Adjusting

Our new car

So I'll admit I've been doing some adjusting as of late.

*****

On the A side:
We are thrilled to have Ryan back at work. He likes his new job. It's interesting and challenging and something completely new. It's so nice to have him happy about work again.

On the B side:
I have become very dependent on Ryan being able to help me immediately during the day when I'm busy at work or need something done with the house and the car. The load balancing has thrown me a little bit.

*****

On the A side:
We have a fun new car! Ryan's brother Doug works at the VW dealership in Layton, UT, and he helped us get a Volkswagen CC. It is such a smooth ride and we feel all fancy. I especially love the awesome stereo and display. Ry and I practically fight over who gets to drive it and when. Fun fun fun! It's nice to have 2 cars again. Since August, we have had only 1 working car.

On the B side:
We now have a car payment. Neither of us has had a car payment in over 5 years. Boo! And the reason we had to replace Ryan's car is because he and his friend Mitch had a little accident when coming home from the Arcade Fire concert back in May. Fortunately it wasn't their fault and neither of them was hurt, but it did cream our car. RIP, Sonata!

*****

On the A side:
I am continuing to recover from my accident. My PT exercises and walking daily help a lot. I enrolled in a Tai Chi class and the stretching can feel good.

On the B side: 
I am learning how to deal with chronic pain  because I am still in pain every day (mainly my back, sometimes my jaw). Some days aren't too bad. Other days still require lying down a lot, resting on the heating pad, and taking prescription painkillers. I try not to take them too often but sometimes the pain is unbearable and there is no other option for me to function and go to work. Along with the pain comes frustration, anger, and sadness about the accident and toward the person who caused it and who has not taken moral or financial responsibility. I also hate being dependent on other people when I am too tired or too much in pain to do things myself.

*****

On the A side:
The kids seem to be enjoying Pennsylvania. We text with Abby quite frequently. We love her little messages and pictures. It makes us happy to see Nathan and Abby adjusting, making friends, and being happy.

On the B side: 
We miss them terribly. We have a hard time getting them on the phone due to the 2-hour time difference and work, school, and church schedules. Abby also has her phone turned off a lot, so we end up leaving messages instead of talking. I guess the best we can do is let the kids know that we love them and miss them. It's not ideal but hopefully in the big picture, they will know how much they mean to us.

*****

On the A side:
Work for me has been busy and challenging. I'm learning lots of new things and working with some new people. I like what I'm learning and my new co-workers are really great.

On the B side:
Along with that comes some stress. I'll leave it at that.

*****

So you see... life is a mixture of good and bad, happiness and sadness, blessings and curses. All this adjusting has me feeling a little bit eh about things lately... thus my absence on the blog. Hopefully I'll get back into this hobby again sometime soon. I do so love The Corner on Kitty!