Furlough Treasures

We are in the third week of government furlough.  Brad and I are both stuck in that place where we can’t do much about our predicament.  We would like to be able to go to work, but the doors are locked.  We can’t wander too far away since we can be called back to work any day; besides cars take gas, and gas takes money.

There’s a good chance we will eventually get paid, but who knows.  There’s a lot of tension and real fear within our community that could easily pull me in, but  I guess losing Josh has “helped me” cope in this situation, because I realize that while the loss of my income,  and “things” would be hard, nothing could compare to losing Josh, so if I can live through his death, THIS AIN'T NOTHIN!

So as I wait,  I've cleaned out several closets for the first time in a long time, which means I found several items in them last touched by Joshua.  A wooden toy sword tucked in the middle of several colorful umbrellas in the umbrella stand.  I found it when I emptied everything out to clean out the leaves and bugs gathered at the bottom.

The “ewwwww  gross dead bugs” didn’t even occur to me.

His dress coat  was hanging in the hall closet.  I’ve seen it there a few times, but this time I pulled it close and smelled it before pushing it back with a smile on my face.

On week two, Brad and I hit the basement where we found treasures tucked away.  Artwork with Joshua’s name scribed in his own hand, poems to both of us sharing his love, and a kindergarten questionnaire where he states his mom is 101 years old.  

Brad discovered a personal treasure to him tucked in an old  golf bag....golf score cards from father/son golf outings when Josh tracked the score. 

Young Britt enjoying ice cream

After a quick lunch,  it was back to the basement to discover a ski coat way too small for any of us; The big green rock Josh found and adopted was next to a science board he put together to explain rivers. 

Then there were the old videos that we knew we needed to convert to DVDs but had let fall to the wayside were finally brought out.  We tried to clean the basement while the videos were converting, but the laughter and sounds from young Newmanettes had us glued to the tv for several minutes at a time. 

Sweet and shy Stephi

 There was Brittany and Stephi fighting over their tea set.  Video I took while very  pregnant with their baby brother, Joshua.

We have discovered a few things from these videos.  Brittany liked to boss her little sister around;  Stephi would take it for so long and then up and wallop Britt. 

My darling children.....Brittany was so serious, Stephi was such an easy going kid, and Josh was soooo curious with THAT smile.  Those videos hold visions of what has always been our center, our priority.  Our family!

Joshua climbing over the Halloween Box

By dinner time there were 6 bags of trash, 7 converted dvds, 12 bags for charity, and double stuffed oreos awaiting me upstairs, and boy did I need those oreos!

Mom and Dad popped into town unexpectedly for the weekend, and when they called I didn’t even have to worry about the house cuz it was already clean.  When they came in I even showed them my beautifully cleaned out basement, and listed my recent achievements including the video we were converting at that moment.

The furlough is very real, the loss of income and the hit to our economy is very real, and even I, a political science junkie,  can’t stand to watch the mudslinging and news swirls any longer. 

Someone call me when the real work is done.   In the meantime,  I’ll take this much needed time with myself to heal my heart since life never allowed me that time before.  Don’t worry, it has been one of laughter through the tears and confirms one thing: 

“Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.” ― Saul Bellow

 

Hugs!

Sherri

 

 

 

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