Sunday, October 28, 2007

Eggos and me...We're of the same breed



This time of year is always a difficult one for me. For the last 10 years or so, I have battled with my "stance" on Halloween. I have been a "waffler" more than not, allowing my girls to participate in the "festivities" one year, then changing my mind the next year, depending upon how "spiritual" I feel. My friends vary across the board on this as well, illustrating clearly the wide range of feelings people have about the holiday.

I dread this time of year because I feel like I really need to take a firm stance on Halloween and I never do. Sometimes I feel like:

1)"What's the harm in it? I ended up OK, and I did Halloween every year. I loved dressing up in costumes and going door to door for candy. My mom made most of my costumes for me....nothing plastic or store bought for her daughter!!! Why should I take away this fun memory from my daughters?"

2) But...being a follower of Christ means pursuing Him and pleasing Him in every area of my life. If there is any holiday that could be looked upon as "Anti-God," it has become Halloween. I don't want to do anything that contradicts my relationship with Him.

3) But...what about connecting with people in your community? You don't want the girls to be so sheltered that they cannot relate to anyone that doesn't possess the same beliefs as they do.

4) But...don't you want your girls to be able to experience what it is like to stand for something you believe in (or in this case, don't believe in), and not waiver? To stand strong against something that is viewed upon by many Christians as utterly evil?

And so it goes....every year I have this conversation with myself. This year, Gregg and I decided to leave it up to the girls. If they wanted to go, we would allow it, and help them come up with a costume. We told them yesterday. Nothing like giving them a lot of notice, right? I truly expected to witness pure elation on their faces as we gave them the OK. I was already preparing in my mind what costumes we would try to come up with at this late of date. Strangely enough, they both shared with us that they didn't want to do it. Absolutely shocking! I even asked them again this morning, just to be sure. No change. I don't know why exactly, but I am not going to question it. My mother heart tells me they are probably battling with it, much in the same way I do. So, I think we are going to go bowling instead. That solves that issue....for at least another 364 days. :)

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Sweet dreams?


Last night, I dreamt that 5 of my teeth fell out while I was in the Women's Bathroom at my HS reunion. (I know your thinking...
"Get over your reunion already!!") First, I noticed that one was loose. Then, as I touched it, another one fell out with it, until I was left with 5 permanent adult teeth in my hand. WHEW!!! You cannot imagine my relief when I woke up this morning with a full set of teeth in. This is not the first time I have dreamt of my teeth falling out. I have no idea what this means. But somewhere in the complexity of my brain, it has some sort of significance.


Here are a few of my other recurring dreams:


1) Trying to dial a phone and not being able to connect with anyone. I cannot get through all 7 digits of the phone number without having to start over. Good thing my dream doesn't include area codes or calling cards with PIN numbers in the mix. I would never wake up!!


2) Trying to scream but not being able to. Someone is trying to "get me" but I cannot make a sound to save my life...literally.


3) Gregg breaks up with me for the 100th time. Now if you know anything about our dating history, you will find this humorous. But the "not so humorous" thing about it is that I wake up being mad at him for something that he never did...at least not a 100 times. :) The dreams just seem THAT real.


Complex? Yes, I admit I am. I know I'm complex, because when I ask Gregg in the morning what he dreamt about, he sleepily utters "Nothing." And I am confident he hasn't spent the last 8 hours solving all the world's problems. He has the blessing of sleeping like a man. Wish I could!!


So....what are some of your recurring dreams? Are they as weird as mine? Or does your brain simply rest when you go to sleep and you don't have to "work out your entire day" through your dreams?


Friday, October 19, 2007

And now you'll know the rest of the story

I am always completely blessed and utterly amazed at some of the conversations in life that God allows me to be a part of. As strange as it may seem, when I walk away from these conversations, I am left feeling as if I have just received a gift of sorts. I love when people allow me a glimpse into their hearts, a look into their lives. It leaves me feeling so enriched....better than the person I was before speaking with them. I thrive on conversations that go beyond "How's the weather?" And yet, I am never sure when these meaningful samplings will take place and in what context. Which leads me to write about "The Rest of the Story" in reference to our Ghost Tour last weekend.



