it only works if you talk back.

So, I figured since I have the power of the Internet at my fingertips, that it wouldn’t hurt to share some of the prayer requests that I have:

• For my parents’ house to sell quickly, and at a good price.
• For my mom to find a good place for herself.
• For my parents’ separation to go smoothly and amicably.
• For Mike as he’s going through chemotherapy and radiation.
• For the rest of their household as they’re dealing with the stress of cancer.
• For me to get the job I’m crossing my fingers for (or something better) in the near future.

That’s all I can think of right now…

This summer has been hectic. I thought that it wouldn’t be too bad, but it’s been busy. Work has been pretty consistent in taking up most of my time, and my decision to take an online course over the summer has turned into one of my biggest and most persistent frustrations.

All of this and I don’t even get to leave the province. My vacation this summer was a long weekend in Canmore, which was really good, but nothing compared to the road trips of summers past. A lot of it has to do with money (I need it), but there have been a lot of other things keeping me busy.

On top of all of this, I have to think about my mother and helping her with the sale of some stuff. Thinking about where I will park my vehicle when they finally sell the house, thinking about the other things I’ll need to store…

So much going on… I can’t wait for school to start, if only to make my schedule more consistent.

So my parents are separating, at the very least, and possibly getting divorced. My mom has been trying to tell me for a while now, and I have felt it coming for quite some time now (like… years). I’m actually surprised that my mom toughed it out this long…

Is it awful to say that I have been waiting for my parents to separate for quite some time now? I have known for too long that my parents’ relationship was unhealthy. I have known for too long about all the shit that my dad has put my mom through, and I cannot help but feel relieved that it is finally over.

You know what pisses me off the most about all of this: the fact that my mom is going to likely take some shit from her “good Christian” friends for making this decision. I say to all these people, in advance: fuck off and mind your own business, you have no right.

My mom told me over coffee… actually, she didn’t actually tell me… I told her that I knew what she was going to say, and I was right. I had to hold my mom’s hand to help her keep back the tears. I told her that I didn’t know how she had the strength to stay as long as she did.

So I have to help my mom sell some stuff: furniture, big screen tv, surround sound, pool table… Kijiji will be my friend. My prayers are focused on an amicable split, for my parents’ house to sell fast, and for my mom to find the perfect place to live. I have never been very close to my father, but I pray that things go well for him.

I likely haven’t thought of all the things in my life that will change with the split… so expect some future posts relating to the subject…

I have been extremely blessed always when it comes to finding work. I have never been very long without employment since I started working when I was 15 at Denny’s. Financially it seems that God had always been looking out for me, and things just seemed to work.

As of late much of that hasn’t changed, in fact God has been continually blessing me with the opportunity to work. I have an amazing summer job for 2 months of the year, but July and August is always a little more tricky. Financially this year I’ve also had to factor in expenses related to getting married (the engagement ring, deposit on the venue, etc.) This has led me to a place where I know I need to keep a very tight budget. I track every expense, down to my pennies, and allocate as needed. It’s a little stressful at times, watching numbers change, dollars disappearing, and wondering just how many hours I will be working this week…

I don’t want to be a freak about my finances, but I also loathe consumer debt. I hate the idea of spending money I don’t have (except when it comes to student loans…) and the last thing I want to do is be like my dad when it comes to money. I want to be a good steward of the money that I do have, and I know I’ve been pretty flaky about it in the past. At this point my beautiful, wonderful fiancée is making more money than I, the least I can do is keep close track of it all and put money away when we can. I want to buy her all the pretty things in the world, but for now she’ll have to be content with the rock on her finger. It’s a frickin nice rock though. Totally worth it.

I’m just praying and hoping that where I get money from, aka. my job, changes in the near future. I need to be doing something that doesn’t suck the life out of me…

So this Saturday marked the day when my aunt finally married the father of her 2 children, and common law spouse of 22 years. It seems like an odd way to do things, but I have to say that I sure as hell am glad that it turned out the way it did.

In a sense it was almost more of an anniversary than anything, celebrating these two that have been a couple for so damn long. Dinner was a constant stream of anecdotes and praises for the happy newlyweds, and I couldn’t help but wish that we were a bit closer to them as a family.

Speaking of dinner. 5 courses. Started at 6:30pm, dessert wasn’t served until nearly 11pm! That’s almost an hour per course, but it was certainly fantastic.

One of the best parts of the whole wedding was that I got to see family that I haven’t in so long: my uncle, and my grandfather in particular. As an aside, my 85 year old grandfather went to bed just minutes after me last night… At 1:45am! What a healthy handsome grandfather I have. It’s been so good to see everyone, and have them all together to celebrate.

It was a beautiful wedding, a beautiful weekend, and an unforgettable family reunion of sorts.