Days of Note: New Year's Day
Sun: capricorn (earth/cardinal), 7:43am - 5:04pm
Moon: waning crescent, sagittarius (fire/mutable)
Earth: mild and rainy all day, the past two days are from the front moving up the coast last week that brought a blizzard to some of the southern states and all that wind on our drive back from DC
Thoughts: thinking about my article on US tax law and trying to find a way to add "personal interest" to it as per editor's suggested revisions; conversation about parents centered on the news this morning that Emily is, in fact, pregnant, and how this will affect the kids' finances and home life in the future (and Jeff and my frustration at their short-sightedness and selfishness); of course, we're confused as to how Emily could have blamed her outburst the other week on hormones due to birth control if she's more than a month pregnant - it doesn't add up; personally, I'm expecting some kind of exaggeration in one or several aspects of what they're telling us (since Emily can't keep news to herself to save her life, I'm pretty sure that she only just found out, and so I'm a little worried that she's not even sure she's pregnant and hasn't been to a doctor about it yet, and that it may be a false alarm or something similar - in which case, already telling the kids may have been a bad move); regardless, Jeff and I do plan to consult a lawyer in the spring to get a better grip on exactly how our marriage will change the financial situation with the kids, and to find out what recourse we have to the courts if Emily continues to shirk her financial responsibilities as joint custodian of the kids); talked a lot with my dad about grad school ideas and maybe eventually pursuing something at UFL; I find myself getting quite excited about the idea, though it's still at least a couple years away; talked with mom about our plans for next weekend's trip to NC for the wedding expo and getting all that set and ready
Actions: wrote a blog post about the new year for the wedding blog in the morning, got some contractor work done in the late morning and afternoon before dinner; spent time with the kids (opening their presents from my parents); long phone call with my parents after lunch to wish them a happy new year; conversation about kings in ancient history over dinner; got a response back about my article for W&P, the editor wants me to add some "personal interest" to the piece and I'm not sure how I'd go about doing that....
Connections: lots of talking and discussion today, and Big Life Topics on the brain about the future and what it may hold; in general, although a lot of it is stressful, I'm feeling less stressed frustrated about it now that I can admit to myself that the hardest part is not having very much control over how other people behave, and trying to trust more in the Universe to make sure the people we love do all right and manage to thrive despite the imperfections of those around them (including us); it's nice to have a job where I can escape from all this heavy thinking into relative monotony and still feel like I'm accomplishing something and earning a livelihood (it does make me wonder if the stress of not working was partly due to having too much time on my hands that I spent worrying about things beyond my control - oh, the irony!)
Daily Tarot Card: The Three of Pentacles is a card of teamwork and cooperation, as well as of manifestation of the spiritual in the concrete, material realm. Our work is underway, and we bring all our skills and talents and knowledge to the task at hand. We see the results of our craft and patience coming along nicely, blossoming in beauty that holds significance and staying power. Yet we also understand that our work is intricately tied up with the relationships we have and which sustain us; we rest on the shoulders of those who support us and our work, and we work together with others to accomplish our tasks. Because of this teamwork with others, we may need more patience, planning and compromise, but the work that results is worth the effort. (My note: I think this may be giving me advice about how to deal with this article, suggesting that I take the editor's advice and do my best to make the necessary revisions, seeing it not as a "dumbing down" of my work but a challenge to make it even more accessible to readers. Quite a challenge, and one that will require me to do more digging and interviewing and contacting others.... but hopefully it will be worth it.)