The Canal Winchester Historical Society, who was hosting the Ghost Tour, is made up of a lot of self-proclaimed historians. And these people have every right to address themselves that way, because most of them are over the age of 55. They have lived a lot of history themselves. Friday night, before the Ghost Tour began, I assumed my assigned post of being a door greeter at the Old Train Depot. The Train Depot would be used that evening for people to purchase their tickets to the tour, grab a cup of hot cider, and peruse the makeshift gift shop. As I walked in the door, my eyes were immediately drawn straight ahead of me to the ticket booth, still authentically intact from its earlier hustle and bustle days of selling train tickets. In the window, was an adorable elderly white haired gentleman, complete with a matching handlebar mustache and ticketmaster's cap. He took my breath away. And while it must be stated that Gregg doesn't need to worry about his "competion," I thought this man was completely precious. I couldn't get over how much he exemplified the time period in which we were trying to create that night. I hope for an opportunity to talk with him, but I really didn't know if there would be time for that, since we needed to focus our attention on the tour.



As things died down throughout the evening, I was able to gravitate toward the ticket window and carry on a much desired conversation with this dear man. I found his personality to be equally as charming as he looked. I first commented on his moustache and asked him if he had grown the "handlebars" for the tour. He said, "Oh no, I have had these for years." They were clearly an accent to his personality. He shared with me that his name was "Reno" and he was 80 years old. He had been a native to Canal Winchester most of his life. He has three grown sons and 4 grandchildren. Then, he began to share with me about the "love of his life" who had passed away 5 years ago. He had met her in the 8th grade and she proudly served the role of his wife for 55 years. As he told me about her with such adoring words, sharing what the last few years of their life together had become before she died, unknowingly, I found myself tearing up and noticed that he was too. I grabbed his hand and we had this "moment" together. As far as I am from being 80, I could relate to what it feels like to be married to the "love of your life." Reno and I were clearly generations apart, but we could associate with the mutual love that we had for our spouses.



And as if to close the chapter on that part of our conversation, Reno went on to share that he is coming out of the lonliness he has felt since his wife died, and is beginning to date again. His boys are so relieved, because they don't have to keep a close eye on him as much anymore. "See the woman in pink?" he asked, pointing across the foyer of the train depot. I glanced over to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there she was. Nothing like I would have pictured. "She's 74," he said, his handlebar mustache stetching to accomodate such a wide smile, "and she is running for the Village Council." Well, imagine that! He went on to say that he loves to go out to dinner with her and go to a CW football game here and there. I was so happy for him, and if it weren't for the ticket window physically separating us, I would have given him a hug. His story just delighted me so.



That night, as we were driving home from the performances, I was recounting this story to my girls, who were ready to put history behind them and go to bed. I wasn't sure they were completely grasping what I was telling them, until I heard Faith utter these words from the back. "Momma, you love old people," she said. I looked back in the rearview mirror and said,

"I know I do, Faith. I just can't help myself."





And now you know, the rest of the story.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Blast from the Past- Canal Winchester's Ghost Tour



This past weekend, my girls and I got to participate in something completely unique and equally as fun in Canal Winchester, called the Ghost Tour. Honestly, I am not into ghosts, so the title really kept me from attending the event in the past. I imagined it just being a different take on the familiar haunted house that you find popping up in the month of October. But it was nothing like that at all.


The Historical Society of Canal chooses 8 different homes/business in the village, and has actors standing in front of them, dressed in costumes reflecting the era. The actor communicates with his audience as if he were the owner of the building and gives you a historical account on the life of the building. My girls were actresses in the schoolhouse, which was the last stop of the tour. They memorized lines as if they were students of the 1800s. What fun they had!!!


My role in the Ghost Tour was that of a "behind the scenes" gal, which was fine by me. But what mattered most to me was spending time with my girls, and sharing in the memory of something very unique together.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

This is........Jeopardy!!

I am not sure when it started exactly, but my family loves to watch Jeopardy together. As soon as dinner is over, plates are cleared and put into the dishwasher, we head into the family room to find our dear friend, Alex Trebeck, waiting impatiently for us. Alex is a strange sort of bird. If we weren't so close to him, spending several nights a week with him, we probably wouldn't like him so much. He is just such a "know it all," rattling off foreign words with instantaneous, yet authentic accents. And he doesn't let his personality shine, except during the 13.3 seconds he spends with each guest on any given night of the show. But you have to accept your friends for the way they are, I suppose. :)



Yesterday, I decided to purchase the TV version of Jeopardy for my family. We are always so bummed when our 30 minutes of Alex is over each night, so I thought it might be nice to prolong it with the new DVD game. My girls were so excited....you would have thought it was Christmas. We didn't get started unwrapping the game out of its package until 8:15pm. Both Faith and Hope were patiently waiting on the couch to play it. After 15 minutes of tugging and pulling at the packaging and still not making a dent, I noticed that Hopie had fallen asleep waiting for me to open the crazy thing. Around 8:45, I handed the package over to Gregg and uttered with frustration, "IT'S YOUR TURN." At 9pm, Faith called it quits and headed for bed, hoping to play it at some point during her lifetime.



