SMASHING PUMPKINS DAY!

what a country when we take a whole day to celebrate chocolates and caramels and bubble gum and lollipops. forget the ghoulies and the ghosties- bring on the miniature candy bars and pre-packaged licorice. throw caution to the wind and grab a pillow case and knock at strangers doors to see what treasures the bowls in their hands contain. more lovely than gold is a bag full of sweet tarts and snickers and jaw breakers and gummy bears. many a young lion or puppy or skunk or princess or pirate has endured hours of uncomfortable costume to bring home their annual loot only to have their parents eat the best treat in the bunch. leave behind ye jack-o-lanterns and witches on brooms. come see what halloween has become- a festival of sweets and silly disguises. happy smashing pumpkin day to all!

FIRE DRILL

late saturday night or early sunday morning, as it were, i woke the house with a chaotic, rousing, blasting production of "heat in the night". we had jeremy's eight- year old niece for the weekend, and being the kind aunt i am, when i awoke @ 4:00 a.m. freezing cold, i supposed jessica was one little-girl flavored popsicle. so i quietly tip-toed to the thermostat and turned on the heat for the first time this year. aaahhhh! those who were present during the nell sunday fire drill escapade caused by my cleaning fluid in the ancient heater will recall the chaos that ensued. this incident was somewhat the same only not quite as spectacular as there were only 3 of us and not hundreds of girls wearing white glove get-up with rags in their hands and hair. there was no fire but so much burning dust that both flashing white orbs went screaming and whistling waking up my husband and my niece, neither who thought it was cold at all. the havoc that ensued only lasted 15 minutes or so, but i did end up rubbing my niece's back and whispering about howie the one eyed dog until her little eyes slipped closed after such a frightening wake-up call. i also learned not to turn the heat on in the middle of the night. what fun i cause without even trying :)

RAIN

i woke up last night and heard rain hitting the metal vents on the house. not a down-pour but drops like small stones being sifted through fingers. i love rain. it makes me feel breathless and joyful and pensive and expectant all at the same time. beautiful creation. glorious Creator.

DWARF DAY

some days there is nothing to be philosophical about ( my apologies to those of you who believe great theories lie behind every word and deed). today i am dressed up as bashful dwarf from the great disney classic snow white. you may ask why i would be wearing a dwarf costume to school? because today is a themed spirit day- famous duos , trios, and quartets. there are six other dwarfs running around school in their labeled t-shirts and stocking caps. if i ever wondered what separated me from professorship, this is it. :) :) :) :) perhaps this should be the philosophy i ponder today- how is it that people believe you can truly touch the soul of a child without encompassing yourself with their lives? of course, you can be the one who made them understand pi or assisted in phrases & clauses or delivered the date of the spanish armada. but in the end, it isn't a formula or part of speech or history date that will matter. it takes more than knowledge. some kind of crazy, hard to keep hold of balance. that is why i am wearing a green and yellow knitted hat on my head, why my shirt reads "bashful", and why i have round circles of scarlet on my cheeks. as i teach about the piano keyboard and types of supports for speech and have try-outs for the K-6 christms program today, hopefully they will see it isn't just for the thrill of handing out a bundle of information. it is for them. well..." hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work i go"

HOUSING WORRIES

truly a play on words, for i have been fretting over a new place to live and worry has been residing in my heart. but after friday i vowed this to the Lord, " you gave erin a house to meet her need. you gave vicki and dave a house to ensure Your will. in seeing the beginning and end and knowing all that falls between, if You deem it best we stay in this house than am i not only accepting but i am joyful. You quieted seas and walked on water. You are the provider and lover of my soul. if being in a new home will wall me from You, let me stay where You have put me. i'm done trying to manipulate the situation and crying for my way and prying your fingers open with my tool of selfishness." this morning we got a call that the house we wanted to rent for a year and then possibly buy has been offered to us. here is what happens when i stop trying to move my life around like a gamepiece on a monopoly board. praise be to Jesus who meets me where i am and loves me despite my lack of belief.

MIDNIGHT SHOWING

today i will be travelling. i am going to see my sister. we are going to the 10:15 p.m. showing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the IMAX theatre. i find myself intrigued with johnny depp as an actor- he's a person who seems to have many layers and takes unconventional parts and i find it mesmerizing to watch him. i am not obsessed with him nor do i find him attractive, but there is something about the quirkiness and depth of the characters he chooses to portray that find i captivating. having discussed this with others, i have come to the conclusion that one either cannot stand him or they really like him. there are very, very few who fall on neutral ground. as i am one who tends to spend a good portion of my movie watching time trying to unwrap the actor's choices , i will stay up past midnight with my sister to watch five children win golden tickets and meet the ever odd but enchanting willy wonka.

