Gone for a while

I know I've been "gone" for a while and have no good explanation. We are still here....four kids, 2 parents, and one dwarf hamster on the brink of death, forging onward through our third year of medical school. Life is grand, but to be honest I have been shoving my nose in many-a self-help books as of late, because let's face it, I need help. Ü I found the perfect book that explains it all. All the things I have been struggling with within myself are laid out before me and explained perfectly. "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff"-Simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life-by Dr. Richard Carlson (fellow NorCal dweller). This book has been around since 1997 but has just now found a place on my nightstand. So good. He writes about things like, "Making peace with imperfection", "Don't interrupt others or finish their sentences-take a deep breath before you respond to something", "Learn to live in the present moment", "Let others be right most of the time", "Ask yourself the question, will this matter a year from now?", "Lower your tolerance to stress", "Seek first to understand", "Become aware of your moods and don't allow yourself to be fooled by the low ones", "See the innocence", "Choose being kind over being right", "Avoid weatherproofing (one of my fav's)", "Resist the urge to criticize", "Search for the grain of truth in other opinions", "Think of what you have instead of what you want", "Be happy where you are", "Get comfortable not knowing", "Lighten up".....etc, etc....I could go on and on. Notice the last 2 listed....yes, once again, our future is unknown as Ryan is considering where he wants to apply for his residency (general surgery, 5 year residency). We love VA but not sure if the residency here is what he wants...Ry will be applying all over the place, but we really feel that we need to make it back out west somewhere. The truth is, we are both westerners at heart. I have learned that I am a Pacific girl. My heart will always belong to the west coast, where I grew up. Atlantic has its own beauties and charms, but it's not quite the same. I would love to move somewhere near water again, but don't know if I'll be so lucky. We shall see. Gotta go to work now. 2 big houses today. Happy Halloween y'all! Thanks for all the concern during the hurricane. We are fine here and had fun being shut up in the house together this weekend. Love from Virginia!

Washington DC temple, Oct. 2012