It's football season again, which means another round of "Didja watch the Bears yesterday?" Mondays and Sunday afternoons spent catching a few minutes (or entire quarters) of a number of pigskin games. I love football season, but I'm not quite ready for it this year. Summer was not as weather-consistent as it has been previously, and it felt like it never really got fully WARM. I also only attended 2 baseball games (previous summers I'd attended 3-5) and I also didn't have ANY weddings! I'm not complaining about that - I was a bit burnt out on weddings and needed a break from them. Many of my married friends are now in the baby-making stage, so I've had a number of new little "nieces" and "nephews" to visit and hang out with. Among them are Dan and Mal's son Jacob (Pudgy Bear), the Gaffeys' boy Mikey (my official favorite baby ever), Steph and Brian's second kid John Paul (a most adorable little brother to my first and favorite niece Kayla), our softball team's good luck charm Joey Berke, and a number of others I know about but haven't necessarily met.
Summer also wasn't the same because I didn't have a big vacation, I didn't go camping, and I didn't really do much of the outdoorsy activities that I had the previous few summers (mainly because this summer I lacked a significant other with whom I used to do a lot of that!) I also moved, into a sweet and spacious 2-bedroom apartment with my dear friend Audrey, with whom I absolutely adore living and rooming. She and I have such a great system of communication, chore-sharing, bill-paying, cleaning, etc. We also are both religious and artistic, enjoy the company of large groups of friends, small groups of friends, or just by ourselves (individually or just roomie-time). There's also the small matter of her "puddle of cuddle" cat Mosey who couldn't be happier having her mom and "aunt" Bri sitting on the couch so she can come flop and sprawl between us. I had forgotten how much I love living with a cat. :)
Summer was interesting because it was a time of transition. I began the summer still dealing with a number of personal issues, mainly related to the job I still had and the relationship I had let go of last summer. It's been a year of self-exploration, through prayer, through conversation, through mainly healthy processing and grieving. I finally reached a point where I could move on from both - 1) I started school and a new part-time job at Starbucks this fall, which took care of any frustration or depression related to the development job I had previously held; and 2) After a retreat at the end of August, I finally let go of some anger towards God regarding the ending of the relationship, continued to realize some things about myself I needed to work on, and was able to say the one thing to my ex I needed to say in order to feel like I said everything I could say (mainly that I didn't break up with him because I didn't love him... it's a long story, but I absolutely needed him to know that, and I think that's all he could and is able to hear from me about it at this point).
So what's new for the fall, besides the new Bears' quarterback and the unquenchable disgust that Favre is playing for the Vikings? Semester #1 of pre-requesites for the Masters in Art Therapy I hope to pursue seems to be going well. Child psychology is enlightening, abnormal psychology is fascinating, and art class is going much better than I anticipated! I'm actually good at it! Which I realized I would be this summer, but it's fun to have it confirmed in an academic setting. I can't wait to take a painting class. I have 5 more art classes to take after this, and I think I'll be taking another drawing class, hopefully 2 painting classes, probably a ceramics class, and maybe a commercial art-type class (to refresh my memory/skills in that area, especially if working on computers in art therapy ever becomes an option). I need to meet with an adviser at the Adler School of Professional Psychology and determine what they recommend. I have 2 more psych classes left as well - personalities and research (and maybe a third, an adult life-span class, maybe). All of this in 4 semesters (spring, summer, fall, spring). I can do it :-)
I feel I could and should share some of the things I've learned about myself this past year, and someday I will. Things about my past and how I'm realizing they've influenced me (especially in relationships and friendships), things about my own personality that have changed, especially over the past year (such as how I process things, and where I get my energy), and some definite changes in how God and I relate. :) It'll be a fun story to share one of these days. For now, I'll just say that I'm really happy and relatively at peace. I know I'll continue to struggle some days, because that's who I am, but I feel more confident and competent than I did a year ago. :) It's very exciting.
Time for bed before my third 5am shift this week!
Hugs and Blessings - Briana
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