Man, it really seems strange to have been at this for so very long, and not even to be in the double-digits with my threads. Thank you, everyone who has stood by me for all this time.
So, let's see - what's new with me? Not much, but I think it's a case of 'no news is mostly good news'. I'll just tackle some of the high points:
Insanely busy at work these days. Still not as challenged and excited as I would like to be (see next paragraph) but engaged enough to be doing OK.
Working with my career counselor has taken a back burner for a few weeks while other stuff kept me busy. That's OK - I'm not stagnating (BAD), just prioritizing (GOOD).
W has been less and less happy at her current job. However, her former employer is practically begging her to come back, in a higher-paid, higher-responsibility, higher-excitement position. She's working with the same career coach, and I think that's all gonna work out well. Have had some great conversations where she got to see some of the Sage Wisdom-Dispensing Rob that you all know and love - something I don't think she has really "gotten" and appreciated in the past. So, that's all for the good too.
This is crazy-busy season with the Music Boosters, particularly band doing contests and the madness known as home football concession sales. I am working hard to grow the booster association to be more involved with our choir and orchestra in the high school, and with all the music programs in both feeder middle schools. It's an uphill battle, with lots of cat herding necessary, but it's also a very good way to stretch and grow my leadership skills, so I am doing my best to attack the challenge with CONFIDENCE and ENTHUSIASM.
D15 is doing better in school, but driving us crazy with her steady string of boyfriends. She has an obvious pattern of liking them until they get too close, then dropping them - W and I think, pretty meanly. For example, the current boyfriend was invited to D15's homecoming dance on Tuesday, then dumped without warning on Thursday (his birthday, no less!) Sometimes I am sorry to say, my own D can be quite the b!tch...
We are NOT approving of this behavior, but getting D15 to talk to us about it is like pulling teeth. It doesn't help that W and D15 escalate straight to shouting on the issue - I have a little better luck talking quietly on my own with D15, but then all my terrific advice is still ignored. I'm trying a new approach and bringing up the issue with D15's IC - hopefully they'll talk about this stuff for a change, rather than just how unfair Mom and Dad are with all of our expectations. (On a side note, it is SO hard not to roll my eyes when W starts ranting about D15 honoring her commitments to her boyfriends. Then I remind myself that the person I am thinking back to was an alien clone and that W is mostly back these days, so I manage to let that go...)
W and I continue to expand our circle of friends, mostly through fellow music parents. We have a small group that we go on 20-30 mile bike rides either Saturday or Sunday mornings, almost every week. Good stuff!
As you may know from my posts on other people's threads, I am still trying very hard to follow what I learned from DBing - GALing, keeping up the PMA, giving problems time & patience - in my life as much as possible. I hope I never forget these lessons - they are not just about being a better husband and saving my M, they are about being a better person, forever.
Thread #10 22 year M, MLC, Piecing since 1/07 Goal: Live with confidence & enthusiasm!
(On a side note, it is SO hard not to roll my eyes when W starts ranting about D15 honoring her commitments to her boyfriends. Then I remind myself that the person I am thinking back to was an alien clone and that W is mostly back these days, so I manage to let that go...)
