Reality check

It's been a LONG haul, this fire thing. I have been counting on the house being done by the first weekend of October. I mean really counting on it. No, I mean REALLY counting on it. I actually thought the first of October was WAY too long. Ridiculous really. I mean, a new house can be built in 4 months and we're way past that. So come on already!

Misganaw and I stopped out at the house today after we left the gym and things were moving along. Then the general contractor came and I asked him if we had a hard move in date yet. He really didn't want to commit but did say he hoped to be done October 15th. I said, "No," and walked away. I couldn't hold back the tears. I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. Blaine met us for lunch and I just couldn't stop tearing up. The end is so close that I feel like I can touch it but then the finish line keeps getting pulled back another mile.

When I got home away from home, I had a reality check. Hello, Laura. What day is it? September 11th. Thousands of people are missing their loved ones who were so cruelly taken from them by terrorists. What a hard day for them.

There are 147 million orphans in this world who pray every night for a family. There are people in the hospital today. There are people dying of starvation all over the world today.

And here I am, having a pity party because our house will not be done when I thought it would be. What is wrong with my priorities? Boy, do I need a lot of work.

Reality check.

On the brighter side, Blaine is on his LAST dose of Prednisone today! He is still having the same symptom...the one where when he bends his head to look down, he gets an electrical shock feeling down his legs and into his feet, but I think that will slowly go away on its own. He has reaped all the benefit that he can from this drug at this point and it's time to be done. Now, he must work to get all the muscle back that this drug took away. He finds that his knees hurt quite a bit because they're not being supported by the leg muscle they're used to. His rash is now 50% better, thank the Lord! My prayer is that his body will begin making cortisol quickly again. The dr. said that it shut its production off since he was receiving so much and it has to begin making it again. It's important to fight off infection, among other things.

The other exciting news is that our gift bag for Tarikwa will be leaving for Ethiopia on Saturday. I'm assuming that she will receive it sometime next week. They will take a picture of her receiving it and get it to us. At that point, we will be free to being corresponding with her. Letters will be transported by other traveling families and they will bring us hers. It is so wonderful that we have this opportunity so we can get to know each other before we actually meet. We will be able to hear what's in her heart and mind and she will be (hopefully) less apprehensive about the huge transition that will soon take place in her life.

I really need to learn to live in the moment and not keep looking around the corner for the 'next' big thing. Like: "I can't wait for Christmas!" or "I can't wait for this weekend!" or "I cannot wait to move back into our house!" I was always this way as a child and young woman but I thought it would change once I aged so incredibly gracefully! Does anyone else have problems with this or is it just me?

Blessings,

Laura