Charlyn’s Web

Since my last post. Just a little something to let you know I’m alive.

Because I can’t stand to do it every year.

Have you ever tried to get a decent shot of three wild creatures?

Someone is always doing something….odd.

I told them to look happy for the Grandparents and they looked like they were in pain.

One pouts, another grimaces, someone sticks hands on faces.

Add to that lighting issues, dog’s tails, sheet malfunctions and my patience flew out the window.

158 photos later, I threw in the towel. If I get around to mailing out a Christmas photo, it just very well may be one of the above.

I was in the nursery at church during Sunday School. Normally, I am not there during that time but one of the helpers was gone so I was conscripted. I had to work on the Church’s bills and therefore wasn’t much help, per say, just another adult in the room. One has to be so careful these days. Sigh.

Anyway, I was busy working on things, trying to keep my papers from being stepped on and scattered about when I tuned into a conversation.

Pixie is addressing her future husband: “Please put the seat up when you go pee because if you don’t it gets wet and then I might sit in it.”

Oh my. The nagging begins.

Happy Birthday Pixie!

Ever unprepared for life- that is me. With a birthday coming up and no presents to be found, I scurried off to engage in The Shopping Experience. Now, this may come as a surprise to some of you, but I dislike shopping. It has to do with the painful parting of me and my money.

Around here one doesn’t have a plethora of shopping options- basically it’s one. The Great Out House. Oh well, yes, there is the J.C.Penney store downtown- the one that is so small you could fit about 10 of them in one of their regular mall stores. Plus, the World Wide Web but I was running short on time.

So I headed off to That Place to hunt for the just right gift and also stock up on food. As I wandered the aisles, feeling very out of place because I was about the only one without a cell phone stuck to my ear, I tuned into the Christmas music playing on the loud speakers. Oh Joy. I told myself the advantage to having Christmas come to stores so early was that I had more birthday gift choices. I was trying to find the positive, for once.

But, you know, I just could not get excited about the choices out there. More choices were not necessarily better choices. Everything is plastered with Hannah Montana, BRATZ girls, Princess’ or Barbie. Why can’t they make something without that? Would it not do whatever it was made to do without it? Pajamas used to have cute things on them-hearts, flowers, airplanes- now try and find something as innocent as that. All the things that didn’t have those on them were things that we already owned. The things I liked and thought Birthday Girl would like were things we already had plenty of lying around. I shouldn’t have cared what it was- I should have just bought pink things and called it good. It’s hard and now I dread even more the torturous Christmas shopping experience.

I just don’t get it. I know I am old, my brain is feeble- my children sucked whatever was up there out and we don’t watch much TV but I am so very different? I guess I get discouraged because there isn’t a choice unless I pay a whole lot more (see aforementioned money and parting issues). I may only have one store in town to really shop at but if I had ten I would bet that there still wouldn’t be much choice. I wonder what retailers are thinking when they put some of these things out there. I bet they are thinking “This will really sell!” and the sad part, in my mind, is that it does sell.

I have a new friend. Aren’t you all proud of me? Now I have about 12 readers of my blog, maybe. Actually, she doesn’t always read my blog- that is until I nag her to death about it. “Have you seen my post? Did you read it? What did you think? Huh? Huh?” You should be glad you don’t live close to me?

But I digress. We, this friend and I, have talked about how there are people in our lives who have the knack of saying negative things right off when we tell exciting/good news. They are the people that take the wind right out of your sails.

The good news: I dyed my hair purple!

The response: You getting ready for Halloween a bit late, aren’t you?

The good news: I’m pregnant!

The response: You know how that happens, don’t you?

Note: Just to stop the rumors in their tracks- those were totally hypothetical conversations. I do not have purple hair nor am I pregnant.

I wondered at the time how many times I do such things to other people especially with my tendency to see the negative side of things so much.

I got my answer this last Sunday, and it ain’t pretty.

I walked into the nursery with the girls a few minutes past when Sunday School should start. A lady commented that we were there early today. I was a bit flustered because I had hoped to get there earlier than we did and said that very thing. She kindly said that she hadn’t meant to offend but was trying to be an encouragement. I thought- geez! could I have been any more ungracious?

Then, after pot luck, one of the ladies told me she had put my left over rolls into an old hot dog bag for me. Instead of saying a simple “Thank you!”, because I was thankful, I said “oh I had some bags over here.” Talk about spitting on people’s kind gestures.

It’s those small things sometimes that show us our true nature. And if I mess up on the small things- how will I handle the big ones?

Graciousness. Something to long for.