Lost and Found

When I moved back Stateside, I spent the first couple of weeks looking for the draft of a poem I had been working on for a couple months.  I looked through all the stuff I had lugged home and eventually concluded that I must have left my 35+ lines on my desk, on my counter, on the subway, on a seat at the airport - somewhere on the other side of the world.  
This evening I grabbed my Bible as I headed out of the house for a "jump start" study, and when I opened it I found my missing poem folded inside the cover.  You know what that means? It means that until now I haven't opened my Bible since I've been home.  Seven months.  In Korea I was reading my Bible before work every morning and as somehow, its a habit that didn't stick.  I realize that rarely touched it before then either.  But 7 months?  
I find I'm not especially gifted at managing my time. It's always something I either think I have plenty of or not enough, and somehow allow things to slip out of my schedule.  It was so much easier for me to notice God while I was over there...or maybe he found me.

Cry If You Want To

I already have myself pegged.  I'm going to be the kind of parent who is asked why her kid is throwing herself on the floor while yelling and refusing to get up and responds "because she wants to eat candy for breakfast and I won't let them."  And why does your kid have a knot on his forehead and responds "because I told him to get off the kitchen table and he did. He fell off."  Or why does your kid wears their pajamas to school every day and responds "because he likes them.  They're probably comfortable." 
I'm not one to panic, though people tell me its different when you have your own kid; EVERYTHING is different then.  But I wonder if me not panicking causes others' panic.
I can sense a bit of urgency with other's at work, usually when I'm not in a panic,  and they seem to think I should be up in arms.  Really?  They're kids - things happen.  Things like bumps and bruises, and snot, and spills, and pouting, and tears, and running away, and tiredness, and hitting, and, well, I'm just not going to have my undies in a bundle about it. It just seems practical to make a kid knock if off if they need to......not always because you need them to.
Besides, you put your foot down for everything, not only is your foot going to hurt, but you're going to miss out on some riotous moments. Absolutely side-splitting. 

Saving the World One Cup At a Time

A soy latte didn't sound appealing when she stood in front of the counter and paid $3.50 for it.  If I was going to pay over 3 bucks for a cup of coffee, I was going to have them fit everything they could into that cup: chocolate, syrup, whip cream, sprinkles - you name it; the more the merrier, but she was paying and urged me to give it a whirl as it had become her favorite beverage after impressing her on consecutive occasions.  And now it is my drink of choice, especially after bottomless cup after bottomless cup has led the two of us into some of our most profound and therapeutic conversations and excursions. It never fails that we began addressing the world's problems along with our own and though there isn't always a solution, just the act of considering a few is a relief. 

This past Friday Steph and I, with baby on board and coffee cup in hand, headed out into the gorgeous weather to stroll through Soulard's Market downtown.  This is totally my kind of morning.  A day off from work and working-out, sunshine and food, and a baby?!?!  Seriously.  And it was just a preface for an entirely pleasant weekend.  Spring is officially and demonstratively here, with all the flowers and vegetables and sun and rain and things to do. Things to do- so many it can be overwhelming.  But things have a way of turning out ok, right?  Drink coffee and believe harder.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Say hello to my little garden.  It's littleness should maybe have been predestined as a trial run, as I have never had a garden before, but really I had no other options.  Despite the space, I managed to shove onions, 2 different kinds of peppers, and strawberries into that box.  Tomatoes had to go along the side of the deck, but since I don't have a place of my own and don't see such happening in the very near future, I'll take what I can get.  I realize, when the opportunities arise, that I can very domestic.  The laundry, the decorating, the cooking, the shopping, the gardening, all don't seem to bother me.  Depending on my success, I'd like to graduate to an herb garden, which sounds so much harder so I may need to simply expand to.......some carrots and cucumbers first.