A Light in the Darkness

Today has been one of those days that makes you want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over your head. Maybe stay there for a day or two, or maybe a week. One of those days that starts bad, and you have a looming feeling that it's just going to get worse.

I woke up today, did some stuff, came downstairs to put the dishes away etc... and noticed it was cold. I thought, well ok, it did get pretty cold outside last night, and didn't think anything of it. We have these old, horrid heat blowers attached to the heat in our kitchen and family room, that once they are on do a good job of dispersing the heat in the rooms, and so I flipped them on. A minute later the boy walked by and flipped them off. What the heck was half out of my mouth, when he announced that we had no hot water. Our oil guy was coming today. We call when we run low, and they come out. However, we have done a slack job of remember to check lately, and seems we were a little low. Like run out during the night low. I won't entertain you with the schematics of washing etc. so you can go to work, but needless to say it was cold and tricky.

Yesterday was voting day in NH. Our town had a lot of zoning changes that were being voted on, most of which were there to preserve the small town flavor of our town. Every foolish thing got voted down. There is a sect of land out near my favorite hiking mountain that is being sold right now. 200 acres to be exact. A developer is looking at putting houses out there. The zoning change would've had 40 new houses, instead of the hundred they can build without the change. Needless to say there are a lot of unhappy people in my town today. But, when the small groups go around telling anyone who will listen how bad this is, and how they will be snatching up their land next, the voters listen and unfortunately vote that way.

Which brings me to the School District results. On the ballot for the school (we are a regional district, so 5 towns vote together) was the operating budget, the teachers contract, support contracts and some maintenance issues and setting money aside for things like, oh special ed, and a special fund so that when the roof leaks in the middle of the school year we can fix it instead of having to vote on using the money in March. Today, during our workshop the results came in. The only thing that passed was the operating budget, and only because we faught tooth and nail to get the amount up enough that we could operate. Morons.

In the midst of this all, my dear friend Jen quietly was wheeled into an OR to deliver her baby. After worrying and stressing and thinking all kinds of horrible thoughts about what could go wrong, and how she was going to have a C-section which she so desperately did not want, she pulled through like a trooper. Little Gavyn Benjamin (dad decided that after all these months of hearing it, he didn't like Liam anymore and Gavyn was the only other name they could agree on) was born apx. 2:20pm. He weighs 4 lbs 7 ozs and is 18 inches long. Today was the week 35 mark, and so we are hopeful that all the developmental delays that could result are put behind now. He is in NICU because he needs a little help breathing, but as your lungs don't fully develop until 35 weeks this was a little expected. Jen is doing well, but is scared to death still because, as she said, "His head is only the size of a baseball."

I can't imagine going through such an ordeal, and only being able to hold my baby a moment before he was sent off to another part of the hospital while I was left to recover alone. She is a trooper, and I know that Gavyn is down in that NICU fighting for life the way that Jen fought for him all these months along the way. If you could think a few good thoughts that would be great.