I haven’t been posting a whole lot lately because I’ve been sick and I’m trying to make myself into a morning person so that getting up at 6:30 am on Sunday for church isn’t as much of a pain. I’ve been getting up and doing devotions and then going out walking for an hour. My walks have been a really good thing — they keep me fit in the midst of church dinners and parishioners who pick me up off the street and offer me chocolate. The only downside: I get everything accomplished by noon and then have 10 hours to fill before I head to bed.

My neck is still being problematic. I ended up taking some muscle relaxers this afternoon and took a nap with my most beautiful black panther on top of me purring. (Edda is such an excellent cat.) Jon woke me up to go to a VFW baseball game (several of my Vikings — I mean confirmands — play for the team) and I ended up leaving after the second inning because I was feeling so dizzy and tired from my meds. It’s also 81F outside and the heat was intensifying the effects so I’m glad I walked home to my nice air-conditioned parsonage.

I’ve been re-reading Reviving Ophelia and it’s interesting to read about what Pipher has to say about a lot of the things I dealt with in high school. Apparently, I’m one of the few who survived a torturous adolescence with my identity and personality somewhat in-tact. Granted, I ended up with wicked depression and PTSD in college and was on meds/in therapy for two years dealing with it; but things could have been so much worse for me. It makes my current situation seem like a cake walk.