My daughter and my grandson are coming tomorrow! We haven't seen each other since April 2nd. This is entirely too long. We are adjusting to not seeing them several times a week, like we used to, but 50 days drives me nuts. That's why I didn't find the following conversation very amusing:
Message left on cell phone from daughter: "Hi Mom, if you get this give me a call."
Me: Hi, What's up?
Her: I just got a phone call from a supervisor at JetBlue. He wanted to let me know that my flight tomorrow has been cancelled. He said that they would try and find another flight for me so I should stand by.
For the briefest of seconds I thought about going into a blind rage and getting furious. Then for another nano-second I thought about crying because if she couldn't get a flight then she couldn't go camping with us and all of our plans would be ruined. See, when you don't see your daughter or your grandson in 50 days all reason is thrown out the window. But, then I realized that she couldn't be serious. Because if she was serious she wasn't even remotely upset enough. Then I wondered if she was serious and had thoroughly adjusted to living away from us and didn't want to see us as badly as we want to see her. That made the next fraction of a second very scary. It's one thing to live in that "other state", but not missing us is unacceptable. As I really processed what she had said I clearly knew she was kidding because she said the Supervisor had told her to 'stand by'. My daughter does not 'stand by'. She is a take charge kind of person. She would have been calling all the other airlines and finding herself a flight. She would never leave it to someone else. Remember, only about 2 seconds have elapsed while all of those thoughts have run through my head.
Me: Are you serious?
Her: No, but a supervisor from JetBlue did call me to make sure that I realized my flight time had changed since I made my reservation. Wasn't that nice?
Me: Real nice.
For the record, I would have flapped my arms and flown to pick her up myself if need be.
Did I mention that I get to see my daughter and grandson tomorrow and that I am very excited?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
It's All In Your Perspective
Last night when my husband was reading his devotional it was "Teach.....Your Children And.....Their Children After Them." Deuteronomy 4:9 NIV. It was sub-titled "A Grandparent's Influence." My husband came out of the bedroom chuckling. He told me to read the text. It was written by a child.
"A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own. She likes other people's little girls and boys. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with boys; they talk about fishing and stuff like that. Grandmothers don't have anything to do except to be there. They are so old that they shouldn't play hard or run. It is enough if they drive us to the store where the pretend horse is, and have lots of money ready. Or if they take us for walks, they slow down for things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They should never say 'hurry up.' Usually grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums off. Grandmothers don't have to be smart, only answer questions like, "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?" Grandmothers don't talk baby-talk like visitors do, because it's hard to understand. When they read to us they don't skip, or mind if it's the same story over again. Everybody should have a grandmother, especially if they don't have a television, because they are the only grown-ups who have time."
Well, reading that got me to thinking. I remember my grandma's. They were old when I was little and they were "fat." They didn't move very fast and they did the silliest things. You know, OLD people things. I think that only one of them could take her teeth out, but both of them wore glasses.
I have never thought of myself as THAT kind of grandma. I see myself as young, in decent shape, not particularly fat (fluffy maybe), my teeth are my own and as for the underwear thing....they are NOT funny.
Then I thought about how my grandson probably sees me. I have taken him to the store and let him ride the horse. When we go for walks we look at the leaves and the caterpillars. I try not to say 'hurry up' because I am enjoying that particular moment with him. I wear contacts or glasses depending on my mood and the time of day. I can't wait for him to be able to communicate enough to ask me why God isn't married. I love to read to him and have been known to read the same page over and over again...if that is what he wants.
It hit me....My grandson probably thinks I'm old! I have wrinkles. The gray has been known to pop out in my hair between visits to the hairdresser. Oh my goodness. I AM old. In his eyes, I am an OLD grandmother! Hopefully, he sees me as the 'grown up who has time.' If he does, then I wouldn't trade his perspective for the world.
"A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own. She likes other people's little girls and boys. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with boys; they talk about fishing and stuff like that. Grandmothers don't have anything to do except to be there. They are so old that they shouldn't play hard or run. It is enough if they drive us to the store where the pretend horse is, and have lots of money ready. Or if they take us for walks, they slow down for things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They should never say 'hurry up.' Usually grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums off. Grandmothers don't have to be smart, only answer questions like, "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?" Grandmothers don't talk baby-talk like visitors do, because it's hard to understand. When they read to us they don't skip, or mind if it's the same story over again. Everybody should have a grandmother, especially if they don't have a television, because they are the only grown-ups who have time."
Well, reading that got me to thinking. I remember my grandma's. They were old when I was little and they were "fat." They didn't move very fast and they did the silliest things. You know, OLD people things. I think that only one of them could take her teeth out, but both of them wore glasses.
I have never thought of myself as THAT kind of grandma. I see myself as young, in decent shape, not particularly fat (fluffy maybe), my teeth are my own and as for the underwear thing....they are NOT funny.
Then I thought about how my grandson probably sees me. I have taken him to the store and let him ride the horse. When we go for walks we look at the leaves and the caterpillars. I try not to say 'hurry up' because I am enjoying that particular moment with him. I wear contacts or glasses depending on my mood and the time of day. I can't wait for him to be able to communicate enough to ask me why God isn't married. I love to read to him and have been known to read the same page over and over again...if that is what he wants.
