Issues

My brother read my rant about the yellow pages commercials (below) and said I have anger issues I need to work on. =)

He is possibly correct!!

Right now I have several issues with varying degrees of emotional exertion. The first of which is the completion of my dad's conference. Christian Men's Network, the ministry my grandfather started in 1977, just celebrated its Thirtieth Anniversary. Not only was it our anniversary, but it was somewhat of a relaunching of the ministry for my dad. It has been a long hard, emotional experience, transitioning the ministry from my grandfather's hands to my father's, and not one without many questions that start with "Why...?". The conference was a smashing success, giving my dad the exact kind of encouragement and momentum he needed and the ministry needed and it also marked my debut as an all-around event coordinator, in charge of everything from volunteers (finding, scheduling, reigning in), speakers, transportation, facility liasing (word??), hotels(reservation management is probably the MOST TIME-CONSUMING aspect of any event I have ever participated in. It's certainly not a one-person job if you want to do it right!!), registration, money handling, yadda yadda yadda. It has been an extremely overwhelming summer getting ready for this event, and while I'm relieved it's over, it was also encouraging to me once the event came to a close, to realize that I had pulled it off, with minimal mistakes, and lots of ideas for next time. =) But I have to give MAJOR "props" to my friend Amy, who was my right hand for the entire thing and without her, I might have been in the fetal position in the corner of the lobby. ALL THAT TO SAY, it's taking me a good few weeks to recover from the sleep deprivation and hype. I'm exhausted.

Another huge event taxing my emotions is the big FOR SALE sign in the front yard of my parents' home. The home I lived in and have at least been to on a daily basis for the last 22 years of my life. It's my childhood home, the one where I had my 16th birthday, my 10th birthday, my 8th birthday!!! The home where every major event of my life has been celebrated, every holiday has been had, every going-away party, coming-home party, along with many and many baby showers, wedding showers, and any major playoff watching parties have been had, and not even just for me... for a churchful of people, for all my friends, for all of my brother's friends... This is the house that my daughter took her first steps in, had her first birthday in, went swimming for the first time at... The thought of not celebrating another Christmas in this house, is no less than gutwrenching. With the exception of a small handful of my friends, we've lived in this house longer than most people I know have ever lived in one place, maybe even one city! I am so torn up about the whole thing. But the worst is watching my mom go through it all. If you know my mom, you know you can't even guess how many layers of paint may be on each wall - how many times the counters have been redone, the cabinets have been painted, the color scheme has been changed. If you know my mom, you know that her home is a reflection of herself. It's her escape, her passion... I know it seems ridiculous to be writing on and on about this, but if you know me, and you know my family, you have been to our home countless times and probably have several precious memories of your own. Because that's how much we have loved and shared this house. I will have to post pictures later purely for preservational purposes. It is rough. Very very rough.

Anyways, just thought I would share.
I am not good at venting my emotions and so trying to keep calm during all of this is very difficult, but I know my problems are extremely small in the face of so many others'... So maybe blogging about it all will help.