Getting Back to Living...

It has been nearly 2 months since my first post. To say the least, I've been a little preoccupied. It's taken some time to adjust to life here in the Small City. I've been catching up with family, friends, dealing with school and a few other small complications that have popped up. ;-) That doesn't mean that complications are all together bad.

Let me attempt to summarize each topic:
1. Family
2. Friends
3. College
4. "Work"
5. The Love Life

1. Family: Since returning from the Big City, my life has once again been filled with the ins and outs of family life. It was not my intention to run away from family while I was out east. However, it becomes far to easy to slip away from your loved ones when you are no longer local. Two big things have happened since I've been back.

a. My dad has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The disease has been fairly progressive and is definitely taking it's toll. Mom and I are having a rough time trying to figure out exactly how to handle this situation. He has always been the epitome of health. Seeing him incapacitated in any way has been pretty rough. Fortunately, we are all doing as much research as possible to learn what can be done to make life a little better for all of us. Unfortunately, they didn't catch the disease as early as one would hope. They think he's had a very silent form of MS for about 4 years.

b. Now for something happy!!! My aunt and uncle have struggled with infertility during their entire marriage. The doctors declared their son, who we will call A, a miracle because they are not sure how he was possibly conceived. This year, after A's 5th birthday, they finally gave up the dream of having a second child and sold the last of their baby belongings. A week later they got the news that my aunt was pregnant. We're just over 2 months into the pregnancy! Because this is a high risk pregnancy, the doctors have warned us not to get excited until she has reached a full 12 weeks. We're counting down!

2. Friends: I suppose this could also go under family also... My best friend will be known as E. We lost her grandmother on the 4th of September. I was with the family pretty much the entire time at the hospital, viewing...etc. It was not easy. Her grandmother was the closest thing I had to my own grandmother. It brought back many memories. I was never able to say goodbye to my own grandma when she was in the hospital for the last time. I'm thankful that I was able to say goodbye to E's grandmother. There was a bit of closure in it for me.

3. School: My classes are going so well! *Knock on wood* I hope it continues!

4. "Work": This little thing called work is making me extremely angry. I have gone out of my way to jump through so many hoops for both the local school corporation and the Indiana Department of Education and they have yet to approve my application for licensure. Let's just say that this Big Girl is not happy and is considering using her college degree to find a REAL job while going to grad school. Who wants to be a substitute teacher anyway!? *me...me*

5. The Love Life: Let me just preface this by saying that everything that has gone on since I've come home has been completely unplanned and, for the most part, shocking. My goal, when coming home, was only to go to grad school. I did not want to date, get involved, or look for anything special within this state. I did not believe that there was any potential to be found here. However, I have found myself dating someone special who actually does have potential. Alot of potential. My parents really like him and, this weekend, I'm meeting his parents. I am VERY nervous. I think that is all I'm going to say for now. We'll just see where it goes and I will continue to share some info here and there. Ooooh, and I think he's gonna have to be known as J. ;-)

So, there you have it. Family and friends are in need of my time right now. School is definitely going full throttle and work is not. And I'm enjoying being swept off my feet a bit. :-)