My Disappearance

I apologise for my sudden disappearance. We have had a lot of drama here at home that has unfolded in the last week. I hope to be back up and blogging again soon.


In the meantime, please check out the following link, because, well, a missing child is a very scary thing. Trust me:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Paradoxes and Oxymorons

I was so excited to see that the latest book (Selected Poems by John Ashbery) I ordered off Amazon arrived today and only two days after I ordered it! With one kid in bed and the other soon to follow, I may actually have a small opportunity to curl up with a nice steaming cup of green tea and read until my eyes grow heavy.

Below is the video that spurred my interest in reading more of Ashbery's work. Now off to enjoy a little me time!

Resurrection, Amen

Yesterday the Sr. High Youth Group was in charge of the sunrise service at our church. Sis was to give the Prayer of Dedication. It was supposed to go something like this:

Thank you, God, for resurrection. We rejoice in Christ as the world, so we would offer ourselves. May we along with our gifts, testify to good news of your forgiving love and empowering acceptance. Amen

On Friday she expressed concern to me that she was having a difficult time memorizing the prayer.* She really hoped that she would be able to take her copy up with her otherwise her prayer would end up as the two words she could remember, "Resurrection, Amen".

Isn't it funny how two words by themselves, two words that we hear in prayer and sermon so much at this time of year, can have an amazing impact on your thoughts and soul when put together. Maybe it shows us that we understand the enormity of those two words together; everything that God did for us when he let His son die on that cross and then brought him back to prove to us that He is our one and only true God.

What amazing power and gratitude in that simple two-word prayer. And so I say, Resurrection, Amen!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of friends, family, food, and reflection!


* Sis was able to take her notes up with her, but barely needed them. She recited the prayer beautifully :)

Something Other Than Karma

Karma is defined as "The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny." If you believe in Karma, then you also believe that what I am about to tell you is a result of Bad Karma or "fate, destiny" or even more so "Informal. A distinctive aura, atmosphere, or feeling: There's bad karma around the house today."

While I agree that a person's actions and conduct make us who we are and can have a direct bearing on our existence, I so not believe that by choosing to have oatmeal for breakfast this morning in any way impacted my finding a quarter in the parking lot at work.

So call it Karma, call it Dumb Bad Luck, call it what you will. I've just plain had a bad week.

I really didn't know I had been having a bad week until I got to chatting with Ave tonight. I made a comment about burning the rhubarb cobbler Bug and I had made for desert. She retorted that at least my furnace was working now. I guess I'm just one of those people that normally has a positive attitude and can let go of little things. Reflecting back though, my week wasn't as good as I had led myself to believe. Blame it on my tendency to deal with a current situation and then let it go (hmmm... maybe that's why I stayed in a failed marriage so long, I dealt with all the little things but didn't look at the big picture?)

My week went something like this:

Sunday it snowed. and I'm not talking a little snow, I'm saying we got dumped on. I'm not sure exactly how much we got, I've heard between 9 and 14 inches. Cold, very wet, heavy snow. The kind where you can make a snowman one day and if it remains cold enough will be an ice man the next. So we missed church and cub scouts, I had an aching back from scooping, and I had to listen to Bug whine all afternoon about how bored he was until we had Ave's son over for a play date. At least the snow was starting to melt by the time we went to bed. The positive? I got a lot of cleaning done, watched movies with Sis, and found laughter in listening to the boys play.

Monday morning things started to turn for the worse. I was able to back out of my driveway. And that was it. For twenty minutes I tried rocking my truck, my new used truck mind you, back and forth in the middle of the street. I got out in my heels into the snowy slushy pond that had once been my street. I tried pushing as Sis steered to no avail.

I called into work to explain that I would be late.

They laughed. I work at the dealership where I bought the truck last month. They all knew I had four-wheel drive.

One of my kind neighbors came over to help (I practically live in Mayberry by the way. what a wonderful neighborhood for a single mom to live in). The neighbor pointed out that my four-wheel drive wasn't engaging. He was right. I had somehow stripped a gear when I was backing out.

I handed my keys to the guys in the shop when I finally got to work almost a half hour late. Positive? I work at a car dealership with a service department.

Fast forward to Monday night. I get home from work (with my truck that is waiting for parts and an available mechanic to work on it) and it is freezing in the house. Ok, not freezing, it's 63. The kids are bundled up in swetshirts and blankets.

