little big sighs :)

Today we had the cutest little Asian girl prancing around the ballot table while her Dad was patiently waiting. A worker decided to ask her a few questions to help keep her still, and here's there conversation:

Worker: What are you going to be for Halloween?
Child: in a whisper, Tinkerbell.
Worker: Tinkerbell?
Girls nods.
Worker: Not (and she names two other names I'd never heard of but which made the girl grin and shake her head no.)?
Girl: I've already told you. Tinkerbell.
Worker: Because she's pretty.
Girl: rolling her eyes and saying in an exasperated tone, Because she's GRE-en and has WIIings.

We were still laughing about that later. Green and Wings. What more could a girl want?

a reminder

I've been reminded this week of our ladies' study from a few years ago where we focused on "whatever is true".  This last week I've been continously amazed at the number of people who hear or think something (about a wide variety of things) and decide it is true without investigating or thinking or studying the matter at all.

And of course, with election season upon us, I deal with people on a daily basis who like to rant and be heard. Thankfully of the 800+ voters we handled yesterday, there were only 2 or 3 that way. And when you stop and think about it, that's not too many.

What I am seeing more of, and has taken me by surprise, is helicopter Moms. It's not uncommon for a Mom to say "This is my child's first time to vote, and he's unsure or has some questions, etc"  But it is uncommon, and strange to me, that a parent will say "I can't....because I have to help my child vote." or "Can we share a voting booth? It's her first time."

It's not uncommon for a couple to share a booth, though usually when that happens it's because one of the two is depending on the other person to tell them what to do. I feel more comfortable about the family members who get booths near each other. They're close enough to help if asked, but not so close that one is dominating the other.

Thankfully most of today's younger generation is acting self-sufficient. Even if they come in with Mom or Dad they're not acting helpless. But yesterday I saw it more than I've seen in all the other elections combined, and it was scary. I understand now why colleges are so concerned, and it makes me more than tad concerned about the future of our nation.

today's thankful list

• chocolate chip cookies
• Facebook
• choir practice
• laughter
• freedom
• a crazy dog
• friends
• the internet
• my husband
• running water
• clean water
• indoor plumbing
• sunshine
• vehicles
• abundantly stocked grocery stores
• hugs
• smiles
• the end of this round in the incubator
• only 2 chicks

tick, tick, tick

There have been some nights when I absolutely could not sleep and I could actually hear the clock in our bedroom ticking out the seconds. THAT is annoying.

Thankfully, that was not the case this last week, nor do I expect it to be the case anytime during the next six weeks (unless I forget and drink caffeine after 4pm again).

Yesterday during the kids choir practice time, a child raised her hand and wanted to know why anyone would want to be a star. (The play is about a boy who wants to be a star in a play, and he ends up getting a role as understudy and at the last minute is in the play and actually points the way to the Star of Bethlehem). She only knew the term as in "twinkle, twinkle, little star". I'm not sure I adequately explained it to her. Yes, I am certainly used to working with older kids.

I feel unorganized this year. We chose this play because it could easily incroporate all age groups under 6th grade, should hopefully take less practice time, and yet I continue to feel uneasy. I think it's because there's just so much going on in our life right now, and knowing that I'm going to be gone the week prior to our last rehearsal only adds to that stress a little. But, like every year, it will happen. The younger kids will either gladly perform or hide; the older kids want to withdraw into themselves and are super worried about whether or not they'll look stupid. I can count on that. ;)

And in the midst of this craziness, I'm brought back to earth about what is really important.
Last Thursday Bobby's best friend (suppose I should say his best male friend) went in for a biopsy and tumor removal. They opened him up and closed him up. The surgeon doesn't recommend any treatment, but he'll still meet with an oncologist this week. Evidently they sometimes do some treatments to lesson the pain.

I know that none of us know when our last moments on earth will be. I can head to the kitchen now and drop dead of a heart attack, or head to the gym and die in a car crash. I could face an irate voter these next two weeks at work and get shot or stabbed. We never know. But there's something sinister about having the end of our your life mapped out, at being told a maximum amount of time that's left. It gives a new meaning to "the valley of the shadows".

And speaking of shadows, I need to get back to mapping out the stage for a quickly approaching play.

my thankful list

I started to title this post my Monday thankful list, but then I realized today wasn't Monday. :/
But here we go:

1. anticipation of holidays & fellow family members (on both sides!) who like to work puzzles
2. cookies, specifically chocolate chip
3. sweet tea
4. a supportive husband
5. electricity
6. laying hens
7. friends who like to read
8. belonging to a church of compassionate people
9. being an American citizen where everyone has the right to an opinion
10. checklists

time warp

I have my Thanksgiving decorations out. :)
My husband was a bit disconcerted by that. I didn't tell him that I had briefly contemplated pulling out Christmas stuff so I won't be rushed later. But in my mind, I know once Tuesday of next week comes, I have no more free time before Thanksgiving. That scares me more than a little.
So my grandma's little ceramic turkey is on the dining room table, along with a fall flower arrangement.  I don't think I'm going to mess with a pumpkin this year (although I'm sure the dog would love it).

And today I remove the egg turner from the incubator and have the pleasure of cleaning up two bad eggs, one of which has cracked, while returning the others for three more days of resting in the heat before hatch time begins. Could someone please remind me why I didn't just toss them? I tell myself I'm not a hoarder, but I do hate for things to go to waste. We watched our first episode of Hoarders a few weeks ago and on one of the shows Bobby and I were both greatly disturbed at the amount of things placed in the trash (furniture and clothes) at one of the homes that could have been donated to a thrift store. It was so wasteful. The other home? No one would've wanted anything out of it.

Wants and needs - those topics seem to be coming up a lot lately. I'll have to save that for another day.

Happy early Thanksgiving. :)

not so simple

Someone in my family gave me a request for Christmas a while back that I thought would be very easy.  My family meets for Thanksgiving this year, so that means all my Christmas stuff for that side of the family needs to be completed by then (although I'm hoping we can take a trip in either right before or right after Christmas). So I thought I could go online, fill out all the information, upload a few photos, and boom! The personalized calendar is done.

But no. It can't be that simple. I'm missing a few photos, as well as a few birthdates since that person decided it wasn't enough to do our extended family, but aunts and uncles and all their descendants should be included as well. And of course, they have a list of all that stuff SOMEWHERE, but has no clue where.

This "easy" project has taken me all day and I'm still not finished. I have to remind myself that quilting takes weeks, if not months, so I should be enjoying this process. My brain's not buying it.
It is the thought that counts, right?