Merry Christmas! • Laugh

Merry (almost) Christmas!

Book • Quote

Type • Quote

Darkest Night • Quote

Christmas is All in the Heart • Advice

This is in response to a post I read on tumblr about the difficulties [insert adjective here] people face during the holidays.

Let me start by saying, I have had similar experiences - A LOT - so I'm just going to share what works for me.

Lower Your Expectations

The holiday season is not going to live up to your ideals.  So throw them on the yule log and watch them burn.  Those pop songs about finding love at the holidays that get stuck in your head are detrimental to your survival.  Turn off Britney's "My Only Wish" and have a dance party/karaoke session to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." {female empowerment, yay!}

Those made for TV movies that summarily resolve every challenge the main character has faced for her entire life AND she ends up basically engaged to the dreamiest man on the planet in 90 minutes or less.  Total crap.  I love crappy Christmas movies.  They are a super duper fun escape from reality.  But, they are crap.  Lower your expectations.

And be realistic.  Advertisements are trying to sell you a desired [and unrealistic] experience that requires their product to create.  It's total crap.  Use what you've got.  Be creative and you'll appreciate it all the more because you will have (1) not spent money on useless crap and (2) gained a sense of accomplishment.  If you fail, you've learned something, even if it's what not to do next time.

Prioritize

Figure out what you want this Christmas and learn how to ask for it.  And I'm not talking about presents.  I'm talking about experiences you want to share with the people you care about.  Traditions you want to continue.  And traditions you want to pretend never existed.

I love sitting in front of the fire with my mom, sipping on peppermint cocoa, eating popcorn, and watching a CLASSIC Christmas movie like "It's a Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street," or "Bundle of Joy."  And if we want to do that again this year we have to make a plan, set a date, and commit to it.  Or else it won't happen because the holidays are so busy that it'll be January before we realize it's gone.  Prioritize.

Give Thanks

Take inventory of your life and be thankful for the goodness in it.  Family.  Friends.  Hobbies you enjoy.  Places you love to be.  You have good in your life, it's just hard to see when you're looking at what you lack.  Focus on what you have and be thankful for it.

I love to write thank you notes before Christmas.  It's a given, as a well-bred young woman, that I will send a (most of the time) prompt thank you note after I have received a gift.  But, I enjoy surprising those I'm closest to with a note thanking them for what I truly appreciate in our relationship.  Yes, gifts are nice and I won't refuse them, ever!  However, thanking someone for the intangibles they give me daily is often overlooked, so I like to recognize those little things that mean the world to me.

Live in the Moment

Take every opportunity to be happy.  Unless you have a legitimate reason* for declining, say YES!  When you're invited to a party, GO!  When your mom wants to take you shopping, GO! (and pay for lunch!) When your friends are going to go watch a parade in downtown Minneapolis and it's freezing because the wind chill is below zero, but you don't own a decent coat and you're intimidated by large cities, but no one else has a car so you'll have to drive for the first time in snow, (True Story!) GO!  Memories are made of this.  The best experiences seem to always be unexpected.

*Legitimate Reasons include, but are not limited to, the activity is dangerous, immoral, illegal, irresponsible, and or stupid.  

If All Else Fails, FAKE It Until You MAKE It

I often feel, especially this time of year, alone and misunderstood.  And I don't want to go out and socialize.  I just want to sit in my bedroom and be alone.  Content in my misery.  In that scenario, I always regret it.  Now, it's a different story if I've been hassled at work ALL day and just need some "me" time.  But, when I'm choosing to be unhappy, that's on me and I always regret it.

Fake it until you make it.  Pretend to be happy and you might find yourself enjoying whatever seemingly ridiculous activity you've agreed to participate in.  You have something to offer.  Now get out of your own way and show the world.  Shine!

In the End, It's Not About You Anyway

Christmas is about celebrating Jesus' birth.  It's about family and friends and sharing love.  It can be about giving gifts, eating cookies, and decorating trees if you want.  It's up to you.  You can take whatever comes along with a good attitude and make the best of it.  Or you can hide in a burrow like a groundhog until February.  You choose what your Christmas will be this year.

I hope that helps.

- Charity

Believe • Devotional

This is the transcript for the devotional I gave at my church's Women of Grace Christmas Brunch this morning.  

Good Morning!  Thank you all for coming! 

A special thank you to Carol and Peggy for hosting and organizing this event!  

