Surviving another May

A few weeks back a previous seminary teacher asked me how I was doing, and knowing me well, followed it with 'surviving or thriving?'

Well, I survived another May.

I'm not going to lie, May is a hard month for me. I survived it; I did not thrive in it. Devin gently informed me of my overall grumpiness. I cried. 

Because it is the end. The end of the 'application cycle'. Which means, try and cross all your fingers but baby, even if they haven't officially said no, it's over. The application cycle for the following September opens the fist week of June. May equals the end. The only glimmer of hope would be if he had had and interviews prior to May; which he didn't. 

In an attempt to 'cleanse' myself of this grumpiness I turned to the recent General Conference addresses. 

It took me awhile to pick a title from the list. Nothing had that 'it's okay to be grumpy' title I was looking for (surprise surprise). I clicked on President Utchdorf's 'grateful in any circumstance' 

My favorite part- Nephi's brothers tied him up on a boat HE built to take THEM to the promised land- well when you look at it that way, maybe I don't have it so bad! (1 Nephi 18) 

As I tried to have an overall 'attitude of graditude' I began to realize the opportunities we have because we live here, with my parents and close to family. For example Memorial Day we were invited to join my grandma in putting flowers on graves of family members. The sun was shinning and as I sat in the grass feeding Kylie the boys ran about with their great grandma. And just the other day my mom pack us a picnic and took us to the temple grounds. 

These are rare moments, but moments we wouldn't have if we lived hundreds of miles away. 

And while we have spent thousands of dollars on applications Devin has always had enough working hours to provide enough to cover the fees. 

The Lord is always there. His hand is always in our life. We just have to look and trust and pray and notice the reasons to be grateful (even if it's another year until dental school-- fingers crossed next May wont be a time if survival but a time of thriving!).