Busy Bees and Hurricanes

It's been awhile since I posted anything. Life has been busy--no, hectic--around the Baum Shelter. If I were poetic enough I would probably quote a funny cliche or saying that defines the kind of busyness that we've been experiencing. However, I couldn't remember any, and all I could come up with was "We're as crazy as a seahorse in a hurricane." Do you see what I mean?! I don't enough have time to think of something better than that.

Of course, my mind is currently zoned into making preparations for our trip to Florida this weekend. And when I think of Florida, I can't help but think of hurricanes. Yeah, it seems like every time we go to Florida there is some weather anomale that has us coming back with stories to tell . . . mostly ones of me complaining about the lack of air conditioning or the fact that the beach is closed because of an actual hurricane. Namely, "Hurricane Frances." Other times we go to Florida it snows and/or the mosquitos see me as a bullseye target that they wish to compete over.

Anyways . . .

I wish I could say that I'm looking forward to "getting away." As I stated above, life has been pretty nutty around here, and I probably need a break. But there is a strong compulsion to dig my heels in, stay focused on the here and now, and do my utter best to survive the whirlwind of events, change, and emotion that are taking place around me.

Just to get an idea of what's been going on around here for us:

• We just had Grammie, Papaw, Aunt Christie, and cousins Jenna and Kendyll here last week (from my side of the family). Papaw helped us lay a new laminate floor over some pretty old, nasty linoleum (well, he pretty much did it himself). It looks terrific! We also went on a canoe trip down the river, visited the horses in 300 degree weather, picked some wildflowers, and chased butterflies. It really was good to have my family here, though I wish I would've been in a better mindset to relax and just have fun.


• Our campus here at Cookson just completed a week of Wilderness Camp, which also signifies that school is about to start.


• Probably the biggest one of all for me: I'm trying to keep my head above water midst a complete caseload change at work. It's kind of like taking everything you've known about a bunch of families, their children, and their families of origin and chucking it out the window . . . and then starting from scratch with 20 new kids.

To be honest, it's been hard to stay positive and optimistic midst everything. I have a tendency to get caught up in what I refer to as "TASK-ORIENT MODE," where the only thing that matters is crossing that next "to-do" off the list. Thankfully, my husband understands my drive to get things done and take care of the people I'm here to take care of. But in all the extra hours of organization, paperwork, and catch-up, I'm afraid that I'm missing out on special time with my daughter.

Speaking of . . . miss McKenna is letting me know that she's done with her nap. Maybe we'll be able to get in a few moments of cuddles and smiles before hitting the pavement and crossing that next thing off the list. I'll post some pictures of our recent adventures at another time.