And I’m not talking about the Kaiser bun kind of roll either!! After the initial shock this morning of waking up to discover I was almost completely out of a daily medication and then having to give up my run time so that I could go get it, I spent the rest of the day working on two end of the semester projects. I’m very grateful for my husband who helped me with a PowerPoint presentation among other things today. It helped me to get on a roll and keep the momentum going.

I had forgotten how satisfying it feels to dive into a project and see it through til the end. In fact, the dreaded “Creating Spaces” final project board was actually “fun” to work on today. I found myself returning to do more work after dinner this evening and brainstorming how I could clear my schedule during the next few days so that my time can be devoted to this project up until when it’s due mid-week. I’ll get to the Christmas cards and shopping after that!

It’s such a satisfying feeling to be on a roll and it got me to thinking about the many people out there who don’t have a job right now. It’s not easy to be balancing those balls about finding a job, paying the bills and keeping a positive attitude. Especially for many of us during this time of year. I’ve got to say that returning to school even at an age where you are old enough to be most of the student’s parents’ age is a good way to keep your sanity. Yes, you can learn a trade or skill that will help make your more employable but I think that one aspect of school that gets overlooked is that it gives you the opportunity to experience the best that you are capable of doing. Often times when you are out of work it is really easy to forget the best that you are capable of doing.

On the drive home this morning from running an errand, I saw a family of five tying a Christmas Tree to their car. The mom and teenage daughter were standing together directing the dad and two younger siblings. I appreciated the happy way they all interacted together and thought that their family is very blessed to have each other during this time. Their interaction made me think of my brother and his family and what an amazing job each of them have done to love each other and be of service to their community. Being an active part of a loving family is an important job as well and from where I sit, my brother and his family seem to be on a roll most of the time with all the activities that they do together as one unit.

I bring up the example of returning to school and loving families because there are many ways that we can utilize the best parts of who we are and what we do. A good friend who is going through a living hell of a time right now told me that she wears her clothes to bed the night before so that she will be forced to get up in the morning, show up for her kids and do her work even when every cell in her body wants to go to sleep for a very long time because her grief is so strong. We both know that the act of her showing up in her life and doing the best she can will help her to heal over time. She does a lot of crying in the shower and in her car on the way to meetings but she keeps putting one foot in front of the other and trusting the process of healing.

May you feel that wonderful feeling of contributing, participating and creating while you’re on a roll!