We’ll Get There…

Life has been crazy these days and the poor old blog has been neglected. I’ve taken on a new position at work, as a supervisor in a new program. Each day I’m served up with a reminder of how little I know and I spend most days barely keeping my head above water. I wanted this new challenge, even longed for it, but I think we (my colleagues and I) are all to the point of complete surrender, our nerves hanging on by fine threads, we are truly in “survival mode.” My everyday mantra has become “we’ll get there,” but I’m not so sure I believe it anymore. We recently read a newsletter from our national program which stated that it’s normal and expected for a new program to take 3 years to “get there.” It was reassuring to know that our current state of chaos is normal but also daunting to think that we will continue to be in survival mode a lot longer than I had anticipated.

Despite the madness, I have still been able to get out of the house and spend time with family and friends. Thanksgiving has come and gone. We were all able to get together at my mom’s house…the first time in a long time that we have all been together for board games…

…and cousin buddies…

…and food, lots and lots of food.

My sweet little Chelsea graduated from nursing school this month and just last night she started asking me about wedding plans. It’s so hard to believe she’s all grown up. I can remember wondering what she would be like when she reached 10…and then 16…and then 21…and what kind of relationship we would have. I am so blessed to be able to see her regularly and still be the big sister, listening and giving advice, even if she does ignore it 90 percent of the time.

Last weekend Mike and I made a much needed trip out of town to visit friends. We splurged on a nice little bed and breakfast retreat and enjoyed ourselves as we always do with good company, good food, and good spirits. We also made a day trip to Bellefonte for their Victorian Christmas celebration. You can see pictures from both of these trips by clicking on my flickr photostream on the right.

Christmas is just around the corner and I wish I were a little more excited about it. We got a real Christmas tree, in hopes of sparking some Christmas cheer. I don’t know why, but it just seems that as the years pass, Christmas gets less and less exciting. It gets more and more difficult for all of us to get together and without any kids around, it’s just not the same. This year will be the first year ever that I won’t be with my family on Christmas. Michael and I are traveling to Philly to spend the holiday with his family. Though it may not seem that way from my post, I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to do something different, as Michael and I start forging our own holiday traditions. Our tree turned out lovely by the way, despite the fact that it is constantly under attack by our cats. Vita lies in wait while Loki bats the delicate beaded icicles to the floor, and they currently won’t drink from any other water source in the house except for the tree reservoir.

A week of vacation, cookie baking, and holiday travel awaits me. Merry Christmas everyone!