Carol and Peggy asked me to share a devotional thought this morning - a brief devotional thought - regarding today’s theme “believe.” 

So the first thing I did was look up the word “believe” in the dictionary and the definition it gave was “to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something.” 

I thought about breaking down each word in the definition but just the thought of that made me sleepy.  Despite my drowsiness, two words in the definition stood out to me: “confidence” and “truth.”  But, what do those words really mean and how do I communicate that in a meaningful and applicable way?  

Well, I hope the TRUE stories I am about to share will illuminate exactly what it means to believe.  

The first story is one told by D L Moody.  He tells of an experience he had with a friend:  

Moody stood with his friend at the garden gate, discussing what it meant to “believe” when two boys walked down the sidewalk toward them.  

In the midst of their conversation, his friend said to Moody. "Watch this." 

The man placed one of the boys on the fence rail. He stepped back, stretched his arms out, and said "jump!" 

Without hesitation, the boy gleefully jumped into the man’s arms. 

Moody's friend then picked up the other boy and repeated the same gesture and command, “jump!”  

But the boy would not jump. He stood on the rail, his shoulders hunched, trembling with nerves.  No coaxing could persuade him to jump.  

Moody's friend stepped closer and gently placed the second child safely on the ground. 

As the men watched the boys happily chase each other across the yard, his friend turned to Moody and said "the first boy is my son, the second is his school friend. Both knew I was capable of catching them when they jumped off the fence, but only my son believed."

We all live what we believe. 

The second story comes from the Bible, the book of John.  Imagine this scene.  

We are at a pool in Jerusalem, called Bethesda.  Hot sun. Palm trees. Cool blue water. 

And many people crowding around the pool waiting.  

They waited for a miracle.  You see, at certain times, an angel would descend to the pool and stir up the waters, and when that happened the first person to step into the water was healed.  Thus, many ill people waited near the pool for their chance to be healed. 

There was one man who sat on a mat by the pool.  John tells us that he had been an invalid for 38 years. He had seen the waters move at times but, because he was lame, others always got in the water before him. Someone else always moved to the water faster. 

Jesus came to Bethesda and met this man.  After hearing the man’s story, Jesus tells him to take up his bed and walk. 

The man's belief in his healing is demonstrated by his behavior. He believed that the water would heal him, so he stayed near the pool. When he met Jesus and was healed, the man believed that Jesus, first of all, had the power to heal him and second, that Jesus did indeed heal him. So the man got up after 38 years and walked. 

We all live what we believe, day in and day out, whatever our beliefs may be.

Whether we set cookies and milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve, dress our snowmen in Frosty’s silk top hat, or share the true meaning of Christmas with the ones we love, our behavior demonstrates our beliefs.

To believe is to have confidence in the truth and, if I may be at liberty to improve on webster’s definition, to act upon it.  

The third and final TRUE story I’d like to share is Luke’s account of Jesus birth.  Note how each person who believed in the Savior’s birth also demonstrated their belief in action.  

Luke 2:1-21

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 

And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."

Luke 2:1-21

Who in the Christmas story demonstrated their belief, their faith, their confidence in the truth of the Savior’s birth?

Mary: obeying the angel in naming the baby, Jesus

Joseph: staying with Mary and raising God’s son as his own

Shepherds: going to Bethlehem, sharing the good news

May we follow these examples as we demonstrate our belief in God’s saving grace. 

Let’s Pray.

Heavenly Father,  May each woman in this room, every woman in our church, be women of grace. 

May we believe in You. In your birth, in your death, in your sacrifice for each of us, in your power alone to save us from our sins. 

And may our behavior prove our beliefs. May we take every opportunity to share the truth of your word. And by our lives and testimonies, may your kingdom increase. 

We love you. In the name of your precious son, Jesus.   Amen.

Love This Holiday Playlist • Music

The Things We Would Blog: Classic Christmas: A Holiday Playlist: Today we have the first of a few mixes we've made for the holiday season... Holiday Classics by The Things We Would Blog...

Blessed • Quote

It's a cold and cloudy Monday in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Winter is coming.  I'm excited but dreading it at the same time.
I love looking at snow.  Playing in snow.  But, I hate driving in snow.  

So today, Monday:  

I am thankful that it is not snowing.  I am thankful I have a job to drive to.  

And I am thankful for a reliable car.  

