“These Are a Few of My Favorite Things”

May 25, 2012 | 0 comments

Dot’s friend is having an end-of-year sleepover for the Senior class girls tonight. It’s the first night I’m alone since last week. Since the Big Before and After Moment.

We’re doing okay. There have been some difficult moments, and some good ones. We’re going to be okay. We’re not there yet. But we know we will be. And just knowing that makes it okay to be where we are right now.

I’m taking advantage of this solitude by watching “The Sound of Music”. For some reason, I’ve been singing the songs all day. Mostly, I think, because last night I asked prayer for “Something Good”. We just need something Good. Something stable. Something… a change. Anything.

And once I spoke those words out loud, I thought of “The Sound of Music”. Christopher Plummer singing “Edelweiss” has almost always been my favorite moment when I was younger. As I grew older, I began to appreciate him and Julie Andrews having their moment with “Something Good”.

So, if even just for three hours, I’m tuning out the world and the hurts it brings; and I’m singing. And listing A Few of My Favorite Things.

  • Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals
  • Christopher Plummer in a green-collared suit, singing
  • Pastors available by instant email
  • Enough FLASHPOINT episodes on the DVR for an entire day without stopping
  • My rice steamer that makes cooking easy and thoughtless
  • Chocolate Martini
  • Family
  • Friends who let us talk
  • Friends who hug us when we don’t want to talk
  • Tears that are able to fall
  • Our cats (*Cats have more “human”-like emotions than any other animal; which is why they are so empathetic.)
  • Megan, who let me hijack her birthday breakfast to talk about weird things like anything but what I needed to talk about
  • Julie, April and Judy who are my Bible Study women
  • Dot’s friends who are by extension, my almost-kids
  • Nathan and his family, who are by extension, our family. I’m so very proud of him for his honors graduation. Way to go, Nate! (If I can call you “Nate”…)
  • The new birds that keep showing up in our yard
  • My church, my Pastors, the staff, the prayers
  • My Mommy, who is still my MOMMY no matter how old I am
  • My Dot, who lets me be her MOMMY no matter how old she is
  • Yard lizards
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Truth
  • Knowing that Louie is no longer suffering, and knowing that someday our hurts will also end

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

Sweeten my tea and share:

Happy Birthday, Megan!

May 24, 2012 | 0 comments

You remember my writing partner, Megan, right?

Well, today’s her birthday! And of course I couldn’t let the day pass without publicly acknowledging what she means to me.

She is my Personal Barista

She understands Disney better than anyone else
She brings Lord of the Rings to the Table
(that is, the Writing Table… it really inspires her!)
She totally gets that I’m crazy enough about Narnia to make a room for it
She’s the other half of The New Inklings writing group.

She started her own blog to support me with mine…
The Fairest One of All

But she actually has a life outside the laptop, so her last post was in November.

She tried watching FLASHPOINT for me,
and lets me talk about Ed and Spike like they’re real.

She understands

My three-hour writing limit
My need for caffeine
My multi-taskiness
and the ability to plot while cleaning.

She gets me.
I even have a Pinterest board dedicated just to her
so when we have writing inspirations, we can link up that way.

And because she also puts up with me
and the idiosyncricies that befall a writer,

She deserves the

Best
Birthday
Ever.

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday, Dear Megan!
Happy Birthday to You!

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

Sweeten my tea and share:

Lessons Learned: The Louie Edition

May 23, 2012 | 4 comments

What I learned from The Boy:

1. Love always. Not matter what. Don’t let others tell you otherwise.

2. Smile like you have a secret, and people will want to talk to you.

3. Smile when you’re in trouble, and you won’t have consequences.

4. Play with your food… but only after you’ve eaten a lot of it.

5. Be honest. No matter what.

6. When it doubt, write it out.

7. Have fun. No matter what.

8. It’s okay to be sad, but never give up hope.

9. Dance. A lot.

10. Take pictures. A lot.

11. Take walks. See the world around you.

12. Be social. Be very, very social.

13. “If you love something set it free…”

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

Sweeten my tea and share: