labor day!

slept in today. mmmm.. love that! i wish i could sleep in everyday.

got up. removed my eye 'bandages'. and got to work on the new office. we got a desk from the dousts in exchange for jon's recliner, so we put it in our front room (which on our floor plan is the dining room). jon had put the desk together already so this morning i moved my office stuff into it and then put the bookshelf into place and filled it.

then i moved my art stuff from the back room into my front room. i still have a lot of work to do in there but right now am just trying to get things into the right rooms.

in our guest room i sorted out all the stuff we want to sell at a garage sale, tidied up, and you can actually see the floor in there. also washed the sheets from the futon and put them away in the chest of drawers.

then i took a shower and woke up jon so we could go to B&Gs for a BBQ. bro was so pleased that he'd picked up a tuna steak for me but i didn't like it and felt horrible that i didn't like it. mom kind of picked on me a little about it saying how expensive they are to buy and i felt horribler. i felt like an ungrateful little brat when they just wanted to do something kind for me. and mom brought sushi rolls thinking i liked those. blech. but brian talked me into eating one of them and i liked it. the other one i didn't and had to spit it out.

i love that my family thinks of me and wants to get things for me that they thing i will like, and i just feel so awful when i don't like it. i tried to like the tuna, but i just couldn't.

we took the kids outside and played frisbee, nerf football, and some lacrosse-like thing. i was terrible at it but it was fun anyway.

then we came inside, they ate pie and i had some chips ahoy cookies while we watched freedom writers. awesome movie. jan did a great job recommending it!

now i'm at home getting laundry and dishes done so i can leave tomorrow morning for worship arts dept retreat. we'll be away 2 nights. i hope jan will be able to get rest. i feel like i've not done enough to help her with it.

well.. gotta put laundry in the dryer and do my eye drops. dr appt tomorrow at 8am!

a night with eric & teri

for the past few weeks i've been 'dealing' with eye issues.

i decided to have laser surgery on my eyes. it seemed a cost effective decision for me given that i pay for daily contacts. but due to excessively dry eyes, i've experienced some complications - stria in my left corneal flap resulting in having to relift it and smooth it down, punctum plugs in my tear ducts, restasis (a drop therapy to help my body produce more tears on its own). and now i've got a clear contact over my left lens to help it heal. i get it looked at on tuesday morning to determine if i can take it off or if i have to keep wearing it and how my eye is doing in general. what i thought would be an in-and-out procedure has been more of an ordeal.

having said that, i'm very happy with the treatment i've received from the carter eye center. they've taken very good care of me.

tonight we went to erik & teri's for dinner and to hang out. the boys spent a lot of time talking about their game. we spent a lot of time lamenting about the boys' game. it helps a little knowing i'm not the only one who deals with the stress of an addicted spouse, but it does not make it easier to deal with it. i get so frustrated sometimes that i hardly know what to do.

it has been good for my prayer life, i can at least give it that.

but we came home and he got on the computer. i'm going to bed alone. again.

then i brought up a terrible subject. i had no idea the tension it would cause when i simply asked, "do you guys get along with your in-laws?"

apprently, teri does not get along very well with erik's mom. and erik has declared he will no longer be the mediator. it was a much longer story than this, but that's all i will recount here. suffice it to say my MIL is a dreamboat in contrast. not that she's difficult at all, she's just not my mom. you know? we get partial to our own and aren't used to the way others treat their kids. but i have no butting heads, no control issues, no getting into our business to contend with. i don't have the stereotypical in-law r'ship that you hear about in the movies. yea God.

i wrote another piece today called string of pearls. it feels good to come up with things again - to see connections, to find the stories inside me. it feels really good.