Light & Dark

Tender compassion

and

Irritated passion

Comfortable companionship 

and

Walls of misunderstanding 

Laughter and fun and adventure

and

Tears and pain and trauma

The joy of living

and

The horrible bleakness of existence

The love of dear ones 

and

The island of isolation

Noticing someone else's hurt 

and

My own hurt blinding me 

Love

and

Hate

Summer

and 

Winter

Weddings

and 

Funerals

Birth

and 

Death

Young

and 

Old

Sunshine

and

Rain

Why

and

What do I do about it

How

To live in the light 

and

Not the dark

Weekly Journal Volume 6

I decided a little belatedly to keep a journal this week but didn't feel like trying to remember the details from Monday. So it begins with Tuesday!

Tuesday October 18

Set my alarm for 5:15 planning to exercise before work. But alas, the day looked too daunting and I opted for more time under the covers. I'm trying to get caught up this week with GA work that I've fallen behind on, and knew it would be a long day. In true rebel fashion, I didn't get an early start even though it would have been best. Put away wash and tidied up while listening to Quiet and getting ready for the day. Finally got on the road, but detoured past Once Mine Boutique in East Earl to drop off 2 bags of clothes. They took almost everything and I cashed out my $44.10 credit. Very satisfying to get that taken care of after the bags have ridden around in my car for several weeks! Also picked up a peppermint latte from Twin Valley Coffee before arriving at Gehman a little before 10. Another employee resignation was announced today. Know anyone who would be a solid addition to the bookkeeping team? Check out opportunities here. There's been an astonishing employee turnover since I joined - at least 12 resignations and even more new hires in one year. It might not be a good fit for everyone, but Gehman treats their employees very well! While you're on our website, check out the team and our new bio section! Ate lunch while waiting in the bank drive-through, then took a little side trip to Kauffman Kitchens to look at cabinet colors and countertops. Had my monthly check-in with Curt and Loretta this afternoon and finally headed out a little after 7. Noticed Ken's Joys was still open, so stopped on a whim but only bought a pack of stickers. Taco Bell drive-through hit the spot. Cliff went to the CO meeting at church, but got home soon after I did. 

Wednesday October 19

Love my day at home in the middle of the week! Tried to stay focused and get to work before the day was half over. There's an overdue project hanging over my head that I really wanted to make headway with today. Worked on it for 6 hours but still didn't get done. It's stretching the limit of my expertise but I felt pretty good about myself. A year ago I watched someone else do it and was completely lost! At that point I didn't think I'd ever be capable of comprehending. It's nice to feel accomplished once in awhile. 😄 Took a break mid-afternoon to put chili verde in the crockpot and take a walk. It was a little chilly but so good to get out and clear my head! The varied shapes and colors of leaves on the ground were a treat for the eyes. Cliff was home by the time I got back so I worked on getting the rest of supper made. Chili Verde, rice and beans with street taco corn tortillas was quite tasty! Went back to my desk after cleaning up the kitchen, Cliff went to work on Business Bulletin. Tried to unwind later by taking a shower and using this Falling Rain shower oil from Jack's Mountain Soap. I'm loving the relaxing scent. Thanks to Sharon for the awesome hostess gift from their stay here last week over school meeting! 

Thursday October 20

Up by 5:30 to get in my bike ride, then squeeze in a little over an hour at my desk. Arrived at school to find a candle from Paisley & Co on my desk! Nice surprise from Miss Dyck! It was a golden fall day, complete with the farmer cutting corn in the fields next to school. Hot lunch ladies ordered Domino's pizza for lunch today and everyone was excited! Ceasar salad and brownie sundaes finished out the meal. Delicious. Miss Eicher has a cold and weak voice so she asked if I'd read her story hour. It's fun to have different things like that thrown in my day. Miss Sensenig is gone for a few days and her substitute asked if I'd like to help the 7th graders with their math. We decided I'd teach math class tomorrow, so I brought the book home to study. Worked several hours for Gehman and got the looming project out of the way, that's a weight off my mind! Leftovers for supper, then settled in to catch up my math skills. Learned a few new concepts and made a plan for tomorrow. I feel like my brain has been exercised mightily this week!

