As Jennifer Stevens gets nearer to Lily's birth date, life in the band becomes more about endurance. In the sense that she was technically in labor this very morning, we can celebrate that the only water that flowed was during the pre-Mass baptism. Next week we may be a little thinner depending on the timing of Lily's arrival and the exhaustion level of her parents, but we are more than capable of leading the charge.
During crazy pre-birth days it's easy for little things to go wrong, like bringing the wrong song sheets. So today was a day to be grateful for internet and printers for last-minute lyric generation.
I'm also glad that, as baby Jackson crawls around the instruments and threatens their uprightness, my reaction is amusement rather than anxiety. God has a sense of humor.
Through all of it, today's Mass was surprisingly well-attended. The reasons are always a guess, but it's a gift when it happens, one we take seriously as leaders to uplift the spirit through music.
This week I gained two new tutoring students and covered 14 hours, plenty for this time of year.
As the temperature has dropped, Cupcake's boldness outdoors has returned. She's back scaling retaining walls and exploring the street-side. Her first birthday's in a couple weeks and we're looking forward to many more.
My boss at Heartland encouraged me to get my level 1 tutor certification this week. It's great to have a boss who thinks of my development when she has so much on her plate.
Random person of gratefulness: I'm glad that Brett Cottone's in my life. Through theater, and work, and for the reassurance, nurturing, calmness and fun he brings to those around him.
My fantasy baseball teams have charged into second place in two of my leagues as the season enters the home stretch. In the third league, I won the first playoff round. My Yahoo-maligned fantasy football team even won this week.
It was a good exercise week. My runs were crisp, my post-weight-workout soreness was minor, and my sleep was sound.
My mind is wired for productivity. I don't sit still easily. When I do, there are moments of complete serenity. I enjoy those. I like that I have it within me to focus on bringing them to the surface more often.
Likewise, I'm glad that a couple glasses of water and an hour of time is all I need to lift the fog of morning wakefulness. Creation could easily be such that we were groggy all the time.
My State Farm career was a product of being in the right place at the right time. I feel like my tutoring career is similarly fortunate. This national Common Core standard, and the cost-cutting pressure of the state of Illinois, has left more students in need of a helping hand. I'm lucky to be here in this moment. And I'm thankful for my returning students, who I can see maturing in their concentration, and who I also increasingly get to know as people.
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