December 18, 2023 - Monday


Back to Ohio means back to being busy! I’m giving that an exclamation point, but I am not excited about it. We had school in the morning, and it went really well. The kids worked efficiently and got everything done quickly. After school, we had a field trip at Get Air with our co-op. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go, but it felt like a fun, winter-vacation-y thing to do, so we did it. It was just us and four other families, but I actually enjoy those more intimate get togethers so I can actually have real conversations! I talked to Josie the entire time. We just get along really well. I like her a lot. She eventually told me how starved she is for real fellowship at her church. It made me want to invite her out to HC sometime, but honestly, I don’t think she’d be getting what she’s looking for in our group either and I think that’s kind of a shame.

After the field trip, we headed to the grocery store so I could pick up stuff to cook for tonight and the kids were so upset that I forced them to come to the store with me. šŸ™„ Apparently, the food should just appear before them; they shouldn’t have to see where it comes from. I got home a little after 3 and got right to work cooking. I got my new puzzle out early this morning and had been waiting ALL day to work on it! But I needed to get food and hot choc prepped, so I did that first. Eventually, around 4:15, I finally got to start sorting puzzle pieces. I immediately felt frustrated with the lighting in the dining room. šŸ˜… The glare at the end of the table where I work on my puzzles is terrible!

We went to our HC Christmas party tonight and it was pretty fun. The Popes had to leave early because of a sick kid, but me, Ben, and the two big kids teamed up with Brit for a game of Christmas Jeopardy and it was such a good time! Bonus: we won!!! The kids were so excited because we got a big box of gifts as a prize. I felt kind of guilty about that. Like, honestly, just being a winner for once would have been prize enough for me. šŸ¤£

When I got home, it occurred to me that I felt more comfortable at the HC Christmas party tonight than I did at my family party on Saturday and that really says something to me. Yes, our group is a bit dysfunctional and is far from perfect; far from the Biblical picture of what fellowship is. BUT they still feel like home and when I’m with them I feel comfortable and a have a sense of belonging. I’m grateful for that, at the very least.



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