North, South, or Crazy?

Tonight we had dinner at a local restaurant “The Gathering Place” for my parent’s 37^th wedding anniversary.  Grace loves to eat at this restaurant, and knows her way around quite well.   She finished her “mini corn dogs” that I ordered for her, and when she decided she wanted more she went directly to the owner and cook, Jan, and asked for more mini corn dogs, please.   Obviously there is no reason to ask Mama for something when you know how to get it directly.     She excused herself to go to the ladies room shortly after that, and felt comfortable enough to leave the door to the bathroom wide open and to sing a loud song that went something like this: “Going to the bathroom is fun! Going to the bathroom is fun!  I’m going to the bathroom! It’s fun!”     I think the majority of the diners really liked the song.  

North, South, or Crazy?   Tomorrow I’m “volunteering” at an assisted living facility where I am applying to be an Activity (Life Enrichment) Coordinator.  Tomorrow basically serves as a 3^rd interview, in which I can hopefully demonstrate my ability to work with the team and interact appropriately with the men and women who live there.  Truthfully, I’m bored to tears not working, spending way too much time listening to the new Fresh Beat Band album (thanks, Uncle Scott) and the days are starting to blend into each other… so I’m thrilled to go spend the day hanging out with the older folks and getting a clearer picture of what the job will entail.   Hopefully it will be much more than macaroni art and Bingo.     Even if they don’t end up hiring me, it’s a day out doing something worthwhile, and I am more than ready to do that.    

I have a crush on another job in another town, as well, each of the two jobs’ pros and cons seem directly proportionate to each other, which would make for a difficult decision on the off-chance that both places offered a job at the exact same moment next week.  I’m assuming that won’t happen, and that circumstances and the universe will push me in the direction I need to be headed.  North or South? That is the question.

 The third option is Crazy, which is exactly where I will be headed if something doesn’t happen soon.   In the meanwhile I’m putting one foot in front of the other, pinning way too much stuff on Pinterest, and crocheting/decoupaging/spray-painting anything I can get my hands on.     

After having some miraculous dental work performed in Bartlesville, OK last week I  was sort of high on valium when I left my friend’s house to get on the road after a nap,  I proceeded to make my bed and bury my Kindle and my electronic cigarette in the blankets on the bed prior to leaving. So I’m being forced to read books made out of paper, and I have to TURN THE PAGES.   

The upside of all of that is the great front tooth drama that has plagued me for 10 years is now over, with a brand spanking new implant in the front of my mouth as well as a bunch of other stuff taken care of… and all because I know someone really nice who knows someone really nice and once again, I’m getting a crazy break that I don’t deserve in order to get the work done.    Another friend helped me clean my closet and bedroom, which is a feat that few have attempted through the years and there should be a plaque somewhere with this few good womens’ names on it.  You know who you are HeatherTriciaMarla,  and that’s just in the past 10 years.  I’m pretty sure there were others who went before these fine women, I do believe they made it out alive, but I’m not sure where they are now.  I am blessed also to be able to call my old high-school English teacher a friend, she’s been a sounding board and support and if someone had told me in high school that we’d be friends today I would have laughed. I have even reached the point that I can call her by her first name.  That takes my list of local friends up to THREE! 

So despite my best attempts at sounding pitiful and alone out here on the prairie, I’m blessed and fortunate and have way more generosity and grace in my life than I deserve.  I would also like to mention that it’s always nice to hear on Facebook that old friends may be visiting in the area soon, but not when that friend is a Tornado/storm chaser who is coming out this direction tomorrow evening.  I hope he has safe travels and all, but preferable a few counties away from here.   In the meanwhile I’m getting our bike helmets and flashlights ready.  Don’t worry, I’ll have the laptop in the closet or basement with me if it comes down to it.

our little kindness project.

In an effort to understand Lent and the ashes and such that we were NOT participating in on Wednesday at my parent’s church, I looked up some stuff…yes, I was googling in church. What?




I glanced through some info about returning to dust, representation of our sins and forgiveness, a chance to be “born again”, etc. Sounds great for some, and church members happily wore their ashes on their foreheads and gossiped about others during the church dinner.



I was looking for something else, however. I need a project, people. I need something to distract myself from the less pleasant aspects of my current life and to kick me in the ass to find more positive things to focus on. So I kept looking, until I found what works for me.



From a more metaphysical point of view, Lent is seen as an opportunity to release some of that attachment to STUFF and material things, and a chance to clear out the mental, emotional, and physical clutter to make room for a more spiritual aspect to life.



Ironically, the universe has been conspiring to make sure that I do this, and I find myself with the opportunity to make a lot of changes, be of service to my family, and to rearrange our life here on the prairie in a way that feels more genuine and manageable to me.



However, teaching a 4 year old to deepen her spiritual connection to the universe and all that entails is not really a task I am up for. So to put it in context, I started with what I consider the most basic of the principles I want Grace to know: Kindness to others, to herself, and to the world around us.



Hence the “40 Acts of Kindness in 40 days” project... it is providing me with lots of teachable moments talking about what we already do that is kind, thinking up ideas of ways to be kind, learning to GIVE (she’s a bit hesitant on this one) and mainly how much fun it can be to surprise someone else with a bit of unexpected kindness.



Today we are cleaning and de-cluttering anyway, so I’m asking Grace to pick a few things she is willing to give away… so far she picked her absolute favorite pink sparkly hat (I know she does not intend to give this away, she is feeling around for what I’m “expecting” of her, I can tell) a book that is “too scary”, and a plastic water bottle missing it’s lid. Well, I think the book is a good place to start. We’ll be working on not giving away beloved items/or crap.



We might go drop pennies at the park also to leave for other kids to find. Grace seems to REALLY like this idea.



This weekend we’ll be making ourselves some type of chart to keep track of our project together… any ideas?