Writing with a kid on my lap...

I wanted to write something before our Sunday dinner. Let's see how far I can get. The whole family is here. A little boy with loving eyes refuses to give me any alone time...and I love it.

I'm told that when your life is busy you lose all sense of time. Such is my life. I've had my six hands full for the past several months, and I'm enjoying everything I'm doing. I haven't been very good at posting in my blog, but as I have said several times in the past, I will do my best to remedy that.

I have been spending a lot of time working at the rehab center, where I will become a full-time intervention counselor when my schooling qualifications are met. I will be involved in teaching, too. While the center maintains strict standards for intervention and rehabilitation, it seems that there are loose guidelines at times, mostly because every person who enters the center is an individual. I am understandably excited about the time I'm spending there, and even more excited about the prospect of working there. It's payback time. I've grown fond of a volunteer, who happens to remind me of another volunteer who changed my life, and he says, "I hope to make a difference in one life...one hug at a time." Amen to that.

I'm also involved with a little light reading, such as "Suicidal Tendencies in Adolescents - Knowing the Signs" or other gut wrenching reading. Understandably, I've put this first in my life. I do have time for play, however.

I do get to work from time to time, but I have begun to cherish the weekends. David and I do enjoy our time together, and we recently spent a very cold week at the condo on the beach. He threw another log on the fire, and we snuggled. But there's no fireplace. :D

I spent a week at my father's home in Phoenix before Christmas. We had a very nice visit. His wife insisted on making sure I gained five pounds before I left. I think she achieved her goal.

Christmas was very nice. It was nice to be home for Christmas, as I recall prior years spent at Habitat for Humanity, and in Bali. I had a lot to think about, and I had a lot to be thankful for. Being with family during the Christmas season was a reminder of what Christmas is all about.

I had to deal with a minor eye infection in my right eye recently, which meant I had to wear my glasses. For once in my life I missed my contacts. How do people wear glasses, anyway? I always find myself pushing them up my nose like a geek. I sat behind a boy in sixth grade who spent half his waking hours pushing his glasses up his nose. His name was Artie, and I kept referring to myself as Artie. By the way, Artie is a 22-year-old millionaire now, drawing cartoons for various publications like children's books and advertising media. But I digress...I took eye drops, which I swore I could taste. I deal.

I'm about to become an uncle for the second time. The baby, a girl, is due on January 18. It's hard to think of Ethan as the big brother.

I need to stop writing this. Ethan is on my lap, and we need to go to the bathroom. I haven't forgotten to write. I will do my best to write as often as I can. Thank you for understanding. Is something warm running down my leg? Ethan?