Bloom Where You're Planted

We've moved every year since we've been married (and in and out of college dorms before that). With each move we do our best to create our own little "home". Since we are not settled in careers we have not settled on buying a home, thus making it more important to learn how to make the best out of whatever house (and neighborhood) we end up in. We have also had to make the best out of the jobs we have. This is not easy and has been a CONSTANT growing experience for both of us.

I have found this particularly difficult as my jobs since college have not been related to my degree and have been fairly disappointing in the wage department. Granted, I could probably find a higher paying job but I'm fairly picky about needing a creative work atmosphere.

We just found out last Friday that DJ will be hired on again next year with the educational coop. This is a huge blessing and answer to prayer as many teachers we know have been laid off. However, we do not know if the coop will move him to another school or if he will be able to stay at his current location. This could be stressful thinking about moving again but I tell myself that the important thing is he has a job and on top of that great co-workers/administrators through the coop.

My job has had it's share of frustrations too. If there's one thing I've learned at the florist it's how many negative people there are in Topeka. I've had customers yell at me, cuss at me, say inappropriate things to me, and probably worst of all talk DOWN to me. It is not an exaggeration to say that about 75-80% of the people I deal with on the phone or in person are negative. I told DJ the other day that I missed living in a small town because people are so much nicer! Lucky for him he works in a small town high school.

You might be thinking, "How could people possibly be so negative about flowers?". Well:
"This is the UGLIEST arrangement I've ever seen" - How can flowers be ugly?
"It looks like a 10 year old made this" - Would you like to try? It's harder than you think!
"How old are these flowers anyways?" - We don't put out dead flowers.
"It sounds like you don't really care about what I want" - Seriously? I've been helping you for 30 minutes, what more do you want from me???
"Why can't you charge my order to an account? I'll pay for it later." - Yeah right you will.
"You sure need a freaking lot of information from me to get this delivered, this is ridiculous, you're taking forever" - Dude, you just wasted 10 minutes complaining about how long the process of ordering flowers takes.
"My arrangement doesn't look like the picture on your website" - Does a Big Mac you get at McDonalds look like it does in the commercials?

That's just a taste.
Despite the negativity and uncertainty we've had to deal with, we're both doing our best to bloom where we're planted. I just have to remind myself of all the ways we are blessed: food, shelter, the fur-babies, the fact the we have jobs in this roller-coaster economy, and of course each other :).

Also thankful for my camera...
and bunny shaped clouds...



and honeysuckle that makes the air smell like spring :).



*more pictures coming soon...