I’ve Got a Hankering for iPod

This past weekend my husband and I took a strole through the mall to see if we could score some free stuff. A couple of major department stores were giving away free sample cosmetics, and after the week I’d had, I was up for some free pampering. After I scored a free sensational, salubrious, and soothing facial, Zack and I bummed around the mall again, mostly for the people-watching and change of scenery.

Upon wondering into one of the more pretentious stores, we saw to our right a gathering of young people, likely about to graduate high school this spring, around a large machine in the clothing section. We turned to see what all the brouhaha was all about, and to our surprise, one of the young gentlemen was swiping his credit card, not in an ATM or snooty soda machine, but in an iPod machine.  That’s right, an iPod machine.

Now, tell me, Posse… if America is in the worst economical state it has ever been since the Great Depression, with no sign of a rebound… *pause for dramatic effect*   …I’m not saying, I’m just saying.

Yesterday’s Epiphany

Back in my later days of highschool, I had a list of all the things I wanted to do during my lifetime. It wasn’t so much a list of goals or career choices contained within a 5 or 10 year period. I had those lists too, but one in particular was dedicated to specifically to the subject of excitement.

I had forgotten until yesterday when I attended the funeral of a woman who was not only known for being a tireless lover of God and servant of the church, but for being a lover of “play”.  When she first hired her administrator 15 years ago, she said, “I know you are a woman of God and that you pray, but do you love to play? Ministry is hard work, and if you don’t know how to play, you become burnt out… and boring.”

After Zack and I left the funeral, I couldn’t help but mull that statement over in my head, not because it was a new concept, but because I always had that philosophy until a couple of years ago when life got so busy with ministry that I had all but forgotten about what it’s like to take on a new type of excitement. I used to snowboard, jetskii, take random road trips in the middle of the night, snowmobile, tackle as many of the most enviggorating rollarcoasters I could find on the rare occasion when I could visit an amusement park. In a pinch, I would even band together with friends on a desperate search for some kind of a hill to sled on, even if all we had for sleds were pieces of cardboard or stollen lunch trays from the cafeteria.

Today, though anxious to play a little myself, I have been in bed since yesterday afternoon with a wave of exhaustion and a pounding headache. Instead of playing, I’m thoroughly enjoying the Planet Earth series, whilst occasionally dreaming up how I plan to decorate my house when we have enough money to do so.

If you’ve never seen Planet Earth, you have to! At this moment, I’m highly entertained by a sequence on baboons, only found in the Etheopian highlands and putting together yet another list- “places I have to see.”

Things I Learned This Month

-Shocking fact: I’m supposed to put on approximately 35-40 lbs during pregnancy. I’m also told that I am to put on only 2-5 of those pounds during my first trimester, but I’ve beat that statistic like it stole something! … In other words, I have a few pounds to spare… quite a few, actually. 

-Did you know that by 11 weeks, a baby in the womb can already hear? In fact, babies at this stage are 1 1/2 inches long and can move on their own.

-For those sporting long hair, cutting one’s hair in the first trimester is a great idea. Yes, it helps for a self-esteem boost, but primarily gives you breathing room when you’re hugging the toilet day and night, ruing the fact that you still haven’t nailed down exactly what your body wants to eat, but reminding yourself that not eating is too close to child abuse to be an option.

-Everything smells bad. Everything.

-People’s advice about what to do during the toughest nausea is well-meant. It doesn’t help, but it’s sweet of them to offer what they can (smile and say things like, “Thanks, that could work.”)

-No matter how you feel, complaining is useless, especially considering the fact that you get a kid out of the deal. What could be better than that?