I am blessed and that's my sunshine today.

I Need a Miracle • Lyrics

Happy Birthday, HR!

I am sooooo calling her "Human Resources" from now on!

Yay!  Another birthday... this week... about 9 months after Valentine's Day.

That's not awkward at all.

Ha! (Awkward chortle.)

Happy Birthday, Human Resources!

Congratulations, you're almost as old as me.

So, what should I share about Human Resources...  hmm.  She makes AMAZING cakes!  I saw these and thought of her.  And her cakes are DELICIOUS, too!

Human Resources also has an amazing voice, she sings beautifully.

We both love Gilmore Girls!  And Jane Austen!  And super sappy chick flicks!  And coffee!  And Chicago!

Oooh!  Okay, so HR and I attended high school together, she was a year or two behind me in school but we were friends and it was cool.  But, then I went off to college in Minnesota and we only saw each other when I was home for breaks (this is life - it happens - no regrets).

Anyway, a couple years later she went to college in OHIO! (For those who are geography-challenged.  We went to high school together in Wisconsin.  I went northwest to Minnesota for college and she went southeast to Ohio.  We couldn't have been farther apart unless we had actually - never mind.)

So, after a year or two in Ohio, HR transferred to a school in Chicago.  During her junior year, I started grad school in Wheaton (a suburb of Chicago).  But, we might as well have been in Minnesota and Ohio for as much as we saw each other.

But, one evening, my grad school friends and I took the train into the city to attend the free opera.  As we're walking into Millennium Park, who do I bump into but HR!  So WEIRD!  Hundreds of THOUSANDS of people in the city of Chicago.  And two high school friends from Wisconsin bump into each other. We hung out and got dinner and listened to opera.  It was sweet.

It was also surreal.

Anyway, since then we have watched a lot of movies, eaten a lot of delicious food, planned a few awesome parties, drunk a lot of coffee, and even did the fastest road trip ever to Tennessee for our friend KB's wedding.

We have a good time and I'm really glad she's in my life.

Happy Birthday, HR! [Human Resources - haha! I laugh every time!]

Love!

Family • Relationships

My family is normal.

I have parents who have been happily married for nearly 30 years.  I have two wonderful younger brothers, B and A.  A cool dog. And a sweet (to me) cat.  Pretty straightforward, right?  

This year for thanksgiving, as we have the last few years, we had dinner at my parent's home.  My youngest brother, A, wasn't able to come home this year - something about being a senior in college and having 2-3 jobs and learning 2 new languages - it was fine, I wouldn't want to drive 12 hours in possible snow either.  

We did our recently established holiday routine.  Sleep in.  Cook.  Hang Christmas lights.  Eat.  

No big drama.  No football.  I think my mom may have watched part of the Macy's parade while she was cooking.  But, it was nothing like the thanksgivings we see depicted on television and in movies.  Just a quiet day at home with our immediate family.  

It wasn't boring.  There were moments that were challenging and required creative problem solving.  

Exhibit A: there are two gigantic bushes in the front of our house, so huge that they impede our ability to hang the Christmas lights along the gutter.  Several ladders were needed, a few tense words were spoken, and Mom even got the tree clippers out.  The best part was when Dad and I balanced the ladder on the bush and B bobbed around for a few minutes, miraculously managing to clip the light strand to the gutter.  

Exhibit B:  Dad decided to deep fry the turkey this year which required some careful planning.  Did you know if you don't drain all of the water out of the turkey before deep frying, you can create an explosion?  With that information in mind, my mom drained that sucker dry.  When it came out of the fryer, the turkey looked like a fossilized alien head.  So appetizing!

It was just a simple day to celebrate God's faithfulness and praise Him.  

We went around the table at dinner and gave the things we were thankful for and then we talked about our favorite thanksgivings.  

My favorite thanksgiving memory didn't happen on thanksgiving - is that cheating?  Eh, don't care.  I was in high school - a sophomore, I think.  My family had driven 7 hours to my mom's sister's house in Detroit.  My mom's sister, S is married to my dad's best friend, F and they have three daughters: H, T, and S, and one son, D.   I think it was the day after Thanksgiving, Dad and Uncle F were planning their annual escape from the family politics and invited me and cousin S to join them. 

