Written on Ice

It's been a while.

Too long for all the news I have to share really.

But as always, I will do my best to get everything written here.

Jenny the snuggle dog is here with me this morning as we are in the process of moving me into the den. I enjoy the natural light much better than the light bulbs and I don't take up much space.

I was going to tell you about how we renamed the fish Jesus after he made an unsuccessful suicide attempt while we were cleaning his tank. I really thought he was dead up until the moment I moved him to send him down the potty. Then miraculously he moved and we rushed to get him back into his tank. I found the unfortunate Jesus this morning, dead in the bottom of his tank. I suspect that he died of internal injuries sustained during his suicide attempt.

He was a good fish, always swimming fervently around his tank, trying to attack anything even remotely blue. He liked to relax in his yellow plastic grass when he had some down time and he always ate his breakfast even if he was angry about moving to Michigan. He was a survivor of the battle of The Wedding Reception and will always be remembered fondly for his ability to keep secrets.

Services will be held before breakfast Sunday morning with taps played by Zeke Holley on his trombone. Join the family afterward for cinnamon rolls.

I'm sure that many of you already know this but I'll write it out anyway, incase you haven't seen the news anywhere else yet.

I'm a teacher at Ashley Schools. Officially, I'm a long term sub with the possibility of becoming a teacher in the fall if I want to. I teach Spanish to K-12. I've been there a month and so far I feel like I'm muddling through. I am still on the fence about whether or not I want to continue teaching but I still have a few months to decide. Teaching is very difficult and for those of you who do it as your career, all I can say is that you have guts and you should all get medals.

I have an hour drive to get to Ashley from Farwell and sometimes its a little longer. Snow and ice make for really interesting drives, especially like the drive home this past Tuesday when I broke a bone in my hand. My right hand, the one that I do everything with.

So yeah, life is throwing me a curveball and I'm doing my best to handle it. Mom and dad and even Zeke have been pretty helpful so far. Doing my hair, cutting my meat, tying my shoes, pouring me juice from the massive Hi-C container....etc. I even had some of my students help me because writing on the board is now a challenge.

Tuesday was a rough day. We had a big snowstorm move through and layer everything with snow, ice, and slush. I was driving through the tail end of the storm on my way home that night and had to stop every couple exits to get the ice off my windshield wipers so that they would work properly. I had nearly made it home and stopped again between Mt. Pleasant and Clare to snap my wipers. As I got out of the car, I slipped, falling backwards and hit my hand hard on the door frame of my car.

At first, I just thought that I was stupid and would have a good bruise, after I picked myself up. Then I decided to try to snap my wipers right handed anyway and that just didn't happen. I carefully got back in my car and proceeded to drive home because I figured that mom be able to help me get it iced and feeling less like I had a nail through my hand. By the time I got home with all the tears and curse words, I pretty much knew that something was broken and I couldn't move my hand at all.

So off to ready-care we went, mom driving this time. After some painful manipulation and x-rays that seemed to take a lifetime to process, they determined that I had broken the extension of my ring finger that is in your hand/palm region. It's a clean break but I was still referred to a specialist who I will see on Monday. If I don't need surgery, then he will probably put  me in a cast and I'll be on my merry almost ambidextrous way.

For now, I'm typing with one hand pretty well and I have slaves doing my bidding so I could have things much worse than they are. I'm so glad that I have my family for support through this because I'm not sure if I would make it without them.

One big adventure after another. That's how life goes. If you can find a way to keep your head up through it all, then life will probably throw some good in with the bad.

As always,

Blessed Be!