Wednesday, August 31, 2011

hello darlin'...

it's been a long time, huh? How 'bout a list??  

  • Well... this is my favorite time of year.  Some of my favorite people from college get together to love on each other.  I can't wait!!!!!  Friday can't come soon enough.  :)
  • College FOOTBALL SEASON.  There really is nothing better!!!! SEC!!!!
  • My friends and I are still working with the Mama.  Every time we're with her, we learn something new.  Some things are heartbreaking, some frustrating, and some just sad.  I do not know how long God has us in this season, but I know that what He's doing is amazing.  I'm so thankful that God is preparing my heart!!
  • I love the Youth at my church.  I heart them.  Deeply.
  • I like Pinterest, but I do not have the time to dedicate to it. That makes me sad.
  • I'm never at home, and now my friends want to see my apartment.  Can we say "disaster"? :D
  • I got to see my Mama this weekend.  It had been almost three months.  She called me today, sobbing, and it made me want to drive home and hug her.  These are the times it's so hard to be away from her.
  • The other day, I realized I haven't been to the movies in a year.  And there is absolutely no effect on my life.
  • I finally recovered the chair in my living room.  I think I need to buy more of the material and make curtains.
That'll have to do for now.
Love,
Jenn

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

things that frustrate me.

Not really sure how I wound up with two days in a row that I could blog but hey... take what you can get.

Right now I'm fighting a gnarly chest cold/bronchitis.  Makes me wanna scream!  But I'm trying to find the sunny side beyond the excessive coughing.  It's in those moments today that I thought about Nathan and had a good 'ole dose o' reality.

Some girlfriends and I are working with a girl here in town.  I've blogged about her kids briefly, but it's not just the sweet babies that we are working with.

Working with the mama has been interesting.  There are so many things, so much wisdom, that my mother imparted in my life that this young woman has never heard.  Of course it's a cycle, because I have no doubt that her mother never some things either.  We are teaching her how to drive, how to clean, and how to use a budget... just to name a few.  There are SOOOOO many things she's never heard or been told.

I'm also working furiously to break the spirit of laziness.  THAT is going to be the task that may break me, but I'm doing everything I can.  It's hard to undo 27 years of laziness.

Last night, we had a driving lesson.  It's hard to teach a 27 year old HOW to drive.  Not to mention... I drive a 10 year old boat.  It's like learning to drive the a pontoon by practicing on the Titanic.  Madness! 

After our driving lesson (which included her 2 year old and 6 month old in tow in the backseat), we headed to our local Chick-fil-A.  The gawking and staring started before we walked in the door.  About midway through our dinner, I went to clean up some stuff the 2-yo had dropped.  I set the 6 mo in the seat and ask the mama to watch him to for a few seconds. 

I bent down to pick up the things and all of the sudden hear this OUTRAGEOUS SCREAMING, "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THAT BABY!!!! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THAT BABY!!!! OH MY GOSH!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!"

I look down and the six month old has flexed in his car seat and looks like he's about to slide out.  I scoop him up, and buckle him in.  BUT THE LADY DOESN'T STOP SCREAMING.  I rarely get that embarrassed, but she took me to a whole new level. The entire restaurant had stopped moving to turn around and watch us. 

That is ... more than they were already watching us and whispering.

I can take a lot of stuff, but present day racism and bigotry set me over the edge.  It's 2011.  I'm sitting at a table with a mama and two of her kids and from the looks/stares/comments we were getting, you would have thought I rolled up with aliens with 16 eyes and 7 arms. 

Of course, it unnerved the Mama too.  After that, she got very defensive at every question and comment.  In my heart, I don't know if she realized the full magnitude of how people were acting because she had her back to them.

But I saw.  And I'm struggling to not be angry and frustrated at the open ignorance.

What to do but persevere and press on?  That's all I know.

xoxo,
Me.