Yin Yanging Through Life

Last week was very turbulent. I'd known for weeks that it would be crazy: I had several papers due for grad school and my 6-month long/80 page Trail Master Plan for work due before Chris and I cut town for Thanksgiving. So I warned myself over and over that I was going to be a stressball until I stepped on the plane...and then everything would be okay. But in the true nature of life, I was thrown a few curveballs. Monday night I was rear ended as I was scrambling from meeting to meeting. It was disappointing to have to spend several hours talking with the culprit's parents about how they were going to pay and getting estimates, but it was just painful to know that I was losing my valuable paper-writing time. [and it's even more painful a week later since the other party is completely uncooperative and downright dishonest.]

Then Tuesday came, and we got on a few planes to head to Florida. I got really cold in the Memphis airport and my little sausage fingers deflated...and...poof, my engagement ring was G O N E. And, we hadn't had a chance to get it insured yet. GULP. I don't need to elaborate there - I'm sure you can imagine how horrible that felt.

So, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself (and Chris). But then we got to Florida, and within a few hours, were surrounded by 35+ family members (both Peters and Sembera!). One of them said to me something to the effect that yeah, it sucked to lose the ring, but think how fortunate we are to even be able to have had the ring in the first place. And I starting thinking about how true that is on many different levels. I'm fortunate to be alive, to be happy, healthy, and very well fed. But I'm also very fortunate to be surrounded by an amazing family, which continues to grow larger every year. I'm fortunate that Chris and I have not only found each other, but our families are easily merging. I couldn't ask for more.

This all got me thinking about my favorite subject, science. In fifth grade science, I used to teach the concepts of constructive and destructive forces. It was easy for the kids to think of earthquakes and hurricanes as bad, but it was a little harder for them to understand that a little bit of good can come out of those as well. Of course I'm majorly oversimplifying by using the terms "good" and "bad." But the kids needed to understand that tsunamis can create new land as well as destroy it. That nothing is black or white. So I started using the Yin Yang to teach the concept.

There's always a little good in the bad, and a little bad in the good. The kids really seemed to grasp that concept. Some even made their own personal connections: "Like Michael Jackson, Miss?" :)

So my reflection about this simple yet wise symbol really helped me get over the financial losses Chris and I have experienced lately. The ring was a symbol of us and our future, but the important things are still here. And my reflection made me realize that in the black half of my Yin Yang, my little white circle isn't all that little. It's filled with loving family and friends.

So it's time to close a door, Mr. Ring.

R.I.P. Ring

You had a good life. Saw some mountains, did some dishes.

October 10 - November 25, 2008

And my Aunt Sharon did give me a thoughtful gift over the Thanksgiving holidays. It's a magnetic ring box for my next ring. (She bought it before I lost my ring.) It will be a perfect complement to Mr. Ring2 sometime in the future :)