more matter | less art

Well, it might not be exciting enough to merit such a title, but I can safely say that so far I am LOVING it. Venturing into a world that you know nothing about is always slightly scary, but once you’re adjusted, life is good. I love the people, I love the nature of the work, and I really love knowing that I’m doing something that allows me (well, us as a team) to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

You might think, well, didn’t teaching provide that? No, not so much. I mean, there was the occasional kid that made it all worthwhile, but that was rare. Too rare to keep me there. Hmm… that was rather Seussian.

So anyway, my new job is wonderful.

In other news, the Nav study has become a mainstay in the CWsquared household again. I’m going through the TMS and the DFD 2.0 series, and the hubby is going to lead his small group for the next two weeks doing verse analysis. It’s really cool to see how God starts to work things out when you keep him at the center. I suppose that sounds overly religious, but there’s so much truth there.

Okay, I need to figure out how to make a roast. I committed to making that bad boy today, and the crock pot and I have not yet been introduced. We’ll see how that turns out.

The one element of Clarksville that keeps me thinking that I would find it impossible to move back to my small hometown is the fact that we have two mega-bookstores across the street from each other. Books are one of my passions in life, and the idea of living so far away from a plethora-for-purchase is, well, kind of a bummer. I know we live in the world of Amazon.com, but that’s not really the point; bookstores create an atmosphere that calls you in and invites you to stay, and that’s why I love them so.

Which brings me to my main point: despite my aesthetic sense tugging against this, I believe that Books-a-Million outdoes Borders. At a glance, Borders has it: tall wooden shelving, attractive signs, computer look-up, a classy cafe… but it’s missing my key ingredient. There’s nowhere to sit and relax! I mean, you have the cafe, but it’s always loud and is too compact. You also have the area by the magazines, but those are only wooden benches that do your butt and back no good after about 10 or 15 minutes.

BAM has big comfy chairs placed strategically all over the store, and only a few are together in one cluster so that there’s never a crowd. It’s less busy than Borders, ergo it’s quieter. I can buy a mocha, pick up a book, and sit down and read comfortably without ever leaving the store. A home away from home.

So what’s the deal Borders? Why no comfy chairs? You’d still be too busy to be at the top of the list, but it would certainly help.

It’s hard to believe that the hubby and I have been married for a year now. We’ve accomplished a lot in that time: we bought a house, he graduated from college, I made a huge career transition…

Yet, that time has flown. Was it a year ago that we were cozied up in our mountain condo, dreaming of all the good things ahead of us? Surely not. I’ve misplaced time again.

In all, it’s been a good one. Working on this house zapped all kinds of energy and kindly replaced it with stress, but now, living here, it was worth it. The place is home. I walk in to my husband and my dog and my chatons, and I’m where I’m supposed to be. I envy no one.

Right now he’s alseep on the couch with HGTV going in the background. The day was wonderful; we did nothing extravagantly special, per se, but we spent time with each other with nothing else looming over our heads. He mowed the grass while I did the laundry – how all American we are. Gifts were exchanged, followed by dinner at Red Lobster. The man behind us overheard the hubby mention to someone else that it was our anniversary, and he – get this – bought us dessert. I thought he was long gone (the table behind us had been empty for awhile), but he had lingered at the bar and waited for us to finish eating so that he could send our waitress to ask if we had room for dessert, his treat. How nice is that?

We finished the night with a trip to Books-a-Million, purchasing some clearance goodies and a novel for me to read in my downtime this week. Parfait.

I am glad my life has taken me where I am. Decisions I made years ago have all pointed me this direction, sometimes in ways I never could have fathomed. Call it coincidence if you will; I have a different opinion, respectfully.

Today at the bookstore I came across this book. It was called Wherever You Go, There You Are. I’m glad I’m There.