Friday October 21

Got in a short bike ride before getting ready for the day. Arrived at school an hour earlier than usual to fit in math class with 7th. Thoroughly enjoyed teaching it! Miss Eicher has not been feeling well all week and went home after lunch today. I filled in for 5th & 6th the rest of the day, which was mostly recess and art anyway. The whole school carved pumpkins for art and some of the moms came to help also. The younger ones needed more supervision so I helped Allie and some others. It was a big, fun mess but thankfully we were able to be outside! The upper graders did a fantastic job cleaning up afterwards. I stayed a little longer than usual to finish up some checking and enjoy snack that Kaleigh brought. Came home to Dustin's work crew installing siding on the new addition and an extra window in the existing kitchen! The window makes a big difference - I wanted more light than we originally planned. Headed straight to my desk to chip away at the remaining work I had as my goal for this week. Managed 2 hours but my brain felt tired and I was making mistakes so decided it wasn't worth it. I'll put in a few hours tomorrow after I'm rested. Cliff picked up Subway for supper and I flopped on the couch immediately afterwards and stayed there the rest of the evening. I put in more time with GA this week than I have since starting at school, plus a little extra time at school, and it caught up to me. Dad and Mom came over to look at the progress made today and Cliff tackled some of the dust covering every surface. I couldn't find the energy to care about it, bless his heart.

Saturday October 22

Not much to say about today since I was very lethargic. Went to check out a local countertop store and was very happy to find I can get quartz for a decent price after all! That was a win. Came back home to work 1.5 hours, then did nothing the rest of the day. It was a warm fall day but I didn't feel inspired to go out. After coming home from work, Cliff put the walls up on his new shed then decided to go to Lowes for a few supplies. I rode along and we picked up Chick-fil-A. 

Sunday October 23

A small group in church this morning and only 1 staff member out of 7! We thought Mission BBQ sounded good for lunch and decided we don't do this kind of thing very often so we'd roll with it. Came home and took naps, then I cleaned up a little and made a pan of bars. Also paid bills and got frustrated about finances. A dark, rainy evening. 

Weekly Journal Volume 5

Monday October 3

The third rainy day in a row. Trying to have a good attitude but afraid I'm not too successful. Got up to bike for 40 minutes, prepped a plate of veggies and dip to take to school, ventured out in the wet and cold to pick up leaves for science project, put in an hour at my desk, and off I went. No food for Cliff's lunch but he was looking for an opportunity to get a Chicken Cordon Bleu from Tony's anyway. Must cook tonight. Today was "Wear purple for Taylor" 💜 day at school. The teachers had purple bows and glitter in their hair and the students wore all manner of purple attire. Miss Wedel drew a neat picture and message on the front door. Purple glitter found its way all over the school! The 6th graders were impressively well behaved for reading class today. We did leaf rubbings for 1st grade science. It was fun (even for me!) and they liked it. Grabbed Walmart grocery pickup before heading home, then worked for GA a mere 10 minutes before I had to get Cliff from work. Went to pick up the pickup which got inspected and repaired today. Started on cheeseburger soup when I got back, and over an hour later we finally sat down to eat. Cliff went to Phillip's to print Business Bulletin and I plodded along cleaning up the kitchen. Sat down at the desk for just a few minutes of work. Didn't get enough done today; that means more on my plate tomorrow. 

Tuesday October 4

Woke up before the alarm and got a good start to the day by biking 15 miles (inside) and listening to a book. Once I had breakfast and got ready for the day, it wasn’t early anymore and I didn't arrive in the New Holland office till 9:00. I managed to stay focused without too many distractions though, and was happy with the amount of work I got done in 9 hours. Another miserable rainy day. Sorry, my tolerance for rainy days is exactly 1 day. No apologies. And it looks like this storm won't clear out for another day yet. By the time I left the office it was getting dark and I had several stops to make yet. Kohl's to return and pickup, Michael's, and Sam's for gas. It was wonderful to finally arrive home after the long, dark, rainy drive. Soon headed to bed.

