Yep, it has officially been … at LEAST forever …. since I posted anything.  I don’t know that that’s healthy for me – I don’t have a lot of outlets for pretty much anything at the moment, and blogging at least makes me slow down for a bit.

It’s pretty amazing to me the speed that life can reach.  I feel like all of last year was a strange combo of being in a meat grinder on fast forward.  I’ve told a couple of people lately that life has handed me my ass on a rusty platter, and I think that about sums it up.  It’s been a very VERY tough stretch (and we’re nowhere near out of it yet), but there have definitely been some truly high points among the days.

For one, Ben is fast approaching 3 years old.  THREE FREAKIN’ YEARS OLD.  Where the Hockey Sticks has the time gone?  But BOY is it fun.  He’s in to everything.  Exploring and learning new (and complicated) words every day, slowly learning to master his emotions (he’s quite emotional, actually – and I’m still deciding if it’s a good thing or not), and seeing the wonder in every day life that I have seemed to have lost.

Having Ben around 24/7 has been a unique challenge.  Janene pretty much lives at the store trying to keep that afloat, and with my parents taking care of Grandpa Ed (before he passed) and Grandma Esther, they haven’t been able to watch Ben like they used to.  Interestingly enough, I’ve learned quite a lot about myself – and definitely not all of it happy.  But that’s what change is supposed to be for – find the things that suck and turn ’em on their heads.  We’ll see how that goes.

Janene and I have been married 6.5ish years now.  We’ve been together almost 11.  11 years.  That’s seriously crazy – makes me feel old.  I think, despite all the stress and crap of the last year, and everything we’re dealing with – and how rarely we truly SEE each other – that our relationship is doing amazingly well.  She puts up with a lot, let me say.  In looking back, there’s certainly things I would change – but more that I wouldn’t.

Ok.  Enough of this looking back crap for now.  If anybody actual reads this (doubtful) you’re now caught up.  Maybe I’ll post again sometime, something besides boring.