It hit me....My grandson probably thinks I'm old! I have wrinkles. The gray has been known to pop out in my hair between visits to the hairdresser. Oh my goodness. I AM old. In his eyes, I am an OLD grandmother! Hopefully, he sees me as the 'grown up who has time.' If he does, then I wouldn't trade his perspective for the world.
Monday, May 5, 2008
God's Amazing Provision and Sense of Humor
God never ceases to amaze me and, in this case, amuse me. We need to have our house re-roofed. Everytime it rains we have a new leak. My husband gets up on the roof and patches the leak only to have it happen someplace else the next time it rains. Our patio roof also decided to start leaking. My husband discovered that it was suffering from dry rot, so he tore the whole thing down. Now we need to not only choose a roofer, but we need to rebuild the patio before the roofer can start the project. This whole weekend was dedicated to working on putting up the patio roof. Well, God had other plans.
Rewind 8 months - I quit my job because I felt like it was what the Lord was asking me to do. We made the decision that we would try life with me not working and see how it went. I haven't had to go back to work and somehow our life style hasn't even changed. Everytime I think we may have to take money out of the bank to make ends meet, the Lord provides a few hours of overtime and the bank account remains untouched.
Fast Forward to today - My hubby is on call. The phone rang at 7:00 am. He left to supervise a search and is at this moment coming up on his 11th hour of overtime. I just spoke to him and he won't be home any time soon. The money will be a huge help in paying for the wood, that is lying all over my backyard, that will someday be a patio. I'm really not sure that my husband sees the humor in the situation, but he does believe that God answers our every petition and provides for our needs. I think that he might be questioning why the overtime couldn't have come when the patio was done, but all I know is that God is good.
************************************************************
My husband hates Crows. He doesn't find them to be a particularly attractive bird and he can't stand the noise they make. Around our house they are something like a black, flying rooster. They start making their obnoxious noise as soon as the sun comes up. Sometimes we will have a couple of them in our yard and they will yell back and forth. My husband has been known to go outside and knock two shoes together or clap his hands real loud in an attempt to make them fly away. This has always made me laugh because as soon as he comes in the house they come back into the yard. One year, for his birthday, I bought him a stuffed crow. Just to bug him. He wasn't impressed and the crow quickly became a fall decoration. Well, yesterday, while working on the patio the following happened:
Him: (Walking towards the back of our property) "What is that?"
Me: "What?"
Him: "There is a huge nest in this pine tree."
Me: "What kind of a bird builds that big of a nest? Could it be an owl?"
Him: "I don't know, but it's huge! I don't see anything in it right now though."
We go back to working on the patio. Hubby is busy sawing and I glance up to that tree occasionally.
Me: "Ummmm....(barely able to contain my laughter and subsequent sarcasm) Honey, there is a bird in the nest now."
Him: "Really? What kind?"
Me: "It would be of the crow persuasion."
Him: "No way! Are you kidding? It is not staying. I'm going to knock it down."
Me: "Oh, no you're not! That wouldn't be right."
Him: "Fine! One spring! Next year if I even so much as see a crow in one of those trees I'm going to knock down each and every twig it thinks about putting up there."
Me: "Whatever."
Several minute pause.
Him: "God did this on purpose. He finds this crow's nest to be very amusing. He's up there laughing at my expense. I just know it. How can he even stand crows? What was he thinking?"
Me: Uncontrollable laughter.
How much noise do you think a nest of baby crows will make anyway?
Rewind 8 months - I quit my job because I felt like it was what the Lord was asking me to do. We made the decision that we would try life with me not working and see how it went. I haven't had to go back to work and somehow our life style hasn't even changed. Everytime I think we may have to take money out of the bank to make ends meet, the Lord provides a few hours of overtime and the bank account remains untouched.
Fast Forward to today - My hubby is on call. The phone rang at 7:00 am. He left to supervise a search and is at this moment coming up on his 11th hour of overtime. I just spoke to him and he won't be home any time soon. The money will be a huge help in paying for the wood, that is lying all over my backyard, that will someday be a patio. I'm really not sure that my husband sees the humor in the situation, but he does believe that God answers our every petition and provides for our needs. I think that he might be questioning why the overtime couldn't have come when the patio was done, but all I know is that God is good.
************************************************************
My husband hates Crows. He doesn't find them to be a particularly attractive bird and he can't stand the noise they make. Around our house they are something like a black, flying rooster. They start making their obnoxious noise as soon as the sun comes up. Sometimes we will have a couple of them in our yard and they will yell back and forth. My husband has been known to go outside and knock two shoes together or clap his hands real loud in an attempt to make them fly away. This has always made me laugh because as soon as he comes in the house they come back into the yard. One year, for his birthday, I bought him a stuffed crow. Just to bug him. He wasn't impressed and the crow quickly became a fall decoration. Well, yesterday, while working on the patio the following happened:
Him: (Walking towards the back of our property) "What is that?"
