Melancholy Mondays

This past week and a half has been pretty eventful. So many good and bad things smashed into a 10 days period.

On the negative end I was sicker than I've been in years for over a week. I missed church, work, commitments, and was generally pretty miserable. We're still not completely unpacked because of this set back, and decorating has taken a semi-permanent back burner. There were other disappointments and frustrations mixed into the week, but the main thing that has made me melancholy (other than being sick) is that it will not stop raining. It's been raining almost non stop for two weeks and the 10 day forecast I glanced at today did not look promising. There is just something about rain that makes me feel sleepy and dreary.

On the positive end we were blessed with a sunny moving day despite a rainy forecast, had some good nights spent with friends, family and on dates (we had no dishes so there was a lot of eating out and of course our Wicked date). We also got quite a bit of good news this week. John Paul was offered a promotion. We were told we had "the cleanest apartment ever seen at move out" by our apartment complex which means we get our deposit back (this received a fist pump from me once we were around the corner since we spent hours scrubbing the place down). We found out we get to go to New Orleans this fall (you have no idea how excited I am about this) and today I booked a flight home to North Carolina in June.

I miss my family so much, and I'm having a hard time adjusting to seeing them only once or twice a year. I'd been 11 hours away at school for 3 years before this year, but I came home regularly for breaks. In the real world of a job, you can only take so many days off of work a year. They kind of frown on frequently missing work. Strange. Needless to say I'm thrilled to be going home in June if only for a weekend.

And of course, amidst it all, I'm always trying to grow. I've been reading a lot and thinking even more these past few weeks. John Paul and I just finished our Crazy Love small group and are getting ready to start reading Radical by David Platt. I'm pretty excited about Radical but pretty sad about small groups being over.

Overall, I've been in a very sentimental mood lately. Perhaps it's because I miss my family. Perhaps it's because it's raining so much. But generally, things are going very well and I feel very blessed. There will always be things that don't go exactly as planned or I'd prefer another way...but they are mixed in with blessings and surprises. I'm particularly excited for our travels this year, for the friendships that are continuing to be built and for the amazing family we have on both sides. I'm anticipating a warm summer full of family, friendship and fun. Ready, set, go!