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Archive for March, 2009

March 30th, 2009

Open letter to my parents

Dear Mom and Dad,

As my birthday rolls around this year I can’t help but think of the same traumatic childhood event that took place on my 6th birthday.  Now I’ll give you some sympathy here because having a baby on April Fool’s Day may just be one of the cruelest jokes – and I can’t blame you for wanting to revel in it every now and then.Trick candles, gag gifts, surprise parties – all of these I think could be acceptable forms of teasing.

What happened on my 6th birthday however falls more along the lines of scarring your child for life.  Because here I am – more than 2 decades later and I’m still talking about it.  What’s that? You don’t remember? That’s surprising considering how funny you made it out to be at the time – I would have thought you’d chalk this one up to one of your all time best gags ever…at least the way you were laughing made it seem that this was one for the scrapbooks and fireside stories…

Let me refresh your memory…

I was 5.  I really wanted us to get a dog.  Specifically a poodle.  I don’t know why it had to be a poodle, but I was convinced that my life was incomplete without one.  I begged and begged to no avail.  Christmases and birthdays passed and still no poodle.  So imagine my joy when I woke up on my 6th birthday and went in your room to say good morning and was told I had a special present waiting for me.

Is it a poodle????

Your present is in the garage…go look at it!

Needing someone to revel in the joy with me, I woke my 4 year old brother and told him to come with me. Seth, get up! There is a poodle in the garage! We ran to the back door and I opened it.

Silence. Darkness.

I looked at Seth. He was waiting.  I stared into the darknesss.  Nothing.

Confused I shut the door and went back to your bedroom.

I didn’t see anything. It’s not there.

Oh, it’s probably scared. Did you try calling it? Mom asked.

Umm, no. What’s it’s name?

I dunno. Call it poodle.

Ok! With renewed hope and enthusiasm I grabbed Seth’s hand and we headed back to the garage.

I flipped on the light, bent down low and said, Here poodle. Poodle? Poodle, come here!  Poodle? Pooooooooooooooooodle???? Where are you???

Something didn’t seem right. Why was it being so silent? read more »

CategoryFamily | Comment5 Comments »

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March 28th, 2009

it’s a stick up, stick up…touch the ceilin’ baby…

On my way home this evening I decided to stop in a gas station to get some grape juice. This was an impulsive decision and I quickly turned in to the closest one.  It was a Valero and there were only a few cars in the lot.

 

I grabbed my wallet and got out of the car. I was keeping my head low because I was having a major allergy attack and my eye rivaled the Terminator’s.  I glanced at the counter as I walked in and headed straight to the juice.  I grabbed the grape juice bottle and then went to the counter.  I was averting my eyes, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible, but the man in front of me kept turning around to look at me.  Maybe he thought I was crying (technically I was tearing, but not crying) or maybe he just wanted to look at me. Either way – it was making me feel uncomfortable.

Then, to make matters even worse, he turns towards me and says, “This is not a hold up.”

“Heh, heh…” I manage, looking down.

“That was a great laugh. Hey, Joe, wasn’t that a great laugh?”

(Joe is the employee behind the counter – who ironically is NOT ringing the man up, but just standing there acting shifty and nervous.) Joe says, “Uh, yeah – that’s good.”

“Yeah right,” I say.  “Joe isn’t even paying attention!”

Then another man pops up from behind the counter.  I couldn’t tell if he worked there or not but he had some crazy eyes. I don’t mean a crazy LOOK in his eyes – I mean his eyes were crazy.

At that point I started to contemplate how quickly I could drop the juice and get out. I could possibly make it to the door, but could I get in my car fast enough??? read more »

Categorylife experiences | Comment2 Comments »

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March 27th, 2009

how old are you?

So my birthday is coming up. And in the spirit of Twilight – and the fact that I still get asked what grade I’m in – I think I am ok with staying the same age.  Like Edward said in the movie, “for a while.”

In fact, why stop there? I’m going to go ahead and shave off a few years while I’m at it! So join me on Wednesday as I celebrate my 25 23 heck – why not? My 21st birthday! Yay!

Categoryrandom thought processes | CommentNo Comments »

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March 21st, 2009

life

I am amazed at how fragile life can be, and yet how resilient our bodies can be.  I guess when you think about it – it makes sense that the “container” for our life on earth be strong and resistant to injury – especially if life IS that fragile.

Just two days ago I heard about the death of Natasha Richardson from what was believed to be a result of a skiing accident.  Supposedly she wasn’t wearing a helmet.  Life is so fragile.  That very day I had been out on the mountain snowboarding and decided I was too hot to wear a helmet, but I didn’t get hurt.  Our bodies are strong.

The next day I decided to wear my helmet because life is fragile.

I lost control on a turn and crashed in to a tree. Then, bounced off of it and slammed into another tree.  Our bodies are stong.  I don’t remeber much – just the last vision of the white snow beneath me.  As I hit the tree and my eyes were closed I thought – my body just saved my life.  Our bodies are strong.

As I lay there I thought – is anything broken? How long have I been laying here? Can I move?  I opened my eyes and saw the treetops above me.  I heard my friend calling my name. I moved. Slowly. Everything cooperated. I instantly thought of how grateful I was that I decided to wear my helmet that day.

I moved some more. I was sore, but not broken.  Eventually I pulled myself up and made my way down the mountain on my board.  Life is fragile, but I believe God has made our bodies to sustain just the right amount of unjury until it’s our time to go.  Sometimes it’s good to fall because it makes you grateful for when you’re upright.  It also reminds you of how fragile you are.

Categoryconsiderations, life experiences | CommentNo Comments »

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