Me: "What?"
Him: "There is a huge nest in this pine tree."
Me: "What kind of a bird builds that big of a nest? Could it be an owl?"
Him: "I don't know, but it's huge! I don't see anything in it right now though."
We go back to working on the patio. Hubby is busy sawing and I glance up to that tree occasionally.
Me: "Ummmm....(barely able to contain my laughter and subsequent sarcasm) Honey, there is a bird in the nest now."
Him: "Really? What kind?"
Me: "It would be of the crow persuasion."
Him: "No way! Are you kidding? It is not staying. I'm going to knock it down."
Me: "Oh, no you're not! That wouldn't be right."
Him: "Fine! One spring! Next year if I even so much as see a crow in one of those trees I'm going to knock down each and every twig it thinks about putting up there."
Me: "Whatever."
Several minute pause.
Him: "God did this on purpose. He finds this crow's nest to be very amusing. He's up there laughing at my expense. I just know it. How can he even stand crows? What was he thinking?"
Me: Uncontrollable laughter.
How much noise do you think a nest of baby crows will make anyway?
Saturday, May 3, 2008
I've Been Tagged
I read my friends blog where she's listed 10 random things about herself and because I read it I've been tagged. Well, I thought about just pretending that I didn't read it because I'm boring and don't think there are 10 random things you want to know about me, but I really like this person and she knows I read her blog, so.......
1. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so vain. Covering my grey can be really expensive. As I'm leaving the salon I know that the grey is simply regrouping to return yet again.
2. I have a weird quirk where if I open a can of anything I have to make sure that I get everything out of the can. Otherwise, I feel sorry for the bean (or whatever) that gets left behind.
3. I can't believe I'm fifty. There is so much I want to do and I know I will never have time to do it all.
4. My mom died in February and I still can't sit in the chair that she always sat in. It just creeps me out. Nothing else in the house bothers me, so I don't really know why the chair bothers me.
5. I wish I was 2 inches shorter so that I could buy pants that weren't talls. They are so hard to find and the selections are so limited.
6 I love to cook. I subscribe to three cooking magazines. My hubby is such a good sport because sometimes the recipes look and sound better than they actually taste.
7. I feed birds. Not like a little old lady sitting on a park bench or anything like that, but I put out seed, thistle, sunflower seeds, peanuts and hummingbird nectar. I love to watch the different types of birds. The blue jays are my favorite.
8. Lake Tahoe is like heaven on earth to me. Our little family spent alot of vacation time in a tiny cabin near Tahoe City. My husband and I went on our honeymoon there. It is a place that we all love. We will be going this summer for 9 days. It doesn't seem to matter how many times we go, I always get excited.
9. I am really proud of the Godly adults my children have become. My daughter is amazing. If God had moved me to another state, away from family and friends, when I was a young mother, I wouldn't have gone with such grace. My son has become an awesome Godly man. He is in school preparing to serve the Lord. I know that he is going to make a real difference in many peoples lives as he continues to seek Him.
I love you both.
10. This November my husband and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. We are going on a cruise to Mexico. My cousin and her husband will be joining us! Fun and sun here we come.
Ok, there are some very random things that you probably didn't want to know about me. If you read this you too have been tagged!
1. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so vain. Covering my grey can be really expensive. As I'm leaving the salon I know that the grey is simply regrouping to return yet again.
2. I have a weird quirk where if I open a can of anything I have to make sure that I get everything out of the can. Otherwise, I feel sorry for the bean (or whatever) that gets left behind.
3. I can't believe I'm fifty. There is so much I want to do and I know I will never have time to do it all.
4. My mom died in February and I still can't sit in the chair that she always sat in. It just creeps me out. Nothing else in the house bothers me, so I don't really know why the chair bothers me.
5. I wish I was 2 inches shorter so that I could buy pants that weren't talls. They are so hard to find and the selections are so limited.
6 I love to cook. I subscribe to three cooking magazines. My hubby is such a good sport because sometimes the recipes look and sound better than they actually taste.
7. I feed birds. Not like a little old lady sitting on a park bench or anything like that, but I put out seed, thistle, sunflower seeds, peanuts and hummingbird nectar. I love to watch the different types of birds. The blue jays are my favorite.
8. Lake Tahoe is like heaven on earth to me. Our little family spent alot of vacation time in a tiny cabin near Tahoe City. My husband and I went on our honeymoon there. It is a place that we all love. We will be going this summer for 9 days. It doesn't seem to matter how many times we go, I always get excited.
9. I am really proud of the Godly adults my children have become. My daughter is amazing. If God had moved me to another state, away from family and friends, when I was a young mother, I wouldn't have gone with such grace. My son has become an awesome Godly man. He is in school preparing to serve the Lord. I know that he is going to make a real difference in many peoples lives as he continues to seek Him.
I love you both.
10. This November my husband and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. We are going on a cruise to Mexico. My cousin and her husband will be joining us! Fun and sun here we come.
Ok, there are some very random things that you probably didn't want to know about me. If you read this you too have been tagged!
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