Wednesday October 5

Not my usual day for school, but the fall hike is planned for Friday so I went today instead. First thing this morning I logged in to GA for 2 hours, had to rush to get to school on time! And the day continued in the same manner. Plenty of work but not enough time. Got a good lunch of soup, salad, bread, and pumpkin desserts from sewing day at church. Comfort food for another dreary day. Took some time to relax on the couch after getting home and dozed off for a bit. Woke up to discover the sun had peaked through, turning the treetops golden. Wonderful, glorious, amazing!! Had a bit of this and that for supper, then tagged along with Cliff to Charles's where he installed a faucet. I took a little walk with the girls and Drew. It turned out to be a lovely, calm evening with a bright half moon. Colored pictures with the girls and had a great time being a kid. 

Thursday October 6

My morning was a repeat of yesterday, so I'll spare the details. The exception was GLORIOUS SUNSHINE!! It was a perfectly clear fall day and even got warm in the afternoon. Amazing how much brighter things look. Hot lunch at school today, so it was an all-around top-notch day. Lasagna, Ceasar salad, garlic bread, and pumpkin yummy made our bellies happy. Got the hallway almost "school meeting ready" this week, so that was an accomplishment! Took a walk after getting home from school. So wonderful to be outside again! Divided and replanted a few hostas before it got dark. 

Friday October 7

No alarm this morning, how wonderful! Didn't feel very energetic about facing the day though. Proceeded to work as usual. Put in several hours before going out on a walk to soak in the bright fall day. Picked up some leaves to do more leaf rubbings. Decided I could take the time to do something I enjoyed in the middle of the day even though there was hours of work to be done. Sat down and filled 3 papers with cool leaf rubbings and hung them in the unfinished addition. So simple but so satisfying! Started on supper of Instant Pot honey sesame chicken with rice and steamed broccoli. Also molasses cookies to replenish the depleted freezer stock. A whole 3 hours later it was over and cleaned up. This is why I don't enjoy cooking. I was tired and ready to go to bed by then but forced myself to go back to my desk because I really needed to get more work done this week. Put in an hour and 45 minutes and ended up being glad I forced myself into it. Next week will be too full already to push more off until then. 

Saturday October 8

A long list awaited me today, but naturally the longer the list, the more I procrastinate. Finally started on cleaning the basement around midday and knocked a few other things off the list - but not all. Listened to The Book Thief to make the jobs more enjoyable. I'll never get tired of the story and it's one of the most exquisitely written books I've ever read. It was a cool but sunny day; sadly, I gave up a walk to get more done around the house. Cliff saved me some time by getting a few groceries. Made tea and mac and cheese for supper at folks. Hamburgers and good Saturday night family time. A gorgeous full moon tonight. I brought my still blooming geranium inside to see if it will thrive in the sunny new addition. It feels like it could frost.

Sunday October 9

Happy birthday Keela! Got up to make gingerbread cake for lunch at James and Katie's. Nice full church this morning. Guests at James's were Clair & Miriam, teachers, and Parker & Jace. Toured their lovely house and outdoors. It was sunny with a chilly breeze, definitely autumn weather. I've been amazed how quickly the trees have turned golden. Yes, I can see why some people love fall. It speaks too much of loss for me, though. Came home and totally conked out for several hours on the couch. Such deep sleep is a rarity and pleasure! Opted to stay home while Cliff went to church. Still have a lot to do before school meeting company arrives on Thursday, and I'll be working every day until then. Sounds like we may even make a trip to Belleville between now and then for great-aunt Sylvia's viewing. Next week looks to be a full one but will be interesting too! Looking forward to having Chad and Keela here and hope to spend time with the 7 kids while Chad's and Charles's are at school meeting. 

Off to another week!