Today Brianna and I were playing Barbies. I was Prince Eric and she was Liz and their three-year-old daughter Sarah. It was just a few days after their wedding and they were still on their honeymoon (yeah--don't even try to figure that one out.). She said, "Okay, now, where should they be--Dallas? or Claude? or where?" I just shook my head and said, "Not Claude. How about Paris?" She said, "Okay--Paris is a pretty nice place." So I started by walking Prince Eric into the room and saying ,"During my morning walk, I picked up some great-looking donuts (baguettes will have to wait till I feel up to explaining them.) and fresh fruit for our morning snack." "Oh--nice. Thanks, " says Liz. Then she continues, "Well, as you know, our afternoon routine is to go to the dollar store--the princess dollar store, of course. Yesterday I found a crib and a high chair for Sarah there." :)
As we passed a Dollar General earlier today, our friend Barbara said, "Oh--that's my kind of store." Brianna quickly said, "Oh, we like Dollar Trees better because everything in them actually is one dollar." Right now, Brianna's favorite stores are Dollar Tree, Half-Price Books, and --coming in at number one--the Garland Thrift store. I will be so sad if the day comes when she turns up her nose at the idea of shopping at this kind of store.

I've been reading a book by one of my favorite mystery writers, Stephen White. Either he has become even cleverer since I last read his stuff or it has just been too long for me to remember all the smiles. Two of my favorite lines: "I don't consider it trivia. I like to think of it as information of infrequent utility." And from a psychologist recalling advice given to him early in his career by his supervisor: "He told me that there are some people who are better at being crazy than I will ever be at being therapeutic." This last is somehow a hopeful reminder to me: There are some people who are better at not learning than I will ever be at teaching. There are some people who are better at seeing the negative than I will ever be at encouraging. There are some people that are better at messing up my house than I will ever be at cleaning it. And of course, the reminder that I am someone else's "some people."

Okay, I am here because three things happened today--on the same day. One, I found myself scribbling down a poem as soon as the gang was out the door this morning, and for some reason I also scribbled a note in the margin that said blog. Two, while we were walking home today, Brianna said something cute that I wanted to share and she has not yet denied me permission to share this particular thing (as she did with the diary/diarrhea mix-up--oops!). Three, I just read an e-mail from my father in-law that said, "Is there somewhere else you have blogged more recently than last year?" Of course, there is also the continuing conviction of recent Bible study/discussion about living in community. Anyway, from Brianna:
(For those of you who do not know, Brianna--previously a model student--has brought home two "bad notes" in the last two weeks, one for not controlling her talking, and one for spitting on the floor--I have no idea what that was about!) So today was a good day, and on the walk home, I said, "Let's only have good days for the rest of the school year--no more bad notes!" She said "Yes! I'm reaching deep inside my brain and pulling out all the bad notes and throwing them way into the sky. Okay--they've gone on vacation. They went to Elastic." Ahh--turns out Elastic is Alaska.
And my poem...
To My Cat, Or Maybe To Jesus
Now I am too weak
To toss your favorite toy
Or even scratch beneath your chin.
But you are faithful.
These days you are a vibrating heating pad,
Drawn like a magnet to the spot that hurts worst.
But just now, you are settled on my heart,
And I hope that its beat and my very breath
Purr back to you the unconditional love
That you lavish without thought on me.

(Wow--that was a lot more poignant this morning when I had a lot more Vicadin in my system.:))
Brianna just walked in and said, "I wonder how you say God in Spanish." I said, "Dios." "Dios?" Yep, Dios." "Oh." Then she threw her arms up to the sky with a big grin and twirled around and said, "Dios!" Lots to learn from that girl about praise.
Since I am in the midst of thinking/praying/studying/dreaming about what it means to live in community in context of being the body of Christ, it is probably as good a time as any to renew my commitment to blog more frequently. Also, I give the finals for the classes I've been teaching this week, and I have a break before I start teaching the summer term.