They took us to a restaurant in Greektown and told us stories about the glory days.  When I was very young, we had lived with Uncle F and Aunt S in a Detroit suburb.  Dad and Uncle F would go down to Greektown and get baklava for our moms.  On date nights, they would eat at Pegasus.  So that's where our dads took S and I.  They teased each other and told us about their memories together in college and after they had married sisters.  We walked around Greektown after dinner and they picked up baklava for their wives, just like they used to ten years before.  

I told that story yesterday, and Dad vaguely remembered.  What can I say?  He's a geezer.  

But, it got me to thinking.  

Dad and Uncle F weren't thinking about the memory they were creating for S and myself when they took us to Greektown.  They didn't know it was going to be a powerful demonstration of their love for us.  They just wanted to get out of the house and away from the tension between other family members.  But, they gave us attention that we craved at the age.  S must have been in 8th grade at the time.  At 13 and 15, we needed our fathers' love positively demonstrated.  

So, if someday, God blesses me with children, I need to remember this thanksgiving as an example of how the things that my children will remember may not seem like a big deal to me at the time.  And it might be such a long time before they tell me its significance that I'll probably be old and forget. 

Regardless, I want to be intentional in relationships.  Careful with my words and actions.  Temper my harsh glances.  And give hugs and genuine compliments with abandon.  

Cool • Lyrics

Gwen Stefani

Cool lyrics

It's hard to remember how it felt before
Now I found the love of my life...
Passes things get more comfortable
Everything is going right

And after all the obstacles
It's good to see you now with someone else
And it's such a miracle

That you and me are still good friends
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool

We used to think it was impossible
Now you call me by my new last name
Memories seem like so long ago
Time always kills the pain

Remember Harbor Boulevard
The dreaming days where the mess was made
Look how all the kids have grown
We have changed but we're still the same
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool

And I'll be happy for you
If you can be happy for me
Circles and triangles

And now we're hangin' out with your new girlfriend
So far from where we've been
I know we're cool

Here's the vid, enjOy!

Happy Birthday, KO!

So I have this friend, KO.

She's AWESOME!

And it's totes her birthday today (as in 11/23) and she like totes didn't tell me - I mean, I should know already, right?  We are friends, after all.  I'm just silly and self absorbed and never asked.

Whoops.

So thank you facebook for letting me in on the clearly not secret but definitely unknown to me birthday of one of my closest friends.

Can you legitimately say someone is one of your closest friends when you don't know when their birthday is?  Is that a thing?

Whatev.

She is a close friend and she has saved my butt soooooooo many times - especially this past year.  I'd do anything she asked me to do.  Even attend her wedding.

If I had been invited.

To be fair, we didn't know each other very well and I was living in a different state so I'd let her off the hook for not inviting me if she would let me off the hook for not attending.

It's one of our things.

She claims that she sent an invitation to my parents' home that said "and family." To which I respond, 1. I'm an adult so I get my own invite.  2. Even if we did let #1 slide, I didn't live with my parents at the time so any inclusion of "and family" refers to the family at the address to which the invite was delivered.  AND 3. I am not a wedding crasher so I will not A. call the bride the day of her wedding to ask if I was invited [rude!] and B. show up without RSVPing [super rude!]  I am not Taylor Swift!

Anyhoo, Happy Birthday, KO!

I hope we're friends for a long time and I hope you forgive me for almost forgetting your birthday which I didn't know when it was in the first place.

Love!

When I Post

I will post thoughts/blogs/videos/whatever/etc when I can/feel like it.

I have two jobs.  Both of which are -essentially- full time.  That means I work about 80 hours plus 1.5 hours of driving every weekday so I am pretty tied up for 87.5 hours a week.  So... out of 168 hours a week, less time spent sleeping (64 hours on a good week), showering/primping (3 hours or so), and playing with my pets (dog/cat - 7 hours a week) that leaves only only 14 hours a week to update my blog/facebook/tumblr/twitter/pinterest and do silly things like laundry and go to the bathroom.

All that to say: I can't promise that posts will come regularly - like daily or weekly or anything.  I can promise that if I feel like posting something I will - unless I experience technical difficulties like I did ALL DAY TODAY!  <insert frustrated tangent> Thanksgiving should not be an excuse - someone should always be monitoring the google.  Get it together, people!  I want to add photos to my blogs!

