popsicles on the front porch

Blogs provide a certain platform for general musings. I like that. There's got to be somewhere for the extra thinking going on.

It's pretty late right now. My 4-page "to do" list (which, I aptly re-named "It's All Good" instead of "to-do") is burning a hole on my desk. It'll all get done. But it's still burning a hole in the desk. Like a hot potato.

Regardless of how long my list is, I somehow found myself here. Musing away. Perhaps this is a procrastination tool.

Life has been tricky.  I haven't had health care for a few months. If you know me, you know that puts me in a panic. Not because I haven't wanted health care, but really because I have been trying to work with Covered California for a very long time to make it happen. After countless phone calls, failed attempts to utilize the chat portal on the main website and dead-end navigation on the website, I finally was able to talk to someone. She promptly refered me to the 1-800 help line number. I think that was my breaking point. I started crying on the phone with her. Bottom line: there is a lot of improvement that needs to happen in the world of public administration. Lots of good people trying to make things better. Right now, there are lots of systems that are a mess. After all of that, I finally got everything sorted out and will have heatlh care soon. My mom taught me a good lesson. I kept wondering why I have to deal with these sorts of speed bumps. She helped me understand that sometimes we go through hard things to hopefully, one day, be part of the solution to make those hard things better in the future.

So....with that, school, work, volunteering, moving and eating about 20 snow cones, my summer has been pretty wild. I appreciate the things Ben Howard includes in his music. Here's his song, "These Waters". I'm not sure what he originally wanted to get across when he sang the song, but I love the lyrics, "Now if you're bolder than the darkness...let these songs be an instrument to cut, oh spaces 'tween the happiness and the hardness"

Pretty beautiful.

So, midst the hard times, here are some happy memories that have emerged from the tail end of summer 2014. (caveat...I have bypassed some of the most incredible Summer 2014 memories including: good ol' American minor league baseball, fireworks, popsicles on the front porch, singing in the car with all the windows rolled down, pushing my toes in the sand at the beach, listening to Grandpa tell me stories, holding my new nephew, laughing on those triple state conference calls with the Harmer crew, and eating incredible food. I was too busy enjoying the summer that I neglected to make time to properly document the occasions).

THIS LADY. She is incredible. I learn SO much from her. She's happy. She's forgiving. She's sassy. 

  

Summer training at work has been awesome. Filled with sunshine, learning, field trips and lots of Heads Up.

My sister is a celebrity. Here she is signing autographs. And if you missed it, here's that awesome commercial one more time. "Does engaged learning make a difference? You do the math" Go ahead...shamelessly show your friends by the water cooler. Let them know you know someone on TV.

I am SO grateful for Kirstine. It's an incredible feeling to have people like her in my life. She is genuine, authentic and wonderfully optimistic. I appreciate her wisdom.