Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Rambling

If you're a blogger you'll understand this thing that I have going on right now. It probably happens to you too.

You know how a thought crosses your mind and you say to yourself, "I think I'll blog about that later." And in your head you develop that thought further and you say to yourself, "You know? I'm really quite brilliant. This will be a fascinating blog post. Someone may even be motivated to post a comment. Maybe there will be a party in my comment section as a result of this exceptional article I am writing in my mind."

And then after a day of work, and the unexpected nap on the couch with your laptop keeping you warm, and after supper has been prepared, consumed and saved in convenient containers for lunches the next day, and after a too-large load of laundry has been thrown in the washing machine and mail has been opened and a glance around the house has confirmed that the 'holding place of junk' (dining room table) needs a couple hours of attention ... after all that, you totally forgot what it was you had to say.

Does that ever happen to you?

Sigh.

I hate that.

So.

No photos tonight.
And no deep prose.

I won't be offended if you leave right now.

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Obama is President.
Did you watch the ceremony?
I did.
I went into each son's bedroom and encouraged them to get up to watch.
Not one of them did.
I tried.

Something about watching those procedings makes me want to re-watch the first three seasons of West Wing.

And that's about all I have to say about that.

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Why do Cadbury Cream Eggs have to come out before Valentine's Day? They are tools of the devil.

I went for a walk tonight.
And my feet took me right to Shopper's where they have bags of the mini ones, which are now my favorite. There are about 10 bags left. Do me a favor, will ya? If you're in the area, stop at Shopper's and buy a bag or two for yourself.

If you don't buy them, I will. And it will not be pretty.

And that's it for this topic.

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Drew has started a new blog where he has posted photos taken with his new Nikon D60.

If you're comfortable with the whole 'commenting on blogs' thing, give him an encouraging word, ok?
Click here to get to his blog.

Hmmm. Not much else to say about this. Other than I'm the proud mama of photographing blogging sons. (Clint posted some new thoughts on his blog. This just might be my favorite entry.)

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Up til this week, I have maintained a 3 to 1 win/loss ratio in Facebook Scrabble. I have 16 friends who play, so at any point, I could have a dozen games on the go. (When I mentioned this at Christmas, my brother suggested I get a life. )Wha?? I have a Scrabble-playing-life and I like it. It's challenging. And fills my need to be social. (I don't have great social needs.)

Anyway - my friends are getting better. MUCH better. Folks that I used to always win against (*cough MARJ cough*) are getting savy. And, well ... in order to keep my 3 - 1 ratio, I have to win the next 6 games I play. Just thought I'd let you know. I'll keep you posted. Right now, in the game I'm playing with Maxine? She's winning by 10 points. And she has awesome letters. And I've got a tray filled with friggin vowels.

If you're reading this, and have succumbed to peer pressure of being on facebook, start a game with me, especially if you're lousy at it. Come on, it'll be fun.

Hmmm. That's it for Scrabble chat.

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Do you remember the calendars I bought from the Idea Program at Capilano College? I bought two. One is on the wall beside my desk. And one is on the wall in my bathroom.
The desk one has birthdays and dentist appointments on it.
The one in my bathroom? Has names on it.
Every square has 6 - 10 names squeezed (THAT would be a great Scrabble word. Especially if you could place it on a triple word score... a Q and a Z. Awesome) in it. Those names? Are the folks I'm going to pray for while I pluck my chin and curl my bangs.

Some squares simply say, for example, "Krahn and Wegenast Families". (Which means I'm praying for 3 generations - From the grandparents who are my parent's age, to those in my generation, and all their kids along with their spouses or significant boy/girlfriends.)

Other squares may just say, "Youth Church kids", and then I pray for Simon, the pastor and any kids I know that attend that church on Sunday night.

The other day my square said, "Creation Boys" and this meant I was praying for all the boys that I've ever taken with me to Creationfest. As I remember it, it was a quick prayer day, because my chin was relatively whisker-free and my bangs required minimal attention. Anyway, know what? Two of those boys I prayed for got into (separate) car accidents. Both vehicles were totalled. Both guys walked away with no (or very slight) injuries.

So, uhhh. Pray.
You don't have to have an Artist's Calendar with names and dates and whatnot all filled in like you're a craft-class-organizer for Billie's Country making sure you get a minimum of 3 classes per day and 2 on Saturday established for the 17 craft teachers you have on staff... (Some old habits die longggg slowwww deaths. I love filling in those little squares on calendars. I love calendars. I love the artwork on calendars. And my kids? They think calendars are Satan's idea. HOW can we be related?) Where was I? Oh, yeah, pray. Just do it. Trust me on this.

Nothing more to say about that.

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I'm reading this book that is so extremely interesting:

1. What is an outlier?

"Outlier" is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience. In the summer, in Paris, we expect most days to be somewhere between warm and very hot. But imagine if you had a day in the middle of August where the temperature fell below freezing. That day would be outlier. And while we have a very good understanding of why summer days in Paris are warm or hot, we know a good deal less about why a summer day in Paris might be freezing cold. In this book I'm interested in people who are outliers—in men and women who, for one reason or another, are so accomplished and so extraordinary and so outside of ordinary experience that they are as puzzling to the rest of us as a cold day in August.

