Oct 31, 2011

Teenage Babies,Tricky Treats, and Adversity.

No, my son is not having a baby.  Just wanted to put to rest all those assumptions out there, whew.

What happened was...
I cut my little dudes hair the other night.  I am not necessarily disappointed by the state of his head now as I entered into the thing with adventurous inclinations and tendencies.  It was rather fun and cliched, chasing him around with a comb and scissors as he jogged butt nakey around the room.  I am curious how he could possibly have known to stay still whenever he heard the "snish-snish" of the scissor blades.  And it was a tiny bit sad to throw all those curls in the waste basket.  I therapeutically repeated, "It grows back, it grows back..." to myself as I transformed my baby into a little man.

Which begs the question -- upon receiving a new 'do', why do our personalities also seem to shift?  Boogiebear looks and acts like a cross between a teenager and a Terrible Twos vigilante.  I miss his soft curls and the softer side that came with it.  He hasn't kissed me in days..willingly.  However, I was watering the plants a few minutes ago and telling him that plants like to drink water, just like us.  His response was, "Coooooooool!"  And he sounded just like me :)
Today we are going trick or treating at the local mall with some pals.  It has been so fun dressing up as Dorothy with my Little Lion Man.  It will also be fun to be done with trying to snap all the buttons on the costume and trying to scrub lollipop our of his mane.  Till next year...
Yesterday I gave my first talk at church.  It is one of the things that first attracted me to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (yep, that's the Mormons!).  There's an open forum that any and all can engage in to seek information about the Book of Mormon and all that it contains as well as the organization and fundamentals of the church.  No more funny looks if I ask blunt questions about life after death, the role of the godhead and what the heck does THAT mean, Baptisms for the Dead...do you know how CREEPY you sound???  Weirdo Mormons.  Nah, in this church there are plenty of people that actually know what they believe in (although, you must understand, this church is comprised of humans and you may ask the wrong ones to answer your questions...just keep seeking if you truly want to know).  So where was I?  Oh yes, my first talk.  Every 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sunday the bishopric asks several members (usually ahead of time ha!) to speak for a few minutes during Sacrament meeting.  And I was asked Saturday to speak this Sunday.  I was so nervous that I initially and cowardly declined.  But as soon as I turned around I knew it was wrong.  The topic was something I was familiar with and felt that maybe I could get some words out that may bring comfort and reassurance to the very people that have been catalysts for tremendous positive change in the course of the past year.  I knew I had to dive deep and just do it.  Had to get my Nikes on, so to speak.  Get pumped.  Oh yeah.  I could do it!  Oh my geez was I nervous.  I arrived as everyone was singing the first hymn and climbed up to seat in the cushioned seat next to the other speakers.  The young man whom spoke before me talked about prayer and how it can be so helpful.  It magically segued into my talk on maintaining faith through adversity.  As tempted as I was to spill my guts and have storytime instead of A Talk, I stuck to my guns and read more scriptures than personal anecdotes (a great personal feat, I tell ya).  I spoke of how our Heavenly Father has our backs by promising us that he will "consecrate thine afflictions" and turn them into some sort of gain for us.  I know dats right because although I was a good person before all the tough stuff happened, I have gained much more patience and understanding when it comes to love and relationships (friend or foe).  I have become brave and graceful only through suffering through a ton of humiliation and shame and pain.  I learned to be super smart AFTER being quite idiotic.  And I got to this other side because something inside of me always told me, "Hey, it's better on the other end of this, if you can just drag yourself there...whatever it takes..."
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they call it the Light of Christ.  I don't so much mind how you know it, I just hope that my folks out there know they have it.  That's what drew me to all the people I've come across...the worst one and the best ones. Like adversity, the Light of Christ hardly discriminates, I think.  So yeah.  It was all I could do to squeak out an "Amen" when I was finished.  Then the choir followed with what I believe to be their most beautiful and well performed piece this year, "All is Well with my Soul."  Call me self-centered, but in that moment, after turning from the podium with my face all screwed up in silent teary-ness (the ugliest kind of cry!), in that moment when the biggest picture came flooding into my framework, I heard my friends and sisters and brothers saying, "All is well with my soul," and I knew they were singing a confirmation to my very own heart.  All IS well with my soul....all is well...with my heart, mind, and soul.  And I know why.  And I know how.  And I know that I want that peace for every single person I've crossed paths with in this adverse journey through the wilderness.

"...in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine aafflictions for thy gain." 2 Nephi 2:2 in the Book of Mormon.
"And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind...they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters."
Ether 6:6-7 in the Book of Mormon.

Boy howdy did I get swallowed up by stormy waters.  Waters that I did not cause to swell and then some that I did.  There were times I cursed God and later begged him for help.  Looking back it is quite clear to see the many instances in which I should have been much worse off but survived.  The day that I gave up trying to figure it out by myself, gave up trying to solve all my own problems like I was taught, the day that I realized there was no way that any living thing on this planet could survive without a miracle...well I guess that's the day God knew I was ready.  And I was ready.  To treat Him more like my Heavenly Father and less like a mere philosophy or possibility or fair-weather friend.  I did drag myself through the last stretch and didn't look so hot when I arrived.  I probably smelled bad.  But babies look pretty ugly and smell funky right after being born, right?  That's exactly how it is...come out ugly and then ya get all cleaned up and you're ready to go to work.  Go to work living.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Happy Halloween 
to all and to all a spooky, safe night MWHAHAhahahahaha!

