Random Ramblings #13

Thank you to all of you who stopped by to check out my celebration of myself. That was an interesting topic, wasn't it? It seemed to bring the same reaction in most of us - it is more difficult to speak highly of ourselves than of others.

Kevin and I plan to publish Chapter 9 this week-end, so I am looking forward to that. He and his wife, who goes by Sema in blogland, will be heading for a nice get-away on Monday night, after our 3rd annual Memorial Day picnic in my mom and dad's back yard. They're heading to Florida for some much-deserved time away and alone.

Memorial Day has become a great family get-together ever since my parents arrived back here 3 years ago this week-end, to live in the town where they used to pastor. They always wished they could retire here when they left over 35 years ago. That desire was granted, and my sister and I are happy to have them nearby. My brother from Oklahoma has brought his family up for the Boulder Bolder for several years. He is unable to run it any more, but is privileged to work at the finish line, pulling the numbers off the shirts of the world class runners as they cross the finish line. I always get a glimpse or two of him on television as we watch the race. His son, (the West Point cadet), and his wife have enjoyed running together. My SIL has pushed herself in running to the point that she achieved an amazing feat this year - she qualified for the Boston Marathon in her age bracket. I don't know if she'll get to go or not, but I hope she does. It boggles my mind that people really enjoy running, but I applaud them.

Many things have been running around in my mind, none of which is enough for a complete post, but I need to get them out of there so I have room for important stuff! Of course, gas prices are the main topic of conversation these days. I always wonder if we'd been as careful of how much gas we're wasting when the price was lower, would we be in this predicament now? I remember so clearly when we were first married in 1972, I was driving up here to work at a bank, about 15 miles from our apartment. DC was driving to this town as well, though a bit shorter distance. At that time, we were having the "energy crisis" and there were long lines at the gas pumps for fear there wouldn't be any left the next day. We were paying about 50 cents per gallon and the rumor was that it was going to go up to $1.00 very soon. We couldn't imagine how we would afford it, if that happened. As it turned out, it took several more years for it to actually get to $1.00, and we soon forgot that we should probably continue conserving gas as much as possible.

Do you have pet peeves? Maybe we should all do a post on ours. One of mine, currently, is my grocery store parking lot. You literally take your life in your hands when you go food shopping! People zip around, going the wrong way, shooting out from their spot, not paying any attention to those walking, or - those who are walking and not paying any attention to the cars. And then there are the potholes that are not being fixed since the winter's severe weather - small cars have been lost and never found again! It doesn't seem to be anybody's responsibility.

A few months ago I posted on my forgetfulness and all the things I have lost. I don't know if I ever confessed this one - one Sunday after eating lunch at Applebee's, I could not find my brand new, very expensive, lineless bifocal sunglasses - my first-ever really good pair of sunglasses. I don't know what came over me to think I could hang on to expensive sunglasses when I am constantly losing the $10.00 Target variety. But my faith got the better of my common sense and I sprang for them. Oh, they felt so good on my eyes, and I was so happy. BUT - they were now totally gone. I hunted under the table, between the wall and the booth, in the car, back to the church to see if I'd left them in a pew. Nowhere to be found. I called Applebee's and asked them to be on the look-out, and they faithfully wrote down my name and number in case they found them. I had thought several times that I should just bop back in there and see if they were in Lost and Found, but always had the kiddoes with me at that moment and didn't want to unload everyone from car seats, drag them in for 5 minutes or less, and then reload again. So - last Friday night DC and I went there for dinner - 3 months later. I asked the hostess if she'd do me a favor and check Lost and Found for my glasses. She said she'd be glad to - but she didn't. So I asked our waiter. He was much less forgetful - in fact, he went right up there and dragged back 6 pairs of sunglasses for me to check out! There was a pair in a blue case (I thought mine was black) - I put them on - they fit my eyes! I couldn't even remember for sure what they looked like, because I'd had them such a short time and it was so long ago. But - if bifocals fit your eyes, they must be yours, right?? I was so excited. I could not believe it. They actually had at least 15 pairs of glasses and sunglasses in that drawer. I wonder if everyone else had asked them to call if they found theirs. Hmmm.

Remember the t.v. show, Wonder Years ? I always loved that show, and now it's back in re-runs. I am trying to catch it every night, or tape it. It is really such a good show. David Schwimmer of Friends fame (I never warmed up to Friends) was the boyfriend of Kevin's older sister, Karen. I loved the episode the other night when her family found out that her new "roommate" was this guy, and not the girl they expected to find when they visited her in her very old run-down rented house. The reaction of her parents was so refreshing in this age of cohabitation being the "new norm."

I thought of one more thing I should have listed when I was doing the "weird things about me" meme. I am terrifically allergic to perfume. It started when I was in college and my boyfriend gave me Estee Lauder perfume for my birthday. I began to get severe headaches at the back of my head every time I wore it. It escalated from there - I even had to quit singing in choir for a time because of the perfume of the woman ahead of me. I didn't feel like I could ask her to quit wearing her favorite scent. DC loves good perfume and I had to tell him to settle for me not smelling bad, since I couldn't smell good! I have to be careful about make-up, shampoo, conditioner, mousse (nobody makes unscented mousse that I have been able to find), deodorant, Hallmark stores, candle parties, Home Interior parties, Body Works stores, magazines, and on and on and on. For some reason, this world thinks that everything is better if it smells strong. I have even become allergic to Easter lilies, lilacs, and daffodils. I bring them to work and put them in the outer office instead of in mine. Kinda sad. What I don't understand is - you can request your magazine to be sent to you without the perfume strips if you're allergic. If there are so many of us who are allergic that they have special lists of us, why can't they stop putting perfume in magazines?? There are even churches now that have special "scent-free" pews!

I am technologically pathetic. Anything good you see on my blog in terms of pretty or fancy is because of my technologically savvy daughter, Kristen. When Sema was staying with us while Kevin was gone, she was going to school almost every night. She had a couple of favorite programs she liked to watch on week-ends, so she'd ask me to tape them for her. I don't know why she kept having faith in me, because often I would mess it up. Kristen asks me to tape her soap for her every day, because for some reason she can't do it. Kev asks me to tape stuff for him - I don't really know why. They've all been disappointed at some time or another with my ineptness or carelessness with the VCR. Last night - last night - when I was watching American Idol after choir practice (I had to wait until 9:00!), I CUT OFF THE CELEBRATION! I saw the big announcement, and just as Jordin's hands went up to cover her face - IT BLIPPED OFF! I set it to go off at 9:05, but the clock must have been wrong. Oh, my word! Thank goodness Kristen taped it. But -- earlier, I had been checking messages and comments - I was checking Kristen's comments on her AI post - one unnamed dear blogging friend lives in a different time zone and had already watched it - I spoiled the surprise by being so obsessed and checking messages - I knew before I even watched it that Jordin won! ARGGHHH!

I'm going to end all of this silliness, which has gone on far too long. I have so much to do today to get my students cleared for graduation by June 1. Lots of stress in that process! I leave you with Max Lucado's wonderful words. This should make your day better:

Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26

"Consider the earth! Our globe's weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons (a six with twenty-one zeroes). Yet it is precisely tilted at twenty-three degrees; any more or any less and our seasons would be lost in a melted polar flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of one-thousand miles per hour or twenty-five thousand miles per day or nine million miles yer year, none of us tumbles into orbit . . .

As you stand . . . observing God's workshop, let me pose a few questions. If He is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is able to guide your life? If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path? If He cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that He cares enough about you to meet your needs?" (From The Great House of God)