Shopping...

...with the future Mother-in-Law. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but we are polar opposites. My love is most comfortably expressed from a distance, typically through cute birthday/Christmas/thank you cards. We were much closer until almost two years ago when we had a falling out. She tends to nag, she had been doing it all day, and she said something that truly hurt me. I replied with something rude, which I swear is out of character for me. But it was very rude and she flew off the handle. It was a little much considering I had never given her so much as a frown for the past year I had been dating her son, but it's all water under the bridge. Except that this last year I haven't visited his family nearly as much and I am half afraid to say anything for fear it will be taken the wrong way. We aren't on rocky footing, we just don't understand each other. She is very outgoing and loves to go out to clubs with friends. I am very shy and quiet, and the few clubs I have been to are not dance clubs, they are hole-in-the-wall music venues where my fiance's bands have played. And let's be honest, I was only there to support him. So when I asked him to make sure it would be ok to visit this summer, he responded that his mother didn't have a problem with it, but wanted to know if I would go out and do things with her, specifically shopping. Nick's taking summer classes, and he works evenings, so why not? What else am I going to do alone in his house for two weeks?

Today was shopping trip number one. I'm not sure if there will be more, but I'm calling it that anyway. It went remarkably well, just like our shopping trips pre-misunderstanding. She needed to run out for shoes, found a pair for both of us, decided I needed to go to this other store with her, wheedled me into telling her what I liked, and bought just as much for me as she did for herself. I know she likes to spoil me because she only has sons, but I feel bad because it's not her job to buy clothes for me. And I don't even ask for anything! She begs me to tell her what I like until I cave on one item, the cheaper the better. But it's never enough. Today's spoils were a pair of plaid Sperrys (on sale, thank God), two pairs of striped panties, and a pair of white shorts. She wanted to get me a top, too, but fortunately the one I agreed to try on didn't fit.

At some point during all of my resistance, I realized that I was actually kind of enjoying myself. My mom doesn't do much shopping since she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid, and when she does shop, she is limited in the clothes she can wear comfortably and the time she can spend searching for it. Even with the guilt I was feeling at being spoiled, I had fun walking around and giving her my opinion on clothes and shoes. Maybe I like shopping more than I realized. I just have to keep this realization in check, lol.

Whew!

The yard sale is officially over and was unexpectedly successful. I honestly thought most of the things sitting out there were junk, but a lot of it went home with people who were thrilled to get it cheap. I guess it proves that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

To-do:

*trade in old textbooks

*ship back incorrect lavaliere

*pack for Kingsport

*continue unpacking moving boxes

*find yarn for prayer shawl

Things that made today awesome:

*the rain didn't last very long

*my parents understood my mild freak out about the books getting wet

*the hand vacuum was still in the house, so I could use it to dry the pages of said wet books

*none of the books were badly damaged, so I can still trade them in online

*the exercise bike didn't sell, so I still have a chance of talking my parents into letting me have it

*I got to go outside and play fetch with Domino in our new yard

*I got to eat strawberries and sugar

Now if I could just find my craft bag and figure out which box my GRE books got packed in, everything would be perfect.

Things I Learned at VBS

That's right, Vacation Bible School. My family has attended our church since I was six months old, so I still attend when I am home on break. I even babysit for the Pastor's family, who know my beliefs and have no problem with them. So each year his wife calls me a few weeks before VBS and asks me for the same favor: to fill in xyz spot that they can't convince anyone else to cover. She always counts on me saying yes, and I always do. This year the theme was "Shake it up Cafe," and xyz spot happened to be the Lemon class, comprised of six rising kindergarteners. Upon reflection, I wonder if I didn't learn more than they did.

Lesson 1: Good teachers play tag.

After coming in from recreation, one of my little boys told me that he was glad I was his teacher because I played tag with him. I'm sure he was just giving me a sweet compliment, but maybe he appreciated it on a deeper level because I took the time to get involved in what he wanted to do instead of just leading him from class to class all evening. It's a good lesson for everyone: don't just go through the motions, get involved in what you are doing.

Lesson 2: Jesus Christ coming to your party is not as cool as Justin Bieber coming.

This one was purely silly, but it made me laugh. The storyteller was trying to get the children to realize how special it was that Jesus came to the Festival of Booths, so she compared it to Justin Bieber unexpectedly showing up at your birthday party. One of the little girls got excited and said that she is a big fan of Justin Bieber and also Taylor Swift. Trying to get them back on track, the storyteller said that Jesus showing up was bigger than both of them combined. The little girl gave her a look of five-year-old disbelief and as respectfully as she possibly could muttered a simple "nuh-uh."

Lesson 3: Giants live at the top of barley, grapes, and wheat.

By the third night, the storyteller had given up on trying to get the children to listen attentively to the stories, which were admittedly long and fairly dry. This time, she came prepared with a game that tied into the story. As the children pretended to grow the ingredients needed for the festival, they held up their arms, showing how high their plants had grown. The teacher, trying to encourage them, pointed to one girl and said "your plant is going to touch the clouds." The little girl sitting next to her looks up at her arms and yells "oh no, a giant!" Every child broke out in a chorus of "Giant! Giant!" Remarkably, the teacher was able to use this to her advantage, and story time became a little more popular. Lesson: when children speak, listen. It just might connect to what you're trying to convey.

Lesson 4: Little boys can lock bathroom stalls, but unlocking them might be a different story.

Though the kid walked into the bathroom stall, locked it, and managed all of his buttons quite nicely, reversing that process is another story entirely. And though the little boy waiting behind him is scared to use the urinal and can't wait any longer, he will not understand why his female teacher crawled under the abandoned stall to unlock it from the inside. Lesson: little boys aren't always mature, but God isn't done with them yet.

Lesson 5: It is possible to karate a shark to death.

In short, adults need to have more imagination and excitement. If kids can get attacked by 100 giant sharks only shortly after bailing out their pirate ship and survive with a few well-placed karate chops, surely I can find a way to make unpacking from this move a little more exciting.

It was a great week, but with an adventure like these each night, I am glad it is over. Now if I can just survive this yard sale, I will be fiance bound come Monday! I need a vacation from my vacation, lol.

Bitter Inspiration

Looking through my last few posts, I figured out why I haven't been writing. Apparently I only write when I'm stressed out or in a bad mood. I need new inspiration. I have a few ideas to experiment with, but I'm not sure I'll stick with any of them, so let's give it a few weeks and see. Maybe one will be successful, maybe not.