Life has seasons ... we've all been through them or going through them.   Right now, my life feels like its entering a season of changes. 

There are things moving around at work that could lead to a change in position and honestly, I'm not sure its the right move for me right now.  It would be a good move for my career ... an excellent move in fact.  But, it requires up to 50% travel some weeks and that's not a good thing for my family.  In fact, that's not even a possibility for my family.  Justin simply doesn't have the availability in the evenings to be home if I'm gone 3 nights or more a week.  So, how do I manage my career in a way that, if the travel question can't be resolved, I don't damage my long-term viability?  No matter what people give lip service to, there's a difference between asking a mom to travel for work and asking a dad to do the same.  Men simply have it easier on that front.  So, there's change in the air at work and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

It feels like there's change getting ready to happen in my personal life as well.  You know that little voice you get in the back of your mind (I call him God ... )?  Its been whispering lately that He's getting ready to shake some things up in my life, that I've gotten complacent in a few areas and that's not acceptable.  I'm already thinking of finding a new church home (thank you God for sitting me next to some of The Village pastors on my flight home from Minneapolis Wednesday!).  But that's not the end of it I don't think.  Its time to get healthy physically and spiritually and that's going to require a lot of change.  I have habits, or a lack of habits, that need to be dropped or picked up. 

And I have become complacent, I can admit that.  I'm comfortable with where my life is and if there's one things I've learned so far, God doesn't leave me in a place of comfort very long.  I've been here a while, just curled up in my easy chair of life, doing what I do best and praising God for a time of peace.  But just like Nature changes her seasons, I think this season will be coming to a close.  I equate it to the stirrings that Nature must feel when the coziness of winter and hibernation come to an end and roots awaken to the emergence of Spring.  There will probably be a few showers, maybe even a good thunderstorm or two, but ultimately, growth.  Growth is the antithesis of complacency.  And so I say, change is in the air.

I've never really believed much in the power of a suggestion to influence reality, until it happened to me.  I've been wonderfully happy, challenged and fulfilled at work ever since I started here 4 1/2 years ago.  I work for a great company, one that believes in its employees and their development.  Oddly enough, its that committment to employee development that's started this conundrum I find myself in.

See, a few weeks ago, our director came to me asking if I'd be interested in working on a special project that would require some extra travel back and forth between Dallas and New Jersey, our headquarters.  Of course, I was excited about this prospect.  One of the reasons that he gave for wanting me to work on this was he was afraid I would be getting bored if I didn't have a challenge to work on ... something out of my comfort zone.  The thought of being bored at work had never crossed my mind until then.

Fast forward to the present ... you guessed it ... I'm bored!  Not bored out of my mind but definately realizing that I'm tired of doing the same old things, running the same old reports, etc.  I wonder, if he had never suggested that I might start finding work boring, would I feel this way right now?

I mean this with all love but the Cookie Fairies in our office are going to be the bane of my existence this holiday season!  We have two wonderful ladies who cook all manner of treats during December and bring a new batch in every Monday for the office to devour.  And believe me, we devour them.  They are delicious, yummy and in some cases (like the Red Velvet Cake and the Buckeyes, both of which have yet to appear) they are simply sinful in their goodness.

But I'm trying to lose the extra 13 pounds I've been carrying around since before I got pregnant!  I may have a lot of will power in other areas of my life, but I've got a serious sweet tooth and every time I walk in the kitchen for another class of water or to stash my pump bag in the fridge, its a fight.  One one shoulder is the voice saying "don't eat that ... you're trying to be healthy and set a good example for Little Bit" and on the other shoulder is the devil saying "but its only once a year and you can be good after Christmas and by the way, remember how good it tastes!"  ARGH!!!

Some days are better than others, which is why, today being a Friday, I think I'll be able to behave.  Because all my favorites are gone ... until Monday rolls around and it starts all over again.

So, my baby girl got to play hooky from daycare yesterday because she had "the crud".  Yes, that's what our pediatrician's official diagnosis was on Friday before he promptly said she was well enough for her second flu shot, ordered it up and sent us on our way.  All weekend, we battled "the crud" and kept her home yesterday so she could rest up and battle "the crud" some more.  I went to bed last night, actually looking forward to being at work today because I'd had my fill of bodily fluids.  From snotty noses to drool to incredibly impressive poopy diapers, I was done with bodily fluids.

So, I drop my little sweetheart off at daycare this morning, feeling slightly guilty about it since she still wasn't feeling 100%, more like 80%, but thinking she'd be fine.  Two hours later, daycare calls and she's got a 102 degree fever.  Drumroll please ... cue up mommy guilt ... and action.

Thankfully, Dad was able to take a sick day and dashed off to daycare, then the doctor's office.  I'm awaiting the call with the verdict and hoping we get something more specific than "the crud" this time.  I'll be home with her tomorrow and I'm really hoping she's feeling better, not just for her sake either.