I'm back

You probably weren't aware that I was gone, but I've been wrestling all week with a computer that would not work right, in spite of my attempts at cleaning it up. Last night, Nick realized his desktop from college had a comparable amount of space, and all it needed was windows XP, which the broken laptop had. So, several hours of installation later, here I am, on a computer that actually works. Nifty. "New" computer. For free. Doesn't look quite as sophisticated, but if it's functional and free, we'll work with it.

Things have been kind of three steps forward, two steps back around here, so I haven't really had much to say anyway.

It reminds me a little of what I was talking about last week, actually. Sometimes you gotta throw your entire agenda out the window and sit and read books on the couch. Or watch kids' movies all day. Or get in the car and drive until everybody feels better...or at least falls asleep.

I think we tend to pity each other when life is like this, because we feel terribly guilty about it when our own lives look like this. In reality, sometimes life is survival. Sometimes it's hanging on to each other because you are committed to each other. Sometimes you take a step back and realize that some of the "stuff" that's been occupying your thoughts and energy isn't worth what you've put into it, and there is some course correction to be done.

I know I'm being somewhat cryptic. I don't expect you have any idea what I'm talking about. I guess the bottom line of what I'm trying to communicate is this: families are about sticking together - through good times, crisis times, and times when things are in-between (I think the in-between times are the hardest). So, we stick together, stay on the same team, go to bed early, and hope tomorrow will be more fun.