Being Old

Emily and Keith went over to a friend's house today for a few hours so Sid and I could have a date. Here's what we did...drove through Chik-fil-A for lunch, took our friend Lynell to the doctor, went to check out the site where a friend is building a house, got coffee from Starbucks, and opened savings accounts for the children and a new business account at the bank. Good grief, we are boring!

I've been doing laundry tonight and was standing at the dryer folding clothes (my bright idea for making sure I'm not going to the dryer every morning for a clean pair of panties...fold everything right at the dryer and lay it on top of the dryer...so now I go grab a pair of clean panties off the top of the dryer every morning!). Emily came into the laundry room with her pretend phone -- that's really cool, by the way, because it has lip gloss inside it and it would be so convenient if my phone also had lip gloss inside it. Okay, I'm totally losing focus here. Anyway, Emily came into the laundry room and announced that old people needed Life Alert. And I am old. So she was going to call and order me a Life Alert. Because what if I fell down and nobody was here?? I could press the Life Alert button. What if my body was on fire?? I could press the Life Alert button.

So not only do I go on boring dates, I'm also old. Pfffffffthhh.

Her Father's Daughter

My Christmas present was to sleep in this morning. Until 8:00a.m. In the bed. By myself. With the door closed.

At 8:01a.m. both children were in the bed with me. As the kids and I were snuggled up together, I realized we had forgotten to go by sweet Ms. Charlotte's house yesterday and pick up a sweet potato pie she baked for us. Here is the conversation that followed:

Me: Hey! We forgot to get Ms. Charlotte's pie yesterday!

Sid: Well, you can go by there today when you're out running errands.

Me: But you're going to be at the church this morning. Can't you get her phone number or something?

Emily (speaking to me): YOU WORK THERE. YOU FIGURE IT OUT.

Sid had to excuse himself from the room so that Emily would not see him doubled over laughing. I turned to stare at her with my jaw dropped and she just looked at me with those big blue eyes and that crooked grin and said sweetly "What is it, Mommy?"

Sleeping late and a dose of sarcasm from my 5-year old. Merry Christmas to me!

That Which Does Not Disappoint

I recently read an editorial in my most favorite magazine, REAL SIMPLE, where the talk was about the constitutionally optimistic. That is me...miss glass is half full. Not a bad trait. But what is so true is that what often accompanies sunny optimism is the surprising disappoinment that comes when something...or someone...fails you. You think to yourself, Well, I should have seen that coming or, more often than I like to admit, Perhaps I should have listened to Sid. But I never learn and then it happens again.

The result is that you start to develop the list of That Which Does Not Disappoint. That is the list of people and things that don't ever disappoint. The old-faithfuls that bring order to this crazy messed up world.

So here, in no particular order, is a partial sampling of my list.

• Diet Coke (and not Diet Pepsi. There is a taste difference, folks.)
• Orbit gum (prefer crystal mint but will take wintergreen)
• Dustbuster (this magical tool picks up everything imaginable that can be found in the nooks and crannies and under the kitchen table)
• Clean sheets (ah, the joy of slipping into bed onto clean sheets)
• Vanilla scented body lotion (calms my senses and layered with vanilla shower gel is quite pleasant)
• wedding band (it never comes off and is a reminder of what's really important and I don't mean jewelry)
• My friend Shannon (funny, smart, creative, generous, protective, opinionated, unbounded confidante)

What's on your list?

Setting An Example

I'm perturbed that apparently the ONLY news going on in the world is that Britney Spears' little sister is pregnant. Front page news. Leading nightly TV news story. Entertainment news fiesta.

So do you suppose Jamie Lynn and Britney's father is thinking, as he polishes and loads his weapon, "The madness stops here."

Yay! for the Unexpected

Tonight Sid and I went to a Christmas party hosted by the local Ultreya. The Ultreya is a group of people who have attended Cursillo or Emmaus. We gather once a month for fellowship and worship.

A couple of things happened tonight...I would call them unexpected...which is exactly what I've been waiting for during this Advent season.

First, I was asked to lead the singing. I've been asked several times since we moved back to lead the singing or to sing solo for something or another. I've said no every time. Until tonight. As I was standing in front of this group of people, a group of people whom I love and who love me back, it dawned on me that I wanted to sing. It felt good. Right. Easy. Among the many things that I lost last year when we found ourselves unexpectedly moving back here was the desire to sing. Even in worship, my voice just didn't work. And I didn't care that my voice didn't work. Tonight I found my singing voice again...wonderfully unexpectedly.