Now that you know the dealio... go twirl in a field - it's nice, you'll like it.  And if you don't like twirling - you're doing it wrong.  pEacE!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving • Prayer

Don't Know When To Start • Poem

I was scrolling through tumblr because that's what I do when I can't sleep. (I alternate between tumblr and pinterest looking for things to spark my interest and exhaust my mind so I can finally sleep.)  One of the newbs that I'm following keeps posting about this relationship blog (like the above photo) and this poem kept coming to mind.  A friend had posted it like 5 years ago and I had saved it in my facebook notes.  So here it is.  

You didn't read the instructions.
I sent you a letter, it said:
Love me.
Love me a lot.
I thought at first you
were being discreet
or subtle,
subdued,
cautious. I didn't realize
you were simply dense- See, this is the part
where you're supposed to take me in your arms,
don't you get it?
Some people don't know when to
quit but honey you
don't know when to start.

- by karen wurl

Thoughts?  Can you relate?  I know I can.  

Anyway, y'all are certainly welcome to check out my tumblr, but it's mostly my instagram photos.  

TOMORROW!

Something I'm thankful for?  I don't have to go to work tomorrow and I still get paid! Yay!  

Almost makes all of those "I'm thankful" posts clogging up my newsfeed worth it.  Almost.

Stars • Lyrics

Sooooo... I was totes watching the VOICE last night and Adam Levine - who is awesome at being awesome - had Amanda Brown sing "Stars" by Grace Potter (she also sings it as a duet with Kenny Chesney). My favorite song obsession of the moment and LO AND BEHOLD neither Blake nor Christina had heard it. I wasn't sure if I should be disappointed in their lack of music savvy or proud of myself for demonstrating more taste than two professional entertainers. ... Regardless, it's a great song and everyone should love it as much as I do! chEErs!

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Stars lyrics

I lit a fire with the love you left behind,
And it burned wild and crept up the mountainside.
I followed your ashes into outer space
I can't look out the window,
I can't look at this place,

I can't look at the stars,
They make me wonder where you are
Stars,
Up on heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all,
I know you've gone too far
So I, I can't look at the stars

All those times we looked up at the sky,
Looking out so far,
We felt like we could fly.
And now I'm all alone in the dark of night,
The moon is shining,
But I can't see the light,
And I can't look at the

Stars,
They make me wonder where you are
Stars,
Up on heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all,
I know you've gone too far
So I, I can't look at the stars

Stars,
Stars,
They make me wonder where you are
Stars,
Up on heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all,
I know you've gone too far
So I can't look at the stars.

Here's the video, fOOls!

Make You Feel My Love • Lyrics

Why, yes!  I am feeling like an angsty fifteen year old tonight who wants to post sad song lyrics.  It's true.  But, SERIOUSLY, if you do not love this song - what is wrong with you?  It's awesome!  Bob Dylan or Adele - IT'S AAAAALLLLLLLLLLL GOOD!

Adele
Make You Feel My Love lyrics

When the rain
Is blowing in your face
And the whole world
Is on your case
I could offer you
A warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows
And the stars appear
And there is no - one there
To dry your tears
I could hold you
For a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you
Haven't made
Your mind up yet
But I would never
Do you wrong
I've known it
From the moment
That we met
No doubt in my mind
Where you belong

I'd go hungry
I'd go black and blue and
I'd go crawling
Down the avenue
You Know there's nothing
That I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging
On the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change
Are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing
Like me yet

I could make you happy
Make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends
Of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love

To make you feel my love

Here's the video, nerd bombers.  pEacE!

What I Post

I'm going to post whatever I want.

Whatever I find funny

Thought provoking.

Disturbing.

Disgusting.

Happy.

Tragic.

Dreams.

Stories.

Whatever.

I'm going to post whatever I want.

It's my blog and only the host site can censor it but they probably won't so...

I will post WHATEVER I WANT.

Welcome to America.

God Gave Me You • Lyrics

Blake Shelton
God Gave Me You lyrics

I've been a walking heartache
I've made a mess of me
The person that I've been lately
Ain't who I wanna be

But you stay here right beside me
And watch as the storm blows through
And I need you

Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
And for when I think I lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you
Gave me you

There's more here than what we're seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You'll always be love's great martyr
And I'll be the flattered fool
And I need you
Yeah!

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
And for when I think I lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you

On my own I'm only
Half of what I could be
I can't do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I pray we never undo

Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
And for when I think I lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you, gave me you.
He gave me you.

Here's the Video, homiEs!