I WAS finding it all fascinating up until last night. Last night I read the chapter on the impact of parenting and how it factors in to a person's success. And you know what? I put that book down feeling sick about the parenting that my kids are receiving. Just sick.

Chances are none of them are going to receive Nobel Peace Prizes based on the way they are being raised. And it's all my fault. (Well, their dad's too. Maybe more him than me? A father's influence seems to be more important than a mom's, especially with boys.) Regardless. There are big, glaring holes in their upbringing and it killed me to read about it last night. I probably should have picked up my Bible and read those verses again about how God is a father to the fatherless. That might've comforted me.

Do I use that as a crutch, I wonder? Like, do I use God as my safety net when I screw up with parenting? Maybe that's OK? Maybe that was His intention all along? Maybe He made this job so hard that only He can do it right? And so when someone who is a goof-off and has driven their parents into wrinkled, grey, quivering puddles of sad, remorseful jelly, and then comes around and turns out outstanding, the parents can say from their spot on the floor, "It wasn't us. To God be the Glory. Great things He hath done."

I'm only half way through the book. I hope I don't hate myself by the time I get to the end.

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I'm also reading this devotional prayer book by John Baillie (is it any wonder why my ass is so big. Sheesh. All I do is play scrabble and read books) and this is part of the prayer for today:
(It's in that Shakespearean King James English that is so rich and eloquent)

"Let me face what Thou dost send with the strength Thou dost supply;
When Thou prosperest my undertakings, let me give heed that Thy word may prosper in my heart;
WHEN THOUS CALLEST ME TO GO THROUGH THE DARK VALLEY, LET ME NOT PERSUADE MYSELF THAT I KNOW A WAY AROUND;
Let me not refuse any opportunityof service which may offer itself today; nor fall prey to any temptation that may lie in wait for me;
Let not the sins of yesterday be repeated in the life of today, nor the life of today set any evil example to the life of tomorrow."

I love that.

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Know what else I love?
The 2 minute conversation I just had with Clint. He's reading that Veggie Tales book on my recommendation.

He is thoroughly enjoying it and can totally identify with Phil Visher. When Phil describes the process and problems with getting the first Veggie Tales Video ready for market, Clint is right there in the room with him.

"I get that guy. I love this book. I've told Adam he has to read it too." (Adam was the guy who immersed Clint into the world of video editing as a job.)

Ahhhhhh. Two minutes of conversation. And we both agreed about the awesomeness of a book. Maybe I am rocking this 'mom' role.

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Three things I'm thankful for:

1. I just squeaked by and beat Maxine by one point in our Scrabble game this evening. I totally lucked out with a 72 pointer on my second to last turn. oh, sorry. Am I boring you?

2. I am getting caught up at work. I actually cleaned out a file drawer this afternoon. That drawer? Is my dumping ground at work - sort of like my dining room table is at home. And by the time I left today? It has room! For stuff!

3. Answered prayer. Specific answered prayer. Yee haw. I LOVE it when that happens.

Shalom,

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yet again, God has spoken to me through your words. Spent the hours of 4am-6am doing the tightrope walk I am so proficient at, in which my balancing pole has prayer on one side and anger-getting-all-worked-up-over-'injustices' on the other side. I fell off the tightrope due to the weight of the injustices and decided quietly to myself (because I didn't want God to hear!) that I'm praying too much and I should really give myself a break from the prayers for safety for my travelling husband, Christian spouses for my kids, etc., because really, God heard me the first time so enough is enough, right?? Wrong. Thank you for lifting the fog that Satan loves to stealthily cover me with, and reminding me of the magnificent power of prayer.

Jane said...

Anonymous? HOLY COW you know how to express yourself with the written word!

Do you have a blog? Written some articles? Teach English?

Glad my blog was an encouragement to you. Have a good day. Take a nap. Seems like you missed some sleep last night.

Anonymous said...

Actually, I do have a blog, except that it's yours! Many a time I have phoned a friend to say "Go look at my 'friend' Jane's blog, because she's reading my mind again!"

Written word is the only way I can communicate effectively - in person I tend to piss people off!

Thanks again for the encouragement!

Sue said...

Hi Jane, thanks for writing about the rambling. I have actually considered not blogging anymore because I feel that my written posts are so substandard to the ones going on constantly in my brain! Glad to know I am not alone in this...hopefully when life slows down a bit we will still want to blog so we can match online what is in our minds!

Anonymous said...

As a mom of one of those boys involved in a car accident, I can't thank you enough for covering him in prayer ahead of time so that he was able to walk away from it unscathed. I'm so grateful for your faithfulness in following through on those names listed in your prayer calendar.

Bless you Jane.

Jane said...

6 comments = party

Yay.