Second, while we were responding to the communion ritual readings, this warmth filled me up and I realized that I was happy. I love my life, my family, my church, my friends, my work. I whispered to Sid, "I'm happy." He said back to me "These are our people." Yep, our people indeed.

God is good.

Blasted Donut Holes

Another Keith Experiment gone awry. Here goes...

The boy LOVES donuts. Every day we pass Shipley's on our way to school and Keith yells from the back seat "Donuts, Mama! Want some. Want some donuts, Mama!" So on Sunday mornings, time permitting, we drive through Shipley's and take donuts with us to church. Usually a box of donut holes to share with our friends in the nursery. We did so today. Dropping off in the nursery was super easy because Keith had a donut hole in each hand as I headed to worship.

Today Emily was singing with the children's choir at the beginning of the 10:55 worship service. Because we always attend 8:30 worship, the plan was that Sid and I would sit at the back of the Sanctuary, listen to Emily sing with the choir, and then slip out afterwards, picking up Keith from the nursery on our way out the door to go home. The only problem? I didn't share the plan with Sid, who picked Keith up from the nursery before 10:55 worship so he could hear Emily sing. (Note to self: Sid cannot read my mind.) Totally not Sid's fault.

Before going in to the Sanctuary, I stacked all our stuff on the bench outside the doors -- Emily's jacket and purse, Keith's backpack, my purse...and the box of donut holes...which were spotted by Keith's eagle eye immediately. I handed him a donut and the three of us slipped into the back row of seats to wait for the children's choir to sing. Announcements are made, the choir sings, the organ plays, we pray and then "Donut, Mama! DONUT!" he says in a VERY loud voice. Sid grabbed him and took him to the foyer and I followed and went straight to the box of donut holes where I gave him one for each hand. Keith would eat one and demand another so there was always one in each hand. I told him to sit next to me on the bench and wait for Emily to sing. He climbed up and got settled and then yelled to Sid who was sitting on the other bench across the foyer "DADDY! SIT DOWN! HERE! DADDY!" One of the ushers came over and, eyeing the donut holes in Keith's hand, laughed and said, "You know,those are not quiet pills."

The children's choir sang "Away in a Manger" and Emily did beautifully. She knew every word. Emily enjoys singing and we've been singing a lot around here, especially in the car. She likes to sing "Deck the Halls" where someone sings the verse and she sings the "fa la la la la la la la la" part...a la the opening scene of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." This morning while I was putting on my face...er, makeup...I heard her singing in her room with Keith and when she finished the song she said "Take it, Russ." So proud. It's moments like these that make being a TV junkie worth it.

The Checkbook Is Not In The Garbage

Yesterday Emily had a doctor's appointment at 1:45p.m. Sid took her because I was attending a training seminar on prevention basics and drugs of abuse (an aside...OMG...some of the stuff people inhale/inject/snort/lick/dissolve into their bodies is totally disgusting). I got a call from Sid about 45-minutes before they were to head to the doctor's office because he couldn't find the checkbook. I listed all the places it could be yet it was nowhere to be found. Sid told me to go back to class and not worry about it. We'd find the checkbook later. Well, of course the checkbook was all I could think about. Where could the darn thing be? Did I leave it in the car? Did I put it in a hiding place so the kids wouldn't pick it up and, if so, where the heck was that hiding place? Did Keith pick it up and move it or, worse, throw it away? Keith's really interested in throwing away stuff right now. I found his dinner plate in the garbage can last night instead of in the sink. But I only notice stuff like that if it's on top. I don't dig in the garbage. Anyway, about an hour later, Sid sent me a text message that the checkbook had been found. Emily had it. In her purse. At the doctor's office. Sid said the exchange went something like this...

Emily: "Here, Daddy. (pulling checkbook out of her purse) I thought you might need this at the doctor's office."

Sid: "Emily, where did you find this?"

Emily: "On the shelf next to the tape." (one of the places I told Sid to look, thank you very much)

Sid: "Oh, OK. Thank you."

What's even funnier is what Sid wanted to say to her but didn't. He told me this morning that he took a deep breath and counted to three before he told her thank you. What he wanted to say was "Woman, I already have a wife who takes care of stuff like this for me. I don't need another."

I am wife, hear me roar.

If Today Was a Do-Over Day

Today is a much better day than yesterday. I still am dressed in shorts and sandals in December but I'm not as aggravated about it. I still spent time this morning discussing with Emily what she was going to wear to school and explaining why we don't pull clothes out of the hamper but nobody had to intervene. And I was up with Keith from 3:00a.m. to 4:30a.m. this morning because...well, just because he was awake and wanted some grapes and water from the fridge, and yet am not grumpy from lack of sleep. So far, so good.

