Tag: surprise

Restless

Do you ever find yourself, while in the middle of doing something valuable, feeling like you’re doing nothing to make the world a better place? Like you just need to go do something… as though you aren’t already on the middle of doing one of those somethings?

I’ve been sitting at school, grading papers, spending time around students, prepping for my classes that are later today… and I keep feeling so utterly antsy, like I can hardly wait to be done with this all.

And it’s weird for me.

I love to teach. And I love learning. I’m getting to do both of those things right now. So, what’s buggin’?

And I don’t know the answer to that. I am finally growing comfortable – rather, have grown comfortable – with this position, and I’m ready to move on. How come? Am I not making enough of a difference here? Am I bored by it? Am I constantly comparing it to something better that I’ve done, and seeing it fall short again and again? Am I starting to resent it and myself, because it isn’t enough, isn’t good enough on some level or other?

Am I upset, because it just keeps feeling like a constant reminder of how I have failed elsewhere, that I am in a temporary position that, though it makes a huge difference for the school and students, is merely a reminder of the fact that I don’t have my own teaching position… that I am only filling in for someone else for a short while? And so I can find endless issues with the position and the school… thereby making it fee even worse that this was all I could get…

Yeah… it’s looking a lot like that is the reason.

I’m just going to sit with that for right now, and see later what is calling me most in terms of what to do about it.

Until then, May we all experience the blessings all throughout and within our day today. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Doors

Maybe it’s a pull and not a push, I wonder as I begin actually to focus my attention on the couple just ahead of me, the wife currently attempting to open a double glass door to the next portion of the museum…

It hits all three of us at about the same time, just as they shift apart a bit, and I can actually see the door…

It isn’t a door… not at all…

As if in reproach, the doors make themselves utterly known as we move a few yards to the side to find them:

However, to be fair, they were push doors! So, she had the right idea, but just at the wrong spot.

We three talked about it and laughed as we went through the actual doors. When we then all chuckled some more about it as they overheard me explaining to my man what had just happened, and I pointed it out to him, he commented to the older couple, ‘The cleaning person is probably gonna be like, ‘Uhp! More idiots’ finger prints to clean off today!’ And, for some reason, we all really cracked up at that – even the lady herself. I guess we could just picture that exact thing happening, and we wondered how many people did that every day. It is, after all, directly where the walkway leads from the front section…

Fun times at the Parthenon, y’all. And yes, Nashville has a full-scale Parthenon. It was quite bizarre and cool.

Post-a-day 2022

Meant to be

Naturally, I didn’t want to go to the meeting, as it was so late in the evening (6-8pm) and far away from home, both on a school night.

Naturally, I didn’t leave until almost 8:45pm, because I was having such a great time.

I guess that’s how it goes when we end up where we’re meant to be.

Thank you, God, for such a blessing as this new rodeo committee seems like it will be and already has been so far. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Prayer

My mom told me the other night, ‘I just listened to Mark Wahlberg say the rosary.’

Uhm… What?????

It’s this prayer app called “Hallow”. I immediately downloaded it and did the daily rosary with narrator Mark, who happens to be the Mark Wahlberg. Super cool.

But it gets a bit better.

The app tracks your use in terms of streaks… ‘Congrats! You’re on a one-day streak!’ We all know that I’m a fan of streaks, what with an 808-day streak on Duolingo right now. So, where I’ve already been wanting to pray more, and I find this app with lots of really cool prayer options – the organization and usability could use some definite improvement, and having the paid options listed all mixed in with the free ones (with no filter) is a bit of a big hassle, though – that not only has Mark Wahlberg for the rosaries, but that also makes it like a game of sorts. I’m in!

Check it out, y’all, and have fun with prayer and meditations and learning all those prayers we hear so rarely but to which everyone else always seems to know the words! (Yes, those are all on there for free, too!)

Post-a-day 2022

Hair care

‘What’s with the Natty Light in the living room??’

‘… It’s for my hair…’

‘….’

‘Beer is a good conditioner.’

‘…’

‘It was the cheapest they had at the time, and the cans were bigger, so I could use one at least twice.’

‘….’

Yeah, well, it isn’t the first conversation I’ve had like this. And not the first time I’d heard the ridiculous nickname for the cheap beer either. Not a good sign, hunny, that you refer to that stuff with that nickname… Not a good sign…

(As though my having the beer isn’t bizarre enough on its own, right?? 😛 )

::facepalm

Post-a-day 2022

Belly…

And sometimes you have three cones of soft serve with dinner… each, of course: two as an appetizer and one as dessert on the way out.

