A Series of (Un)fortunate Events

I should go to bed as it's almost midnight. I haven't blogged in a very long time as you may have noticed. And yet sleep will have to wait because I have so much on my mind and I can't quite to seem to sort it out.

The last few weeks have been so strange. Brent said to me last night that he feels like we have been non-stop go for the last month and that it seems as though we haven't seen each other in weeks. He even talked about planning a quick get a way, without the kids, to Mexico over Labor Day. It is a very sweet offer and yet what we need is time to just sit and recover from all the twists and turns and the everyday things that have occurred in the last month.

I can't put in words how strange things have felt lately. It just seems like one curve ball after another. Some have been wonderful little gifts amidst the craziness of life, others have been a little baffling and heartbreaking. It started with not being able to run the Epic relay in mid July that I had trained and worked so hard for due to a knee injury. Unexpected and welcome company(Eric and his 3 boys). Brent's truck window being smashed in, our basement flooding that same day. Brent tearing his calf muscle in basketball and leaving him limping and miserable for several days. Me going out of town to California for Wanderlust, a yoga music festival and missing my connecting flight in SLC coming home, leaving me there for an extra night and day. Our basement flooding again, more severely this time, and then having wonderful company(Erin and John) come with no where for them to stay. My sister's wedding called off and thus our trip to Utah canceled(what a blessing I was stranded there a week and half before for a night, even if it didn't seem it at the time so at least I got to see some of my family.) Then there was Hunter's birthday to plan and rearrange since we would be home instead of traveling to Utah. School starting, lessons starting and Sienna getting a black eye the day before school starts from a water bottle Hunter had thrown at her. It seemed that that was the perfect summation of my summer with the kids. Instead of being at the school ice cream social to meet the kids teachers we were sitting in doctors offices for 3 hours. Our house being a complete disaster due to the floods the traveling, guests, kids all home and 2 camping trips amidst all of it.

Every plan I feel I made for the summer was thrown out the window and a new plan was handed, no, more like tossed, to me with a little wrinkle in it. All sense of control, excitement and anticipation I felt going into the summer surely left by the end of July. It is ALMOST comical to me, this series of unfortunate events. I have learned that I shouldn't ask what else could go wrong because surely there is always something, good or bad that is awaiting. So I have stopped planning. And that is probably a good thing.

Last night Brent went to play basketball again for some strange reason I can't quite figure out since he hasn't worked out all week since he doesn't want to be sore for his backpacking trip that he flew to Utah for today. Well he went and played and he re-injured his calf muscle. He couldn't sleep for hours last night due to the pain. It almost doesn't phase me anymore, the kinks, the things that we call LIFE. He worked a half day, came home said good bye to me and Elsie Jayne and flew to Utah to start his backpacking trip with Eric to scout for Eric's Elk hunt mid-September that Brent is going back out for. He called me to tell me that he had arrived in SLC but that Eric had called him instead of picking him up and told him that Amber hadn't been feeling well all week and had gone to the doctor and found out that she has a bacteria infection in her bloodstream and she was immediately admitted to the hospital to stay there for a few days. Amber, get better. We love you! So... Brent flew to Utah for this trip and Eric can't go. At first I thought Brent was going to go alone, and he knows how that scares me but he said that AJ is going to go with him just tonight and come home tomorrow since he has to work. So at least Brent gets to see his family too, and meet Amber's new baby, Lainee. It is killing me that I haven't met her yet and that we missed her blessing since we didn't go out the weekend of the wedding.

It just baffles me how many people there are living in this crazy world. How we all have these days of ups and downs and how they all mingle together and create a ripple effect to those around us. I think that I get caught up in my own life way to often and don't see the people around me that I really care about and want to be helping. I think I am so stuck in my head at times that I don't even notice that they are hurting or struggling. I found out today about a friend that is having a very difficult time and I had no idea. It makes me feel so sad for her and yet so grateful for my life. And that is what it always seems to come back to for me. Gratitude. Every loop, every kink gives me a sense of gratitude that it wasn't worse. I have so much to be grateful for. My friend and I were saying today that we all have our challenges. Everyone has them and yet I can say that I feel grateful for the challenges that I have and have had. I'm so blessed to have things to make it easier, to have Brent and to have healthy kids and a healthy body myself, and mostly the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that all of this is temporary and has a purpose and that all of it will work together for my good. There is always a rainbow, even if it isn't immediate.