;o)

Oct 7, 2011

The afterburn from Service is as good as getting high.


So the last two years have been a pretty good ride.  Pretty Good Ride being defined as follows:

a ride with sufficient rises and equally complimentary falls to stimulate the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and invoke an increased awareness of being alive; traveling through time at such a pace that encourages the heart rate to accelerate for brief intervals while not overtaxing the human body and psyche as a whole.

(Merriam-Webster feel free to give me a call and offer that job)

There are a few facets of the ride that allowed it to be pretty good.  Things like love and support from blossoming friendships was a must.  A cute little boy was high on the list as well.  Hope and faith played equal parts.  And the one that hits me right. here. is service.  There were people providing us with services left and right.  And I'm not talking about the service you get at the drive thru at McD's.  Because it's pretty good as well but I'm talking about the service you get from your fellow brothers and sisters on the street, in the mall, in church, over the phone, through txt, and in baskets left on your doorstep.  Those things made all the difference in our little world.  Whenever our little fam got bogged down with all the temporal blah blah blah, our friends stepped up to the plate (sometimes unbeknownst even to themselves) and lightened our burden enough for us to carry on with smiles on our faces.  If that ain't in the Spirit of Jesus Christ I just don't know...

Therefore I have prayed nightly for Heavenly Father to grace me with the spirit so that I may recognize the opportunities I could have to pay all of that forward.

I've had a few opportunities here and there but isn't it funny...I've gotten 47 opportunities this past week!

And after seizing upon those opps, I also discovered/remembered/realized that service provides you with a feeling akin to being high.  But better because there is no come-down.  Better because you walk away knowing you've actually done something right.  Better because the Christ Light that builds up under your skin and makes you feel like you may burst, the build-up that can spill over in unbecoming ways if you don't manage the flow appropriately, it suddenly finds an outlet and spreads like butter on warm toast in the most delightful way all day long and into the next as well.  Just like a drug, you start feeling like you're hallucinating as the sky becomes bluer, the air crisper, the people surrounding you more beautiful, your baby and husband are suddenly more appreciate and helpful, diapers don't smell so bad, and my...I think my wrinkels are fading???

OK I made the last part up.  Isn't it amazing that we have the capability to boost others AND our selves in this manner and fashion?  Isn't this just another way in which our creation is stunning and filled with grace?

A bonus to all of this was my other more minor discovery that they have returned VH1's Pop-Up Video to their programming!  I truly enjoy educating my son on the music of my youth.  I hope to impart to him the most positive aspects of my experience.  As these band members age and curse less, get sober, and enjoy maturing fashion sense while still pumping out great riffs and choruses I maintain hope that my child will have a decent soundtrack to the beginning of his own pretty good ride.  Ride on, child-o-mine, and turn that thang up!  But not too, loud, you'll ruin your ear tools.

Oct 3, 2011

Suzanna Collins

Dear Ms. Collins,

I just wanted to take a moment and tell you how grateful I am for your books in the Hunger Game series.  I am grateful for whatever life experiences led you to become a writer and grateful to the influences that spawned the characters of said series.  I wonder how many hours of sleep I have lost because I stayed up until 4:30am reading only to wake up at 6:30am to fix a sippy cup of milk with cereal and a change a poopy.  You should know that I would do this again in a heartbeat.  If it was Hunger Games vs. Twilight, I would totally dress up as a mockingjay and cheer until the wee hours of the morning for Katniss Everdeen to kick those whiney teenagers and their vampy boyfriends in the butt.  I hope that the movies kick box office butt as well.  I do, however, wonder what happened at the end of the second book.  Was your publisher calling you nonstop giving you heck about turning in those last chapters?  Have you grown to loath your own creative genius and just squeezed out the last bit to tell your agent, "Here.  Done."

I'm only wondering because I imagine it would be a hard thing to do.  Finishing a book under less than ideal circumstances, I mean.  So much pressure!  Even without a horde of hungry fans (hardy har har) anxiously awaiting news concerning the fate of Peeta and Katniss or a money-guzzling publisher whom has long forgotten their idyllic beginnings as a young writer themselves breathing down your neck, their is the pressure that emanates from the very center of your own hard-nosed self.  Whew.  I sure don't envy you.  Okay, well maybe just a bit.  But I'm just letting you know, good job!  But please don't rush your writing anymore.  You eliminated about 75% of your awesomeness.  I finished reading the last book a full four days later than the first.  I gained approximately seven more hours of sleep reading the second book.  I hope the last one nearly makes me forget to fix that sippy cup of milk and change that poopy.  I hope my son has to rip the book out of my hands to play the chase game and pay him some dern attention it's just that good.  But really.  Congratulations on your accomplishments and best wishes for you future!

Sincerely,
Mama Boogie