#46: A Lesson in Grace from an Inquisitive Monkey

Today was a Monday.

From two year old tantrums, to six week old  incessant cries, poop in the bathtub, drawing on the desk, forgetting things,4 hours of interrupted sleep, banged heads(mine), and dealing with insurance, today was most definitely a Monday.

So tonight we had takeout with money we don’t we have. Sorry Dave Ramsey, and my thighs, but today was a Monday.

Our son loves watching Curious George. He asks to “Watch George” near daily. Lately, whenever his beloved primate show turns to the credits he starts to cry. Today, however, he didn’t just cry; he screamed and threw one of the biggest tantrums I have seen in a while.

We’ve been trying to teach Levi that his actions have consequences, so after he calmed down, I had a little talk with him. I told him that he wasn’t going to be able to watch George for a few days because of his behavior. I asked him if he understood why and his response caught me off guard.

#24: Summer Reading: Eight Books That Helped My Re-Entry Process

I’m going to be brutally honest right now, as in “let’s get down to the nitty gritty.” I have a confession of a very deep, dark problem in my life, and it is time to come clean: if someone tells me that they are a huge Lord of the Rings/Tolkien fan, and then mention they have never read the books, I immediately lose respect for them.  Not all respect, but I can’t help but throw some tainted judgement their way and then talk for 15 minutes about the importance of Tom Bombadil.

Phew, I’m glad I finally got that off my chest!

Reading is a luxury I don’t have nearly enough time for these days. But in the months, even years after returning from the mission field there were several books that helped me cope with and understand a lot of what I was experiencing. This is by no means an exhaustive list of books you should read during re-entry, but these are just a few suggestions with how they helped me in my return to my homeland.