A Run

sometimes you have those completely wasted days....but its okay.
that was my day yesterday.
I woke up and it was my day off- yay! Well, sort of, I was going to spend the day cramming my head full of biology for my last biology test ever (PTL). So I get up, blah blah, start studying and after the third chapter I am hit with the irresistible desire to go running. I tried to ignore it and keep studying, but it won't go away- my feet want to hit the pavement and my face feel the wind.
"okay, okay, okay,... i give in"
i get dressed, drive over to the old Lakewood house for a run. (I only believe in running around that neighborhood, its quiet, i know it, and i feel happier there.)
on the way what happens? yes you guessed it, my car breaks for the millionth time. I thought it was just the power steering, so I just continue on the the house. I later found out it was some belt that does a lot more than power steering, I'm a girl and a don't get cars.
Once at the Lakewood house I called up Mom and Dad, they were busy at the moment, so I told them I would call them back in about 40 min. I got out to go run, and it started pouring down rain. My obstinate self said "I don't even care, I came to run and by golly I will run." So I took off, I was planing to start out slow, walk for 1 mile, walk/run, for a mile, then run...let my body heat up you know. Well that didn't work I just started running, no glasses on, rain in my face, feet hitting the pavement, and breath going in out, in out, rhythmically. It was perfect.
After I got done, knowing i would feel it later for not taking it slower, I called dad. It ended up that I sat around sopping wet for 3 hours in my big empty house waiting on my car to get fixed. This could have been a tragedy- I have only been in that house a total of 3 times. The first time I bawled, the second time, walked around sadly, this time, I smiled in every room, not mourning the fact that it was sitting there empty and unloved, but remembering all the amazing memories that house holds, all the happy times and growth it has seen. The wait wasn't bad at all, I didn't get angry at myself for wasting time (because I couldn't help it!) and I didn't mope, I was just content.
Today I feel the pain from the run, and the pressure from being behind on biology, but really I don't think I would change yesterday. It was a very different day off.


P.S. My brother did get my car fixed that very night- thank God for big brothers!!

More Supplies

Finally.
I have purchased the final supplies for "The Quilt." I have thought about calling it "The Quilt of Obsession" because it almost killed me making the top. But then again maybe "The Quilt of Highs and Lows" would be more fitting because it has been an on-again-off-again relationship. I picked out the materials...waited 2 months, built the top....waited one month, and am finally about to put it all together! Yay!
I picked a luscious green color for the back of the quilt and am so excited to finish it and post a picture!
Until that moment, here are happy quilt thoughts.

pink
:t.e:x.t:u.r:e.
cameos
beatrix potter animals
silky edges
shades of green
8x8 squares
p-i-n-k-- s-t-i-t-c-h-i-n-g

kidoes

I have started my new job- finally. I'm working with Seeking Sitters, a babysitting/nanny-ing type agency.
I have been around a lot of kids but I have already discovered something very new that I have never really dealt with before...
All the kids I have watched have huge problems with losing- I don't ever remember having an issue with this as a kid. I mean these kids are intense, they will lie, cheat, wine, cry, quit, or hit before they will lose Shoots and Ladders! So weird. I found myself trying to lose the games just so there wouldn't be a fuss. How do you teach a 4 and 5 year old how to be a good loser? How do you explain that its just a game, or that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. When do you make them keep playing because quitting isn't right, or when do you just give it up- its just a game and they asked to play it in the first place.
This whole thing seems so odd to me. I have know people who are bad losers before, maybe this is how it starts!

Well in the mean time I am getting excited for Easter- its my favorite holiday! I love the joy of the day, the church decorated with white lilies and the times with family over food. I would love to know your food plans for this amazing day, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. I am still debating between 500 different dessert options!

I have been overwhelmed with the ordinary, so overwhelmed that I haven't been looking for its beauty. I feel sad that I have wasted those precious beautiful things I could have seen, but am comforted by the fact that the ordinary never ceases, there will always be more beauty to find.
So much has happened since I last wrote. I moved back to Tulsa, I wish I could say I faced this adventure more bravely, but that wouldn't be honest. It was a hard day, saying goodbye to my family, but good to know that I was doing the right thing and that God was with me. That sounds silly and so cliche, but really when you know that what you are doing in line with His will, it makes those steps not so hard to take.
Some beautiful things I have seen in being back:
Snow covered flowers
Children pulling weeds from flower beds and laughing all the while
Endless lines of products in clean grocery stores
Tight hugs of old friends
Floors with Carpet
Chilly winds, blowing hair about

today its....early spring, late fall, mid summer....

I don't know why, but as long as I can remember I have "classified" the days. I would walk outside and say to myself what sort of a day it was (especially if it was a day that was not in the correct season.) Well in Guatemala they don't really have seasons (just wet and dry), so any time it feels distinctly anything- its out of season. Today it feels like a perfect spring day. When I woke up a bit of cold air was nipping at my toes, but I could feel the warmth of the sun in my chest, it was begging to break out of the clouds. Not being able to see the clock, I crawled out of be, trying not to wake Laura. It was earlier than usual, the parents and the kids weren't off to school yet, so I could hear bustling. Ben was sleeping on the futon and I was a bit chilly, so what did I do? I crawled up into my parents bed! This is a delight I haven't enjoyed for a long time, it felt so right. The warm sunlight streaming in from their huge window, me curled up, and various family members coming in and out. Lydie cuddled with me a bit, Mom rubbed my back, and Davie gave me a kiss.
It was a pretty perfect morning.