I'm still giggling over the phone conversation I had with Marlan a few weeks ago. If you know Marlan, you'll know why.
She was lamenting the fact that she had promised to drive a friend to an appointment and back the next morning. The commitment would last about 4 hours. None of her other friends were in a position to extend this help to the girl for one reason or another. She was just realizing that this meant that she could not take off to her boyfriend's house right now like she really wanted to.
I specifically remember her asking: "I mean, when did I become 'The Responsible One'?" When indeed?
Our adventurous, fun-loving, dramatic Marlan has travelled a long, windy road of less-than-logical decisions and their consequences. We finally learned that a lot of her erratic behavior was being caused by MS. Unfortunately, her self-perception suffered as well as just about everything else.
She has worked really hard and overcome tremendous obstacles and struggles during the past few years. She has made a lot of progress towards creating a stable, productive, and meaningful life. Which is what we all strive for in this life, isn't it?
Marlan has always been smart. Sometimes too smart (for her parents!). But now she is able to harness all that brain power and focus it on her goals. MS had been robbing her of that. Our most recent conversation involved how she is working on tackling calculus and juggling a full load of classes and a part time job. Calculus?, yes, of course you have to pass calulus when you're majoring in Chemistry. What? Isn't that just about the hardest major in the college catalog?
Marlan recently started a new medication which seems to be a game-changer for her. She feels better and seems to have more stamina than she has in the past. Such a blessing!
Reclaiming faith in herself and in her Divine Nature as a daughter of God has been challenging. I want her to know how very proud her family is of her and how important she is to us. And I know His love for her dwarfs even ours.
One of the most amazing things to watch in nature is the butterfly emerging from her cocoon. We are in awe...
It was blissful this morning as I lay in bed, lazily contemplating getting up at 9 am. (Just a few more weeks until school's in session and these kinds of mornings will just be a distant memory...)
Now, I don't normally consider myself a cranky person in the morning. Then why, I wondered was this the first thing I heard:
"Mommy, I'm going to play Wii, so if you hear something can you not mind?"
hmmm...now, for the rest of the day I will be wondering how, exactly, my children see me.
**********
Last night I found an unwelcome visitor dining on some sort of goo that had spilled near the trash can in the kitchen. Apparently somehow it had squeezed under the door and come inside. It was about four inches long- HUGE in 'girls&bug' terms - and at first I thought it was plastic 'fishing bait'....until I touched it and...it curled up into a ball.
Amidst the 'eew-ing" and "ahh-ing" of girls and Dad, we heard a quiet and very serious plea:
"Dad, I very, very want to collect that."
sadly for him, the animal was released back into the wild...
The other day as I was swimming laps in the pool a woman in the next lane asked me, "are you Starfish's mom" (Starfish was at home). "Yes, I am," I replied.
"I thought so," she said, "you look just like her".
Now, I've heard this comment many times from friends. This was a first coming from a complete stranger. And also the first time that I was soaking wet! I've even been told we are "twins" before.
To me, this is the best compliment, ever!
While I think there's a resemblance, I don't think we look that much alike...she gets her good looks from her dad, but she is even more beautiful on the inside!
I have to admit that I am totally flattered and never get tired of heari
ng it!
Dear Heavenly Father,
please help me not see stuff that isn't there,
not have bad dreams,
and not be scared of the dark...
...oh, how simple and heartfelt are the prayers of a little boy who has faith.
(these are his actual words, not mine)
Ya got trouble,
Right here in River city!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for POOL.
We've surely got trouble!
I had a fun evening with Gigi tonight. We watched a Monty Python movie and listened to Broadway show-tunes on Pandora - noting the next classic musicals that we need to add to our DVD collection: The Music Man, Fiddler on The Roof.
A few wee
ks ago we borrowed The Music Man from the library. It was quite a hit - but nobody took to it quite like my Gigi. She says that she watched it 5 times. I think it was more.
Tonight was like being in a place where there is usually a constant noise in the background, like music in a store or traffic near a busy street, noise I've become used to, but then having that noise stop, and realizing that there's something really wonderful going on that I haven't noticed before because it's been drowned out by the noise.
Gigi is the classic 'middle child' caught between two remarkable sisters. She is very flexible, easy-going and independent. Of all our kids, she demands the least of my attention, but she always, always has a smile and a hug waiting for me. Well, tonight the other two girls were away. That background noise I'd become accustomed to was strangely absent.
She quotes the movie at random times....like during dinner with the Missionaries the other day.
Are certain words creeping into his conversation?
Words like 'swell?"
And 'so's your old man?"
Well, if so my friends,
Ya got trouble
I never really thought about how funny she can be, how silly, how much she enjoys fun movies and music. She's the first to mimic Tevye's little jig with me: 'If I were a rich man, Daidle deedle daidle daidle daidle deedle daidle dum....' Only Gigi shares my Tim Hawkins addiction.
When she found this song, 'Ya Got Trouble' from The Music Man, on the internet, she just lit up - singing and dancing around. She knows most of the words...I think we just might have a Broadway Star in our future...
This girl already shines!
So it seems that Miss Orca has found her true calling...or one of them anyway: entrepreneur! She and her best buddies from the 'hood set up a stand for selling jewelry. they braided (or weaved, not sure) bracelets and rings as they sat under the big tree on the corner. They were quite the salesmen, er, 'saleskids" They actually made quite a haul
They are planning their next event soon!