A nap yesterday made all the difference. I love naps. We call it "resting" at our house because Emily finds nap time offensive. She will, however, rest on the sofa and watch a movie or read in her room during rest time and sometimes she'll give in and close her eyes. One of life's pleasures is snuggling up with Keith for a nap and waking up to find Emily has crawled into the bed with us. They're so pretty when they sleep with those long eyelashes and rosy cheeks. Waking them up is sometimes a crap shoot depending on how long and how deeply they've slept, yet is usually is another good time to get some fine snuggling with the kiddos.

Last night, Emily and Keith made Christmas ball soup. At Emily's instruction, Keith removed the non-breakable balls from the bottom of the tree. Emily put them in a soup pot with my scarf and mixed them together using a whisk and wooden spoon. Emily even pretended that one of the white balls was garlic. Although the balls, which are covered with string, did not fare so well as the whisk de-stringed them, the Christmas ball soup was delicious and Emily was quite pleased with her concoction. In fact, there is another pot of Christmas ball soup sitting on the kitchen table waiting for us when we get home this afternoon. As Rachael Ray, one of Emily's favorite chefs to watch, would say...Yummo!

Bah Humbug Monday

I have been in a funk all morning. No particular reason. Just am irate at pretty much everybody and everything. Could it be because I am wearing flip-flops, a t-shirt and shorts and dressed my children in shorts for school and it is DECEMBER??????? Give me some cold weather, please.

Emily and I fussed again this morning about what she was going to wear to school. Now, I don't care if she puts stripes with plaids or butterfly pants with a snowflake shirt. What I do care about is that she wears clean clothes and not something she pulled out of the bottom of the hamper. Sid had to intervene this morning because, as I mentioned above, I am irate which usually makes me irrational.

I think I'm going to take a nap this afternoon. Here's hoping that will perk me up. I would sign off with "Cheers!" or "Happy Napping!" but I just don't feel like it.

Keith In Big Church

I am terribly nearsighted. Sid jokingly refers to my glasses as "the Hubble" because the lenses are so thick. Yes, NASA? You need to see something way far out in space? Sure! You may use my lenses! Wal-Mart has to order my contact lenses because they don't keep -10.00 lenses in stock. Needless to say, a most dangerous time of navigation is at night when it's dark to begin with and I don't have on my glasses. Several years ago, I got up during the night to go to the bathroom and walked into my closet instead of out the bedroom door. Walked right into the dresses and got all tangled up in them. I was calling out "Hey! I'm stuck in here!" and flailing my arms around trying to get out while Sid was laughing so hard he couldn't...hmmmm...or wouldn't come help me. What reminded me of that silly story? Well, of course, church this morning.

Today was the first time we've tried "big church" with Keith, who turned two a few weeks ago. I suggested to Sid that Keith needed to get used to big church. Sid just stared at me and said "Have you met our son?" I insisted that it was time to at least bring him to the first part so he could sing and go to children's time. So we tried big church today. Keith was very interested in the music, the instruments, the video screen, and the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath. Not so much interested in any talking and praying that went on before children's time. We sent him up to the front for children's time and I decided at the last minute to go up and sit with him. He sat very still for about 20 seconds and then realized that he was in range to see the Advent wreath and everything else on the altar. As he started to walk off, I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulled him down into my lap and wrapped my arms around him at which point he started to squeal and struggle. As I let go, he got up again going full speed for the Advent wreath. So I got up, grabbed Keith and mumbled "Excuse us" to Debra who, at the time, was leading a most excellent children's message. I vaguely recall Debra laughing and announcing, to my horror, to the congregation that "Julie used to do this all the time so she knows what to do!" I held Keith and started quickly up the side aisle to get out of the Sanctuary when I got all tangled up in the six foot long and four foot wide red ribbon hanging down from the Advent wreath on the wall. Okay, the ribbon wasn't that big but it sure did seem like it. The preacher's wife was sitting right there laughing and pointing at me! Once again, no one to help a poor woman flailing about, this time with a baby, trying to get out of the ribbon.

Bits & Pieces of Today

Because Sid's truck is in the shop, he took today to do man chores around the house and run errands. Yay! We've lived here for a year. We finally have mirrors hung and a shelf in the laundry room. Instead of a $900 AT&T phone bill, we now have a $250 credit to our account. (Craziness, people. AT&T is spiraling out of control and leaving the poor guys at the Cingular store to fix their errors. The guys actually took Sid to the back room to sit at a desk as they tried to decipher this latest disaster of a phone bill.)

