You Don't See That Every Day

Ranting today about: Memory. For a moment there I actually almost forgot the topic. My memory is going, or mostly gone, or just comes back in spurts. It's kind of like Swiss cheese. Randomly missing parts.This past week I have had 2 phone messages. I wrote down "Call (name)" so that I would remember to return their call. Thankfully they were not super duper important must return right away life or death phone calls. Because I forgot to call back. And then as I was feeding or changing someone, I would think "Oh, yeah I gotta call them" and then promptly forget. My poor friend must think I don't care anymore. I just keep forgetting to call people back. Last week I went to the store to pick up some chili for the guys to take on their campout. I wrote it on my grocery list. I mentioned it to my children who were with me the entire time. And I forgot to buy the chili. Got everything else though. Ah, memory, come back to me. My rant today: I love l...

Expectations. Everyone has them, whether they are good or bad. Last week all 5 children went to the eye doctor. I decided to get the eyes checked on the 4 older kids, since both G and I wear lenses. (I have had glasses since I was 7; G first got glasses in 6th grade.) We were there for nearly 2 hours, since all 4 had to go in and out. The older two had their eyes dilated, and this added some extra time onto the appointment. All in all, the kids did pretty well. None need glasses yet! As we were preparing to pay and leave, the doctor commented on how calm the children were, and how well-behaved they were. He said something to the effect of how rowdy his own 2 are and they would never have been so good for so long. I was a little surprised, b/c I thought they were just acting normal (my kids, that is). Later that evening G and I talked about this and we thought that maybe it has a lot to do with expectations. If you expect your child to obey you and behave in public, then ch...

The rant this week: crazy drivers. You've got the one who never uses their turn indicator. Argh. Drives me crazy! How was I suppose to know they wanted me to let them in front? If they had used their blinker I would have gladly made room ... but no, they just decide to cut over and cause my heart to palpitate faster than it should. Then there are the drivers who weave. In and out and in and out. Like that will get them to their destination any quicker? Usually not. There was one trip last year where G and I were driving down a freeway, and a 'weaver' came up on us really fast. He was not driving safely and we were not happy. We just wished there was a cop around. Well, a few miles later we saw flashing lights ... and, lo and behold, this time our wishes came true! The crazy driver had been pulled over by a police officer. One thing my sister said a long time ago, not to get mad at the stupid or crazy drivers, but to pray that no one gets hurt by them. So I try to do that. D...

OK, so I don't really have a rant today. Nothing that chaps my hide so far this week. Instead I came up with 2 raves. First, Farm Fresh Produce. Don't you just love summer and all the fresh food?! I never appreciated it as a kid. We had so much fresh food back then; (the only way my parents could afford to feed all of us I guess!) There were peaches, cherries, apples and berries, pears, and all that the garden could produce. Now up at my dad's farm there are peaches, pears, apples, cherries, berries, and all that a garden can produce. I have very vivid memories of getting up early on hot summer days and helping my mom either prepare for canning, or pick the berries to make jam. And earlier this week I had my own daughters help me make jam from our raspberries. Today we went and picked peas, carrots and cherries at the farm. Yum! Eating them straight out of the ground, or off the bush just can't be beat! I heard some grumbling from the kids about the heat and the work, b...

I'm not one to rant much. Every once in awhile something happens or I see something and it really irks me: people chewing food in my ear - ugh; drivers who don't use their turn-indicator - frustrating! But the other day G came home and told me about a bumper sticker he saw that really really bothers me. How is it people can have this on their car and not be accused of "hate speech" or whatever it is called these days. If I were to substitute another word, say a certain race or ethnic group, I would probably be tarred and feathered. This is the bumper sticker: So many Christians, So few lions . There are websites that sell this on more than bumper stickers - T-shirts, buttons, etc. How can they get away with this? Like I said, if I put on a shirt that said "So many Jews, or blacks, or gays, so few lions" I would be in big trouble. Now the next question is, what can I do about it? Prayer is the only thing I can come up with. Anyone else? Now a rave: oh wait, I...