Resilience

Today I am thankful for resilience....the ability to recover from adversity...the amazing phenomenon that this too shall pass. No one is safe from bad things happening. This has been illustrated quite clearly to me this week. Sometimes we are hurt by others and sometimes we hurt ourselves. Nevertheless, at the time, it seems like things are never going to be ok again. We cannot imagine, with the tools that we have at that moment, how we will move on. But we will. We always do.

There are some famous people that come to mind...Jackie Kennedy, Dana Reeves, Elizabeth Edwards, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus (to name a few) who have shown resilience... but it is the people that I know personally that have undergone their fair share of pain and have come out on the other side normal that give me hope... Kie who lost her precious baby this week, all the many people I know who have been through divorce, the person in my small group, my friend who lost her husband, the person that is worried that their business is in trouble, the precious girls that find themselves living in an orphanage in Guatemala, Jesus, and me. I have been through what I consider a fair amount of personal crisis over the past couple of years. Maybe you have too.

And what I know now is that our lives won't be the same after crisis...they will be better. Hard to imagine at the time of the pain. At the moment of the pain, we don't have the tools to deal with whatever crisis we are experiencing...we pick up those tools along the way. Those tools are picked up from a good friend that has some advice, from some stupid mistakes we figure out the wrong way to go, from a book we read, from love shown over a good lunch with someone who loves you, from our relationship with God, from the little millimeter our hearts expand after some time.

All of the crappy yucky things that have ever happened to me and others...gives me hope. Because I (and everyone else) have always managed to come out on the other side not just the same, but stronger. Yay resilience...thank God that we don't end up on a heap on the floor with ruined lives every time something bad happens to us...

Beauty and Peace

Monjas Guatemala is my favorite place in the whole world. Its better than any beach vacation I have ever been on (and that was my previous favorite place in the whole world). Shadow of His Wings Orphanage houses 74 boys and girls (mostly girls) that have been rescued from either abuse, neglect or extreme poverty. It is a beautiful testament of God's love and how that love restores souls because these kids are...happy. And kind...and giving...and loving. Its amazing to step out of the car when you first arrive and have kids running to greet you and hug you and kiss you on the cheek...and just love you. Roberto is the newest addition to the group. He is actually eight but is the size of a two year old because of severe malnutrition. He and his sister actually lived locked in a room above a bar. The people that owned the bar would throw some leftover scraps their way every once in a while...definitely not every day. And he has scars all over his body from burns. I had heard his story before I arrived and expected to find a shy downtrodden child but what I found was quite the opposite. Roberto ran right up to me and gave me a big smile and stuck out his hand (he likes to shake hands). And then he hugged me (the first of many hugs he would give out that weekend). Beautiful.

I stayed at the Hotel Lopez which is $7 a day. I don't think I need to explain what kind of niceness of room you can get for $7 a day. One morning while I was waiting to leave to go to the home, I stepped out of my room (didn't want to hang around in there for too long) and there was a boy out on the sidewalk that ran over to hug me (He was actually the cleaning lady's son which made me feel a tad better about the room). He couldn't talk because he has something wrong with his mouth, but he could color. And so we sat on the sidewalk and colored and ate Goldfish crackers. Peaceful.

And then there's my girl Vivian. I first met her two months ago when I visited the home with my church. She found me sitting on a bench taking pictures of everyone else and SOMETHING just clicked. We don't speak the same language so we can't talk, but I feel like I know everything about her. We cry when we see each other and I think about her all of the time. And now I get to be her sponsor which means I get to write her and she can write me. I can't wait to see what God has in store for our relationship...but in the meantime I feel...blessed.

My Top 3

I'm in a relatively good mood today and it feels like there is a lot to be thankful for...so here goes...my top 3.

1. I got a lovely fortune in my fortune cookie today. It said: The one waiting for you when you get home will be your friend for life. Here's to you Jack...thanks for all of the days where you wait faithfully at home and are happy to see me even when I've forgotten to let you out or buy you new bones.

