Everyday Life

Categories Everyday Life

A Weekend Recap

5 Comments by

Sometimes, the weekend’s just too great to resist documenting it.

Friday:

  • Wear one of my amazing vintage outfits to work (Casual Day, hence the jeans)
    Vintage clothes
  • Prepare my Sunday School lesson on Judges
  • Enjoy biscuits and tuna gravy with my sister
  • Stamp some of my sister’s Jewelry catalogs
    Jewelry Catalogs

Saturday:

  • Get new tires on my car
  • Go to my sister-out-law’s jewelry party
  • Take pictures of my niece (who is now REALLY taking after her father)
    Little Miss
  • Take pictures of my sister (who is being an Arabian princess)
    Grace as an Arabian Princess
  • Hold the Little Miss
    Little Miss in a Hat
  • Mission’s Conference (see my sister-out-law perform on the violin as a part of an ensemble playing “Send the Light”)
    Send the Light ensemble

Sunday:

  • Teach Sunday School to 2nd and 3rd Graders
  • Worship with the HP body
  • Chinese with Anna and Beth
  • Crocheting and Cookie Baking at Beth’s
  • Sunday Bible School leaders’ flock at Rachel’s
  • Playing “Just Dance” after flock
    Just Dance
    (That’d be my pastor in the foreground. Yep. We like to break it down!)
    Just Dance
    (That’d be me, POSING while Just Dance is going on so that Justin can get a good shot. Is not that vintage dress amazing?)

Not gonna lie. I really love my life. This weekend is a perfect example of why.

Categories Everyday Life

Chasing the Moon

3 Comments by

A long day in Grand Island done, I pointed my car towards home, eager to get back to Columbus.

But as soon as I turned east, I saw a gorgeous almost-full-penny moon.

Do you know what I’m talking about? A moon that glows with coppery tones, where you can almost see Abraham Lincoln’s profile in its enormous glistening glory?

My eyes twitched to the camera bag sitting beside me, my hands thrummed the steering wheel restlessly.

I wanted a picture of this–except the construction on the road between Grand Island and Central City left me with no place to turn off.

I determined to take a detour through Central City. I’d find a country road; stop and take some pictures before rejoining Highway 30 a little further along.

What I didn’t count on was the difficulty of finding country road turn-offs after dark.

I crossed the Platte River and knew I needed to turn east again soon (since I was traveling south and my destination was northeast). Finding a little highway, I turned off on it.

Unfortunately, this little highway had no shoulders for pulling over to take pictures–so I kept driving, sure I’d find a north-leading road soon.

The penny moon rose and became a dime, not anywhere near as enthralling.

I drove further, wondering at my folly–chasing the moon.

My usual route looks like this:

Map from Grand Island to Columbus

Instead, last evening’s trip looked more like this:

Map from Grand Island to Columbus

Dozens of extra miles, at least a half hour extra drive time.

No pictures to show for it.

An evening chasing the moon.

Categories Family & Friends

The best thing I ever did for you

3 Comments by

As two-year-old Ronald sat on the Sunday School bench, his attention was arrested by the girl beside him. He looked over and thought to himself, “That Carol P is mighty pretty. When I grow up, she’s gonna be my girlfriend.”

One week later, he again found himself preoccupied with the girl on the bench beside him. This time, though, his thoughts took a different turn: “That Carol P is mighty pretty. When I grow up, she’s gonna be my wife.”

Sixty years ago yesterday, Ronald made Carol his wife.

When they were married, an older member of the congregation* gave them advice patterned after his initials: “Increase and Multiply.”

It took a few years for them to begin, but after Ronald came back from Korea, the increasing began in earnest.

Today, Ronald and Carol boast twelve sons and daughters, ten sons-and-daughters-in-law, 43 grandchildren, seven grandchildren-in-law, and a beginning spattering of great-grandchildren.

Increase and multiply, he told them. And multiply they did.

“You know what the best thing I ever did for you was?” Grandpa asks his grandchildren now.

We know the answer and respond on cue, “You married Grandma.”

Grandpa smiles contentedly. Yes, that’s the best thing he ever did for us.

This grandchild could add a bit more: He stayed married to Grandma.

It’s a romance that began eighty years ago, was sealed in marriage sixty years ago, and that continues on to this day.

Grandma and Grandpa kissing

It’s a romance that has blessed multitudes, not the least the 70+ progeny of Ronald and Carol Cook.

*My memory is a bit fuzzy about the details of the “Increase and Multiply” story. I trust my aunts will set the record straight when I err :-)

Categories Everyday Life

Petty Prejudices

4 Comments by

My sister’s a jewelry lady (she sells it with Premier Designs), and we were sitting around the lunch table one day when she mentioned that the other jewelry ladies say she should never leave the house without five or six pieces of jewelry on.

My knee-jerk-reaction (which, of course, I said out loud–will I ever gain control of my tongue?) was to say that I don’t like people who wear that much jewelry. I really can’t be friends with people who have so little style.

Not surprisingly, my dinner companions were aghast at my statement.

Really? I judge people that harshly?

One friend made a crack about her own lack of style, diffused the situation.

But the incident remained in my head, kept me asking myself why I reacted in that way.

The truth is, I sometimes (often?) have abominable style. How is it that I might hold others to a higher style-standard than I hold myself? Or do I really?

