On the Road Again

This post is dedicated to my high school friend, Ellen Blalock. It is not really about her, but she prompted me to start writing again. In a lovely text she wrote, "You need to start blogging again. I miss hearing about your funny life." I am not going to question whether people read this blog to laugh at the abnormally bizarre things that happen to me - but the people have spoken, and I will write.

I have been in a funk lately, which always happens around January and February. It started earlier this winter so I tried to fill the void with food. This backfired when I tried to squeeze into a dress for Mike's birthday dinner and popped out of it. So I started running again and am feeling much better. One of the reasons I am trying to get back into shape is because my college roommate JENNY DRAFFIN is ENGAGED! We are so excited for her and looking forward to celebrating with her and her fiance Kevin in July. I recognize that I am not the one who will be walking down the aisle, but I feel as though I should look good for her special day. :-)

I have been frustrated because I feel like I have been searching for a career for years. I have made a lot of choices that were not conducive to a long term job, but I am ready for a consistent, reliable job where I am able to interact with people and feel like I am making a difference in people's lives. I want a job where I am excited to get up and go to work, rather than counting down the hours until I get to leave. Is this too much to ask? 

Mike really loves it when I start talking about this. He says I brood about things and should be happy and thankful to have a place to go that wants to provide us with money for food and bills each month. My favorite quote from him with respect to this issue: "Jenny, do you think coal miners come home every night complaining about their jobs?" Well yes Michael, I do. I think that they probably come home happy that the mine did not collapse in on them and worried that they may develop lung cancer as a result of their work. (Horrible argument.) Anyway, last night Mike made the comment that he is not sure I will ever find a job where I am happy. I give you this picture as evidence against him:

While I didn't ever plan to show anyone this, all things seem to be fair game on the blog. How many people come home from the pizza parlor and say, "I can't wait to put on my high topped black shoes and go back to work tomorrow!" And while Mike's parents, and secretly, my mother, may want me to pull an Octomom and start popping out babies, we just are not ready. My father continues to tell me he is too young to be a grandfather. (Keep telling yourself that buddy....) 

The point of this blog is....I am running again.I started Sunday with my legs shaking, my hip aching and my collar bones? hurting. Even though I was moving at the pace of a woman with a broken hip, I was outside and I felt great when I finished. Today I headed into the 70 degree weather and felt even better. I will continue looking for jobs and hope to get things a little more stable around here. We are happy and healthy and I AM thankful for the job(s) that I have. I just want more....