If That's My "A" Game....

I'm pretty tired...and wired.  I shouldn't have had those two Cokes at Red Robin tonight and that iced tea at Burger King at lunch (come on!  I don't eat out all the time like this.  It was a busy, on the road kind of day).  But it's been a while since I've posted and if any day lately was a "blog worthy" one (well MY kind of "blog worthy") this would be it.

It was heavily scheduled  and one that required keeping a sharp eye on the clock and adherence to the schedule in order for me to get successfully to that highly anticipated Red Robin moment with friends.   We began with taking my youngest daughter to the optometrist this morning.  And can I just say right here that having an appointment in the same town you live in cuts out  90% of the stress?  That's all I need to say about that part of the day.  It went well.  Glasses were ordered.  Nobody blacked out this time.  I even remembered her cool personal sunglasses for the dilation and she wouldn't have to wear the dorky ones they hand out.  "A" Game on!

Unfortunately, things went more typically for me after that.  After a 25 minute drive to my mom's for the boys to mow her lawn, the lawn mower wouldn't start...not even a little bit.   We had to get on the road to Beaverton.  So, I headed to my In-laws' who had agreed to drop my boys at a church-sponsored all nighter later on.  All the while I was praying Friday, spring break traffic would hold off until I could get safely back to my home exit.  Since they would be gone, when we arrived, my mom-in-law had shared the code to get the boys into the house.  Warning bells rang all over the place when this plan went into place but I proceeded with hope.  Sure enough, it wouldn't work for us.  I am code challenged and as it turns out, so are my boys.  The boys were determined to handle this and wouldn't let me call my husband for help.  When they started picking up stones to remedy the situation, I put a stop to it and told them they'd just have to wait outside.  We were able to read through the window the nice note Grandma had written to them welcoming them and telling them to make themselves at home, so that was nice.   The clock was telling me that I had to move on to pick up my daughter's friends from school and ferry them home with me for a sleepover.  PLUS, I had to get home for an Easter music practice being held at my house in a little over an hour.  Did I mention we live an hour away and this was Friday before spring break and 217 and    I-5...

So with all this in mind I drove off with my boys in my review mirror, sitting on Grandma's porch waiting for Grandpa and Grandma to get back in a couple of hours.  Once at the school, I just had to wait for the girls to be dismissed and then get back on the road.  To my surprise, the younger of the two was entrusted with the class gold fish for spring break.  "You may want to drop this off at their house."  Her teacher told me.  I looked at the clock and knew that wasn't possible, so little Splash was headed to Silverton for a sleepover.  Of course, with my "I've got to get us on the road before the horrendous traffic takes over"  driving skills, a good portion of fish water was spilled onto the pillow pet before we even made it out of the parking lot.  And of course, the horrendous traffic had taken over.  But we made it back to our house eventually.  The practice was able to start without us and I was only 20ish (with emphasis on the "ish") minutes late.

The evening was looking up with a fun double date planned with friends from church, and I soon found myself seated at Red Robin.  This time I threw caution to the wind and ordered the Coke AND a burger, fries and a half a bottle of ranch.  It was fabulous.  Our plan was then to go see Act of Valor but as we double checked, we found that not only would we be late, but the theater wasn't even playing it anymore.  (Don't ask how you can be late to something that isn't even happening.  But if one can be late to something like that, I will be.)  So we did some more checking and found a different movie playing at the needed time at a different theater.  It wasn't until we were well settled into our seats and starting the movie that I remembered I had emailed an invitation to a new attender at church to join us for the previous mentioned movie no longer in existence at a completely different theater at a completely different time.  -Sigh-  If that by itself isn't bad enough, he's thousands of miles from home, new to the area, homesick, gluten and everything intolerant, and......(really cringing here) it was his birthday.

I'm not really sure what the point is to all of this other than:  1) I am lame. 2) Drive carefully when you're hauling a goldfish. 3) If you are incompetent with codes and locks, you could very well just be generally incompetent.

Right now I am just hoping for all those caffeinated drinks to wear off and that our friend isn't a regular  email checker.                      

Introspective Sunday

I was having a hard time in church today.  I don't know what to blame for it, really.  Could have been any number of things making me emotional.  All I know is I couldn't make it through the songs without my eyes leaking significantly.  You see, directly behind me was a visiting couple that I have known my entire life.  My parents led them to the Lord 46 years ago.  We'll call them Mr & Mrs S. They decided to visit our church today.  They were seated next to my own aging mother--my mother who spent countless hours with Mrs. S seated at our kitchen table, mentoring and counseling her.   Not long after becoming believers, Mr S decided to go to Bible college and he's spent many years in the ministry now.   God completely changed the course of their lives 46 years ago.  My parents were only the tools in the right place at the right time.

I guess I just plain missed my dad.  He would have been all smiles and sparkles and stories having them there.   Me?  I got all introspective and weepy.

As I looked around our little fellowship of believers, I was struck with the possibilities of being in the right place at the right time.  Others are in similar places that Mr & Mrs S were 46 years ago that just need someone to be there, faithful to the call.  It's a sacrifice for our pastor and family to be here and for many of our families too.  It's a sacrifice for my own kids to be there.  But as we were singing, I could clearly hear our visitors voices:
             All that thrills my soul is Jesus
             He is more than life to me
             And the fairest of ten thousand
             In my blessed Lord I see

             By the crystal flowing river
             With the ransomed I will sing
             And forever and forever
             I will praise and glorify the King

It was their voices that stopped me cold.  I couldn't sing because I knew.  I knew that all the hard work, every disappointment and every sacrifice and crumby part of building a church can be worth it.  Because if it results in even one couple, forty-six years from now, singing about what Jesus means to them...

Just when I about had myself pulled back together we sang the next hymn:  I'd Rather Have Jesus.
And I was a lost cause.

You've Been Reading A Lot of Amish Fiction When...

1) You know the meaning of "Ferhoodled", "Rumspringa", and "Daudi Haus".

2) You know the meaning of "Ferhoodled", "Rumspringa" and "Daudi Haus" and try to incorporate them into your everyday, Englischer life.

3) You find yourself "redding up" the house.

4) The plot of your story involves young people in conflict about joining church or owning a car.

5) The Mennonites are the "rebels".

6) You start wondering if celery really does have fertility merits.

7) You find yourself hoping the bride chooses to take her vows in purple instead of green.

8) You suspect that they've outlawed buttons primarily because the bishop's wife hates to make buttonholes.

9) You can name half the counties in Pennsylvania.

10) You totally get the gravity of the following excerpt: "Her beau freely admitted to not only riding a bike, but taking his turn driving a dune buggy..."