When I receive bad news it can be struggle to keep looking for the light but I feel like sunrises and field trips you have to dress up for, Natalie's first college basketball game, and beginning softball practice can help keep me going. There may be a lot of hard that we are dealing with right now but there is a lot of good too. And don't worry, I am trying to let myself feel those negative feelings too. Just trying to give as much thought time to the good as the bad.
One thing I really liked celebrating even though Kate said I didn't have to anymore was her half birthday. I tried out a new copycat recipe of Starbuck's Lemon Pound Cake. It deflated but I heard it was "pretty good" and "good but strong." (The Little Caesar's Crazy Bread copycat went over much better.) Kate said no song or photos were necessary either but little did she know I had snuck a photo of her and Hubby working on a very difficult puzzle together a couple days before. They make a good team and it was so fun to be there just to talk... since this puzzle and I do not get along. lol.
Hubby didn't get to try the cake because he was traveling home to attend a good friend's funeral. In this photo from our wedding day Dave is in between Trent and Mark. With such late notice airplane tickets were insanely inflated and Hubby is not allowed to drive over the mountains in winter anymore... so he took the train. He was so good about sending us updates and photos and telling us all about train travel.
I know how many tears can be shed at a funeral for one of your dear friends, especially when they die too young, even if it was due to natural causes. My heart went out to my other half but I really wasn't sure how to help. To me, the best thing I could do was just hold down the fort while he was gone and provide a book for him to read on the train. I picked Matthew Perry's book, Friends, Lovers & The Big Terrible Thing. We both thought it was really, really, heartbreakingly good. From a distance, it was neat to see friends and family gather to celebrate the life of someone so special and to share photos I had never seen before. I am grateful Hubby was able to be there.
I’m also grateful Hubby’s family was already planning on eating dinner together that Sunday. How cute are these two January birthdays together?
The title of this post comes from Michelle being at the salon getting highlights at the same time her dad was at a funeral for someone who was only 45 when he passed away. I tried to keep her entertained by giving her geography quizzes and when she was just sitting there waiting for things to process and tone I made the mistake of getting 4-5" of my hair cut off. Why did I do that? The curl in my perm was starting to fade and Danny suggested get a trim to bring the curl back but I was trying to get my money's worth, I suppose. I truly hate that it is too short in the front to even pull back in a half up but omg I love Michelle's hair so much! It was so fun to drop her off with friends afterward and hear them squeal with delight upon seeing her. It looks even better in real life/sunlight. Totally worth the time and money!
I don’t know if you can see it, but those highlights looked pretty good when I got to listen to her practice on stage that Monday (while Hubby was still on the train). I am grateful for coworkers who let me go out to the den with our students at moments like this. Working full time since Christmas break hasn’t been the easiest but my family and coworkers have definitely made it easier.
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