Thriving vs Surviving

Graham turned 27 just about two weeks ago and I never did put up a Happy Birthday post, horror of horrors! I don't get much screen time these days (is that the hip term?) We are the proud owners of only ONE computer, a laptop with a cracked/damaged screen, and a now functional keyboard thanks to my bringing it in for checkups at the PC Dr. Oh, but I will add that I did manage to take the laptop apart ALL BY MYSELF and remove the old keyboard to see if I could figure out the source of the problem. I'm talking bits and pieces all over the kitchen kind of apart. Ok so maybe I had my engineer brother on the line walking me through the process but still, I was the one doing the dirty work! Not that it fixed the problem or anything...Anyway.

So we only have one computer and Graham gets first dibs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because of school and schoolwork. Unfortunately, these seem to be my only free days to blog which means very little blogging occurs which saddens me greatly. I'm not trying to complain, more just explain my absence (and maybe why a PC Book will be making an appearance on my bday wish list).

But back to the title of this post. My mother-in-law wrote a little note in Graham's bday card saying that her prayer is that we not only survive these next couple years but that we thrive. The timing of these wise words couldn't have been better as this has been an almost-daily topic of conversation in our house.

We are busy, so busy. Graham hasn't been able to kick the feeling that he is drowning in assignments and papers since we arrived home from France. Between him working three 12 hour shifts a week and spending two days of about the same length attending class and doing homework, us girls don't see him very much. I've been doing my best to hold down the fort and take care of minor Mrs. Fix-It kind of things around here (hence my taking apart the laptop). I do ok at some things but certainly do not remember everything as shown by our Jetta that we thought was going to need a new engine due to running on no oil (Oops! We later learned that a leak was the suspected culprit while we were away in France but I couldn't help feeling somewhat responsible). Life is crazy and not only in a we-have-a-new-baby-and-we're-adjusting sort of way, although I'm sure that's part of it.

We continue to talk about how blessed we are to have each other and a precious daughter, jobs, health care, enough $$$ to pay for grad school and still have a little left over for fun. But so often we take all the Lord's blessings for granted. We really want to cherish these years. There certainly are moments where we wonder whether school was the right decision for us, whether it is worth spending so much time apart from each other and from Isla, particularly when we don't quite know what Graham's career path will be when he is finished.

This is an ongoing conversation. How do we thrive in this busy, busy phase? It won't last forever (we hope!) but we definitely don't want these next two years to go by "wasted." We continue to cling to the knowledge that the Lord practically flung the doors open and shoved Graham through to be accepted into this program right now. We don't know how all the pieces will come together and thinking about it overwhelms me. So for now, I'm working on ignoring the big picture because that remains a mystery, and instead focusing on each day, savoring the special moments I do get to share with those I love.

So there you have it, a few thoughts that have been running through my head.