Under The Influence

Things have been swirling around our lives lately faster than I dare even try to blog about. I truly believe that if your life isn't a constant mix of coming, going, doing, and seeing than you aren't really living. Don't misunderstand me; I'm the first to scream "I need a break" as I head to the couch for a day of napping/movie watching. Still though now more than ever it seems that we just don't stop until we literally pass out in front of the T.V around Midnight every night. More and more I feel like a weather man attempting to predict what is going to happen next only to change the forecast at the last moment when it's obvious things aren't going to work out like I planned them. Every week brings a new storm or an unexpected event that leaves us feeling....Under The Influence.

Under The Influence Of Career Changes
Lucy began working from home this week. She's still with the same company, but they merged with a larger firm and part of the deal was that she got to move her office into the front room we never use. Meanwhile it seems I changed jobs at the worst possible time and although Accounts Receivable has always been a guessing game, now more than ever it feels like circumstances change with every passing moment. How many days past due should you let a customer go? When is the time to hold all orders? Who will fold under the pressure of the bad economy next? I never stop asking myself these questions.

Under The Influence Of The Thundering Three's
They say the Terrible Two's are the worst time in raising a child, but here a week away from Fred turning three I'm starting to wonder if those that believe that ever managed to survive long enough to see what pending doom lingered just over the horizon. Fred is...is...my favorite part of life, but he's also the most frustrating (he can understand when Diego speaks Spanish, but the words "Come Here" are foreign to him), most terrifying (how many times can one person hit themselves in the head without having a concussion?), most rewarding (last week I was his best friend, this week it's GiGi), most laugh inducing (recently we found ourselves at an auction waiting for a painting to bid on. Fred thought we said something else and began running around the room screaming "WE ARE WAITING ON BIG PANTIES!!), most peaceful (there's nothing like having him fall asleep in your arms while watching an old movie), most guilt inducing (Do I spend too much time working? Are we teaching him enough? Is it ok he only eats goldfish and cheese burgers?) thing I have ever experienced. Some days I want to kiss him. Some days I want to choke him. Some days I find myself wanting to the both within the same half hour. Now that he has discovered my ability to be a Smart Alec I just know we haven't seen anything yet.

Under The Influence Of New Friends
Fred has been making some new friends and the results have not all been positive. This week our son learned the word Stupid. This may not seem like much but after hearing it uttered for a large portion of my life, I'd rather he had learned on of those 7 words that George Carlin was told never to say on TV. On the flip side there are a couple new names on the invitation list for his birthday party (10:00 this Saturday @ the Highland Park COC. It's a cowboy party so don't forget to wear your chaps) which brings me to....

Under The Influence Of God
There for a while I thought maybe we would stop going to church all together. Part of being a christian is realising you are far from perfect and that sometimes without even knowing it you can find yourself in a position which seems a million miles from where you know you should be. We could blame it on a lot of things, but ultimately we were the reasons why we almost quit going to church. We got lazy and stopped working on our spirituality. Thankfully some very nice people never stopped telling us how much we were missed. We are back in church and I know it's God's influence on our lives that has made me happier than I have been in quite some time.