back to work

I had to climb my way to my chair this morning. My little cubicle was filled with boxes from UPS, USPS, FedEx, and more. What could they all be? Early Christmas presents? Not quite. They were 15 new entries for a design competition that I manage as part of my "assistant" editor duties. I hope to have as that many again greet me by the end of the week.

So needless to say, I got little done today that would qualify as editing. But there's always tomorrow.

I had a nice long vacation, a nice long time to have a lingering cold. Harrumph. Even with my little sniffles, I was able to enjoy some good family time. Every year I'm amazed at how every one has grown (in maturity—height would be asking too much), how much older my cousins are (the youngest can't be in college, that blows my mind), and how much we miss throughout the year.

My cousin's wife (who I absolutely adore) graduated from college this last year with a degree in education. My cousin had been working as a youth pastor and music director (and had another job that paid money). They decided to pull up the stakes, sell their home, and move to southern Oklahoma. Now they devote there time to caring for up to 10 Native American teenage girls attending school. My cousin-in-law's sister and her husband are in the same complex watching over the boys.
I can't imagine.

One of my aunt's brought a small loom to work on her weaving, and I'm reminded of my desire to make. Be it by loom or needle or ink or some other instrument, I want to create.