A Summer of ...

This summer has been overflowing with learning, driving, loving, and crying- really, a little bit of everything.

My desire to write a new blog post has been burning for some weeks. The pace of school work and life has just not slowed enough to give me the opportunity to wax philosophical just for fun... But, now that there is a brief lull in my activities, I want to take the time to update, to think, and to get such thoughts out of my head and into the blog-o-sphere.

First, I'll begin with the practicalities of it all. I have completed my second semester in sonography school, and, boy, was it intense. The subject material was crammed into such a short time. My head is still spinning. I spent three days a week at a new clinical site in a different city. At first, I was full of dread and angst at the thought of having to drive the hour to my new place, then the hour home everyday. But, God quickly gave me a chance to seek blessing and praise in the car. I pulled out some of my favorite worship music and got my praise on! The past eleven weeks have been some of the richest in my time with Him. I have genuinely felt Him watching over me and filling me up with joy every single day - through the tears of anger over school issues and through the tears of sadness over missing my daughter and my other family members. That may sound super cheesy or even unreal, but it is totally true. Even in my darkest moments of wanting to give up on this new journey, God has been there every step of the way. He has blessed me in indescribable ways and His mercies are new every morning.

Second, I AM A GRANDMOTHER FOR THE SECOND TIME! But, let me begin this story by telling you that, for the last five months, my husband and I have been in sweet communication with our daughter. When she first became pregnant with our new granddaughter, she quit talking with us. We don't know all of the motivations behind that decision, but we have embraced the renewed communication with joy. Through the five months that she has been speaking with us, we have learned a lot about her and her new life. A lot of the conversations have been simple, but some have been serious. I wouldn't trade my talks and texts with her for the world. They've all been meaningful in ways too wonderful to describe here. These past five months were also the last half of her pregnancy with our beautiful and precious new granddaughter. We knew that she was due to be born by c-section next week and we had planned our summer home visit to make sure we could be there for the birth. We were so excited that our daughter wanted us to be there. Unfortunately, she had to deliver early. On Thursday, just three days prior to writing this post, her doctor decided that it would be best to go ahead and take the baby now. So, that night, we became grandparents for a second time. Our granddaughter is tiny, but so perfect! We've received texted pictures, videos, and even spoken a few times with our daughter. We will be with them in person in just a few days. I can't wait!

Third, this summer has been one of learning about myself, about sonography, and about healthy living. I've learned a lot about myself as I've journeyed through these weeks of driving. I know that my personality is one that can be amazing or terrible, depending on the day or the moment. I want to be in the "balcony" of my personality traits, not the "basement". Honestly, I confess that I do a lot of basement living. I am striving to seek better expressions of my desires, emotions, and needs. I've also learned more about sonography and the anatomy I'll be scanning for the rest of my career. The head-knowledge comes easily to me, but I still struggle with the act of actually scanning patients. I'm learning to not be so hard on myself and to keep striving for improvement. The other major thing I've learned this summer is that good eating and exercise can actually help me look and feel better. These last several months have been the healthiest of my adult life. I've been more consistent with exercise. I have found a love of bike riding and enjoy going on bike rides with my husband. I've also learned that I can live without half-and-half, caramel, and chocolate syrups in my coffee. That may not be a big deal to some of my two readers, but it's a big deal to me. I am happy to report that I am well on my way to meeting my birthday weight-loss goal.

It's safe to say that I'm in a pretty happy place in my life journey right now. My husband and I both are learning and growing in a way that is exciting and surprising. I pray that God will continue to work in both of our school pursuits and in our striving to be healthier for our grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. I know that He is in control and knows what the future holds, whether I ever understand it or not.