In which I whine some more about the latest crappy thing to come our way...

Friends and family have been asking me, "Sooooo, how is Derek's job search going? Any promising leads?"

Ummm...WHAT job search? He hasn't been able to even look for a job yet. Why, you ask? Because he has shingles. Yep. You heard me. Shingles.

Sigh.

Yes, Derek has a nasty nasty case of the shingles. The poor guy is in agony. I've never had them myself, but I can tell - they're HORRIBLY painful. He has them from his neck, all the way up the right side of his face to his right ear. He has them in his mouth, all over his cheeks and tongue, on his chin and neck, and even on TOP of his ear drum. He's in SUCH pain. His tongue is so swollen, he can't eat or drink or even talk. He has shooting pain all along the nerves of the right side of his face that radiate to his skull. AND he has a fever of about 103. Fun times.

So yeah. Obviously he can't look for a job until he's better. Even if he FELT better? He's contagious. So if he was lucky enough to get an interview, showing up and infecting the entire office with chicken pox would probably not bode well. So he's down for as long as 2 to 3 weeks.

So I'm holding down the fort again (still?) I get up at 4:00 am to feed and water the farm. Then I get ready for work, get the kids to daycare and me to work, work all day, come home feed and water the farm again, get dinner fixed and on the table, and collapse into bed to get up and do it all over again. Last night and the night before I was up all night with Derek. He's in SUCH pain. I feel so badly for him. I feel so badly for us.

Just when I think another thing couldn't possibly happen, it does. I just keep thinking...something good is going to happen soon. Sooner or later we're gonna catch a break. (Please Lord, make it sooner? I'm TIRED.)

I work at a Christian school. Every month we have 'character traits' that we focus on and teach the students. We post them in the hallways and classrooms. Even though school has let out for the summer, June's character trait, 'Meekness' is still up on the walls. I read it every time I walk down the hall. It reads, "Meekness: quietly and humbly accepting whatever God brings into my life."

So my prayer today, is help with embracing meekness. Lord? Help me with meekness. I'm not so good with this one.

I was talking to a friend yesterday, and she said that she loves coming to me for guidance. She said I've been through so much in my life already, that I give good advice, and that I have an interesting perspective on things. She said she has people in her life that seem 'perfect.' They have perfect lives, perfect kids, perfect jobs, or seem to, anyway. And those people aren't nearly as interesting to talk to, or nearly as knowledgeable on life. So she likes coming to me.

Wow, really? Ok. Well, if I make through this year, (after I get a T-shirt made that says, "I somehow made it through 2008 and lived to tell about it") I'm gonna hang out a shingle and offer advice. For a fee of course. Hey. I gotta pay the bills somehow.