Happy Birthday, KA!

Happy Birthday to my BFF, KA!

I'm totes working on your gift.  I did make a delicious dessert in your honor but my family and I ate it.

In honor of your birth, I thought I'd share a little dream of our future.

Someday.

Someday, you and L will have children.  Beautiful children.  A girl, a boy, and a girl.  And maybe, you'll be pregnant with your fourth child when I bring my children to visit you.  You and L and your 3, almost 4, children live in a brownstone in some large city.  Could be the cities, could be NYC.  It's a dream.  I don't ask questions.

So, one lovely summer day.  I bring my 3 children, a boy, a girl, and a girl, to your brownstone.  There are balloons tied to the black wrought iron fence.  My children excitedly run up the steps to your front door to ring the doorbell. Before they can even press the lit button, your children answer the door, smiling, shouting, laughing.  By the time I reach the top of  the steps and you reach the front door, all of our children have disappeared to various parts of your home to renew their friendships.

We take a quiet moment to hug and catch up before we are once again peppered with questions from our young ones.  I follow you into the kitchen and help you finish packing a picnic lunch for our day at the zoo.  We laugh at our crazy ambition to successfully take 6 children to the public zoo on a Saturday.

Gathering our children, bending in knee length skirts to tie shoes and wipe faces with sunscreen, we hand off special items for them to carry.  Blue water bottles.  Pink and green binoculars.  Bright yellow lanyards to hang around each neck.  They buddy up and I lead them out the door with half our picnic lunch slung over my shoulder in a large carryall.  A rolled up blanket in my arm.  You follow them out, locking the door behind us.

We walk the few blocks to the zoo.  Our children racing each other to the corner.  The youngest girls laugh from the double stroller you push.  I secure the hands of the eldest four in a long chain when we cross the street.  Only one scraped knee makes for a successful transition to the zoo.

Our children clamor to go to the petting zoo.  They willingly pose for pictures in front of each of their favorite enclosures.  The boys run off to play hide and seek on more than one occasion, but I only have to raise my voice once when they attempt to hide up a tree near the lion enclosure.

The girls had their faces painted with butterflies and flowers.  Our boys asked for superhero masks.  It makes for super cute photos to frame for our walls.

We enjoy a picnic lunch by the pond where other families gather to eat as well.  While we lounge, gathering our strength, the children eat their fill and then search out bugs and fish and chase the birds into flight.

You and I laugh and send praise heavenward for each of our special blessings.

Later in the afternoon, a meltdown and a small tantrum later, everyone is thoroughly exhausted and we sluggishly make our way back to your house.  The youngest girls are put down immediately for naps.  The older children congregate in the family room.  I make you settle your pregnant self on the couch to read them a story while I put things away in the kitchen.

I return to the family room to find everyone asleep except my oldest girl.  I settle into a chair and she snuggles under a blanket next to me and we talk about her favorite parts of our day.

She says she wishes we could spend every day with Auntie K, and I whisper "I do, too" as we both drift off into dreamland.

The End.

Miss you!

Almost Lover • Lyrics

A Fine Frenzy

Almost Lover lyrics

Your fingertips across my skin
The palm trees swaying in the wind, images
You sang me Spanish lullabies
The sweetest sadness in your eyes, clever trick

Well, I?d never want to see you unhappy
I thought you?d want the same for me

Goodbye, my almost lover
Goodbye, my hopeless dream
I'm trying not to think about you
Can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance
My back is turned on you
Should've known you'd bring me heartache
Almost lovers always do

We walked along a crowded street
You took my hand and danced with me in the shade
And when you left you kissed my lips
You told me you would never ever forget these images, no

Well, I?d never want to see you unhappy
I thought you?d want the same for me

Goodbye, my almost lover
Goodbye, my hopeless dream
I'm trying not to think about you
Can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance
My back is turned on you
Should've known you'd bring me heartache
Almost lovers always do

I cannot go to the ocean
I cannot try the streets at night
I cannot wake up in the morning
Without you on my mind

So you're gone and I'm haunted
And I bet you are just fine
Did I make it that easy to walk
Right in and out of my life?

Goodbye, my almost lover
Goodbye, my hopeless dream
I'm trying not to think about you
Why can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance
My back is turned on you
Should've known you'd bring me heartache
Almost lovers always do

Here's the Video for your viewing and listening pleasure.