Question #3

First of all, I am not cheating on my one post per day, if you noticed that some dates have changed (and really, who would have noticed that - but I feel the need to come clean). I put a bunch of post drafts up the other day but forgot to change the dates as I finished & posted them. Whew - I feel better now.

What's boring you?

Things are too comfortable. Comfortable is boring with good p.r. Stir things up!

This is a tough one. I really wish I could feel bored more often, but that is so hard when there are so many diapers to change and children to direct and miles to drive and meals to cook. Boredom sounds kind of nice right now.

The only times I can think of being bored is when Allan has control of the remote. He has some compulsion, some odd attraction to shows that have 1. guns, 2. war planes, or 3. martial arts. Say it with me now, "Booorrring." It kills me, really.

Otherwise, I don't feel stuck in a rut. Between PUMP and family, things are pretty much always on the move and always in transition. I think that's a good thing. It helps keep me thinking and dreaming about the possibilities ahead. Or, if not that, at least it keeps me focused on keeping my head above water.

Question #2

What are you trying to ignore?

Anxiety is a tap on your shoulder saying, "Something important is happening here!" Pay attention.

I'm afraid that I am ignoring a few important health considerations. With a family of diabetics, including a sibling, I have a huge bullseye target sitting right there on my pancreas. Can't you see it? None of us are overweight, so it is easy to think we are healthy. I'm not sure what greater motivator I could have for daily exercising, but somehow diabetes is not enough of a threat for me.

There's a few relationships that could use some healing in my life. I'm not sure how to make that happen, so I ignore the splinter. Not so wise an approach.

Everyone has dreams that creep into consciousness at times and whispers, "Why aren't you coming after me?" I wonder sometimes if I am ignoring some Spirit-led direction in my life - because to answer the whisper would be scary or hard or confusing.

I'm trying to ignore all the TO-DOs that I see around me each day - the cluttered basement, the roses that need trimming, the cookies that should be baked...

*shiver* I'm feeling somewhat vulnerable at the moment, so I think I'll go do something else and ignore these feelings.

Nightmares

Gigantic stinging bees. Owls and bats in a dark bedroom. Tooth monsters (you know, a tooth-shaped monster who has lots of teeth and one eye).

Nightmares have found a home in my children's rooms at night. I don't know why these disturbing visions are so especially profound and prolific this week, but my guess is that a certain October holiday which inundates our television shows, grocery stores, and party plans may have something to do with it. What this means for mom and dad is the groggy awakening to the creak, creak, creak of a little person making their way down the stairs. Then there's the momentary guessing game - which child's silhouette will appear in the doorway?

We called a family meeting to address this phenomenon. For all of you insomniacs out there, I thought I'd share the meeting notes.

What To Do When You Have a Nightmare or Can't Sleep Before You Wake Up Mom and Dad

1. Pray. Yes, the Lord is awake and He really wants to help you with this problem. This can help you also remember that you are safe and not alone.

2. Turn on your flashlight.

3. Read a short book.

4. Count to 100.

5. Visualize a great story in your mind. Go on a hike, visit the beach, sled at Mt. Hood. What do you see? Are there any smells? What's the temperature? What do you hear? How do you feel inside?

6. Go to the living room & sleep on the couch.

Try these out and you, too, can have a good night's sleep tonight! And, please, oh please, let your mom and dad sleep.

Ten...Make That Eleven...Things I'd Enjoy Doing Before I Die

1. Take a ballet class.

2. Walk hand-in-hand with Allan through the streets of Firenze, Italia.

3. Attend an NFL game.

4. Learn Spanish.

5. Write a book worth reading.

6. Explore Scotland during an extended stay.

7. Climb a few more of the Cascades with my family.

8. Become a good piano player.

9. Spend a weekend or two or ten with my childhood friends, Lisa, Lezlie, & Kristin.

10. Draw plans for our dream house (& then have it built).

11. Have season (even half-season) tickets to the Blazers.

Your Own Dream Trip

If you could get on a plane today to escape anywhere in the world - no obligations, money, or time to consider - where would you go?

Daydream

I’m getting on a plane today. By myself. I’m not taking much with me in this daydream – just a few changes of clothes, a journal, a camera, a sketchbook, and a few other sundries that all fit nicely in a backpack. It’s a long flight, but I’m going to enjoy the quiet by reading the magazines on board, watching several in-flight movies of the grown-up kind, and sleeping. Oh, yes, sleeping. Someone else will make my lunch, and it will be will quite satisfying. I suppose at this point in my fantasy I should put myself in first class so I can recline, be offered warm towels and such, but that is so beyond my comprehension that I’ll stay put back in the poor seats.

After a day of flying in the quiet of solitude, I will deplane in the land of my family ancestors. I smile and my heart melts a bit as I soak in that beautiful, melodic Scottish accent. With a map and bottled water in hand, I will easily maneuver out of Glasgow to places unknown. Over the next week I will slowly meander on foot through green fields, stopping to talk with the local sheepherders. I’ll eat lunch in small, tucked-away pubs while reading novels by authors like McIntosh, Wallace, and McGregor. I will find perch on stones larger than houses, sketching puffins and gannets as they hunt for their daily fish along the magnificent shoreline of the Orkney Islands. I will search for our ancestral land – asking a local young man to photograph me in front of Lach Cash or the town signs of Easter or Wester Cash. An old man will keep me company as I walk along a dirt path, sharing with me the history of his clan before I leave him at the gate of his farm.

I will come back refreshed, rejuvenated, replenished. I will be more in tune with my own self and with my God. I will be ready to be a better wife, a better mother, a better worker, and a better friend.

I’d better get packing. I may have to take another trip later today.

Twinkle Toes

For a game recently I got to reveal my "dream job". It came out something like: a CIA operative, covering as a photojournalist, moonlighting as a ballerina. Ah, ballet. So graceful, so elegant. There are few things that a human can do that is as beautiful.

This last weekend, we had a rite of passage in our household. Trinity was now deemed old enough to go to The Nutcracker ballet.

*PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - There is an appropriate age for taking children to events such as the ballet. This age may not be the same for all children, but please use wisdom. Nice lady three rows in front of us, I am so glad you are wanting to expose your two-year-old to the arts. Truly, I am. Listening to said child meow throughout the sword fight between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King just does not fit the ambiance of the evening. THANK YOU*

So we dressed up in our pretty clothes and headed out for a Girls Night (read Trinity's account here - she's been quite the blogger lately). Besides the concern by my six-year-old that she was going to see Dew Drop's underwear with her too short skirt, and my concern about the...umm...anatomy lesson being revealed by the men in tights, the evening was a wonder.

*PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT #2 - The Nutcracker is not a sporting event. I repeat, The Nutcracker is not a sporting event. It is in extremely poor form to leave during the finale number. To the dozen or so people in our section who blocked our view while hastily retreating to the exit, I am sure that you saved yourselves a good five or ten minutes by beating the crowd out of Smart Park, but come on, people. Manners?? THANK YOU*

Back to my dream job. I fantasize that I could take a ballet class even now and be discovered as a natural. Couldn't you just see me up on stage next year as one of the snowflakes or one of the party attendees? I definitely can. I'll be sure to reserve you tickets. Bring lots of roses to throw on stage. Any color will do.