It’s a good thing I set myself up to bow out of the 30 for 30 gracefully this week. It’s been a crazy few days around here and, unfortunately, posting hasn’t been on the top of my multi-page to-do lists. Plus, Doak has decided to call an end to the remixing by starting to destroy pieces from my 30. Guess he’s over seeing the same things every day. He says repeating is a fashion faux-paws {had to; I feel like Mom and my friend Katie will appreciate that pun, so we’re rolling with it}.

He’s lucky he’s so cute.

On a slightly more serious note, the last week has probably been one of the most challenging since Chad and I began the process of taking over the reigns of the family business. We had to deal with a handful of sticky situations; some good, some bad, and some just plain ugly. It was one of those weeks when you wonder if there’s an invisible “TRY ME” tattoo emblazoned on your forehead, and you just want to run away for a few days until everything clears up.

Then this morning, while driving a funeral delivery* to a church in another town, I passed a logistics company I was <this close> to working for right after I graduated from college.  The job: recruiting truck drivers. It was going to require more than an hour commute each way, and the nice man who would’ve been my boss warned me that the high-stress days wouldn’t end until 8:00pm or later, six to seven days a week. I wasn’t exactly excited about it, but it was a well-paying job and I had a degree burning a hole in my pocket.

A series of events happened around that time {I’ll share with you sometime} that redirected me, and I respectfully declined the position and never looked back. Until I passed the place this morning.

I thought about how different my life would be now if I’d began my career there. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to become involved in the community I love so much and probably wouldn’t have the same friends. I couldn’t nurture my creative side, or work with the public every day, both of which I really enjoy. I can’t imagine how little I would’ve seen my husband, or the strain it may have put on our relationship. This isn’t to say that my life would be bad or unhappy, but it would be monumentally different.

When I thought about all of those things, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the way God has worked in our lives. Through a well-orchestrated five-year plan we were oblivious to, He led us to this crazy business that makes us laugh, cry, and want to kill each other {but only sometimes} with some of the most important people in our lives — our family. As tough as it gets, we’re in it together, and I feel like we’re exactly where we need to be.

So I don’t have cute outfits to share with you tonight, but I do have a major dose of perspective.

*{side note: Yes, I see dead people on a regular basis. No, I’m not used to it. I walk into the church/chapel/funeral home with the arrangement firmly planted in front of my face, and tell myself they’re napping}