loving life and living love.

"return to form."

i knew it was going to be rough getting back into the groove with school…but i had no idea what obstacles i was in for.  two night classes have made my sleeping pattern a mess.  i seem to be the only “first-termer” in any of my classes which makes it a little more challenging to break the ice with my classmates who seem to know each other already and have a bond.  i despise the thursday early evening traffic i have to endure on the way back to the hills.  and to think that these are only the difficulties i have that aren’t related to the workload of my classes.  eh…i’m sure i’ll endure and overcome these things but it just feels so overwhelming after four months of vacation.  i love that i’m back in school…i hope i grow into loving this school and the 15 months i’ve got before graduation.

a more important issue in my life…my grandpa has been slowly deteriorating over the past couple of months.  it was something a lot of family members including myself failed to look more into…quite frankly because we don’t visit him as much as my mom or my grandma.  two weeks ago, he was experiencing respiratory distress along with an infection causing g.i. bleed.  he managed to recover from both but recently he experienced another occurrence of respiratory distress and infection.  when i saw him in icu…he had the look of someone ready to go home to God.  i love my grandpa…he’s lived a long life filled with love.  he’s been suffering for years now…and ironically his alzheimers and dementia allows him to not realize how much pain he’s going through.  i want his suffering to end…i want him to find rest. i don’t know what God has in store for my grandpa…but i pray for him and that He will give him peace.

i’m glad thanksgiving is two weeks away…and not just because i have the whole week off (which is still sweet).  with everything going on in my life and in the lives of those i love, it will be good to celebrate the simple joy and blessing of being loved.  i just want to spend time with family i always see, family i see from time to time, and family that are people who are more than friends to me.  i may not quite agree with Christmas promotions and lights being already up in stores and what not, but with the way things are in the world right now, the joy and love the holidays bring every year needs to come sooner…and that’s something i can agree on.

don’t forget…love actually is all around us - jl