I had another helpful discussion with my husband last night before trying to go to sleep.  His undying support and understanding is amazing.  This is definitely what marriage should be like.

Afterward, I had a difficult time, still, getting to sleep, so I thought about my grandparents being there with me.   My grandparents lived in Illinois while I lived in Nebraska.   Every year, we went to Illinois to see them (it was a 10 hour drive) and it was wonderful to be able to see them.    Being able to feel they are with me sometimes helps a lot.

When I have a hard time going to sleep, I envision their house, too… walking in and noticing each room in detail.   Green shag carpet… white curtains, where my grandpa’s rocking chair was, and where the butterscotch candy dish sat by the couch.. Everything about it.

It’s my brain comfort food.  

Normally, I wake up by 4:30am.. not to get up, really, but I have a hard time getting back to sleep. I think about crazy things like whether I plugged my smartphone in, or whether my debit card is still in my purse, whether I locked my work PC, or what I have to do at work that day.

I guess there are tricks to getting back to sleep. One of them is to not think too much about anything. That’s when I go back to Milton Keynes and think about taking a nap.

The stress is coming from an external source and hopefully it will be resolved this week.

I’m praying for compassion this week … just a little. I know it’s possible.

Over the weekend, some unexpected paperwork arrived. We were in a state of disbelief, but we cannot really explain more than that. We visited with a professional today and she made us feel better and gave us options for moving forward intelligently. This has saved us from mental breakdowns, I think. It was good of the professional to spend 2 hours talking to us, gratis, we are pretty sure.

Tomorrow, we are accomplishing some things on our list of must-do’s. It is a good to not feel lost, really.

In Nebraska, when we go to the grocer, we have a selection of fish. Catfish. Swai. Some sort of icky whitefish. Nothing worth eating. The salmon is likely good, but if you really want good, good fish, you have to make a special trip to the fish monger.

We watched a movie on Amazon (can’t remember what) and then we watched part of the festivities in New York City. I began wondering… why is the calendar changing to the New Year party-worthy? I don’t mean to be depressing at all. It’s just that every new year is full of its own challenges. I’ve had some pretty major challenges in the last year; some of them pretty amazing, some of them incomprehensible.

So if every year continues to have its own challenges, I suppose that it’s realizing that you’ve made it through the old year’s challenges or enjoyed the gifts of the previous year, and you’re moving into the unknown, where it can be good or bad; happy or heartbreaking, but hopefully mostly joyful.

Maybe it’s the feeling of comfort of the moment; being in a happy place, with a roof over our heads, access to all of the requirements to live on… plus something more.  And if we’ve started the New Year off in a horrid place, there is always hope for a better tomorrow.

Maybe that is the point.

And getting to see LMFAO performing in Times Square.

I am waving “so-long” to the challenges of 2011 and saying, “Bring on more great things” to 2012.

Happy New Year!

After dropping Brit off at our friends’ house, we went to eat.    Ian was able to pronounce the french words for the food dishes we chose, which I think impressed the wait staff.

The food was lovely.   I had Coquilles Saint Jacques et Crevettes and Ian had Cassoulet de Canard Confit.   For dessert, it was Creme Brulee, which I’d never had before.  Actually, I don’t recall ever eating french food, outside of escargots, at all.    It was really good food and the dinner was quite special, because I was with Ian.  :)

It is difficult to believe that it’s been two years since we were married; it seems like just yesterday.   There have been many happy moments since we met.  I’m looking forward to many more.  <3

We had a doctor’s appointment set for 15 minutes from where we were, which was awesome, since we were in the same neighborhood.

The doctor examined her arm, did a few physical tests, then sent us for x-rays to see if there was a break or fracture somewhere, but luckily, there wasn’t.

We came away with an excuse for gym class for no upper body physical activity and instructions to give her 600 mg of ibuprofen and ice to her elbow for 7 – 14 days.

Crazy day, but it turned out alright.