This week has been dizzying. As one who acutely feels emotions that correspond to seemingly every life event, I’ve been up and and I’ve been down. High and low. Joy and sorrow, all mixed together.

Something in me wants to lay down a very Pollyanna-ish bottom line and declare that sunshine and rainbows are the order of the day. Another part of me desperately wants to acknowledge the rough patches and disappointments, because in them we recognize that we are not alone in the struggles of this life. So here we go: a truthful blog post where I share a bit of both the good and the bad.

Highs:

• Witnessing the amazing red-orange maple tree glowing outside the front door of my friend Chelsey’s house—God made this tree so very alive and it just killed me with its beauty yesterday.
• Snuggling under a down comforter with my daughter and diving headfirst in the world of Harry Potter. Seeing her almost crazy with anticipation to find answers to some of the first book’s early mysteries.
• Enjoying coffee and meals with old friends and new friends.
• Seeing God answer prayer as we restructure small groups at church and feeling his hand upon our desire to glorify him even as we experience growing pains.
• Celebrating babies as they enter into this world and join families—biological and adoptive. It’s a blessing to walk alongside my friends right now.

Lows:

• Acutely feeling the loss of our own baby six years ago (wow, six!) and feeling ever more frustrated by wondering if God wants us to have more children.
• Really really really feeling that last one.
• Trying to make wise decisions for my daughter’s education and struggling to know what’s best.
• Being a grouch in general due to all the lows already listed!

I’m not going to wrap up this post in a lovely bow. But you know what I am going to do now? Go get my hair done. So there, lows—I’m getting my hair cut and maybe colored and I’m going to set aside this week’s sorrows for my entire hair appointment. A girl’s gotta rejoice in the good things, right?