Home is where the heart is

The past two weeks have gone by quickly and it has kinda felt like a roller coaster of emotions as well. Last week I only worked three days because of a huge snowstorm we received Tuesday night. We ended up with more than two feet total. It was a complete winter wonderland. So I enjoyed two days off work baking cookies, making homemade chili and cornbread, sipping tea, journaling, and watching movies. It was nice to have some down time especially since I have been sick now for the past two weeks.

This week of work went well. It is a new month, so I work with different participants and once again have to discover where they live and what "tricks" make the day go a little smoother. It was a fairly normal week, nothing really out of the ordinary. Friday I enjoyed getting a tour of Celestial Seasonings...from now on when you sip a cup of their tea, remember that Boulder is the only packaging center in the United States and people all around the world are enjoying Celestial's flavored drinks. They give free tours and free samples. In the afternoon, we visited Colorado University's planetarium. We viewed the solar system and learned about constellations and also gained some knowledge about how sound works. For office work this past week, I complied data from surveys completed this summer on Out and About's summer camp, both from instructors and families. It was interesting to see what positives and negatives there were and what trends are apparent. My supervisor spoke with me and said she would like for me to help the after-school programmer in organizing and planning some events for this upcoming summer camp. I am excited for the prospect because I think it will allow me to use some of my gifts in leadership, organizing, and planning. I don't know exactly where I will help in planning, but it might be fun to do arts and crafts or sports and games. O&A has a great summer camp and hires 40-50 additional Rec Instructors to assist. There will likely be a few improvements made, but otherwise it should be a good summer.

Halloween weekend I wasn't feeling very good, and when that happens in a new town with no family around or mom and dad to make you chicken noodle soup- I felt like I was in a valley. Just kinda lonely and thinking to myself, "What am I doing here?" or "What was I thinking signing up for this?". I definitely feel challenged here. I knew it would take a leap of faith to come out to a new town and "start over"... but sometimes you don't realize it until you are actually living it. I think you can make a home wherever you put down roots--it's just a matter of finding good soil. I think they biggest challenge for me, has been socialization. Having a good, steady social group to back you up, check in on you, laugh, dance, play, etc. with is one the keys to happiness in life (I think) and to not immediately have that out here- is tough. But things take time and slowly the pace increases. I have been occasionally hanging out with co-workers and just last night some of them were playing music at a coffee shop- which led to seeing other co-workers and hanging out for the rest of the evening. So I definitely feel accepted and enjoy their company. I know that this year is good for me--strengthening my character, serving those around me and the Lord, gaining experience, meeting new people with different backgrounds, the list goes on. The majority of the time, I know this is GOOD. And God is good...so I continue to hold my head high.

Overall, things are good for me. Still getting over a cold and coughing a lot. This Wednesday is Veteran's day and a paid holiday, so looks like a four day week for me. Tomorrow I hope to go to the zoo as it is another free day.

Psalm 67:1-2

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.