Anticipate

I haven’t posted since I got my new job. I am shocked and appalled by this.

To be fair, I’ve actually written a few blog posts but they are tucked neatly into word documents on my laptop that haven’t yet made it to eyes other than mine.

I wrote four entries for my church’s Lenten devotional and though they were short I was surprised how much they took out of me. And how much I loved writing in that way.
2011 has been quite different that I’d assumed. 2010 was a year of death and loss, but in a way it was predictable—many of those losses I could anticipate, even as I couldn’t fully comprehend their scope.

2011 has been just the opposite. In the first two months of 2011 I got laid off, got a dog and got a new job, three actions I did not expect were I asked on January 1. I’ve begun to at least attempt to do some freelance writing in between but have found my time sucked up by the aforementioned canine and occupation (and I decided to watch the entire series of “Alias” which didn’t help the time suck). Those three sonic booms have drastically shaped my every day.

I didn’t set out to get a dog. She appeared because some friends found her and couldn’t keep her. No one came forward to claim the little 30-lb beagle stray. I named her Patsy Cline. She is what the Cajuns call a lagniappe—a small, unexpected gift—who has blessed me in her own ways. I can’t believe the joy and stability she’s brought. I walk 3-5 miles a day now; I get up at a decent hour and don’t stay out too late. I worry about another life that belongs to me. I love her and that is frightening.

My new job has me traveling to seven cities across North America in the coming months with the potential for more in the future. I love to travel and am thrilled at this addition. I’m ready to get moving again.

Spring is the season of resurrection. Somehow I forget that every year and get waylaid by the senses it brings. This year I’m feeling it more acutely than ever before.