Pain in the neck

I've had this pain in my neck since April or May where the back of my neck gets so tense it's hard to turn my head to the side or to bring my chin to my chest. Nice, huh? Sounds like a stress reaction, doesn't it? Even better, it only happened on work days; Saturdays, Sundays, and vacation days were completely pain-free. I blamed my work, thinking the kids were literally pains in the neck.

It turns out I might have been unfair to them, though. The true culprit might have been something else altogether: My office chair.

Whaaa?

Today is the first day in months that my neck hasn't killed. Today is also my first day with our new desk chair from IKEA. Coincidence? I think not. Seriously, I think this new chair is making a world of difference already--no more pain in the neck for me!

And now if you'll excuse me, I think I owe an apology to 7 toddlers and preschoolers.

Proof that I'm a rockstar at tie-dyeing

See, JPP?

Singing Bee

Why do I always love the corniest shows?

That's all.

HP7

Let's talk about Harry Potter, shall we?

Not the HP7 plot, mind you--I wouldn't give that away for love or money. Instead, let's talk about the fact that my brother Orca was supposed to buy himself a copy, read it, and then send it north to Petunia and me. We expected to receive it next week or the week after next.

Yesterday I heard a thud in our entryway, and guess what was there? A brand new copy of the book, just for us!

I finished it 10 minutes ago.

It's really good.

Thank you so much, Orca and Beluga, for thinking of us! It was such a happy (and very welcome) surprise!

Time heals an old wound

Several years ago I worked at a local nonprofit. I loved it there--my clients were amazing and my coworkers were outstanding. The 4 of us on staff were a tight team, all completely committed to our clients. I worked there happily for several years and I still count it as the most important work I've ever done.

Things ended badly at the nonprofit, however. Relationships between coworkers deteriorated as one person left for school, another left for a different nonprofit job, and I left to take a fellowship. The 4th person was left to run the place with a completely new staff and no support. It was a horrible time--I cried every morning and night for a couple of months before I finally resigned.

After leaving, I was messed up for a long time. Things were said during those last 2 months that made me doubt the very core of myself. It took a couple of years for the pain to lift enough for me to understand why things ended so horribly. It was crazy--for a while I felt like I was losing my mind. Once I got some distance, though, I realized all the good I did while I worked there. I also regained the pride and confidence I lost when I left. Still, I avoided the folks I knew from there; I didn't want to be reminded of such a dark time.

However, at Pride I ran into one of those old coworkers. [Frickkin' Pride!] She was with her family and I was with Hester and Petunia. Her partner--maybe wife now?--cooed over the baby while I exclaimed over her child. She and I exchanged pleasantries, then she hugged me a couple of times. She said something about moving on from Ye Olde Nonprofit herself.

And it was strange...in those few minutes with her I finally got some closure about those last 2 months at the nonprofit. Maybe it was knowing that none of the old guard was still on staff; maybe it was seeing her and thinking, "Wow, I've missed her." I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I felt good about seeing her. Like I'd come back into my own, if that makes sense.

Hmm.

The Big 3-0

Hey, whaddaya know--I'm thirty years old today!

It feels like a triumph in lots of ways. When I was a teenager I couldn't see myself living to age 30, and now here I am: Still kicking and lucky beyond belief.

Hey, it's my half-birthday!

No wonder today's date looked familiar. Six more months till my 30th birthday!