I can't believe how long it's been since I have written anything on this blog.  I think I've missed writing about at least four shows: Galilee Baptist Church, Springvale Baptist Church (actually a joint event held by four local churches), upper elementary Chapel at WCA and an outdoor Halloween party at my wife's new school.  All the shows went well, and the Halloween "trunk or treat" event was especially fun.  Both our youngest daughter, Rose, and her friend Emilee joined me for some walk-around juggling that featured lots of fire!  My wife, Sue, started a new job in the Fryeburg, Maine school system this year and it was a good chance to meet some of her coworkers and students.  Having formerly taught in Fryeburg myself, I met a woman who was a student of mine in 1995. She now has kids older than she was when I taught her.

So with several successful shows, why the lack of reporting on them? The biggest single reason has been anxiety.  This is something I've dealt with for years, and for some reason has spiked over the last four or five weeks. If you've ever dealt with true medical anxiety, you know that when it flares up it can be almost disabling. While still able to go to work, once home I often just wanted to retreat from all responsibilities, and blogging was certainly a low priority during that time.  The good news is, this has forced me to speak with bot Sue and my doctor about this, and more importantly, it has caused me to cling more closely to God.

That said, October really was a good month in a lot of ways. Our 23 year old, Naomi, came up from New York to spend four days with us. It was a very sweet visit.  We played cards, laughed, and she turned me on to the Netflix show "Stranger Things"... so good. Best of all, she Rose had lots of sister time: manicures, a lunch date, and just hanging out together.

My teaching job has also kept me busy.  I am the advisor for the Student Activity Leadership Team (SALT). This is a committee of three high schoolers similar to a student council. Among other things, they planned a celebration of the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation.  Unfortunately, this was cancelled. You see, October in Maine ended with a horrific windstorm.  Over 300,000 customers were without power, and many still are.  Consequently, school has been closed for three days (My school now has power, but the fire alarm system is, for some reason, still down). This closure has forced the postponement of our plans.

Also in October, we celebrated the first birthday of our precious friends the Davis's.  I was Josh's teacher back when he was a highly distractable 11year old. Now he and his wife Samantha, have a beautiful little girl.  And on the first Friday of the month, I officiated the funeral of one of Sue's uncles.  That story is a blog in itself, and I promise I'll get to it.

So that's been what we've been up to throughout the month of October. I'll try to be better about writing during November.