it is always something...

"It is always something" is a phrase that seems to be repeated in our family a lot. Something is always coming up, going wrong or causing stress in our household. I have been keeping you updated about our pest situation, which I have to say is getting better. We haven't seen any ticks in days!! Yay!!!  But the tick situation is just one "something" that is happening in our life. A friend of mine told me recently that I sound like I really have it together. I had to laugh because that is about as far from the truth from how I feel! This move has made me feel so discombobulated! We have been living and trying to run businesses out of boxes and bags for too long now.  I actually FINALLY found my cell phone charger tonight so I can FINALLY charge my phone now and use it!

A few days ago Mark and I took all the babies to the beach on the north side of the Ringling Bridge for dinner and to play. We were hoping for a relaxing, fun time, but of course... it is always something! Fisher cut his foot very badly while playing in the water on an oyster shell. It was bleeding so badly and we spent the majority of our time tending to his foot because we could not get it to stop bleeding. Once we got home we cleaned the cut and bandaged it up. We couldn't help but laugh at his little peg leg.

We were trying to get him to say "argh" like a pirate. The next morning Fisher jumped onto our bed, somehow aggravated his foot and bled all over our sheets and comforter. It is ALWAYS something!!

These two silly examples are nothing in comparison to what can really happen in life. Something that I have learned as I have matured is that NOBODY'S life is simple, easy, or definitely perfect. Everyone has stress in their lives from the millionaire flying in his jet to the man flipping hamburgers at McDonald's. Even if someone on the outside looks so put together and seems to be handling life's challenges with grace and ease, on the inside they still have struggles they battle with. Two of my closest friends have been courageously fighting their own battles recently. They DO have grace and inspire me through their challenges. One of these friends is one of my closets friends, Anne, who is battling cancer. I saw her today and it felt soooo good to hug her. I didn't want to let go. I wanted her to feel how much I had missed her while in Colorado, how much I had been thinking of her, and how much I loved her. But I think I was also feeling the strength and will of her spirit (that has always been so beautiful) and I felt such warmth in that.

Life is so unpredictable. Its challenges teach me that through it all we somehow find inner strength to carry on. I reflect on what lessons I have learned and am thankful for the friends and family in my life that give me the support, love, or recently, the inspiration to manage the "somethings".