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Feeling a little sad in the midst of all the pomp and circumstance and celebration.  Four years ago, my husband and I had just returned from New York City in celebration of our 1st wedding anniversary.  We sipped champagne and watched the inaugural festivities on television for most of the day.  Well, today, Dale is traveling to Maryland.  Tomorrow, he starts his new job as Vice President of Research and Economic Development at University of Maryland Eastern Shore.  He's excited, and so am I, about the next chapter.  There is, however, some melancholy feelings.  If nothing else, I'm sad I didn't have my man with me to celebrate the first family and MLK Day and all the feelings and emotions associated with all of that.  Its ALL good, and tomorrow, Dale taps in for the next round of his career and our lives.  I'm excited, sad, hopeful, joyful and elated all at once.  Go Figure! 

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"May your life be filled with beginnings: those moments of new discovery, of starting out to try something different, of learning in ways that make you feel young even before you have taken a single step. May your life bring you to places of vision: those high points along the way, where you look out over your life like a valley, and see the choices before you marked out like paths through time. May your life embrace its endings: those points of completion, when you know the journey is done, the work is finished, the light of home a beacon at the end of the day." 

I received this prayer/blessing from my priest, Father Calvin Griffin of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, this morning.  It's true that God gives us what we need when we need it!  And I needed that. Right after I read it, I went to the porch to watch the sunrise.  It was a symbol of solidarity with God and His promises. I.WILL.TRUST.YOU.GOD.  From planning, preparing and experiencing Grace's 3rd birthday tea party, to entertaining family and friends to getting ready for our family's move to Maryland, I have been a wee bit overwhelmed the last week or so.  It hasn't been that physically exhausting but mentally and psychologically, I hit a wall.  Thank God for my husband who has been so understanding and accommodating.  I'm excited about relocating and becoming a part of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore community, but it's also hard.  We've settled a bit into our lives here, and now....it's over.  I know finding a church and a YMCA and a Target will come as a part of my new discovery.  I'll say bye to some fast friends here in South Carolina.  Some friendships will travel the distance, but others will end as a point of completion.  God is sovereign and will meet me where I am at each step of this process.  I thank Him for high points to come and places of vision that will propel us forward.  Lord, I believe...help my unbelief.


EXPECT MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER THINK OR IMAGINE!

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Three years ago, my life changed forever....and so the story goes.  But it's true! To the tune of The Farmer and the Dell I sing..." My pumpkin pumpkin pooh....my pumpkin pumpkin pooh...I love Graaa-cie, my pumpkin pumpkin poohhhhhh!" The last line, when she sings it back, is....Yep, "I love Moommy, my pumpkin pumpkin poohhhhh!"  I periodically look at the birth video taken during my labor experience.  I'm reminded that it was not without effort and planning and thought and care and pain and discomfort that she came into this world.  It will be more of the same and then some to help her on her way while here.
We've been in swimming lessons this week at the YMCA and with each lesson, she grows, at swimming and life, and comes away soooo proud of her accomplishment.  "Daddy, I went under and I wasn't scared", she says beaming with pride.  "Mommy, I swim all by myself."  I was in labor for 14 hours.  I did not have an epidural, and it hurt at different intervals during all of those hours.  My blood pressure spiked.  I threw up most of a meal from a late lunch (not a good idea to have meat loaf and lima beans in the early stages of labor).  My water had to be broken, I went through two shifts of doctors and nurses, had a dose of pitocin  and finally delivered Grace Evan Williams Wesson while listening to Ce Ce Winans' "Welcome to The Throne Room".  Thank God for Grace and the difference she's made in our lives. With her, I learn more about myself and my ability to love more and more each day.  Yep, three years ago, my life changed forever and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

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Well, change is happening!  I'm grateful to God for all His blessings and this one in particular is just the way to start the new year.  Thank.You.Lord! More to come on that ;o)

A young friend of mine (not yet 30) was complementing on my weight loss to date and saying how she liked my twists.  I told her that 40 (as you know) is around the corner and that I was stepping up my game.  I said that in jest. Then I went on to tell her that I lost 80 pounds 10 years ago to find a job (in television news) and to find a husband (he found me:o).  This time I'm finding me.  It's an ongoing transformation that doesn't reveal itself until you're deep into it.  I think about my life now of being a dutiful wife who's smart, sexy and fun (I know my husband agrees), as well as an ever present mother who goes to gymnastics and swim lessons and plans tea parties.  It's very different from my life 10 or even 3 years ago, but it's where I'm meant to be.  In.this.moment....For.this.time.

Me, for now, is not the me back then or the me to be....but all of them were, are, and will be for the betterment of the me I'm intended to be.  Get it.Got it.God!

I'm powered by purpose and excited to go to the next level.  Every round goes higher and higher!