Yardwork and Babies

Both Brad and I find ourselves out of work this week as two of the 800,000 federal employees furloughed.  It was not totally expected although it's a bit frustrating, to say the least.  I remain hopeful the standoff will end nicely, but just in case it drags on for a while, I have started to put together a plan B...to feel sorry for myself as I eat lots of chocolate and ice cream.  I asked Stephi to sell all her things and take the proceeds to buy my chocolate and ice cream, but she declined.  Oh well, it's back to the drawing board!

 

There is still no ice cream or chocolate anywhere in this house, so I opted for a hike with Brad and passed a very pregnant neighbor and her loving husband twice. It's pretty obvious the baby is comin’ soon which had me thinking happy thoughts!  We actually passed several neighbors, noticed more than a few extra bicycles on the road, and many a lawnmower gliding along the lawns. It sure looked like a Norman Rockwell postcard in an area stuck in turmoil.

After sending Brad off to hit his dimpled ball across the field for a few hours,  I sat on our front stoop and noticed the gardens needed a little help, so I dusted off the trimmers, chatted with neighbors, trimmed a little, chatted with neighbors and before long shrubs were trimmed and ready for fall.   

I have a tendency to daydream, sometimes while handling sharp objects such as trimmers, and soon found myself back to my early days in our nation’s capital right after college.   After a few internships, and walking the pavement with my resume in hand, I landed my first real job on the House of Representatives Budget Committee.  Talk about a crash course in budget and process....that was definitely a great life lesson in patience.

 

The highlight of my Hill career was the night the US Budget hit the floor at 12:15 am, and our committee staff was quietly escorted on the floor to witness the vote of the House.   We watched a whole year's worth of work come down to one vote and in that moment, I was very proud to be an American.  It didn't hurt that at one point I was surrounded by three congressmen, two from Ohio,  who discussed our Thanksgiving plans as we awaited the outcome of the vote.  Selfishly, I was praying someone took our picture, but alas, no one did. 

 

As a Ohioan, (born and raised) working on the Hill,  I had the opportunity in my early days to meet the new Ohio Congressional Freshman class which included a young lawyer named John Boehner.  Who knew life would circle back around …that one day he would be the Speaker of the House, involved in a debate that has locked me out of the office.  Oh those twists in fate!

 

I am strangely calm, even as my household income is currently sitting at $0 and no one knows when it will end.  If I have learned anything from surviving  Joshua's death, I’ve learned we have very little control over our lives; It's how we react to what comes our way that matters.

If our nation has learned anything from major events of the past, there is at least one thing that will come out of all of this.  A big baby boom in sayyyy 10 months.  That brings a smile to my face. Out of the ugly will come great innocence and beauty.

 

As for me, someone who is past her baby days?  I will turn my eyes to the One who walks with me through all that comes my way.

  

In God We Trust! (not the President or Congress).

 

 

Hugs!

Sherri