It's the final countdown ...

Yesterday marked the first day of my final master's in communication class! In 13 weeks, I will be done with my degree. I just got goose bumps from typing that. It has been challenging to juggle my education with my other responsibilities, but I am so happy that I never gave up. Believe me, there were days when I strongly considered it.

I have already seen fruits from my labor. Last fall, I had an opportunity to co-teach a freshman communication class. I loved it! It happened because of a connection I made through the MCOM program. I am also helping develop an online course, and talking with a few of my former classmates about co-writing a book (as in there is a published and all).

On days when I question the direction of my day-to-day job, I need to remember that good things still happen when hard work is involved--it just doesn't always happen in the ways we expect them.

Searching for the silver lining

Today I find myself sitting underneath a blanket trying to work from home as I resist the urge to scratch the rashes all over my body. Last week I got the flu and found out the father of two of Emma and Colt's daycare friends died tragically. (This hit me really hard for some reason. Maybe it's because he was the same age as Denny and me or maybe it's because I am empathetic ... sometimes to a fault.) Oh, I should also mention that last week I felt crippled with some form of depression that I sealed (as best I could) deep down so no one would see me so crazy.



Just when I thought my dreary days were coming to a close, I noticed a rash on my leg ... then on my back ... then by my eyes. When Denny got home, he took one look and said it looked like poison ivy. Who gets poison ivy in the dead of winter (the worst winter in a long time)? This girl, that's who.



Denny's best guess is that it was on the firewood I have been carrying inside and throwing in the fireplace. I could scream, but mostly I just want to cry and scratch and eat everything in sight.



I woke up a few times in the night because my eye was bothering me so much. It was swelling more and more. My face is currently swollen and red with a few bumps excreting pus on my nose. I couldn't make this s*it up if I tried. I slid all over the horrible roads (I don't know how I would have made it to work, any way) to get to the urgent care this morning. I don't think they believed me about the poison ivy theory, but who cares. I am definitely having a reaction, so I got a shot and a script for steroids.



I was hoping to go into the office this afternoon, but after the road conditions and the stares I received while in Meijer, I decided to head straight home. BUT, Napoleon Dynamite just came on TV ... things are looking up already.