Adding to my Repertoire

It's been one of those weeks where a full time handy man needs to follow me around. I think it was Saturday I flipped on one set of the kitchen lights and a bulb blew. Not just any bulb - a special one. So high up I can't even reach it if I stood on the island. When I told Haley she looked up at it and said, "Mmh...I've never changed one of those." And she's lived there for over 12 years! (Well, okay, her dad probably changed one or two in his time, but they've been gone for nearly 3 years...) Hence we still don't have it changed. Maybe we'll do that when we finally take down the Christmas tree. (And as Haley leaves for Russia on Thursday for almost two weeks who knows when that will be!)

Then Sunday night I flipped on the light in my shower and blew it. Now it might actually be a normal bulb, but you have to unscrew the fixture. Which I haven't done yet although I thought about it last night when I had the screwdriver out (get to that in a minute), but I had just taken a shower and it was wet so I didn't want to climb around in it in my pajamas. (Just in case you're wondering, there is another good light in the shower area so I'm not taking my showers in the dark. Not that I couldn't...although shaving could be hazardous.)

But, all in all, I can change a light bulb. (By myself for those who have a joke come to mind - I'm only partly Polish.) When it came to the broken toilet seat yesterday...well, I've never done that before. Thankfully, though, God made my dad my hero. As a little girl I followed him around when he did repairs on Saturdays hoping he'd offer to let me help. Not usually, but I observed. So, replacing a toilet seat wasn't bad at all. Especially since I have two toilets in my bathroom. (I don't get it either, but I guess it's a modern day version of a two-seater outhouse.) The one toilet I broke several months ago, so I took the seat off it and put it on the one that works but had a broken seat. Then I put the broken seat on the broken toilet. (Now everything matches!) They were screwed on two different ways, but really, replacing a toilet seat isn't difficult at all! I must confess I was quite proud of myself.

There are just so many things you learn in life when you're single and live 500 miles from your dad. To be honest, I don't want to learn them all. And I wish other problems in my life could be fixed as easily. But it's all part of growing up, right? (Boy, do I wish I were about five again...)

Entering the New Year

I just read the blog of a friend who took some time to reflect on 2011 and the highlights of each month as the year passed by. It's a good way to end a year - remembering the joys and trials God has brought into your life. And by remembering knowing that that same God will see you through all the joys and trials of the next year. For He will...even though sometimes I wonder.

On January 1, the mother of my assistant pastor's wife passed into eternity. As I was giving my condolences to Mrs. Baker last night, she remarked that her mother just celebrated the new year.

"Yeah," I agreed, "and she had the best celebration anyone could have."

"Amen to that!" Mrs. Baker's daughter agreed with a laugh.

Truthfully, I didn't think much about my comment when I said it. But when I thought about it, I could say "Amen", too.

Imagine starting the new year in eternity with your God and Savior. It doesn't get any better than that!

Growing Up

When I was home, I took my “baby” brother out for breakfast one morning and we got to talking about – what else? – basketball. He was talking about his teammate and I made an observation. One winter I assisted in coaching a team of 5 to 8 year olds. We tried to teach them the basics of the game – shooting, dribbling, passing, basic rules – but they all had one object: get the ball. They might not know what to do with it once they got it, but above all else they wanted to hold that ball. Then they grow up to play varsity and guess what? You have to teach them to rebound. No longer is the object of the game to get the ball.

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:11 tells us, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” And, it’s true, we have to grow up. We have to put away childish fits and days full of play in exchange for acceptance and responsibility. And while we would never want to remain a child all our living days, sometimes it would be heavenly to be a child again.

I mean, what about our childhood dreams? I played with my dolls for hours, dressing them and putting them down for naps while I “cooked” and “cleaned house” for my “husband” to arrive home. I took my dolls “shopping” and was their “teacher” at “school”. (We’ll skip over the fact I got into a bit of trouble at times for such things if I decided to “cook” with materials not qualified as playthings.) All very natural for a little girl whose deepest desires are to be a wife and mother. Maybe if I had been more practical I would have played office and put “files” in alphabetical order. But I didn’t dream of spending most of my adult life behind a desk. (Who does?) Now I sit here and wish I had a doll to go home and dress...and dream.

