Skipping down the Memory Lane...

I’m having one of those days where I wish I could be a kid again.

I chatted with a friend this morning and shared how much I’d love to be a kid again, and toss aside all the grown up stuff, and just be free of all the grown-up cares of the world.

My friend said, we can still be kids, and still have a great time. Many people have become so busy in their grown-up lives, other things are more important than just stopping to smell the roses or lay in the grass and watch the clouds create themselves into a shape, or running down a sand dune, or see the stars at night, catching fire-flies.  What about exploring beaches and collecting shells? A hike in places where there might be hidden waterfalls or rivers/creeks? Or exploring new places?

When I shared a couple of my childhood memories with my friend, it really got me lost into my trip down memory lane…how I’d go with my cousins to a river with rocks where water would cascade into a “swimming hole” … and the rocks were like … a water slide, but very rocky. Little waterfalls to stand under.   The carefree days of summer time…and just having the time of our lives.   

My son had his friend over, and they spent yesterday and today sledding. This morning was freezing cold, and the streets had been plowed. They piled up the snow from the parking lot (across the street from me) into one corner of the lot. The boys discovered that Snow Pile, and as I trudged outside to take them to the “Pit” for some serious sledding, they told me to go back inside. That parking lot Snow Pile is more fun (and fresh).   It brought back memories of when I first moved to Michigan, as a young teenager, I’d build snow forts, igloos, go ice-skating, made snow angels and such. The Winter Kid Stuff we all do. 

Now I'm in a place where I as a mom with 2 energetic kids work hard to give them a happy childhood, and with that, to create great memories. To keep the relationship, the bond between them and myself strong. Knowing that they can always come to me with anything. Maybe I don't have all the answers as a grown-up but I surely can give it all my best.

Now I think I'm gonna go lick the frosting off the cake I baked this morning...

The Pipe is falling!

I’m in my pj’s, under my feather quilt and another quilt keeping warm, poking around on my laptop and watching random TV shows. 

A perfect way to end a long week of craziness.

Where I work, it is a 4 story building library, with a sub-basement.  Monday I wasn’t in at work as I was sick. But later in the morning (or around lunch-time), I checked my Facebook, and saw that the library was closed due to a water main break.

“Great!” I said to myself, then later in the afternoon I get the message from the Dean of the Library (where I work) saying the library will be closed until further notice.

Apparently a 14” pipe for return water (thankfully NOT waste-water!) somehow fell 6 feet, breaking free from its support, and tore a huge hole in one of the walls outside my department, and while it fell down, it hit one of the sprinklers, and of course it set it off. It went off in the hallway between my department and another department, on the ground floor—a.k.a. the basement (and we still have the sub-basement underneath that).

So, anyway, it’s really a long story, BUT, 1) we are very, no, we are extremely THANKFUL that nobody was in the hallway at that time when it happened. 2) everyone worked together to quickly take things off the floor (computers, anything electronic), and just make sure everyone got out safely. 3) We had quick emergency response to the situation.

We were closed on Tuesday. Then we came in Wednesday morning for meetings and worked together to plan for our temporary offices. Since my office and another office were affected by it (along with 2 other departments as well), we worked out a plan on the things we’d need to do, needed to bring up when allowed access to our office, etc.  Of course, we could only use the elevator at set times, so most of us actually CARRIED down book carts down the stairs! (I know, crazy, right?!) We loaded up the stuff, and then set them by the elevator so it could make the trip up to our floor. After we settled comfortably in our temporary office (with windows!), the 4 of us in my department felt we can handle it for a month.

Yesterday involved some more physical work by helping move collections of books from the damaged offices to other rooms that were not affected by the pipes. Try maneuvering the book carts over thick electrical cords (for carpet fans, etc) and trying not to tip them over.  Then shelving them on temporary shelves. Fun. And a good work out.

Today, I arrived at work, completely wiped out, and hoping I wouldn’t have to go down there again.  Can one say I was little shell-shocked when I saw all the damage caused by that one huge pipe? You just had to be there to get the sense of what I’m experiencing.

Mentally exhausted, along with physically exhausted. But, extremely thankful that everyone is okay, nobody was harmed, and for the excellent teamwork the whole staff & library pulled off. 

So, we’ll be “roughing it” for about a month while we have a great crew of construction workers, carpet cleaners, etc. as they repair, renovate, rebuild the whole area. 

And I deserve every bit tonight to be warm and comfortable in my pj’s under my warm feather quilt and sharing this story with y’all tonight.  

The new year....

So, we’re off to a new start this year. So many things has happened last year. Looking back, I’d say, “whoa!” and move forward with 2012.

Why did I say that?

Well, first, 2011 was not all that bad.  Yes, I’ve had many struggles in my personal life, and I still came out standing strong.  There were many good things that have had happened.

So, let’s see…the good stuff:

·         Got a promotion and an excellent supervisor to work for.

·         The raise is nice, but that’s not why I went for the promotion.

·         I went for the promotion to show that I can succeed as a deaf woman.

·         The Deaf Ministry at my church has an excellent leadership team, and we have been striving very well so far.

·         Growing in my relationship with all of my friends.

·         Spending a lot of time with my sisters and their kids. My niece and nephews are all the biggest joy (yes, along with my own 2 kids)

·         My children healthy and happy.

·         Most of my bills are caught up.

The bad stuff? Meh, the bills that had taken a long time to catch up to pay off. Minor car woes. Dealing with a very personal family crisis. Dealing with my own personal issues.

2012 is here.

I’m still enjoying my job, and the great working relationship with my office mates and my supervisor. My deaf ministry is still standing strong, and I’m excited to see what plans God has for us.

Another exciting thing for me to look forward to is going on a mission trip to Nicaragua  with my daughter and a group from my church.  We’ll be going in June and it’ll be my first time experiencing an out of country mission trip!   The team and I are doing fundraising to help fund our trip. 

We also have made a decision as a family to move closer to my job, and of course to my baby sister and her family. J   The commute is killing me, and while I love living here in Tecumseh, there is really no family left anymore. So it’s time for us to move on and be closer to my job, to our church, etc. 

Personally, I’ve made some decisions regarding the things I, Kirstan, want to do. I want to go back to school. I want to complete college and get a degree in something. I want to set up a deaf women’s ministry or do something related to that. I want to do so much and I know I need to slow down a bit and start taking notes and putting them together.  An excellent friend of mine has told me few times to just simply jot down my ideas and get it organized. THEN, take it from there.  

Baby steps. And we’re heading into 2012….and I’m excited to see what it will bring.