Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Keeping On Top of it All

I am all alone.  The pool beckons, crystal clear and bright in the sunlight.  I slip gratefully down the stairs in the shallow end.  One step.  Two steps.  Three.  Four.  Now it's up to my waist, warm as silk.  I move towards the deep end, going slowly down the incline.  


Now the water is a little cloudy around me.  I go deeper.  The cloudiness thickens into fog.  "Maybe if I dive down, I can find the clear water," I think.  I dive.  I can't see beyond my outstretched fingertips.  Suddenly the bottom of the pool is before me, and I'm boxed in by the milky thickness.  


Try as I might, I just ... can't ... find .. the clarity.  


Do you think that, perhaps, that dream was precipitated by this?


... or this?


Those are dirty dishes.  And clean laundry.  Sometimes, I am overwhelmed by the encroaching piles, the constantly threatening disorder of my life.  No matter how on top of things I am, there is ALWAYS something that sneaks up and bites me because I wasn't paying attention to it.

It is a constant, deep slide from clarity into fogginess.  And it will overwhelm me if I let it.  What's my survival method?  Get out of the 'pool'.  Get perspective.  Take a step back every day (several times a day), to feed my soul.  Just open my Bible, and let those healing words wash over me.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A Little Change is a Good Thing


With the new school year, I've decided to dive head first into the world of homeschooling.  I'm figuring most of my blog readers probably don't really care what thematic unit I'm doing each month, or how I'm incorporating base ten blocks (or care what base ten blocks even are).  Homeschooling is not the purpose I had in mind when I started up this little blog.  However, I'm feeling the need to publish Sophie's school year as it progresses.

SO.  With all of this in mind, please direct your attention to the little menu at the top of the page:  Ta daaaaa!!!  A brand new, super duper 'Homeschooling' tab.  I'll blog about all the little things we do for school there, so it won't clutter up (and bore) my home blog.
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Media Monday (or close enough) - 'Big Brother' weeks 5 - 6

Welcome to what used to be called, 'Netflix Movie Monday'.  This is where I review a movie / tv show / documentary that I have discovered, found interesting, and want to share.  As Big Brother is my annual summer time obsession, and it's on three times a week, Media Monday will be dedicated to BB recaps while the show airs.

So.  Indulge me in a little rant.  Some of you might be wondering why I didn't blog last week about Big Brother, and why I'm a day late on this week's post.  Simply put, it is a matter of apathy.  Disappointment.  A virtual throwing up of my hands into the air in an, 'I quit!'.  Why this sudden change of heart, you might ask? Why the frustration with your self-proclaimed 'summer time obsession'???

All these questions can be answered in one word:  Brenchel.

Allow me to explain.

Two weeks ago, Dani won HoH.  (Yay!)  She went on a mission to evict Brendan.  The houseguests fell into line and voted him out.  Finally.

Rachel subsequently went into self-destruct mode.  The veterans lost the HoH challenge to Kalia, Dani's new sidekick.  Kalia nominated Rachel to go up on the block.  All well and good.

And then it was announced that a special twist was coming after the next eviction, during which the evicted houseguest would get a chance to get back in the game.  This caused Kalia to second guess herself.

In the dumbest move in Big Brother history, Lawon volunteered to be put on the block and asked to be evicted.  He was sure he'd be put back in the game with special powers.

The houseguests unanimously voted Lawon out, keeping Rachel in the game.  Lawon competed against America's Choice (Brendan), lost (of course), and just like that, Brendan's back in the game.

So here we are, two weeks later, come full circle with Brenchel securely intact.  This is reason #1 that I am fed up with the game.  Reason #2 is that I am very skeptical that America voted to put Brendan back in the game, over Dominic, Cassie and Keith.  This 'reality' TV show is seeming more and more scripted as the season progresses, causing me to become disillusioned and loose interest.

And lest you call me paranoid, here was the discussion following the picture of Rachel embracing Brendan when he got back in the game:







The only person I really like, who is left in the game, is Shelley.  And guess what.  She's on the block this week.
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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Model Missionary Kid

About twice a year or so, all of the missionaries in our group would congregate in Honiara, the main city, to do training.  These group conferences were much anticipated by us kids, because they were one of the few times when we all got to be together.  The group would import some volunteers from overseas to put on a children's program for us, to keep us busy and out of our parents' hair while they sat in classes.

One time, the volunteers brought a curriculum that included a play we kids would practice all week, then perform for all the adults at the end of the conference.  I remember sitting with the other SITAG kids on the concrete floor of the pavilion we were using, as the play was presented.  

I stared in disbelief at the script as it was passed around.  Across the top read the title, "A Modern Missionary Kid."  

"Ok, kids!"  chirped the volunteer, "Here is how the song goes:  I am the very model of the modern missionary kid.  I do everything my parent missionaries did..."  

Revolt started deep inside me.  I glanced around at my SITAG compatriots, and except for a few yes-men, they all had mutinous frowns blooming across their faces.  Nothing stirs rebellion in a child like forced sanctimoniousness.  

None of us had the guts to rebel outright, but there was much muttering in the ranks that week, and many sweet smiles that hid some pretty sullen hearts.  We were all jealous of my friend Diane, who got cast as the devil in the play.  With her sunglasses and sparkly cape, she was the coolest and, let's face it, most interesting thing about the whole experience.  


Notice the "Model Missionary Kid's" delighted smile as she is confronted by the sneaky snake.
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