taking a step back

I think I've been focused too much on the stressful, negative parts of my life lately. Instead of being mopey about Shannon injury, I should be thankful we are still together, that we still have so much fun together, that I still miss her when she's gone for a weekend conference. So even if our luck has been bad lately, it has also been really awesome:

-Shannon got injured two weeks before school started. She was able to sleep and rest and start to figure out how to use her left hand more often. She wasn't planning on working so there's been no loss of revenue these past two weeks. All in all the timing could have been much worse.
-The dog-sitting has been stressful because I'm the only driver and Nina got sick, but it is still a paying gig. There was free internet and cable, and I've gotten lots of laundry done. I also got to hang out with three very nice sweet dogs. I now totally appreciate my two dogs and know that unless we are living in the country, two is the just the right number for us.
-Work has been very accommodating about Shannon's need for help and the dogs need for help. I have been coming in late and leaving a bit early, all while still getting things done.
-We still went to the state fair and ate way to much fried food. True we didn't spend as much time as past years but it was just as great to be with Shannon as the previous years. Plus we were able to park on the St. Paul campus using my contract spot. I did have to pee way too often though. You can see the set of photos on my Flickr.
-Last, there's still a viable pregnancy (knock on wood) and all the excitement between me and Shannon. We have a changing table dresser. We have a glider. We have Shannon's old cradle. I suppose this sounds a bit silly, but the pregnancy is still sinking in in some ways. (I hope mentioning the pregnancy in this list hasn't doomed it to failure. I can be more superstitious than I like to admit.) Seeing how excited Shannon is to become a parent has been awesome and powerful.