It seems that life is either too busy to write, or there's nothing going on to write about.  Funny how that works.  Tonight is a night of drifting thoughts, brought on in part by events and in part by sorting through some boxes that I've yet to truly unpack....cardboard containing fragments of another life.

I came across a picture of myself, my sister, and a friend of ours standing on a beach in northern Michigan.  The picture was taken during a good time in our lives.  We were close to each other and life was reletively simple.  Since then life has moved all three of us in very different directions, although my sister and our friend have kept in touch neither plays much of a role in my life as it stands now.  I miss what was there, but for some things there is simply no way back and I believe this is one of those things.  I've been saying a lot of goodbyes lately.

Still no job prospects for this fall.  I'm not terribly surprised but I'd hoped to at least be one of the ones called in for an interview.  On the upside, things are tight but we really aren't doing too bad with what we have now.  Justin and I both enjoy our jobs (most of the time) and we almost never have to work meeting nights.  Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, giving me time to get my priorities in order and a spiritual schedule set up and going strong with my easier work schedule now, so that when I am given a shot at a teaching job, I'll be able to maintain my progress despite the increased secular workload.

Going through the boxes I also found several of my stuffed animals from different times in my life - the teddy bear that I slept with until my late teens (at which point his head had to be sewed back on), the elephant that I bought for Justin (at some point before we got married) when he was sick, and the stuffed dog we traded in our arcade tickets for on our honeymoon.  There's something innately comforting about holding those small bits of softness.  I guess there are some ways that we don't really grow up, and I don't really mind.  I think the world should have more pieces of comfort and happy floating around to hold on to when you need them.

This is me.  If you're missing a few pieces, that's okay, so am I.

-- Vanessa