This morning I thought I'd let you know a little of what's been going on in my life. In one of my last posts, I mentioned that I was going for an ultrasound. Without giving you all the messy details, I have a couple of small cysts on my ovary, which the doctor expects to go away on their own. I'm not entirely satisfied that these are what was causing my symptoms, but I'm not terribly worried any more either.

Work is getting really busy. Our president and vice president are requesting new reports and slide presentations from us, and I'm getting them set up for the first go-round. In the meantime, there's a database architect working on the architecture of the system we're hoping to build. And I'll tell you - we'd better build it! I haven't spent the last two years mucking about in Excel just to be told that we're not going to build our system after all. That would kill my resume.

I was accepted into the MBA program at Virginia Tech, so I'll be starting classes in late August. In the meantime, I'm doing well in Accounting II at the community college. That class ends next Wednesday. I had been really nervous about getting in to Tech, but my husband had no doubts I'd get in. I really sweated over the two essays I had to write. I gave really counter-cultural answers to the one about what sets me apart from other applicants -- I wrote about the Benedictine values of obedience and stability. I was convinced as soon as I hit the "Submit" button on my application that this essay was going to keep me out of business school.

My son Bear will be going into the Middle Years Program (the early part of the International Baccalaureate program) next year, and he has a community service requirement. Last week he interviewed for a position at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and starting in a couple of weeks, he'll be a Library Assistant there. I'm tremendously proud of him for this. He's looking forward to starting. He also served as a torch bearer at our church for the first time on Sunday. It was neat because I was a chalice bearer on Sunday, so we sat together in our vestments, and my heart swelled with pride for him. I served for about 10 years as an acolyte in this church as a child and a teenager, so it means a lot to me to see my children serving in the same way.

I've played the flute for 25 years, and this Sunday I'll be playing solos for the prelude and offertory in church. Rather than the baroque and classical music that I usually select, this time I've picked out Claude Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio. As far as the piano trio goes, we've got the piano and bass, but we won't be bringing in the drums. I think that might be a little much for an Episcopal church! I am looking forward to seeing the response from the rector and the congregation. They have no idea what I'm going to play. The organist is excited, as am I. I've wanted to play this piece for a long time. A few years ago, I gave my kids all my cassette tapes, because I don't have a tape player any more, but they do. My daughter picked my recording of the Bolling Suite and fell in love with it. It's actually because of her that I finally ordered the music and started practicing it. That makes me feel all warm and gooshy inside. Bear once wrote a poem that said his mother's love is like macaroni and cheese, because it felt warm and yummy inside. So playing this music for Ladybug is like macaroni and cheese.