It took much rumination to get to the bottom of my reaction…but I think I finally figured it out.

My perception of people who wear tons of jewelry is that they’re trying really hard to be fashionable. I don’t try very hard to be fashionable. In fact, I regularly flaunt fashion and wear downright ridiculous apparel (particularly when I wear my pajamas to Bible study–a pink polo dress, white leggings underneath, a huge white sweater over top and fuzzy brown moccasins?)

When I see people that I perceive to be trying really hard, I presume that they would be embarrassed by me–so I never even give them a chance.

Sure, I’ll greet them when we’re introduced. I’ll say a nice hello. But I won’t really try to be their friend. If I see them in the hall, unless they approach me or somehow acknowledge me, I’m not going to acknowledge them.

I assume that I’d only mess up the image they’re trying so hard (and, in my opinion, failing) to project.

But is that really a fair assumption?

No. It isn’t.

That’s letting my flesh take preference over brotherly love. It’s petty prejudice and it’s ugly.

So, with my eyes now open to my own petty prejudices, I’m out to love the world–even the world who’s wearing five or more pieces of jewelry.

Categories Everyday Life

Snapshot: Route 66

1 Comment by

I’m thrilled to be teaching the 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday School (about a dozen kids, mostly boys!) at my church.

We’re going through the books of the Bible with a curriculum called “Route 66” for the 66 books of the Bible.

Road Signs for Sunday School

In order to facilitate our quick trip (only 36 weeks) through the Bible, I’ve decorated our room with a road–with corresponding road signs.

In my head, the idea was good–but I was pretty apprehensive about how it would work. By the grace of God, it turned out even better than I expected!

Categories Everyday Life

Punctuation Matters

1 Comment by

The DOT is working on the highway between here and Grand Island–the highway I use for my bi-weekly commute.

Four times a week, I see the signs set up on either side of the worked-on stretch of highway:

No
Passing Zones
Not Marked

Every time I pass the bright orange signs, I wonder whose bright idea it was to not include punctuation.

As it is, I have no clue what the sign is trying to say.

Is it telling me not to pass because the zones are unmarked?

In that case, it should read:

No
Passing. Zones
Not Marked.

Or perhaps it is just an FYI, to let me know that the no passing zones are not marked so I’ll have to use discretion when passing.

May I suggest:

No-Passing
Zones Not
Marked

Or better yet:

No-Passing
Zones Are
Not Marked

As it is, sans punctuation marks, this sign means nothing.

I do whatever I please.

Categories Everyday Life

Safely Falling

4 Comments by

I was completely out of control, but I was attached to one who knew what was going on and who was in control.

The air roared past my ears as we free-fell towards the ground.

My mind strained to remember my instructor’s directions, even though I could no longer hear his voice.

Soaring above the clouds

Arch my back, kick my bottom, hands hanging on to my harness chicken wing fashion.

Content that I’d followed instructions, I could enjoy the ride.

Exhilaration.

Free-falling.

Amazing.

He pulled the chute, the free-fall ended far too soon. I wanted it to last forever.

Soaring through the clouds

Now he guided my hands into the chute’s handles, asked me if my harness was comfortable. Everything was fine.

He told me he would be loosening the connections that held us. I’d drop a bit lower, so inches would separate our bodies.

Now, here, I felt a glimmer of fear. I knew it would be safe, I knew I’d still be attached. But it wouldn’t be the same. Once he’d lowered me, I wouldn’t be able to feel his presence. Would I be able to make it without that sure sensory feedback reminding me that I was safe?

I would choose to trust, I told myself–and so I did.

Flying, closer up

I relaxed as the distance grew between us.

I was still safe, still connected, still hearing his voice. He was still guiding the chute.

He asked me if I wanted to do anything fancy–circles, loop-de-loops, or the like. “Or would you rather just hang out?”

It was hard to push the words from my lungs: “I’d rather just hang out.”

“That’s okay,” he told me, “we’ll just hang out.”

And so we did, arms outstretched, hands in the chute’s handles. We hung there, suspended between sky and earth, observing the scenery below as we softly drifted along.

My head started spinning. I willed it to stop. I was enjoying this too much to be sick.

I wanted to see.

Preparing for landing

I told my instructor that I was getting dizzy. He encouraged me to breathe deeply, said he’d go gently.

I breathed, my eyes taking in everything I saw.

Beside me, Joanna and her instructor were doing crazy moves.

I smiled and breathed and wished I could be flying forever, and never.

Categories Everyday Life

Burning coals on my head

Leave a comment by

I am the world’s worst neighbor.

I let my grass go so long I had to use my hedge-clippers to get the crab grass short enough to mow.

No joke.

So when my neighbor starts his lawn mower when I’ve decided to at last tackle the front yard, I’m feeling serious guilt.

I see him glance over at my old-fashioned mower taking its hundred passes.

He’s done with his front yard and moves on to his back.

He’s mowing a little extra, taking a few feet out of my backyard.

Instead of returning my negligence, he’s showing me kindness.

My hair’s almost on fire.

Darn it all. Now I feel obligated to mow the BACK YARD too.

I haven’t even attempted that since the Fourth of July.

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
~Romans 12:19-20 (ESV)