Three weeks of a new school year have rushed by in a heated blur, to say the least. I have gotten to know many new students and their parents, been impressed with both, and worked like crazy to get everything in my world organized. There have been many days that I have wanted to sit down and record some things, but time slipped away and so did my inspiration. Tired doesn't cover it. Busy is too small a word for what life has looked like recently.
However, I have been blessed with some amazing experiences the past few days.
First of all, I got to be in on a great surprise for my wonderful parents: my middle brother, Rickey (aka That Crazy Texan, check out his blog on Blogspot), rode his motorcycle out for a visit. We were blessed with a couple of great visits with him and the rest of my local immediate family, but for me one of the coolest memories I will carry from this week was from a great experience shared just between Rickey and me. I had mentioned earlier in the week that I would love to ride with him, but there wasn't a helmet for me. He showed up the next time at my house with a red helmet that he bought just so we could ride with him. I climbed on the back of his bike, a beautiful blue Honda Goldwing with every possible bell and whistle, including an impressive stereo, on a warm evening, for the first time in 25 years. He drove me all around my dusk-covered hometown, perfect breeze washing over us, beautiful moon shining down, while The Beatles played on the stereo, and I remembered. I remembered how I first heard The Beatles, the soundtrack of my childhood, because Rickey played the records in our parents' home. I remembered how I would beg him to take me for a ride when I was a little girl and feel so special when he would let me climb on behind him and roar off, in for adventure. I remembered all the years that passed between then and now and how much we had both changed, too, but mostly I knew that evening would be something always remembered.
Friday night my awesome Student Council kids (with a bit of help from me :-)) pulled off our first student event of the year. I was incredibly proud to see how they all worked together, how they all already get that Student Council is more about serving others (as Jesus served) rather than being in charge of things. They made sure their classmates had opportunities to step out of their comfort zones to socialize, play sports, enjoy fun music, and just hang out with each other. Their hard work paid off and their event was a huge success. So proud of them. So glad we're past that first event.
Yesterday James and I finished our 6th week of Insanity. The second month started this past Monday, and Month Two's workouts are brutal. I am proud of us for persevering in spite of a very busy season of our lives. I feel so strong and I can't wait to see what the end results will look like. Three weeks remain, I have some pounds that still need to come off, but I have noticed that food is less and less of an issue for me. I seem to have lost some of the desire for the wrong kinds of food, don't feel that I need to have sweets anymore, and am looking at how food can fuel me and serve me, rather than filling the need of putting me in a better frame of mind. Still waiting to see how it will work to maintain all that I've worked for, as I've said before, that's where I falter.
Hopefully, as we settle into routine a bit more, life will seem less of a blur. But I know I learn a lot in the midst of the blur, that God will provide these wonderful moments within the blur that remind me of how much He is working in my life.