More Reflections

Question: What's more self-absorbed than having a blog?
Answer: Posting a picture of yourself on it. Enjoy the scenery at least.

We've been back for a week now, and life certainly has returned to normal in many ways. Rebekah and I both seem permanently different, though. We have had enough normal days to know that our issues are not magically gone, but we've also seen that we do have new tools and new resolve to deal with them now.

Lucas turned two. He has had no less than three birthday cakes and three celebrations now. The next picture you see of me may reflect that I have eaten parts of three birthday cakes in the last seven days!

One of the issues that we dove into in Montana was my perfectionism. Mark Odell even suggested that I intentionally "make a mistake" (or at least do less than "my best") when I start my summer internship here in a few days! That's a pretty radical suggestion for someone like me. I will translate that into trying, though, not to stress out about leaving a great impression this summer. I'm not sure I can take it as far as intentionally making a mistake, though!

I have also been focusing on slowing down since we've been back. Not just in the sense of doing less, but also in the sense of really slowing down and being in the moment of doing whatever it is that I am doing. And not worrying about the other things that are not getting done in that moment. This will get even more challenging as the schedule gets busier in the next few weeks. But so far it has been a rewarding experiment. If I have any goal for the next season of life, it is to live a truly simple life, whatever exactly that will mean.

Last (and least) a sports update: I've rooted for the Cubs faithfully every year since 1982. Though they have often been bad, this year's team, so far, looks like the worst Cub team I've ever seen. That is a radical statement. They are now 18-31, but they are frequently losing by huge margins, or losing close games because of stupid mistakes. Several of their best players have been injured, so they will get better soon. Yet they are in danger of digging such a deep hole in May that they can't get out. Not much fun.