2. I have unreasonable expectations about life. My childhood was good and I was an only child so I got my way a lot. Really...that's not how life goes. I have come to terms with all of it EXCEPT I like everyday to be exhiliratingly brilliant. That's not how life goes either. I don't like to waste time because there is a lot I want to do with my life. But today, something clicked and I am actually okay that some days are just days. Some days are even bad. But some days are just ok...and that is ok. There is a lot of peace in that moment. And I have a lot of peace today.

3. The weather! How boring is that :) But, after several really cold weeks, 50 feels like a heat wave. And the sun is out, which always makes me feel like singing. Spring must be just around the corner. I might even feel like exercising.

Weird Websites

Title: Uh oh...are you still going to make me some dinner?

Yesterday, on an internet adventure, I found a random website http://www.layingdowngame.net/ that I'm sure was started as one of those late night jokes that seemed like a really good idea at the time. And I think it is hilarious. I don't know what it is about it that makes it funny...but IT JUST IS. Go ahead...look through the pictures and tell me you can get all the way through the end without cracking a little smile :) So, of course, I thought it would be fun to make one myself.

Today, I am thankful for weird genuis websites that give me a good laugh!

ps. A really nice friend gave me a juicer yesterday so stay tuned for some GOOD juice posts.

Cupcakes, Flowers and Pickled Okra

Today was a fun Valentines Day before the Valentines Day. Lisa brought cupcakes with the cutest heart doilies on them. Normally I hate hearts and I hate doilies, but somehow the combination of the heart and the doilie is a winner. My parents sent me flowers...lovely! And my friend Danny brought me pickled okra. Yum (but random)! It made for the most eclectic Valentines Day yet..and it beats the socks off any old romantic Valentines Day. Thanks guys!

New hair day and Dog dreams

Today is the day I get to get my hair cut (and colored...but shhh don't tell anybody). I always look forward to this day for a couple of reasons: 1. I am so shaggy by the time I actually get to Shannon's chair its just sad (exhibit a: I actually let someone I didn't know cut my hair two weeks ago it was so bad and Shannon couldn't get me in sooner) 2. I rather enjoy the scalp massage that comes along with the shampooing 3. I love to talk to Shannon and I don't mind paying her to be my friend for a couple of hours (haha) 4. When else am I going to have time to catch up on my celebrity gossip magazine reading?

On a different note...do dogs have dreams? Discuss. (Did you just have a flashback from SNL and Coffee Talk because I just did.) My Jack woke up in the middle of the night and woke me up because he was frantically pacing on the bed. Then he laid down horizontally on the pillows and stuck his nose up under my cheek. He was breathing really hard and just seemed unsettled, so of course I started petting him. That seemed to calm him down and then he let out a big sigh and moved back down to the bottom of the bed. He's such a big baby, but I this is unusual behavior even for him. I don't know what scared him but best I can come up with is a nightmare. Maybe he dreamed they stopped selling WagginTrain bones at the grocery. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed the unexpected snuggle.

Today I am thankful for dog dreams that get me unexpected snuggles in the night and I am thankful that in a couple of hours I am going to look like a brand new person...I'm sure of it.

My dad and crab legs

I love watching my dad eat crablegs. For him, it should be a sport...he loves it that much. Maybe that's where I get my love of food...hmmmm..... You should know that this man is unemotional. Doesn't get overly mad about things. Doesn't get overly excited about things. Except. Crablegs. Lucky for him (but unlucky for Browns) it is all-you-can-eat-crableg month. For $18 you can have a whole plate of crableg goodness plus butter...and catfish (but who would want to fill up on catfish?). We went last night and I watched him delve into his crableg sport with joy. Like any good sportsman, he has a system. Nothing but crablegs on the plate, other things like shrimp in a seperate bowl, seperate dish for melted butter, crableg cracker in one hand, small crableg fork in close proximity, napkins distributed around the plate (to gather the butter drippings) and a HUGE stack of napkins. Much like chip and dip, there is an exact science to getting the napkin to crableg ratio even. Too many napkins left, must get another plate of crablegs (you have to have some respect for the environment!). The only hazard to his sport is the napkin lint. When you use the napkin too much and get too much juice on it, it kinda shreds. And it leaves peices on your face. But that's ok, because that's when you know you've really enjoyed your sport. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching him. Today I am thankful for my dad and crab legs.