Almost Weekend

Something about this Garfield cartoon that arrived in my inbox this morning made me laugh.  Maybe because it's definitely been the sort of week where I've spent more hours awake than asleep.

House church went late last night, and when you don't have a vehicle, it means you stay until the people who drove you are also leaving.  Which means I got home after 11.  And that I then dealt with the usual sleep issues.

It was a bit of a rough night again.

Thankfully today will be a pretty laid back day at work.

But I'll be busy tonight.

Tonight is the night for packing my books, and my "altar spaces".  I own probably somewhere around 2000 books.  The altar spaces are simply prayerful reminders, scattered around my bedroom.  With all of those things packed, the transition will truly become real.  For the next week I'll live in a relatively empty space.  It's a little bit crazy to consider, really.

I'm just not entirely certain yet how to process the fact that a week from tomorrow I'll be vacating the apartment that I've loved, in the neighborhood that I've loved, with the roommate I've loved, and moving into my Grandma's basement.  It's not exactly what one would consider an "upwardly mobile" relocation.  Not that I've ever been all that concerned with being upwardly mobile, but I guess some part of me is struggling with that move.  With the fact that, at nearly 27 years of age, for at least the next six months, when asked where I live, the answer will be, "with my Grandma".

I need to write out some thoughts on this move.  I have lots to share.

But for the moment, I'm thinking about tonight.  About packing my books, and all those precious little things that truly make my bedroom a prayerful space.  That make it home.  I'm thinking about the next week lived in transition.  I'm wondering how to make the new space cozy.  I'm considering details like whether or not I need to recruit a few more people to help with the move, how I need to list my couch and loveseat on kijiji, the fact that I definitely need some new audiobooks since my commute is about to become even longer, whether I can work in moving a few more loads of things to Grandma's during the evenings next week, the process of packing our kitchen, and cleaning the apartment, and then the exhale, of doing the process in reverse, unpacking, and creating peace and space and home again.

This is the fourth time I've moved in 3 and a half years.  The packing isn't particularly intimidating anymore, but I'm realizing that sometime late next week it will hit me that I've again made a major transition.  So I'm waiting for that to sink in, and handling preparations in the meantime.

Daily 5 - Day 190

Today's Daily 5:

1. Wore new earrings to work today.
2. Love the feeling of my hair the day after I get it cut, when it's still flat-ironed and pretty.
3. Got a ride to house church tonight and was able to be with friends.
4. My friend Renee Altson is making a list of 5 things she's grateful for as a Lenten practice.  I love the idea of this daily list being a part of a Lenten journey.  Check out her first list here, and go back often - her blog is great!  (And, as a side note, if you haven't read her book, you need to.  I read it for the first time at a time in my life when I was absolutely convinced that I was maybe the only person in the world who was trying to follow Jesus but was struggling with some pretty huge issues, including mental health stuff.  Renee's book helped me to see that I wasn't alone.  It was probably at least 5 years ago that I read it for the first time, and I've re-read it at least once a year since.  It is one of maybe two or three books that I will list if asked what books besides the Bible have profoundly shaped my faith journey over the last number of years.)
5. Thankful for some moments of very early morning prayer, and song lyrics playing through my thoughts today.

The Butterfly Quiz

I thought this one was relatively accurate.

You Are Mellow Yet Energetic

Most of the time you are a cool cucumber, but occasionally you can get extremely hyper. You are indifferent to most things, but a few ideas really inspire you. And when you're inspired, you totally take off. You rest up most of the time, saving your energy for what truly matters to you. You are highly selective. Some people may think you're moody or temperamental, but they don't understand what really makes you passionate.

The Butterfly Test

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

Story on Haiti

An article by a phd anthropology student who was in Haiti when the earthquake happened, and was briefly trapped.  A proufound read.

Thursday Morning

My thoughts are kind of scattered this morning.

Last night was a slightly more peaceful sleep than I've been having, but I still woke at around 4 am, praying and wondering.

My neck, shoulders, and back are still very slow in healing, and as each week goes on, and I get further from the weekend of rest that preceded it, the pain gets stronger.  It's pretty bad today.

Office email is down, so I'm sitting here, writing a blog post, before heading into my day.

House church tonight.  Looking forward to being with friends and talking about Jesus.