Reset

Life is getting back to normal. By "normal," I mean that things are weird and always changing. After a summer full of out-of-town trips almost every other week, we are settling back into our home. When I (Scott) returned from my high school reunion, I put my traveling toiletry bag away for the first time in two months. Lauren is staying home with Will and getting him used to a schedule (again). Frank and Cracker seem sooooo happy that we aren’t leaving them all alone every other week. I feel like Samwise Gamgee did at the end of the Lord of the Rings when he said, “I’m back.”

Will seems happy to be home. However, I think that he misses the new faces every week. He grew quite accustomed to having new people “ooh” and “ah” over him every couple of days. One thing is for sure, he LOVES attention from others. Unfortunately, he has been slightly sick for the past 36 hours. He has been running a fever and feeling icky. Yea! And this is just in time for him to start school (for those who don’t know, school=daycare). He actually had to miss his first day today :(

We are also trying to sell our ’94 Honda Accord. We have had it for about 4 years. I’m rather sad getting rid of it. It is a great car, but we need to get rid of one. Do you know anyone who needs a mid-sized sedan that gets about 30 mpg on the highway? You know where to find us!!!

Fall is an odd time of year. It is the beginning of school. It feels as if everything (not just school) resets or starts over. In the youth group, we are having to go over stuff again in class that I have taught numerous times before. High school extracurricular activities are revving up. College freshmen are nervously about to begin the most important 4 (or more) years of their lives. Sporting events are right around the bend. We have to decide how our home life will be with a 1 year old in the house. We have to start thinking about Christmas shopping (only 100+ days of shopping left). We have to plan our holiday travels and vacation time. I have to start my grad classes VERY soon (after I register for them and get the books!!!). We are planning a garage sale and are deciding what stays and what goes. We have to decide what is important enough to remain a part of our lives and our son’s life. Even though we are almost ¾ of the way through the year, it feels as though it is starting all over.

Starting over can be a very good thing. “The unexamined life is not worth living,” or so said Socrates. This is one of those many times when our life is examined and a new course is chosen. This is the time for the unnecessary ballast to be thrown overboard and our sails to be filled with wind. This is when the course can be altered and a new destination chosen. Gone are the hindrances of the past. Gone are the things that kept us from reaching our goals. Gone are the moments when we chose not to live up to our potential. Gone are the things that needlessly clutter our lives. Gone is the aimless life lived without a plan. From here on out; we live deliberately; we live with hope and wonderful expectation; we reach for our potential and do not let pessimistic realism overshadow our idealistic expectation of the way things could/should be.