The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

I read a Tale of Two Cities when I was in high school and I think at that age I was not able to understand the subtleties of such a contradiction in terms. Now however, I feel like I have gone through many phases of my life that is reflective of those extremes. And right now is one of them. I feel like the last few months have had such great highs and such deep lows. I've already shared the stress we went through at Christmas time, and right before that we had a traumatic time with Bard starting a new job as well as facing serious illnesses of more than one family member. Although some of those issues seem to be on the upswing, I continue to work many more hours than previously planned and that definitely adds to the stress (and is also why I haven't blogged recently). Our basement appears to be cursed and what was supposed to be done last September has turned into a nightmare job filled with constant surprise delays that add up to more money and more work. Additionally I am now just nursing once a day, which means Evelyn gets a bottle twice a day. This was a hard decision, and even harder to follow through with once I had made the decision. But, even with all this, the past few months have also held some of my most treasured moments.

Just last week Bard's sister was able to visit, staying with us for four days. Oddly enough, even though Bard and I have been together about 4 years, it was the first time that three of us had any substantial time together and it was definitely the most her and I have spent together. I admire this woman very much and want her to be a huge influence on Evelyn as she grows up. But aside from all the reasons that I could list as to why she is so great, I think my favorite thing about Gen and spending time with her is that I feel so comfortable. She has an amazing ability to just make everyone feel relaxed and as if the I have known her forever. That is the very definition of family for me, so I love it. We had a great time and I hope she comes back soon.

Another high has been watching Evelyn's personality evolve. People said from the beginning that they could tell she had a strong personality and just a bit of feistyness thrown in, which I still maintain she gets from Bard : ) But the last few months I have really seen her come into her own. From her trademark arm flapping to hamming it up in the grocery store for anyone who makes eye contact, she is definitely showing herself to be very active and social. It cracks me up that when she is upset, she doesn't just cry, she cries for a few seconds and then talks to herself in this sad voice, like she is working through whatever issue is bothering her! She'll do that for several minutes, just half talking half crying to herself. As many of you know, talking it out is pretty much how I work through everything, so seeing it in her is so funny! She still hasn't gone through any separation anxiety (knock on wood) so we'll see if that continues or not. Right now she is pretty content to just sit and play be herself, even if she doesn't know the surroundings, or better yet, if someone pays attention to her, the world is her theater! She still loves to sit in my lap and read and stays content through several stories. And although she loves to move around, I think she prefers sitting and reading, we better start saving for Harvard now!

Speaking of expensive private colleges, another high has been Bard's new job. Although it is weird for him to not be at World Vision, he loves being back in the financial world and has really enjoyed taking on projects that allow him to do research and market analysis, two of his favorite things in the world. And I'm not joking : )

All in all, even with different stresses we are very blessed and have a lot to be thankful for. Hopefully life will continue to even out a bit, before getting crazy again of course. I will try and write more and also have a lot of pictures to post, so check out the link. It's been quite a start for 2009, but I'm also excited about what else the New Year will bring, we'll just have to wait and see!