A choice laugh

I crack myself up sometimes.  Actually, a lot of times.  When I'm onstage I laugh at things I say because I find them funny myself, which is why I decided to tell it to others as a joke in the first place.   I am not pretending, I am really laughing in tandem with my audience.
Other times I crack myself up because I am just ridiculous, or rather, my human nature is just ridiculous.  I say one thing and then do another.  I feel strongly and adamantly about something one day and then my actions counteract that feeling the next.  I wish I was more steady, more consistent, more unwavering in
my thoughts and actions.  My life feels like a perpetual teenagerhood... wondering what I will do when I
finally grow up. 
That's where I hope God cracks up too, just like I do when my boys do something I could have predicted because I've "been there and done that."  Watching them change and grow is something I relish, and while I hope they make good choices I also know that change in their choices is inevitable and exciting.
Their hearts are maturing, their lives are enriching, and their vision is expanding.  I don't begrudge them
this.  I smile, and in the end all I hope for is a choice that honors their Creator. 
Why would I think God would do any less for me? 

I was sitting in church yesterday listening to the message  when something flew out the pastor's mouth and hit me squarely between the eyes.  No, it was not saliva.  It was truth.  Absolute, life-altering, decision impacting truth. 
I can't believe I didn't realize it before, but here it is:
I am to speak no matter what.  It doesn't matter if I do it as a career, or as a hobby, for a lot of dates or for a few, but I am to speak.
The fact of the matter is, I have been afflicted and tried and scourged and refined by difficulties and those are not to go to waste in this lifetime.  I have also been gifted with a comic disposition and to combine the two aspects of my life is a calling I am not allowed to ignore. 
I can sit and figure out all the ways in which I can make that combination work out financially for my
family, but in the end, it has to happen, no matter what.  It is what I have been training for. 
Now, who would like to listen?

Potty Humor

Isn't it funny that going to the bathroom can be funny??   I find that odd, similar to the fact that diamonds are so expensive.
 Why?  Because everyone has to, and almost everyone has one, respectively.  I am constantly amazed at the way boys laugh and joke about all things bathroom.  They take pride in their accomplishments in the loo, and tell tales which get "longer" every time! 
It seems as silly as charging a fortune for a small clear sparkly piece of compressed carbon that can be found on almost every married woman's finger, and in zillions of jewelry stores and pawn shops throughout the world. 
What is so special about either of these?
Who knows, but the fascination with both doesn't seem to be passing any time soon.  :)

I don't know if this is sacriligious or not, but I think of the Superbowl as a holiday unto itself.  I look forward to it for months. It's a lot like Christmas, but better, and worse.  Similarities like wonderful food, being with friends or family, and having a football game on the tv for hours on end make it fun and festive.  The" better" part to me is the absence of gift giving. I relish that there is no pressure, no expectations, no nothing regarding "stuff."  You just bring yourself and enjoy the moment.  Ahhhh.  
The only part that's worse is that there is worship, but nothing of the heavenly realm.  Players, teams, and marketing genius are the focus of intense praise and rejoicing.  If we could just make Christmas as relaxing, and the Superbowl a little less of a fluff fest I would be thrilled, but just a little less. 
Until then... pass the Doritos!

Getting a Leg Up on Life...

For the past month I have been sitting on the sofa while my foot recovers from surgery.  I am not able to bear weight on it in the slightest.  Crutches are required for every step. Making peace with this has been difficult to say the least.
 Don't get me wrong.  I have opportunized this time to work on taxes, writing, and email catch-up.  Phone calls that needed to be made have been checked off, and I've caught up with some shopping via internet ordering.  Several friends have jokingly voiced a jealousy of my  time on the couch, wishing they could be waited upon hand and mostly foot.  But I hate it. 
Why?  I'm not sure except that I like to be out and about in the daily process of "doing."  Lots and lots of "doing."  Doing might include meeting with friends or working on my computer at a cafe.  It might consist of buying groceries or mailing packages.  Doing looks like haircuts and  drycleaning and shopping for birthday gifts.  Going to the dog groomer or dropping off a school lunch feels like doing, and doing feels good to me.  Sitting does not.  It makes me feel worthless.
When I think of the word invalid in my head I pronounce it IN-valid.  Not valid.  That's how I feel when I cannot "do." 
Outwardly I  proclaim  belief that we all have intrinsic value in God, and that validity is not in what we do but in the mere fact that we exist.  This alone makes us valuable to our Creator and to others.  Further examination of my heart however reveals personal application of  that belief more to others than to myself.  Validity, in my mind, comes from  productivity, not from the mere product of my existence. 
In two or three weeks I will be mobile again.  Hopefully I won't forget the lessons pondered here on the sofa.  Lessons about worth, and the hope and value which comes from being made by a divine Creator, not from checking off a to-do list.  Some may argue that the hope of intrinsic value is just a crutch.  I diagree.  When you are in my position,  it is the only leg worth standing on. 

A consistently good day

Well, I haven't kept up my blog very well but that shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone who knows me. I am a sporadic person which is another way of saying I can be less than consistent.
For example, I can be completely and solely into redecorating a room and once it is finished I won't change a thing for a decade. Or I can start a new fitness routine and keep at it diligently until I decide to redecorate my house again and....I think you get the picture.
The only thing I have remained consistent in for the last 19 years is that I consistently want to be the best mom and wife I can possibly be. Food, water, laundry, love. Those four things I can do, all at once, on a continued basis. Nobody seems to need much more than that, and I can provide those things, plus or minus a little homework help, medical care, and discipline .
Today I haven't done a thing to my house, and the exercise routine is still undone, but my desire to love and care for my children remains steady.
Today is a good day. :)

A Whale of a Christmas.....Conclusion

The time had come...the journey almost complete. Without fanfare, without announcement, the tail of the humpback whale stood tall before us splashing down with a force and power beyond belief. Majesty and beauty swam silently around us.
One last time the captain trumpeted the news that what we had been waiting for was right before us, just waiting for us to behold with awe and wonder.

Stillness. Silence.
The commotion that had been evidenced earlier was no where to be seen. Cameras clicked minimally from outstretched arms instead of from an upright postition. Children were sleeping on deck, adults were slumped over in chairs and benches, drooling in a medication induced stupor. The long anticipated view was not beheld, but rather, ignored.
I on the other hand, was rather amused by the whole scenario, preferring to snap endlessly at the whales as well as the comatose passengers. After all, this is what we had journeyed to see in the first place!
As I ponder the Christmas season, may it be that we are not so enraptured with the fish, the dolphins, and the sea otters along the way that we actually miss the intended adventure. All too often the unimportant hurriedness of the season and the glittering to-do lists numb our hearts to the pinnacle of the seasonal excursion: to behold the Baby lying in the manager who came to save not the whales, but the World.
Merry Christmas!