Puts a smile in my day

Charles, granddaughter Katie and me at the store.

My Colorado Grandchildren: Sutton (4 months), Allie (4/12), and Charlotte (17 months)

Follow Instructions or risk losing an eye!

I have never been good at reading instructions. It’s in my genes. My mother was the same way. It’s not due to our lack of intelligence as much as it is that we have always been afflicted with the “hurry” syndrome. If I had a dime for every disaster I have created by not reading the directions I would be a gazillionaire today. From baking bread to coloring my hair to programming a remote control and beyond….I have made some costly mistakes.

Two weeks ago I bought some new contact lens solutions that came with warnings all over the box. There were big red letters advising that not following directions could result in serious injury. Yea, yea, yea…I got it, or so I thought. I really did read the directions carefully on Monday night. No problem. My contacts were fine on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday night I was late going to bed and I was really in a hurry and after all, I had followed the directions the first night – I was sure I could wing it. On Wednesday morning I popped in my right contact and burning pain exploded in my eye. It took about ten minutes to remove the offending lens. I tossed the lens and put a fresh one in. I also did not use the solution again, but it didn’t matter. The damage had been done.

On Friday I could not open my right eye. I’d rate the pain as a 10 on a 5 point scale! Abrasions on my cornea, fluid behind it. They tell me it will “probably” heal with time. So far, I am operating like the old Jim Backus cartoon character, Mr. Magoo. I have a different pair of glasses for every activity of the day.

This week it was computers. Two or three times in a row, I turned my computer off without shutting it down properly. It took the computer guru several hours to unravel that disaster.
The thought occurred to me this morning – well, actually that still small voice that speaks to my heart when I slow down and listen - reminded me that although the consequences of ignoring God’s instructions are not always as immediately painful as my latest bloopers, the damage to one’s life can be a whole lot more serious and the effect of our actions on those we love can be like ripples in a still pond moving out in bigger and bigger circles.
Here’s to doing better at reading AND following instructions.

“Listen to my instruction and be wise: Do not ignore it.” Proverbs 8:33

A Pink Inner Tube

One of our four-year-old granddaughters visited us last week. Swimming lessons were part of the agenda – I just have this thing about children learning to swim. I don’t think it should be optional.

Allie and I trudged to the pool every day for a week. Who would even recognize the little girl who was screaming loud enough to be heard in a three county radius on day one? She is jumping to us, going under water, and conquering her fears. She’s not “there” yet, but oh how far we have come and how much she has learned.

It amuses me that in her first efforts, she absolutely would not think about letting go of that pink inner tube. It was large…oh so large. It was deceptively safe to her not-yet-sea-worthy little arms. It was also a reminder to me of me!

We cling to our individual versions of the pink inner tube, seeking some misplaced confidence in things about as unreliable as this $5 device from Target. Oh, Lord, let us let that dumb pink thing go and let us lean on you!

A Thoroughbred Faith

Charles and I spent the weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. Yes, I know the Derby was the week before, but we had business this past week. So, we could not resist touring Churchill Downs. I have become much enamored with horses. Charles has loved horses his entire life, and I now know more than I ever thought I would care to know about thoroughbreds and the whole sport of horse racing.  I can tell you a lot about names like Seattle Slew, Secretariat, Barbaro, and I have seen the grave of Eight Belles. I know who Mine That Bird is, and I am pulling for him in the Preakness, because he seems to have no respect even after winning the Derby.

 

I could try to impress you with more names, but my friends read this blog, and they are already laughing at me. And maybe I should just mention we don’t bet on anything, but we just enjoy everything about the horses.

Seriously, I am amazed at certain things about thoroughbreds. I realize that God chose to compare us to sheep (the dumbest of animals…that’s easy for me to understand) instead of thoroughbreds. But I have to think that there is some encouraging redemptive analogy and even a spiritual lesson in the qualities we observe in both dogs and horses. They both tend to connect in a relational way to people – which I interpret as their understanding – although limited – of some being higher than themselves. They are incredibly loyal, forgiving, and unconditionally loving. 

Thoroughbreds, so I understand, come into the world high-strung, strong-willed, and wanting it their way. It takes a skilled trainer who sees their potential and loves them for what they can become, to patiently rein in their stubbornness, their strong will, and to ultimately win their loyalty and their passion to please. When these magnificent animals take to the track on race day, they are focused – it is no longer about having their way…it is about winning the race….and by this time, they know what the real race is all about. 

Kind of makes me stop and think. 

Family, Food and Skinny Jeans

Charles and I spent Easter in Birmingham with daughters Betsy and Jill. They are part of our personal “flock” of shared children. In my this-is-not-the-life-I-signed-up-for life, the shared children and grandchildren have been a very wonderful gift.

I drove over to Birmingham on Thursday for my oncology appointment on Friday morning. I got a good report and do not have to go back for six months! I had a whole day with Betsy before Jill and Charles came on Saturday. My doctor’s appointment was three hours long and I text messaged her to apologize. We had lots planned for the day.

Betsy’s reply was, “That’s okay. The grocery store stays open till midnight.” I did find myself in Wal-mart way past my bedtime. Strange, but somehow I rose to my daughter’s expectation. She tends to think of me in decades ago context. She did, however, look down at my legs on Sunday morning and let me know that panty hose dated me. I told her, “No. Varicose veins date me.”
Enjoy these photos. Betsy and Jill are both great cooks. Even though I am not, I have my certain recipes that make me look like I can cook, too. I did my famous squash casserole and this potato casserole that I had almost forgotten I had till Betsy asked for it. Betsy grilled the pork tenderloin from Helen Defrance’s At Home Cafe cookbook and Jill baked the rolls from scratch and a to-die-for chocolate cake. We ate well.

As I did my part on Saturday morning and mixed, stirred, chopped, etc. I had to open the refrigerator a thousand times, and I became very aware of Betsy’s refrigerator magnets. I decided you can tell a lot about a person from their refrigerator magnets. She had quite a few and they all make me smile. This is my favorite:

Miracles Happen. Keep the Skinny Jeans.