Best Text Message I've Ever Received.

This past week was Fall Break. For the last several weeks, I had a trip planned for a special assignment to THIS place:

Copyright Breakfast at Target/Celia G Photographie.

Copyright Breakfast at Target/Celia G Photographie.

Copyright Breakfast at Target/Celia G Photographie.

Copyright Breakfast at Target/Celia G Photographie.

Yes, my friends, it's none other than the amazing Chicago... I'm particularly smitten (like for real, I'm obsessed with this place) and already itching to get my fanny back up there as soon as possible.*

Just hours before I was due to leave for my whirlwind trip to the Windy City, the ding-dang Supreme Court of South Carolina announces Bar results are going to be revealed....

... A WEEK EARLY.

Commence epic breakdown.

Through my heaves and sobs, John insists I get on the plane and whatever happens was going to happen anyway. After MONTHS of planning how and when the moment was going to be handled, where we would be, what alcohol would be on hand... it was happening whether we liked it or not.

To make matters worse, John was traveling back from D.C., busting his tail to be in his homestate when the results were posted for the world to see.**

I distracted myself by wandering through Chicago and turned my phone off all day - I had a job to do and I wasn't about to ruin my already freaked attention span, no matter what the results. I told myself when I returned home in the evening I was going to turn my phone on, take a deep breath, and call my Beau.

That evening, shaking all the way up the 28 floors to my friend's apartment, I finally turn my phone back on...

"You have 1 new message."

(open message)

"From John: You are dating a lawyer."

PRAISE BE JEEZ-US!

So there we were, a time-zone apart, and both squealing in excitement, joy, and most of all, relief.

Relief we no longer need to wait, relief we can start planning our lives, relief that there will be someone to get me out of trouble when someone finally gets offended by the nonsense I post on here.

Unfortunately, I'm still amidst an anxious return to a horrible work/school week ahead: major assignments, a midterm that encompasses a 16 page study guide - thanks for the help on that one, Becky!, and entertaining new MPA candidates... Lord love a biscuit.

SO, appropriate celebrations and MUCH over-do blog commenting updates are on the way this weekend... SWEARS. I caught up on a bit on reading this weekend and it seems everyone else is also in a state of CRAZY!

Thank you again to everyone - EVERYONE - who offered their support, their time, their love, their positive vibes, their liquor cabinets, and most of all, their understanding and empathetic words and gestures of kindness through the last few months and years of John's law schooling. (Just so you know, he totally owes you one. I'll make sure of it.)

I mean it.

THANK YOU.

*To those of you in and around the Chicago area, sorry for no heads up... I was on assignment and booked solid through my 2.5 days, so it as hard to reach out!

**John actually pulled over in an old Exxon gas station in the middle of NOWHERE North Carolina... he apparently went pretty darned crazy and caused great concern to the old people hanging around.... HA.

Shama-Lama Ding DANG.

A quick post to explain my hiatus....

This semester has royally ripped me a new one. I wholly underestimated the time, energy, and bottles of Pinot I would need to suffer through it. I wasn't prepared for the amount of work, the need to schedule every second of every day, and the general feelings of anxiety, stress, rage, and exhaustion.

And, now, I'm struggling to keep my head above water. I've found myself in a position of missing deadlines, asking for extensions, and giving up sleeping and eating to make up for lost time. 

It's really no way to live, y'all.

To make matters worse, in 18 days we find out about John's results from the Bar exam; and, frankly, I can't even begin to fathom the emotional chaos Oct 28th has in store for us.

As terrifying as the last few months have been and as bad a beating my liver has taken, there have been a few moments of quiet reflection, instances of loyalty and friendship, and times of positive, personal validation. It's amazing how at your lowest points you have nothing left but to face the reality you've created for yourself. Even more amazing is seeing who's there to help pull you out of the messy hole and finding that weird strength you summon from within. If you're really good, you'll pass it on to someone else who needs it.

Ultimately, tortured moments are not merely tests of strength. They're challenges on your perspective, your creative ability to interpret the world. It's a healthy dose of humility. And it helps you decide just what's important to you after all.

NOW.

What does my superflous Tuesday morning soliloquy mean for those of you who just spent 10min reading this? Other than wondering jusssst exactly what I put in my coffee, it means this:

• To my blogging friends, I've been a silent observer and unfortunately haven't had the time to leave the thoughtful comments I know you've always been quick to share with me. But I'm reading. I know what a little blog love means and it breaks my heart to deny that to you. But please: Keep on keepin' on... I do so enjoy hearing about your lives, your thoughts, and your random internet finds. I'll catch up soon...
  
  
• To my reader friends, I've got a slew of posts I've started but can't find the energy or creative juices cocktails to complete them. It means a lot when someone expresses they miss my posts (even though I'm pretty sure John paid them to say it). I'm trying. I miss my blog.
  
  
• To my friends I actually see in some real-life fashion: I'm tired and cranky and screwed up, but you should know me well enough I'm like that most of the time regardless. I'm working on it. Swears.
  

The next few months aren't looking a whole lot better schedule-wise, but I'm getting a little bit better about scheduling my workload... posting is mostly likely going to be sporadic, at best, so stay on the edge of your seat, people. 

In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter, Pinterest, and my "photographie" FB site. 

With that, it's time for another round of gin caffeine and off to work.

Hugs and high fives,

Celia