , I have been thinking a lot about expiration dates.  Does that sound scary? Trust me. There is no need to panic.  In fact, I think about all of the things that our marriage has witnessed in 16 years.  We have lived in 5 homes in 4 different cities. We have gone through six different vehicles. We have replaced appliances, silverware, plates, sheets, dishcloths, electronics, and countless batteries.  We have remodeled a kitchen and a bathroom, replaced a roof, put in a new heat pump, and cut down numerous dying trees in our yard.   We raised a child through her fourth year and watched her die . It seemed like a lifetime, yet it was far too short.  Many things in our lives come with expiration dates.  Some have warranties included.  I admit that I frequently get suckered into purchasing the extended warranty for my appliances and higher end electronics.  There is always the question of, "What ...

It's an odd time of year. The seasons are in flux. The days are getting markedly shorter. We have shifted from waking up in the dark to driving home in the dark.  One day, the weather requires jackets and gloves.  The next day, you're wearing shorts and sweating in the sun.  All of this chaos seems to breed instability.  I am all but convinced that is why our collective unconscious uses this time of year to celebrate the dead .   Does that sound morbid?  Halloween in itself is a dichotomy between fanciful fantasy and morbid horror.  It's a day to be someone (or something) we are not. For some, that could be a kitty cat, a princess, or a cartoon character.  For others, it's a zombie or a grotesque monster.  Are we communing with the dead, scaring away the demons, or just playing make believe in an effort to escape that which we fear?  In the Christian tradition, Halloween is followed by All Saints Day. Although technically celebrat...

This week, I started something pretty amazing.  I am honored to have been selected in ENLP Cohort 7. We're a rowdy bunch! the latest class of the Emerging Nonprofit Leaders Program  (ENLP) run by the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence here in Richmond.  This 9 month program allows me to go through leadership training with a cohort of 19 other nonprofit leaders serving a variety of organizations in the RVA.  Every month, I will take a day (or so) out of my work schedule to learn more about leadership, about my strengths and challenges as a leader, and about the Richmond nonprofit community as a whole.   I couldn't do this without the blessing and support of my bosses at Commonwealth Autism Service .  I am the third employee from our organization to go through the program and I am grateful that they have allowed me both the time away from work and the funds to make this professional development possible.  I'm 40 feet in the air (on the left) ...

As the weather turns slowly from summer to fall, I am increasingly aware of other changes making their way into my life.  I don't fear change. In fact, I know that change is a "normal" part of the life process. If we push too hard against inevitable change, we meet resistance and frustration.  Sometimes, though, changes come on so slowly that we don't even notice the gradual shift until the "new" has been fully replaced by "the old". Some gradual changes... I'm writing less on a formal basis these days. There was no conscious decision about this. I have just become more involved in other things.  I still think about writing quite a bit and I often write "for myself" (journaling, etc.) but I am blogging on a less frequent basis and my writing for other publications has slowed down. It's ok because I know that everything cycles back around eventually. I'm reading more.  I had gone for a long time without reading f...