Groundhog Day

So the groundhog saw his shadow today (somehow amidst all that snow), and predicts six more weeks of winter.  I'm shocked.  Shocked I tell you.  I'd just shoot the groundhog and have him for dinner if that would actually stop winter, but it won't, so we'll just keep going.  We're not doing too bad thus far.

Kaylee had practice for her school musical right after school.  I picked her up from that at 4, took her for dinner, and then Steve took her to her Curtain Call play practice at 5:40 while I headed to a school board meeting.  I got done with my meeting at 7:45 and was at her play practice to pick her up by 8.  So we both had a pretty busy day.  Not exciting, and nothing new...in fact every once in awhile life feels a little bit like "Groundhog Day", the movie.  When I start feeling that way, I usually end up doing something to break the spell.

Kaylee also found out today in band that her trio got the second highest/best score out of every band group that went from the whole school. The first place group?  A quartet of Juniors and Seniors who were in the toughest category.  Her trio were all 8th graders, and out-performed every other group there (and there were dozens of them.)  Her band director also told her that next year he would like to put her in that quartet that is the best group out there.  He said there is a Senior who is graduating who plays the alto sax, so there would be an opening, and he would like to recommend her to take that place.   How neat is that?

At the school board meeting tonight, we were discussing some prayer requests.  A family had found out at 4 months pregnant that their baby would be born without a brain.  They carried to term, and the baby lived for 4 minutes when delivered yesterday.  The same day a 90 year old family friend passed away.  One of our school teachers has terminal cancer. It started off a skin cancer/melanoma that went ignored for too long, and has now progressed through her whole body, big tumors everywhere that they can't remove, no more radiation or chemo or drugs helping.  We discussed a couple of people who were not handling their family members' illnesses well at all, and how everybody goes through hard times in life but it's how you handle it that matters.  How if you sit in your house and bury yourself in your own problems, they grow in scope and depth, but when you look outside yourself, look at others and what they are going through, help them with their struggles, it gives you real perspective.  Strength and courage can be contagious...