If you don’t have skin, you probably struggle, too.

Life isn’t easy.  At all.

Sure, there are bright and happy moments.  Like wedding days full of sunshine. Summers with bubbles and lightning bugs.

But seriously.  Struggles can eclipse the joys of life.

As is typical for me, I am struggling with transitions.  There are so many on the horizon and some even going on right now.

For instance, The Hunk and I both get a little sad when campus students leave for the summer.  Borderline depressed, actually.  We actually like those kids. A lot. Even when they frustrate us and remind us of how old we are–even though we really aren’t that old.

This and other transitions are really taking a lot of our brain time.  How do we help people who will be left in the wake of our transitions? How do we join in together with a new purpose when neither of us really know what that will even look like at this point? Should we buy a house? That’s another transition; are we ready for that? How do we help those around us deal with their transitions, too? How do we really know that these transitions are timely?

So, there you have it.

What are you struggling with?

Love,

Here are my fave five:

1. BleuDress: I love reading about Jessica’s adventures as a military wife.  I know her IRL* and I love how the both of us actually encourage one another IRL and through social and digital media.
2. Bobbi + Mike: These are my all-time favorite photographers.  Jessica actually introduced them to me when she was wedding planning and I was… well, engaged.  I love following their photography and dream of one day being on their blog as photographed subjects.
3. Seth’s Oasis: Well, of course, I am a huge fan of the Hunk.  IRL He’s awesome.  IRL he’s incredible. IRL I call myself blessed to be his wife.
4. Hyperbole and a Half: She hasn’t posted to this site on a regular basis in a while, but I find her humor and wit to be brilliant.
5. Web 2.0 Classroom: This blog is what I consider to be the center of my professional Professional Learning Network (PLN).  I’ve never bet this guy in real life, but he knows his way around technology and education.

Her name? Faye Hammons.

She introduced my parents to one another.  Well, she and probably a ton of other people claim to have done that.

But she was, um, … well, kind of gross.

I wrote a short story once for my fiction workshop class and described her clearly.

The class pretty much decided she wasn’t a believable character. But I really didn’t exaggerate on my description of her.

She would chase us down to get kisses from us.  I hid behind my dad and was sometimes able to escape her, but my sister would run and eventually lose the battle. She’d get kissed.

Once, this lady paid a little boy a dollar if he’d let her kiss him.

He lost too.

Hauntingly,

This is my favorite picture of me.

Why, you ask?

It was Easter morning. My hair practically fixed itself… in a good way. I never feel pretty in selfies, but I did in this case. I also know that I was genuinely happy. Content. Authenticity can be difficult to catch on purpose.

Why do I look so good in white?

Joyfully,

Like the originator of this writing prompt, I cannot think of things that act as my cross to bear. I’m impatient sometimes, but who isn’t?

The only thing that I can think of would be my insatiable desire to always see things improve. Always. Don’t get me wrong. This benefits me greatly professionally and academically. It benefits me insofar as I have control. Once I cannot control the level of excellence something may attain, I have severe problems. I struggle to handle things. My impatience meter explodes. I want to give up.

This even applies to me. For instance: Once, I tried sewing. I became frustrated because I wasn’t an instant natural and expert. I cried. Silliness. I then became frustrated that I had these feelings and couldn’t control them. Things seemed to spiral out of control.

Dumb.

But I have a great life with a wonderful husband and family. So, other complaints are just static.

Love,