Ah, the blessings of Mexican restaurants with self-serve soft serve… the fact that it is by the door still cracks me up. We actually went one evening just to see if we could have some soft serve. My man went inside to ask if he could buy the soft serve. He didn’t quite manage the question, but he still ended up with permission to take some ice cream for us both, even though we weren’t dining, and so was just waiting in the car! Score, for sure!

So, having three cones tonight was another bonding event for the both of us. I feel best eating paleo, yet, here we were, scarfing down ice cream on cones and chips with salsa and chile con queso… some Friday nights, it seems, just call for Mexican food and ice cream, it seems.

Afterward, as we walked to the car, eating our third cones, we detoured to the stadium across the way, because there was a game happening. We ended up getting a perfect picture of me with the stadium’s scoreboard, which happens to have my family name on it in big letters (though I’ve no idea why). We’d gone by on the bikes one day, but couldn’t get inside the fence without breaking laws. Tonight, however, the freshman or JV football game inside was free of charge to attend, and you got to walk on the track (only way for visitors to get to the other side) on the scoreboard side(!). Thus the awesome photo! Yippee!

Also, my man, naturally, spilled some ice cream on the bottom hem of his shorts while walking to the stadium. Good thing I grabbed napkins on the way out (specifically with him in mind, mind you)! But, when we were waiting for a play to end, so we wouldn’t be so ridiculously obvious taking photos by the field – keep in mind that we already stood out, our being the only white people in a stadium of mostly black and some Hispanic people – I started helping him identify spills and cleans himself up. Fortunately, the only one on his clothes was the shorts hem spill. It was a small drop. So, I figured a little moisture could go a long way to help out the chocolate spill on the khaki shorts.

However, let’s think about this for a second. We’re standing under the edge of the bleachers, down at the far end where no one is sitting anyway. I lean down and suck on the hem of his shorts a few seconds… meaning that I have my head down quite near his groin, though actually well below it… how bad does that look from a distance?!?!?! So it goes, I suppose… w broth cracked up as we both realized it at about the same time, and I said it allowed. 😛

Anyway… it was a great time, and it, surprisingly, wasn’t too hot. I even had on long sleeves still, and a scarf, from the restaurant. Very decent weather tonight.

Thank you, God, for such a lovely and silly evening and night. Help us to sleep well, please, that we have the energy and attitudes to pursue your will and share your love tomorrow. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Just try it!

“Can we use this one now?”

“Yeah, sure… No WONder I couldn’t find yours. You’ve been using mine!”

“Hehehehe.”

“Mmhmm…. Well, that black one is in there already.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Where I always keep mine…”

“This stuff?!”

[…]

“Try it.”

“Uh-uh.”

“Just try it.”

“Nope.”

“Try it at least once. Just do it tonight.”

“… Too late.”

“Ugh!”

Now, would anyone have guessed this was a conversation about charcoal tooth powder? (Think toothpaste, but in powder form.) We have the greatest conversations sometimes, my man and I… 😛

Post-a-day 2022

Birthday

Today went well, I think. I gave my man his awesome birthday present I had made for rhim, as well as the awesome miniature pancake layer cake (paleo pancakes layered with Nutella and fresh bacon crumbles) I had made. I cooked a filling breakfast, and it was paleo, then headed in to school. Taught classes and did grading. Fast forward to the end of the school day? And so got to go home early by a bit and nap briefly before my mom showed up to decorate.

My man was on a call, so we had everything mostly set up but he time he came out of his office and phone call.

We ate cupcakes and played with a styrofoam airplane, then he and my mom and I went to Topgolf. My mom and so had never been. I think we all had a good time, though. It was fun. Especially considering I’ve had a real lesson, and so could hit the balls somewhat decently every time.

That you, God, for this day, and thank you for this amazing man with whom I get the honor of spending my life. I love you both. In the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Habits

It’s always funny to see what people’s habits are in life, what things they pursue for their own enrichment and enjoyment, for no reason other than that they want to pursue it. For me, right now, I have a quite ridiculous streak on Duolingo (streak meaning that I have done it every day for that many days). I had used it for years without consistency on the whole ‘every day’ thing. Yet, here I am, looking like a weirdo and dork with my streak. I’m not one of the ones who does loads of lessons and gets thousands of points in lessons every month. No, not I. I just have kept up the habit.O

Nerd… oh, well…

Today was actually 801, for anyone counting ;P

Post-a-day 2022