Changes in October

I have been pretty quite on my blog lately, well other than sermons and Monday Morning Church updates.  But things are going to change soon because things are changing in my personal life as well.

October has been a scary month on my calendar for awhile now, one that I have looked at starting in August and wondered how I was going to survive until then and how I will survive through October.  And now as we have neared closer to that elusive month, October means even more things me.

For the last few years, my Stitch and Bitch friends have talked about the fun and excitement that is Rhinebeck, aka the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.  This year I decided that even though I'm not a knitter I'm going to go.  It has been a long time since I've had a girls weekend and I'm looking forward to hanging out with my friends for a full weekend with stitching, wine, fiber and our sexy hats (pictures will be kept a secret until Rhinebeck). So I've taken that weekend (October 14-16) off of work.  Well for me since a lot of my work Monday through Friday leads to stuff on Saturday and Sunday, if I'm not going to be there on the weekend I might as well take the whole week off, plus I had an extra week of vacation so I might as well use it.  Woo-hooo vacation week!  Nothing scary about that.

Also Bishop's Convocation, our synod's annual gathering of pastors and rostered leaders is always the last full week of October.  So Monday through Wednesday, October 24-26, I will be on Cape Cod enjoying the company of my colleague in ministry and listening to our awesome keynote speaker, Nadia Bolz,-Weber who is probably the most predominant Lutheran emerging church voice. Okay that seems do-able a week off and another 3 days away at a conference.

Back in July I realized that I still had half of my continuing education budget to use so I started looking at conferences to attend.  Well the Celebration of Biblical Preaching stuck out at me as something I wanted to attend.  It had many more pros that cons.  Pro: Interested in the topic. Pro: Really enjoy some of the presenters work and want to hear more from them. Pro: Stuff I will actually use in ministry.  Pro: Also going over the lectionary for the next year - very helpful. Pro: It is in Minnesota so I'll get to see family and friends.  Con: it is also in October (the 3rd - 6th to be exact) Pro: I have the week off afterwards with nothing really planned in Connecticut, so I can take a few extra days.  Sweet I'm going.

But now you see my October has been scary since August.  It basically means I'll have about a week and a half in the office/at home all month long.

And now the changes in my personal life:

In July Bob heard about a PhD fellowship opportunity and applied in August.  And he got it!!!  Bob will be researching ancient Assyrian mathematics at the University of Paris Diderot (as in France!) and he starts:

November 2!

When he applied we thought the fellowship started at the beginning of October, so I thought if by some chance he got it, it would be a good thing that I would be so busy in October so I wouldn't miss him as much.  Ha!  Now instead of just being busy for that month, and only home for 1 1/2 weeks I also have only 1 1/2 weeks left with Bob really before he leaves for Paris for a few months, though he might sneak up to Bishop's Convocation with me (shhh....don't tell the bishop or really don't tell the hotel staff)

So yes things are going to be busy, and things are going to be changing.

Hopefully I will get back into the habit of adding some non-sermon or MMC posts on a regular basis.  And you will get to hear about me adjusting to living alone.  Stuff like Bob and I figuring out skype dates with the time difference, and me buying Lean Cuisines and other meals for one, or me learning to go to the library or coffee hours on a regular basis just so my 1 minute interaction with the librarian or barista can be my one face to face interaction for the day.

I am really super excited for Bob, he has worked so hard for this and unfortunately has dealt with a lot of rejection thus far in the process.  But I know this is his calling, and this is where God wants him to be.  We have spent time apart before - most of the time we were dating we were in different states or different countries - and last year he spent a few days a week on the other side of Connecticut.  But I also know it will be hard to adjust to not seeing him on a regular basis, not being able to talk to him to brainstorm a sermon or to rant about something that is bugging me.  Or not being able to give him a hug and a kiss good bye in the morning.  But thus far I have yet to mourn me missing him yet, because I'm still trying to survive till the end of October.