on blessings

Seriously, guys, God is so good.

As many of you may have heard, Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, which means they're closing about 200 of their stores...mine included.  I had been reading the Wall Street Journal (totally owning adulthood like a champ) and was pretty sure store closings were going to happen, so last week I started searching half-heartedly for jobs.  I figured that I would have a few months until the store actually shut its doors to find something, so I wasn't too concerned, but when I saw an ad in the town paper for an assistant at a local publishing firm, I knew I had to apply! 

The job had been posted for about a month at that point, and my hopes weren't high when I submitted my application.  The next day (the next day!!) the creative director at the firm called me to set up an interview for this morning.  When we met for the interview, she said they still had a few more applicants to interview and would be getting back to me early next week.  This afternoon (this afternoon!!) I got a call back letting me know that I was "definitely the one" they wanted, and could I please come in tomorrow morning to sign paperwork?

I am so over-the-moon about this whole thing.  When I realized I might lose my job, I prayed so hard to find another one quickly.  I mean, it took me nearly three months to find my part-time bookstore job!  I never dreamed I would find a full-time job in my field--with a real grown-up salary and real grown-up benefits--the day after it was announced that my Borders store would be closing in one month. 

At my new job, I'll be helping with product design, writing, editing, and shipping.  When I told them I was "a spelling and punctuation tyrant" in my interview, I've never seen anyone get so excited.  That's when I knew I was in the right place.  I mean, do you know me?

on other blogs

Recently, I stumbled across this post at the blog Single Dad Laughing.  (It's worth a read...and by that, I mean you NEED to read it.)

I've been kicking societal ideals of normalcy in the shin ever since.  I mean, it's not like I wasn't already, but I was all hush-hush about it (for some reason that now I can't really remember).  If people came over unexpectedly and my house was a mess, I made up some excuse to satisfy the judgmental thoughts I assumed they must be thinking.  I felt terrible if I didn't make dinner often enough--not because I cared, or Ricky cared (Ricky has got to be the most laid-back guy that ever was), but because someone, somewhere, had made dinner-making a big deal and I wasn't living up to whatever standard had been imagined.

I see this even more with parents and children and the thousands of medications taken all around.  Your child hates math?  There's a pill for that.  Your child can't sit still for 30 minutes?  He's not normal.  Your daughter doesn't interact well with other children?  She must need therapy. 

There are, of course, situations in which professional help--for children and adults alike--is necessary, but I can't imagine it's to the extent to which we make it.  What is "normal," anyway?  What if mild ADD is normal?  What if it's normal to be depressed every now and again?  Who made these arbitrary rules and why do we make ourselves sick trying to adhere to them?  It goes beyond being thin/pretty/smart and permeates nearly everything.

Anyway, that's all in Single Dad Laughing.  I, however, would like to respond to that blog with this one: Why I'll Never Be An Adult

My house isn't always clean.  I absolutely do not wash my dishes every day.  My bookshelves are pristine and my closet is not.  I procrastinate most everything until the last possible moment.  Furthermore, I am totally ok with all of this.  Ricky is totally ok with all of this. 

The point here is that you should never feel bad for not living up to some fabricated societal standard--ever.  If you're comfortable with who you are, then you are normal.  Congratulations.

Also, that Hyperbole and a Half post is dang funny.  I hope you read it. :)