April 15, 2013 another date to remember in our country's history. It doesn't seem right not to say something about it on this little blog about what's happening in Schuville. I was sitting at lunch with a group of friends, celebrating birthdays (my friend's and my son's), when one of us checked her phone. She said there had been a bombing at the Boston Marathon. Honestly I had no idea that the marathon was being run yesterday, but I have several friends who are marathoners and I immediately thought of them. I tried to get on Facebook to see if any of them had posted anything. Ironically, my husband had just dropped my data plan on my iPhone minutes before I checked it, and I couldn't access Facebook. Just that one short conversation brought a flood of emotions.
It brought up memories of where I was the day I heard about the Oklahoma City bombing. I was stepping off the plane from Minneapolis when my step-Mom told me that there had been a bombing. It brought back the feelings I had the morning I woke up to NPR announcing that a second plane had hit the second twin tower, and it looked like a planned attack, and my immediate snarky thought was "ya think!" These feelings are starting to become part of my regular life. I am grateful that they are fairly few and far between, but it does not appear that they are going away anytime soon.
I have heard many positive stories about people who rose to the occasion yesterday in Boston. I didn't see any video coverage, but the radio said that in the midst of the explosion there were many people fleeing the scene, but there were also many people running towards the chaos. It made me pause and think about which way I would run. In all honesty I'm pretty sure I would not be a first a responder, I pass out at detailed descriptions of basic cuts which would make me not only not helpful, but down right in the way. I have an amazing amount of respect for those whose first instinct is to run to the scene and help the wounded. I am so grateful for those people, and that there seemed to be so many of them. Runners are an interesting group of people. They have their own community. When I finally did get to my Facebook page, there were so many comments between my running friends and their fellow runners. There was a concern for the runners that were in Boston, and a concern for those who might have been. Why someone would bomb a marathon is hard for me to wrap my mind around, but they hit a group that is hard to keep down. I have a feeling there will be a whole wave of runners with prostheses in the near future. The bombs seemed to hit hard on lower extremities, but we all know that runners can and will overcome those obstacles.
April 15, 2013 was also my son Soren's 10th birthday. He has had a stomach virus for the past couple of days and wasn't able to go to school. My ultimate birthday celebration for my kids is to bring pizza to school for their class at lunch time. It is relatively inexpensive, it requires other parents to not have to make a lunch, there is no need to purchase a gift, you don't have to worry about not including someone, it doesn't take class time from the teacher, the mess is not in addition to anything, and my kids feel special. My friend Dianna brought this to my attention, she is brilliant! I had let parents know I was doing this so they would get the benefit of not needing to make a lunch that day. This is one of those times when planning ahead shoots you in the foot. Soren was feeling well enough that I brought him along so he could sit and smile while his buddies chowed down pizza. The fact that he only had one piece, helps me to understand that he really doesn't feel so hot. I took him with me to lunch with my girl friends. We ate at a sports bar which helped. He munched fries and Pepsi, and watched basketball, call it training for future girl wooing. After lunch I spent the afternoon trying to figure out why my Internet is so slow, and how to work the phone my husband got me.
Side note on the phone. I'm a stay at home mom, I really don't need an iPhone. They are very seductive, but I took the first step to removing myself from my idol. I have a regular phone with texting. I really don't love talking on the phone. I prefer to face to face conversations, so my phone conversations are usually brief and to the point, not very girly I fully admit. I am also a ridiculously slow texter. My kids laugh at me regularly about this. This new phone doesn't think for me the way my iPhone does, so if my texts are even more brief and more garbled than they have been in the past, I do apologize, I'm really not a technically gifted person. Stop by my house anytime, I'd much rather have a cup of coffee and chat.
Yesterday was an emotional day. I have some close friends dealing with some heavy things. I have been spending a lot of time in prayer. My kids are hitting the home stretch in school. This virus that has Soren down has been a slow, annoying, hindrance. I've been trying to get school plans made, but they keep getting shoved aside by more pressing problems. Madie is feeling the weight of many things all needing to happen in a short amount of time. There are a lot of mixed feelings flying around our house.
I watched a short video on YouTube about a woman who has terminal cancer. She was a courageous and wise woman. She talked about living in the moment, and being thankful for all the good around us. I think that is excellent advice. I realized that these days of all of us riding around in the party barge are limited. Next year there may be holes in the family photos. I am glad that my kids want to spread their wings and fly, but I want to savor the days with them here. Last night Madie and I started to butt heads. I didn't want to go the direction we were going so I left for a bit. I am not good at being cheerful under the load of laundry and cooking and Internet searching and contacting everyone and... This is my disobedience, not hers and last night my emotions were getting the best of me. My hands are full, just like everyone keeps pointing out to me, but they are full of joy. My kids are full of life, which is messy. My friends are dealing with hard things, but they are my friends. Runners are being attacked, but they will keep running. Sin is still in the world, but it is losing. Today the sun is shining. For the moment I can get on the Internet. Soren is home playing K'nex. I am going to do some baking this afternoon to celebrate more birthdays. People in Boston got up this morning and went to work. There are people grieving deeply and I will keep praying for them, that is the most powerful thing I can do.
I am thankful for...
Pizza
Brave people who run into chaotic situations
Runners watching out for and praying for each other
Teenage daughters
Snow falling from sunny skies
Beets, purple juice everywhere
Birthdays, celebrating life every single year
Facebook reminding us that their are so many birthdays to celebrate every day
Husbands who deal with the details of life that cause me to whimper
Martha helping me with dinner
KH who selflessly gives so much of her time
LQ who reminds me that in every mess is amazing glory
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