Upswing

It is just amazing how feeling bad can make feeling good so much better. Really, when people ask "How ya doin'," and you say "good" or "fine" or whatever it is you say, it's all relative. I've had a scratchy throat and dry cough for so long it was easy to say I didn't feel good. But now that I've had a cold for the last week and it is subsiding, I can say "good" and mean it, even though I still have the throat and cough thing going on. Having finally seen the movie Crash over the weekend, it all makes me wonder how many aspects of our lives are relative. Right now I think probably most are. Truly, how I react to any given situation is tempered so much by whether I've had my coffee, somebody cut me off in traffic, how I saw my dad react, I'm protecting my wife or child, my shirt fits comfortably, the seat warmer is on low or high, Johnny showed up to take a test like he said he would, I got enough sleep last night, my TV show got recorded, I remembered to get milk at the grocery store, I had a glass of my favorite wine, and the list just goes on and on. And who bears the brunt of things going less than perfectly? I don't know. I'd like to think these things only effect me minimally, but I can remember my own poor reactions after having just a single, minute instance of things not being perfect. Maybe my reactions are changed and I don't even recognize it. Where did this start? Oh yes, I'm feeling much better, thank you. Now your day can be better too.

Weary

I am just so tired of all the physical aches and discomforts of the last 2 years. After starting out seeing an orthopedist about what we thought was a problem with my elbow, it seems that the difficulties have only escalated. I have been seeing Dr. Martin, the neurologist, for over 2 years now, and the inflammation in my spinal cord and subsequent discomfort in my hands remains unchanged. It takes such a mental toll on me to have this tingling / stinging / burning always in the background, no matter what I do. I think the stress of this has made my general health much worse. It's not that I worry about it, but I find that no matter how I sit, lie, walk, run, ride, lift, mow, bathe, etc. I cannot escape the discomforts, and this inability to escape beats me down. Every cold or allergy sniffle, cough, bruise, cut and ache is just piled on top of that which does not go away, and so the accumulation of symptoms to overcome feels insurmountable. I want to work in the yard, exercise, play basketball, go for walks and ENJOY them, but that seems like a distant dream for now. I keep praying that God will take this away, but He has other plans, I guess. I've heard that sometimes things have to be broken down before they can be made stronger. I'm ready for the stronger part!

Snow Days

Yesterday, God sent a beautiful blanket of snow to cover McKinney. Deneen, Curt and I had such a good time out in snow in our back yard. It was just barely below freezing, so being outside wasn't terribly uncomfortable. First we built a snow man, which Curt has named Geoffrey.

After a few pictures with Geoffrey, Curt had me take lots of pictures of him running and jumping in the snow. It reminded me of how our dogs react to changes in the weather. When the temperatures drop, they get a lot more energetic and run and play with each other. I think something similar happens with Curt. He took one of the sequences of photos and merged them in PhotoShop with great affect. I love how he can do this.

After the fun in our yard, Deneen and I went for a walk through the park and enjoyed seeing kids out sliding on the snow. It was fun to hear their laughter, see their snowball fights and just be out in the brisk air. It was a short walk, though, as the breeze and our cold toes forced us home.

Good news came later in the evening when we got a call from school letting us know schools were closed for Monday. So, today, we have enjoyed drinking coffee and getting caught up on some school work that probably would've been done tonight after work. It'll mean making up the day later this semester, but snow days are always special. The unexpected day off always provides relaxation and relief of some tension.

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty you provided and the other benefits that have come with it.