Picking Up Pieces

I am just having one of those times where the irritation of little things compounds and compounds. I keep praying for grace to restart and apologize for blowing up...but then the irritation just starts over, too. I know I've been on edge & anxious all week, and it's probably for nothing, (which is even more irritating, to have stuff so on your mind that may end up as a moot point,) but I can't let it all go. The kids have been extra whiny, (why???) and I've been extra sensitive to it - not the most graceful combination. The final straw was slicing my hand tonight on my absolute favorite cooking bowl as it shattered to bits in my hands when I put it up in the cabinet (...with a little bang, b/c I was already irritated. I was SHOCKED, though, b/c this thing is thick, heavy-duty glass, and I truly didn't slam it in there hard.) :'(

I just need a big cathartic cry, I think, to get it all out! Hope for Haiti Now will surely put things in perspective...

I will also focus on all the positives. I was a Junior League machine this week for our Cinderella's Closet project, and I really worked through a big personal [irrational] obstacle (I *hate* the phone!) to contact all the social service organizations in the surrounding counties to see if they would work with us to promote the event. Huge checkmarks off my list!

I felt really good about dance this week, too. I'm teaching two classes I haven't taught in ages, and I actually went back into my old curriculum from my beloved studio in Georgia to find a few old gems I used to use to add into my repertoire here. It sounds silly, but it felt great to do those bits, again - like it was reviving a part of my heart that was so broken when we were transferred, and I had to leave what had been a dream for me there. It's not the same here, but for whatever reason, those few movements helped.

MOPS this morning was also fantastic. We had a ton of food, and someone brought chocolate cherry bread - my FAVE!!! I also brought a scrumptious Pithivier with sweet almond cream filling from Trader Joe's - heavenly. We finalized our KidsLink Downrange card kits, which was a great feeling, too. (We made card kits to send to children whose parents are deployed soldiers, so they can write back & forth easily.) When I took over our MOPS group, it was really important to me that we do a couple service projects like this, b/c mothers of kids from birth to age 5 really don't have the time to do much on their own; but this way, they get nurtured and get to nurture others without wearing themselves out. I've been so excited about the KidsLink Downrange project since July, and it just feels cool to have it completed now. I can't wait to get the response cards back from the kids who receive our kits in Fort Riley, Kansas!