WRINKLES OF TIME

i spend a good bit of money every month on oil of olay, anti-aging, fragrance free face serum. every morning and evening i religiously smooth the costly cream into my skin hoping to stare into the face of a 20 year old when i pass a mirror. so far i see nothing different about me, except that my hand-bag is much lighter from the perpetual contribution i make to paying for the bmw and rolex of oil of olay's head executives. so why do i do it? i ask myself this question daily as i smear on hand lotion or add another layer of sugar and spice lipgloss or blot out the oil on my nose with a fuzzy puff and fine pressed powder. i see my mother's face and i can recall the exact moment i saw some of her wrinkles appear. there is one by her left eye that was caused by laughing at my sister and i as we romped and played when we both came home one weekend one November. there is one by her mouth that formed as she worried about my grandmother who had fallen and broken her hip. one on her forhead that shaped itself during hours pouring over wedding books and martha stewart magazines to help me create the classy wedding i wanted on a meager budget. several creases have appeared over students whom she watched turn from loving God to infatuation with the world. i would be sad if she tried to erase the story her face tells. every moment is mapped out in its hills and valleys. that is the way it is supposed to be. we are picture pages of how God has rewarded us, refined us, led us, rebuked us, loved us. i can't say i'll never pull out the oil of olay again- but i can say that i am meditating on the lovliness of experience and the beautymarks that are testaments to what God has done to change me inside and out.

EXCITING LIFE

my life is soooo exciting. after working all day at school yesterday, i put my grades on the computer for report cards coming out monday; added assignments to my classes on the school's website; shut every locker door in the hallway; picked up the hundreds of crinkles off the floor (crinkles being my own personal word used to describe that disgusting fringe on paper when it is torn from a binder or notebook- one of my teaching pet-peeves. i am so grateful to the person who invented the perforated notebook.); straightened chairs and tables; put library books back on shelves; answered questions about student council fund-raising projects; chased three kids down to give me their tee-shirt money so i could finally order them for the other 128 people who actually paid on time; put the new date and homework assignments on the board; checked on the yearbook which should be shipping sometime soon; cleaned off my desk for the 20th time; checked ghost's word blog to see if she had written any new treasures; checked my e-mail; asked for permission to sell pizza at lunch in two weeks and to have an octoberfest during the week of soccer regionals; filed worksheets on informational speeches, writing notecards, notes on the piano keyboard, and a bass clef treasure hunt; graded the boys music homework and put them in the gradebook; discussed with a parent why it isn't okay for little johnny to say whatever he wants when he wants ; went home fed myself spaghetti and my dog iams; went back to school ; line-judged for a two and a half hour volleyball match; talked to a parent who dislikes for no reason other than i couldn't give her what she wanted; went back home; unloaded the dishwasher; took the dog pottie; watched survivor; took the dog pottie; put stuff in the washer; played with the dog; made a smoothie; took the dog pottie; thought about what to wear in the morning; called my friend to ask about her sick baby; talked to my husband about computery work things;took the dog pottie; almost fell asleep at ten; made myself stay awake until 11; put the dog out; wiped off the counters; took out my contacts; brushed my teeth; changed clothes; locked the doors; turned out the lights; went to bed. the end.

MOURNING INTO DANCING

i had dinner last night with a friend. his mother passed away this summer of cancer. for awhile i did not see him or hear from him. he had hidden himself away from humanity. after the funeral, i told him to call me and we'd do lunch or supper or some thing that would give him someone to talk to, some outlet in which to vent or cry or rant. so we met at the farm- the farm being bob evans farm- and to my surprise, he has emerged from his darkness with a beautiful smile and a healing heart. where i supposed there would be tears, there was laughter. where i had assumed there would be bitterness, there was the clear imprint of God's grace. where i thought there would be sorrow, there was dancing. we talked about a multitude of things, from his plans to help future victims of cancer to our favorite color. i taught him how to play rock, paper, scissors (which we did to see who would pick up the check- he cheated ) and he told me about the how the state and county could distribute sales tax to pick up part of the cost of building new city schools. i asked him if he liked trees and he made fun of my circular thinking patterns. and the whole point here is- it was so normal- and i so underestimated God once again. HE is the great physician. and i saw a miracle last night, because He had mended the broken and filled the heart with song.

CALLING FROM MECCA

last night around 9:30 p.m. i got a call from my dear friend, cheryl and this is what she said: "we just drove through mecca and now we're at the hotel." i couldn't for the life of me figure out where this mecca might be of which she spoke. "bob jones- it's almost surreal." she said in a sleep-deprived, driving all day, mommy of two, wife of one kind of voice. it cracked me up. i met this girl my first week in college. i was sitting lonely on one of the horridly upholstered couches in the dorm lobby and she pranced right up to me and said, " you look like you could use a friend." and she was right- i felt lost and lonely. so she became my friend and has stayed true to that ever since. so that is why she is beautiful enough to call me on a sunday evening to share that she was returning to the place that brought her from indiana and me from ohio and made us friends. she said she was old (never) and that she wouldn't know anyone (possibly- it HAS been almost 10 years); but what made me smile is that she's still thinking of me after all these years. that is a true friend. thanks cheryl. i hope she has fun frolicking through the green grass and around the fountain and in performance hall. mecca- what a riot! :)