In the 11 days since the election, I have gotten a few emails and texts from people with varying pictures of the “new White House”. These are supposed to be humorous images of what the front lawn will look like after our new President-elect takes office.
I am offended.
And embarrassed.
And confused.
Confused about how people can express such fear of one man getting a new job one minute and then talk about how God is their rock the next. If you believe the latter portion of that sentence, why are you worrying about the former?
If you’re one who has experienced God’s love & forgiveness, I hope you’re not one of the people fanning the flames of the hatred fire and fortifying the racial walls between people. Surely our time would better spent praying for wisdom and clarity for President-elect Obama. Rather than stereotyping and mocking part of his culture, maybe we could start praying for his safety since some small minded, hatemonger is probably going to attempt to take Mr. Obama’s life.
I hope we wear the knees out of our jeans praying for our new Commander-in-Chief.
My favorite firstborn recently got a puppy and named her Zoe. Since I'm between jobs right now, I puppy sit during the day.
Zoe is curious, energetic, and mischievous; much like a toddler. She makes messes like toddlers do, has a potty accident every now and then like toddlers do, and has practically boundless energy--much like a toddler.
Zoe is always falling over, falling down, or falling up. Yes, falling up. I recently joked that she needed a t-shirt with "I do all my own stunts" printed on it. She's a very clever, albeit acrobatically challenged, animal. I'll explain...
We all typically work during the day and since we know what wonderfully gifted chewers puppies are, to ensure the safety of our home's inhabitants (because I will go crazy white girl on everybody if that dog ruins my carpet or furniture), Zoe is a crate puppy when we're not home. But when we are home, we keep her crate door open so she can go in it whenever she wants.
Zoe's crate is kept behind the couch, and the bars rattle a little when she goes into it. So today when I went into the kitchen to get some lunch, I thought I'd check on her to make sure she wasn't trying to drag the blanket out of the crate since I heard her go in there but hadn't heard her come out yet. When I looked in on her she was sitting very ladylike in her crate, facing the back of the couch, but looking at me out of the corner of her eye as if to say "I know you're watching me and I'm not doing anything".
I went into the kitchen and got my food started in the microwave, and figured I'd check on her again. I had to go into the office in order to peek around the corner into the living room to see her crate. This time she was sitting with her butt in the doorway of the crate as she faced the opposite direction. Her neck was jerking back and forth and I realized she was working the blanket out from under the corner of her pillow. I made an annoying buzzer-type sound with my mouth and told her to stop. She spun around real quickly and made her pitiful face as I pointed at her and told her to stop trying to pull the blanket out of the crate. And then I went back into the kitchen to check my food.
Having raised two mischievous boys, I knew that wasn't the end of things. I walked back into the office and peeked around the corner to find her sitting where I left her, but with the blanket hanging loosely from her teeth. She'd picked it back up but hadn't begun working again. Back to the kitchen to check food. And back to check on the dog.
I quietly crept toward the office, squatted down and crawled to the doorway of the living room. And there she was, peeking around the corner of the doorway with her head lowered so she could check on me to see if I was checking on her. We were both busted.
I told you she was clever.
Hmmph. At 2:36 this morning, my "baby" turned 19.
He can eat with utensils, wipe his own butt, wash his own laundry, clean a house, add and subtract, read, manage a checking account, knows how to carry on a conversation appropriately with an elderly adult, change a baby's diaper, and appreciates cute kids and puppies and the joy their innocence brings to the world. He lives true to himself while being a loyal friend and wannabe commedian who knows how to enjoy life. He'll be a great husband, father, uncle, and world contributor.
Mission accomplished. Where did the time go?
Are you a thermometer (reflecting the temperature in the area) or a thermostat (changing the temperature)?
From the outside of my Starbucks cup today:
Do not kiss your children so they will kiss you back but so they will kiss their children and their children's children.
Noah benShea, poet, author, philosopher
Most people spend their day doing one of two things: preparing or repairing.
Don't spend all your time repairing yesterday's mistakes. Fix what you can, and then begin preparing for tomorrow.
Avoid being near-sighted, focusing only on what is reflected in the mirror you hold in your hand. Become far-sighted by removing the mirror and looking toward the horizon of your future.
Is the best, most interesting place on the planet. Seriously!
We went to Atlanta today and ate lunch at WF between meetings. If you know me at all, you know I love to people watch. Talk about a melting pot...I could sit in there and be entertained for hours.
The most common thread shared by today's WF shoppers is their overall lack of tasteful fashion (pun intended). While it's safe to say that most WF shoppers care about things like organic, vegan, environmentally friendly products and packaging, there's one thing they don't seem to be too concerned with: looking good while shopping for that stuff. There were a few people in there whose clothing choices made me wonder if they looked at themselves in the mirror on their way out the door and thought, "this looks good". If so, I'd like to ask them what they were smoking and if the prescription for their glasses had been checked recently.
I watched with fascination as the nerdy John Lennon looking guy wearing socks & sandals ate lunch and chatted with his little boy, and the young adults two tables over, who started as a group of 4 and added more friends and chairs to the table as time passed, laughed, talked, and drank their smoothies. There was one guy in that group who looked like a cross between Frodo from LOTR, and Scrat from Ice Age. I know, right?!
And they've got hippies, nerds, trendy wannabees, geeks, greens, granolas, tree hugging nature lovers, gay people, straight people, people with ink, people with piercings, people with ink and piercings, people with ink but no piercings, piercings but no ink, and people with neither who shop in there. They've got folks who are barely dressed for public viewing and somebody running around in an overcoat...in the dead middle of September in the south. They've got little kids in there, and old people in there; sometimes together, sometimes not. They've got black, white, brown, yellow and suicides (in case you don't remember, that's all the flavors mixed together). They've got foreigners and natives, and foreigners who think they're native. There's nobody who looks "normal" shopping there. It's quite an amazing place.
I watched the casual/preppy guy eat his wrap for lunch and wondered what kind of work he did (he could've been a model for Ebony), and how old the girl was at the next table who was wearing the Grandma-style clothes (answer: waaaay too young to be dressed like that!). She had on red suede pumps with pilgrim-style buckles though that looked like she bought 'em from a second hand store, and I couldn't help but like them somehow.
I sat there in my trashy, sexy butterfly shirt, dragonfly choker and Levi's that barely covered my patent yellow sandals and wondered who was watching me watch them.
Entertainment while I shop at a quality store for quality products. I can't wait to go back. Who's with me?
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my never-ending battle
My 411
- Eva M.
- After struggling to fit into the proverbial round hole, I figured it was more honest to embrace the natural facets of my personality: passion for God and people, off-the-wall logic and a twisted sense of humor.
I'm an Air Force wife and former homeschool mom who writes about people and relationships, my faith, and my family. I love my crazy, beautiful, mosaic life...and coffee.