Late this afternoon, Sid and Josh put together two chairs that go with our dining room table. They've been in a box now for two years. The chair legs came in cardboard sleeves. The sleeves promptly became arm extensions. Sid, Emily, and Keith spent close to an hour running through the house chasing each other with cardboard samurai arms. It was hysterical!

I think I'm finally caught up with the laundry. Monday of last week, I sorted the laundry into three piles. Then I got distracted or tired and didn't do the laundry...all week. The three piles gradually turned into five. Our washer and dryer ran almost continuously this weekend. Just when the hamper was empty and the piles on the floor gone, Sid came home from National Guard drill with a bag full of dirty clothes. Go figure. My new plan is to do a load of laundry every other day in the hopes that it won't pile up again like last week resulting in me having to resort to putting Emily's socks on Keith because his are all dirty.

Hmmm...did I mention that the fingernails on Keith's left hand are painted pink? Emily and I did our nails on Saturday and Keith insisted on participating. Emily likes to paint one hand pink, one hand purple, one foot pink, and one foot purple. Luckily, Keith wasn't interested in the purple.

Tonight before dinner Emily was snuggled up with Sid looking at her new shark book. She's fascinated with them and has only asked for shark books for Christmas?! Sid was trying to pronounce one of the shark names and I giggled and said "You mean you don't know all their names?" Emily looked at me and said, "Shouldn't you be cooking dinner?" Smarty pants.

Unexpected

It happened this morning during worship. The Christmas spirit snuck up on me. And it's just one of many things unexpected that I hope to experience this season. Eddie hit right on it in his message this morning about the Advent season and the days of preparation ahead before Christmas. It sounds funny to say that I'm ready for the unexpected because that's what it is...unexpected. But I am and I'm happily expecting the unexpected during this Advent season.

Tonight the unexpected took the form of Josh, a young man who's been working with Sid for about a month now. He's literally an orphan who has been living on the streets for the last four or five years. After sleeping in the courtyard of our church for several months, arrangements were made for him to live in a small house at the back of the church parking lot. He eats dinner with us most nights after working during the day with Sid. Really, he's quickly become a part of our family. From what I can tell, he does not have a history of going to church. Sid says they've talked about God and faith some and that Josh is seeking...something. Sid always invites him to come to worship with us. Josh never comes. Until tonight. Josh came to the Hanging of the Greens service. It's one of my favorite worship times, when we decorate the Sanctuary and hear about all the symbols. There is always tons of music, both choral and instrumental, and we sing some of my favorite songs like "Once In Royal David's City."

Josh didn't have much to say after the service and I didn't try to dig deep. There's time for that. For now, I'm praying that Josh will experience the unexpected presence of Jesus rubbing up against him during this Advent season so that when baby Jesus enters this world, Josh is ready for Him to enter his heart.

'Tis the Season

I have to admit I'm having a hard time getting in the holiday spirit. I've always had a hang-up about doing anything Christmas before Thanksgiving. And now, it's like the day after Thanksgiving (if not waaaaaaay before) there's this free-fall into Christmas. I need more time. And I'm not talking about shopping. I need time to prepare. Isn't that what Advent is all about? Preparing ourselves for the birth of Christ? There's much to be done in my heart and spirit during this season so that I am ready to fully welcome this newborn child.

I am a singer. Growing up, I always dreamed of singing at the Met. I was in seminary before I accepted that I didn't have the drive to be a professional musician. Practicing in that closet sized room for 8-10 hours a day? No thank you. What I discovered instead was that I truly enjoyed singing and could do so without having to depend on it to put bread on the table. All that to say, the music of the Advent and Christmas seasons is my favorite. It's so rich with the story. And so invigorating to sing. It's just one of the ways I prepare myself. Other things I do include going to worship and being involved in some sort of mission project.

I used to complain that it was sad to me that people who serve on a church staff never get to enjoy the season because they're so busy making it meaningful for everyone else around them. I was one of those people racing ahead at full speed planning activity after activity to bring the season into focus for children and families. Last year was the first time in fifteen years that I was not in charge of anything. And it was wonderful! I was able to experience going to worship with my family and attend children's events with my children. For the first time since we'd been married, Sid and I sat together in worship on Christmas Eve! We created new memories and started new traditions because I moved at a different pace. And because I was desperately trying to heal my brokenness, it wasn't about everybody else's experience. It was about mine and my family's.

Selfish? I suppose so. Yet I'm so looking forward to the pace of Advent leading into Christmas this year. Enjoying every minute. Making memories of lazy mornings (like this morning when Emily, Keith and I laid around in the bed reading books before getting up for breakfast), movie nights, special outings, spending time with family and friends.

Friends, may you enjoy all the blessings this season has to offer. Make some wonderful memories!