The process of installing it was even worse than getting it out of the package. By 9:30pm, after much toil and a few potential swear words uttered under his breath, Gregg finally got the thing up and running. We looked around the room to notice it was just the two of us now. Both girls had understandably abandoned ship. So, with our friend Alex on the screen, begging us to partake, we decided to play against one another. I would like to tell you how the game brought us closer together as a couple, but it created some very competitive moments out of us. Snickering sounds came with every correct answer and daily double Gregg hit. He won, of course. But my fight is not over. I will soon be returning with my buzzer in hand, to take back my dignity. Plus, I had a little talk with Alex today, while Gregg was at work. I think he will see a very different game the next time we play. Somehow, the batteries will have disappeared out of his buzzer. I don't know how, but I have a feeling it might happen. :)

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

20 Things I learned from my 20 yr HS Reunion



Just returned from our high school reunion and my mind is in overdrive from so many things I observed and am still processing.
Here are a few things that have been encircling my thought pattern and are begging for a place to land. (Good thing I have a blog page!!) These are not necessarily written in order of importance or in order of occurrence. Maybe you can relate to some of them.


  • 1) 4 out of 5 women wore black to the reunion. The color is slimming and it looks good on just about anybody.
  • 2) Men don't nearly feel the pressure to "keep themselves up" as women do. That was evident over and over again. TOTALLY NOT FAIR!!!
  • 3) People are having children a lot later in life. Gregg and I had some of the oldest children represented at the reunion.
  • 4) 15 people from our class live in California. "They say Caly-forny is the place you wanna be."
  • 5) 1 person has died from our class. I didn't know him personally, but it still makes me sad.
  • 6) Hiring a DJ for a reunion is a waste of money. Plug an i-pod into a laptop, hook it up to some speakers, and away you go-go. (Remember WHAM??)
  • 7) People aren't interested in dancing at reunions. They want to spend their time socializing with one another. Besides, the plastic parquet dance floor is just too easy to slip on.
  • 8) Sometimes, you run across people that still remember the smallest things about high school. Truly amazing. I have trouble remembering what day it is, but they can tell me their locker combo, class schedule for their sophomore year, and who was dating whom.
  • 9) Gregg was clearly more recognizable than me at the reunion. People would approach him, shake his hand, tell him how good it was to see him. Then they would look over at me with this blank look on their face. Either I was a "nobody" in HS or they didn't recognize me. This became somewhat annoying yet laughable, throughout the evening.
  • 10) The interior of a school can change a lot in 20 years. So can its staff. I think there were just a small handful of teachers that are still around from way back then.
  • 11) If you are balding, shaving your head is the best option when going back to your HS reunion. That way, no one really can tell where you are in the journey of "hair recession."
  • 12) Some friendships have a rare ability of picking up where they left off. When talking with them, it is very difficult to imagine that 20 years has slipped by.
  • 13) Some people were more outgoing in HS than they are now.
  • 14) Being a part of a sport or organization in HS, gives you the opportunity to connect faster with other students. Those connections and experiences together hold true when you see them at the reunion. Take note of the GSHS Class of 87 "Band Geek" pic at the top of the blog for case in point. Click on it to make it bigger.
  • 15) A hug from an old friend feels especially good, and reminds you of how much you enjoyed "living life" with them "back in the day."
  • 16) Being in this environment this weekend was a good reminder for me of some of the things my daughters will be feeling and facing in the near future as they enter their teen years. Social rankings, the unnecessary importance placed on what other's think of you, a lack of self-confidence in the HS, etc., are important things to have a clear perspective on as you carefully walk through the teen years with your children.
  • 17) It is helpful to dig out your old yearbook before you attend the reunion. Study it on the way (in our case, we had 6 hours to do that), so you can refresh your memory on who is who.
  • 18) I went from occasional church attender in HS, to Christ-follower in my adult years. Praise God!!! From several conversations I had this weekend, I know I am not the only one who was blessed by those changes in their lives. I prayed God would give me an opportunity to have some Level 5 (i.e. deep and meaningful) conversations this weekend and He gave that to me. I am better for it!
  • 19) My 3 1/2 inch heels were killing me by the end of the evening. Who was the one who said "It is better to look good than to feel good."
  • 20) It was especially fun to attend this event with my "boyfriend" of 20 years. :) He still "floats my boat" and I thought he looked especially handsome that night. No one would have believed his 12 year old daughter shopped for him and picked out his outfit all by herself.