I assumed the pilot light had blown out on the furnace. I assumed wrong. It was still burning when I went down to relight it. I changed the batteries on the thermostat. Nope. Wrong again. I called Ave, who called her Dad. He works at a local plumbing and heating business in town. He walks us through all the things we need to check. Yep, tried that and that....finally just as I'm ready to leave for the kid's conferences, Bingo! The furnace had somehow tripped it's circuit breaker. The positive? I didn't have to pay someone to fix my furnace and two hours later I came home to a very toasty abode.

Tuesday morning had me arguing with the Extended Warranty company about whether they were going to pay for my truck repair since I had just bought the vehicle 3 weeks before. In the afternoon one of our service advisors won that battle for me.

I went swimming Tuesday night. I swam laps without my cap that I somehow misplaced. What a pain. Im pretty sure I won't have to get my hair thinned out for awhile now.

I think Wednesday went pretty well. It's kind of a blur since I was so busy running kids to activities.

Tonight Bug and I had planned to make a Rhubarb cake for desert. I still have quite a bit of rhubarb stashed in my deep freeze from last year. We had fun mixing the batter and talking. We put it in the oven, set the timer for one hour, and settled down to watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

An hour and ten minutes later I realized something was burning.

The timer had stopped with 5 minutes left to go. Obviously I won't be trusting my stove to tell me when something is done again. The positive? We were able to salvage enough of the cake for us to each have a piece and Bug and I still had a bonding experience regardless.

Tomorrow is a new day. Bur I think I'll say a prayer tonight and ask God to keep bad karma away from me just in case.

Getting a Clue

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

by Erma Bombeck

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.

"There would have been more "I love yous"..

more "I'm sorrys"..

but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.......

look at it and really see it..

live it..

and never give it back.

Don't forget to stop and smell the roses today!

Take time to tell a loved one how much you love them, do something nice for yourself, and stop to give God thanks for all of it.

I've never been one to keep an immaculate house anyway. I have always told myself that there would be time for housekeeping when I'm either finally able to be a stay at home mom or retired. This late in the game retired is probably more likely (and I will still have terrible cleaning habits).

That's not to say I don't keep a clean house, but because of watching my dear Mom fight illness my whole childhood, I have learned the value of taking an evening off. Even if it drives my type A tendencies nuts.

So tonight while Sis was at youth group I allowed myself the evening off to play a game of Clue with Bug. He won :)

Poetry Month

It’s All I Have to Bring Today

It's all I have to bring today--

This, and my heart beside--

This, and my heart, and all the fields--

And all the meadows wide--

Be sure you count--

should I forget

Some one the sum could tell--

This, and my heart,

and all the Bees

Which in the Clover dwell.

~Emily Dickinson

It's no secret that I love poetry. It enlightens, inspires, dreams. In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite poets.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was more widely known in her lifetime as a gardener rather than a poet. Less than a dozen of her 1800 poems were published during her lifetime. Rumors abound about her quiet reclusive lifestyle. Withdrawing from seminary after the deaths of her second cousin/close friend and her principal, Emily spent most of her days attending to household activities at the family homestead and corresponding with acquaintances. After her death, Emily's sister Lavinia found nearly eighteen-hundred poems locked in a chest. Lavinia became obsessed with having Emily's work published, prompting the first volume to appear four years after her sister's death.

The Greatest Gift of All

Above is the note that Bug passed to me during a recent Sunday church service. It was written on the back of a gum wrapper in pencil and given to me simply for my enjoyment and his pleasure.




When the voices of children are heard on the green
And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast
And everything else is still.
WILLIAM BLAKE, Nurse's Song



I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest license of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value.
CHARLES DICKENS, A Christmas Carol

Sunshine on my shoulders

Photo courtesy of Laughing dog Photography

I really don't have anything particular to blog about tonight, other than to let you all know that today was a mostly good day. The sun was shining, it was slightly warm, there was just a feeling of practically spring in the air!

It's amazing how the sun shining can affect one's mood isn't it? I read an article today about the statistical correlation between sun light, moods, and the stock market. Obviously what this country needs is more sunshine LOL! Seriously though, the article explained in some mildly boring scientific jargon that sunlight makes us optimistic and happy.

And it's the truth! We all know it! We all feel it! I was so productive at work today! Then I took my excess positive energy to the gym and lifted weights for an hour. If I had the time I probably would have run or swam too. But alas I had prior commitments and had to leave.

Now if someone could just figure out how to filter some sunlight into my house tonight so I have a positive attitude to clean, I would be all set for life!