I have to confess I didn’t spent much time imagining I was a princess, but I did play dress up. I imagined myself on stage in my mother’s old sparkling dance leotards. Then I caught the dream of being a gymnast and spent hours turning cartwheels and spinning about on my swing set with the fanciful idea I’d be the next Mary Lou Retton. I could just see myself in a red, white and blue leotard receiving a gold medal. Sadly, I shall never fulfill that dream. But it would be nice to get up from this desk and turn a cartwheel in the parking lot. (Yes, I can still turn cartwheels.)

I got a letter from a little friend of mine in New Hampshire who wanted to know all about how to get a book published because she loves to write. The truth is it costs money to publish as I did, something I could afford only as a co-writer. When I was her age, though, I didn’t know that. I spent hours scribbling, dreaming of being a published writer who could do nothing but scribble all day long. Now that dream hasn’t dissipated. I still imagine myself in a little cabin in the mountains with a faithful Golden Retriever, sitting before my computer writing words someone thinks worth publishing even if it’s not a best-seller. But with a fulltime job and everything else I’m involved in, I’ve hardly time to write at all let alone send out fruitless letters to publishing companies. But I will tell my little friend to keep writing. Who knows…with some work, dreams can come true.

It’s a little bit sad we have to grow up. We have to put away our dolls, we stop chasing balls and we know our backs would give out if we tried a walk-over. But I’m speaking to the choir when I say we shouldn’t give up childhood fun entirely. It’s not wrong to keep writing and hoping. Or build a dollhouse in hopes God might still bless a nearly-32-year-old-woman with a husband and so little girls of her own to enjoy it. And things like mini-golf, or picnics, or puzzles are just as fun now as they were over 20 years ago.

So, maybe it should be my New Year’s Resolution to enjoy my life a little bit more. Relax when I get home from work, keep my Saturdays free to do something that will make me laugh and not take my responsibilities quite so seriously (a defect of a firstborn). After all, the same God who told us to put away childish things also said, “Laughter doeth good like a medicine.” And some days I could use a whole bottle of that!

Here comes the end - the start of the beginning...

Since I've been in Indiana over the holidays, I decided to look at a computer as little as possible. It would have been a better decision not to look at a computer at all because I checked my e-mail a couple of times and one of those times somebody who had nothing better to do over the holidays than hack people hacked me. Merry Christmas to them, too!

And now back in sunny Texas with work piled up, and more to do on a Saturday than I have time for, and a cold worse than the one I went to Indiana with it's like my week away never happened. Business goes on as usual. Nothing has changed. Conversations go on as if they never stopped. Was I even gone?

But I truly had a nice week away. And coming back hasn't been bad (except it's 60 something every day here - guess it's good I didn't get any sweaters for Christmas!). I'll actually be caught up before the day is over. Still need to run about a million more miles to work off home cooking, but I guess I could leave that for a 2012 resolution.

It's hard to believe it will be 2012 this weekend. Where did 2011 go? So much happened - so much didn't. (Like winning an all expense paid vacation to New Zealand - have to settle with looking at the pictures one of the nurses brought back from her vacation there.) Who knows what 2012 will bring. Trying not to hope on too much and so rest in my God who never changes no matter what year it is. Praise Him for that!!!

Have this wonderful, thoughtful post all jumbled up in my mind I want to get down on paper, but when you work a full 5-day week in 2 days...well, as you can see, it didn't happened.

So, we'll just say I'm heading to Indiana for Christmas tomorrow morning. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Perhaps I'll blog that all-important post while I'm there...more likely, not. We'll let it hold till January (which might actually work out better, come to think of it). So, until then I'm off to Indiana!

Did I mention I CAN'T WAIT?!?!?!