Sleeping with Bread: Best Things v. Worst Things

I am in an odd mood this morning as I reflect on my past week. I do not really know how to explain it, but it seems to be leaving me at a loss for a coherent post. I guess, when that happens, it is time for some bullet points:

Best Things (in random order):

The world did not open up and swallow me whole after my post last week. I was hesitant after I posted it, running to Paul and asking him to read it and let me know if I should delete it. Partially it was the vulnerability I felt and partially it was the open discussion of my church that left me nervous. However, I received some positive feedback in the comments and in personal emails. And... ultimately, it is what was on my mind and heart and it was better to express it than obsess over it internally. I definitely felt a release after posting it.

I finished a paper I had been fretting about. It was short, but I have been struggling with clarity in this class. Mercifully, the professor has already sent us her feedback and it looks like I am on track. It was a much needed boost to this semester in which I feel a little sluggish and bogged down… and I am a complete addict for positive professorial feedback.

We had a beautiful church service yesterday. With financial issues and a move to a new location on the near horizon, we took time out to be upfront about the challenges we face and to share about what the church means to us as individuals. There were tears. There was laughter. One thing I found interesting was the commonality in our responses: acceptance, finding a family of choice, learning how to love God through each other, the meeting of physical, emotional and spiritual needs. All of us feel it… that we aren't a church better than any other—but we are a place in some way unique in our formation. With each other, we find our home.

Kids. I babysat for the mom's group at church this week and the kids crack me up. May-wee. That is the closest approximation to how they say my name. They all have their own unique personalities--car-loving, kitty-petting, mama-wanting personalities. Let's not kid ourselves, I am not the Romper Room lady. I am helping out because it is needed and I can do it. But still, cute is cute. You gotta love it.

Catherine Tate. She brought me a lot of laughter this week as I spent time YouTubing her show. She is so talented and wickedly funny. Laughter was a gift to me this past week.

Worst Things (again, in random order):

No exercise. Spotty CPAP use (my sleep apnea treatment). Too many tortilla chips. This is not acceptable, and yet, somehow, I embrace it.

I'm not sure if my perspective is off, but school seems to be this monstrous hurdle this semester. I find myself unable to study at home. There's no major harm done. I'm a little behind in reading and I've got some tutoring stuff to catch up on. It is more a feeling than anything else. (It does make me grateful I am only taking two classes this semester.)

American Girl. For months (seriously--months), Marley has been anticipating going to the American Girl store with a friend for the friend's birthday. The months of waiting, along with—how shall I put it delicately—misguided expectations of what was actually going to happen while at the American Girl store led to much drama. How do I communicate to her that her friend is being a little, um, wishful in her statements that Miley Cyrus is going to pick them up in a limo and take them to the party… or that they are each going to get a doll, two outfits, a piece of furniture, etc. I spent months dialing back the expectations only to have to face it head on the day before with a flat out "You will not be given a new doll and outfits at this party." Of course, that led to hours of "I want a new American Girl doll! Wah!!!!" I couldn't take it. I did the lovely time-honored tradition of first being mean and then compromising (and I don't necessarily mean compromising in a good way). Ugh. Isn't parenting lovely sometimes? The upshot is that my daughter came home with a new American Girl doll, new outfits, etc. Half of it she paid for with her allowance (some saved and an advance through December) and the rest is part of her Christmas bounty. But still---the whole situation was frustrating and I hate that my buttons were pushed so much by it. Blech.

Well, when you put it all together like that, it definitely looks like the best things outweigh the worst things… Hey! That's another best thing!

I was given a little bit of bloggy bling (Oh, that should be a best thing, too!) last week. I'll be writing about it and passing on the love later this week.

Until then…

Mary-LUE

P.S.  For more fresh baked bread, you can go to this week's SWB host post.