I have my car back – finally!  Eighteen days was a long time.  But I have her back and she looks great!  It was about $2000 worth of damage.  They also detailed the inside of the car, so she smells good.  She has a new battery and four new tires.  I was driving a silver Ford Focus.  Pretty huh?!

Yeah, it was fun driving a newer car to San Diego.  But I’m glad to be home.  I have lots of little errands to do: paperwork mostly.

I was watching Dr. Phil today.  I like him.  A guest on his show is struggling with the loss of her daughter.  She believes that she was murdered.  She’s really having a hard time so Dr. Phil reminded her that love isn’t an equation. ” If you look for her for twelve hours a day, that doesn’t mean you love her more.  You need to compartmentalize.  You love her and she’s gone right now, but you can find reasons to giggle and laugh despite her loss.  Don’t let her legacy be your destruction.”  Wow!  Powerful words.  I’ll try to translate into teenage girl:

Parts of your life can suck, but find reasons and people to laugh with.  Put the painful part of your life aside and find a new normal.  This does not mean you love someone (you’ve lost) less.  It means this could take awhile and you gotta keep moving forward.  Don’t destroy yourself to prove you love someone.  No one who really loves you would want that.

I hope that helps.  It helped me. Focus your thoughts on a happy ending, my sweet sisters.   In fact, learning to struggle with grace is a skill I’m really trying to cultivate (add to my way of doing things).  Someday, you WILL struggle through other things.

I was thinking the other day, the stuff I complained about five years ago are no longer an issue.  Life changes.  But struggling through it is always a challenge.

I pledge to you both that I’m endeavoring to struggle with more grace these days

“The pain you are trying to escape is everywhere.

There is no escape.

But the grace that you need to heal that pain is also…

everywhere.  – Rolf Gates