Once again, it's been way too long since I posted. Sorry friends and family!
This last month, Adam and I went to Family Camp with our church. A long weekend at the beach with twenty people from our service and hundreds from the rest of the church. We had tons of potlucks, campfires, and hanging out talking. Nestle, apart from once again consuming more than her fair share of sea water, loved being around so many people. She adopted several of the people in our group, had to check on them as much as she checked on us, and got to play with more dogs than she has since leaving Omaha.
Work has been fairly typical, albeit extremely busy. Krysta had to scold me for getting too much overtime last pay period, somehow I'd ended up working 50 hour weeks without either of us realizing it until I added up my hours. In a few weeks, the whole store is participating in Race for the Cure. We're only walking three miles, but it's a store tradition and we're all excited to spend some time together outside of the store. On the other hand, I have definitely encountered some of the more tense aspects of our business. Last month we had a bride who's seamstress cut off the gown's train when she wasn't supposed to. We managed to get the girl a new dress, but it didn't arrive until four days before her wedding. I've also had a trans-gender bride, and several with scars from cutting laddered up and down their arms. I've learned to monitor my reactions and listen before speaking, that's for sure. I still love the people I work with, have never been in an environment where I don't dread a shift with anybody. At the moment, I'm a little worn down, low on energy recourses, but on the whole, this is still the best day job I've ever had.
In October, I'm in a staged reading of Cymbeline with the Portland Actors Ensemble. Staged reading means that we have our scripts onstage with us, set/costumes are minimal, and so is rehearsal time. This opportunity is great because it is a paid gig, gets my foot in the door with PAE, and involves minimal time away from Adam or Charlotte's.
I believe I'll be in a show for Lunacy Stageworks in February. We're doing a show that I've been in love with for six years, and one of the benefits of being on the board of a theater company, is not only can we produce a project close to my heart, I can pull some strings to have my favorite role! It's actually been really gratifying how much everybody else has loved and jumped on board with this show as much as I have.
We're getting ready to re-start the fall session of our lifegroup as well. We've lost a few faces and are anticipating adding a few new ones. We may also be adjusting our schedule/format, based on what everyone feels like they need. I think Adam and I are both busy enough to feel a little relieved at relinquishing some of the leadership of the group, letting decisions be a little less guided. Although, Adam's change in schedule with Starbucks has so far been nothing but a blessing. Yesterday was the first Sunday since we moved here that he hasn't had to work (apart from ones he's officially requested off, naturally). It was a little bazaar getting to spend the whole afternoon together. We actually got to do Sunday lunch with other church couples and then attended the church's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest."
I'm definitely more optimistic about this fall and winter than I was last year. I'm going to force myself on a strict cycle of vitamin D and B12, potentially even a little dose of tanning beds when I get desperate. While I love the milder winters, I don't want to deal with the depression like I did last winter. However, we're definitely more grounded, we have friends, as a couple and individually. While Adam's school is throwing a new wrench in our schedule/finances, I feel like we're developing an amazing support system here and that feels like such a blessing.
