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Monday, June 1, 2009

June is Busting Out All Over

Thank you so, so much for all of your kind words regarding the death of my grandpa. He was truly such a special person....a "man of few words," but we all listened when he spoke. Saying he'll be missed is a huge understatement, but I know he is happy and at peace now. And I *might* even cheer on the Cubbies in his honor this year. :-)


(Side note: My dad has been a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan since birth as he was named after Stan Musial...so naturally my sisters and I are huge Cards fans, as well. My grandpa is a huge Cubs fan, and there was always humorous banter at family gatherings surrounding the rivalry.
At the funeral, my dad was the last one to speak. After the lovely things he had to say about my grandpa, he said, "Now I'm going to do something you've NEVER seen me do before."

And he went and grabbed my grandpa's Cubs hat and put it on.

My dad asked that everyone stand, and in honor of my grandpa (a lover of all things baseball AND music), sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." I don't think I've ever sang this song through tears before, but I know my grandpa would truly have loved this. Especially my dad wearing a Cubs hat. Why didn't we get a picture of that?!)

Anyway....so it's been a rough week for obvious reasons, but also I've been very reflective of what I want to do next in life. And, no, I don't mean what race I will run next (although I'm already thinking of that, of course!). This sounds very cheesy, but whenever there is a death that hits close to home, it just really makes you realize how life is too short and we all should spend our time doing things we love.

I am very, very unhappy in my current job. It's boring, it's your typical "office" job, and it's just not me. Sure, it's pretty good money and has allowed me stability to purchase a home - which is wonderful - but I need to be in a career when I'm either a. not in an office and/or b. am helping others and making a difference.

I keep thinking about going into nursing, and I'm looking into an accelerated program (for those who already have a bachelor's degree). There are a few schools I'm looking into and I hope to meet with some advisers soon.

I'm anxious to hear what they have to say, since I know the program is very competitive and this one (*shrinking down in her seat*) didn't attend class all that much in undergrad - smart, huh?! My GPA isn't horrible, but it's not the best - and definitely not what I was capable of achieving. Ugh....why do I like beer so much?! ;-)

Change is so incredibly scary for me....but in a way I know that if I don't get out of my comfortable job now, I'm not sure I ever will.

Here are two pictures taken at my grandparent's 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration in February. I love the first picture because a. the look on my face is hysterical and b. my grandpa was tickling the little ones...he just loved to tickle.


Happy Monday....I LOVE JUNE!!! There is a very important birthday this week (ahem). ;-)

6 comments:

Nicole said...

OMG! That is so sad/sweet. I teared up when i read that! I'm thinking of you and your family! You have a birthday this week??? Woot Woot! Birthdays are the best! If i dont talk to you happy bday!

Anonymous said...

I know what it feels like to be at crossroads in your life/career. I always say if you're going to be at a job 1/3 of your life, you should probably either enjoy it a lot or make a lot of money (or both if you can manage.. :) )

Anonymous said...

I think it's so important to find what you love and then to DO it. We spend so much of our life at work, so if we don't enjoy it, that's a huge chunk of our lives (and our selves) that we aren't having much fun with.

- Sagan

Erica said...

So sorry for your loss :( Your gpa sounds like he was an incredible man.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Whatcha doing to celebrate?

Anonymous said...

I love June too. Happy early birthday (it is YOUR bday, right? :) )

The ceremony sounds incredibly sweet. I'm sure your grandpa was smiling down on you guys the entire time.

Good luck with your career decisions. Change can be so scary, but once you take small steps and start moving into everything I bet you will do just fine :) Keep us updated!

HEAB said...

Sweet grandpa,and I loved that your Dad put on the Cubs hat while all of you sang. :)

Happy Birthday Holly and best of luck with whatever career path you choose. You're so right. LIfe is too short, and we should enjoy our jobs since we spend so much time doing them!