Oh, Please!

I seriously saw a Facebook status update today in which the swine flu pre-pandemic was blamed on terrorists.

In the words of my favorite SNL comedian, Seth Myers...

"REALLY???? Really. Really? Really."

I could go on, but you do not want to hear my commentary on the ridiculousness of blaming every negative thing in this world on terrorists. Seriously, people. Let's brush up on those critical thinking skills, alrighty?

In somewhat related news, there is a chance that Jonathan's upcoming trip to Belarus will be cancelled due to the (miniscule) risk of swine flu. I can't imagine many Belarusians are vacationing in Cancun, but who am I to judge? Selfishly, I wouldn't mind if he had to stay home, just because I kinda like having the guy around. But I also know that he is incredibly excited about this trip and will be very disappointed if it falls through. Darn swine flu.

And one last little variation on the theme: apparently the pork farmers of America have requested that we no longer call the "swine flu" the "swine flu." Bad for business. In their honor, I hereby declare that we should all eat bacon every day until the swine flu is wiped from the face of this earth.

Now who's coming with me!?!

Peace in the Middle East

So...I think I forgot to mention that my big brother has been deployed.

Kinda makes me a little less bitter about all those times he forced me to play G.I. Joes with him. At least the practice has been put to good use.

If you think of Ramsey and his sweet wife Ashley, say a prayer for them!

Birthday Girl

Guess who turns ONE today???

(Pardon her alien eyes and scary little teeth...gotta love a bad flash, but the pic was too cute to pass up!)

Detour

(Disclaimer: My computer is refusing to allow me to space my paragraphs on this post. My apologies for the massive chunk of text!)

I am really good at directions. I excel at reading maps. I have a finely tuned internal compass.

So does my friend Carrie.

But it is amazing what some good catching up can do to a girl.

Please see diagram below (pardon its small size):

I met Carrie in Joplin on Thursday night and we planned to leave early Friday morning so that we would arrive at Kenan's small town around lunch time.

(Note: Kenan's town is not even marked on this map! But I did circle Jamesport, the Amish town that we visited on Saturday. They make good cheese. And that, my friends, makes a town worth circling).

Unfortunately--and we still have no idea how this happened--we missed the I-35 exit and ended up on I-29. And we drove up I-29 for quite some time. It wasn't until we were just across the border from Nebraska that we realized what we had done.

Take a look at that map. Do you see how out of the way we were? Do you realize how many "I-29" signs we must have passed along the way without noticing that we were on the wrong highway? Apparently reunions with old friends turn your brain to mush.

Ever been to Mound City, Missouri? Yeah, I didn't think so. Instead of turning around, we decided that we, with the help of our trusty Atlas, could navigate the back roads of rural northwestern Missouri. Back roads that don't even have numbers. Just letters like "Z", and "C." (I was particularly fond of the intersection of roads "B" and "O." It made me giggle like a junior high boy.)

Let me tell you a bit about rural northwestern Missouri.

It is very hilly. Carrie and I might as well have been at Six Flags for the number of times we "Wooo!"-ed while driving over the short but steep hills. Isn't that tummy-in-your-throat feeling the best? There are also a number of very cute little towns. If you blink, you might miss them, but they were charming nonetheless. I particularly enjoyed the plethora of baby farm animals grazing the pastures. Pretty sure Carrie had ample reason to be concerned that I would find a little lamb to take home as a pet. I really should never travel in rural farmland unchaperoned.

Oh, and wouldn't you know the back roads we traveled shared the same path as Lewis and Clark? The signs said so. Something tells me that they made a wrong turn or two in their day. They probably found themselves in rural northwestern Missouri, thought "Where the heck are we?" and then remembered that they were the only folks brave enough to travel that far West and that anything they did was pretty awesome, even if it was only routes B and O.

Just like Lewis and Clark, Carrie and I made it. We arrived at our destination with great fanfare. We were championed as heroes. And we will go down in history. If only on this blog.

(And Carrie, if I had to be lost in rural Missouri with anyone, I'm glad it was you. Quality Inn. Quality Memories!)

Alive, but in Withdrawal

Contrary to the evidence of this blog, I am indeed alive and well.



Though "well" includes a state of withdrawal caused by this little girl:

And these girls:

(Carrie, Kenan holding Emsleigh, me, and Abby)

And, yes, those are tears in my eyes. As we prepared to say our goodbyes and I snuck one last little moment with Emsleigh, I was overcome with emotion...

Joy at holding this precious child, a long-awaited gift to God-fearing parents who just so happen to be two of my favorite people in the world. For the rest of my life, the story of their daughters will point me to God's faithfulness and provision to His children.

Awe to know that the next time I see Abby she will be mother to a little boy. I can't help but giggle to think of Abby chasing a little guy around the house. She is going to be a wonderful mother.

Helplessness upon realizing that the next time I see her, Emsleigh will be bigger and I will miss everything in between. Life just keeps going whether you're there to watch it or not, and I so miss living life with those I love.

Sadness to leave these sweet friends, the comfort of sharing a foundation, a history, with people who know me and love me well. Being new to Memphis, I am still in the stage where friendships are new, where stories and backgrounds are being learned, where relationships are based more on something to do over the weekend rather than on vulnerability and growth. I long for friends who sharpen and refine me, who can laugh at my quirks and love me nonetheless. That takes time, and in the mean time I must savor moments like these.

Those emotions are the reason behind that glisten in my eyes, the red in my cheeks. Loving people hurts, doesn't it? For wonderful reasons and sad reasons all at once. And though as I sit back here at my desk today, feeling the pang of withdrawals, of loneliness, I know that these feelings are what make people worth loving, and life worth living. In the words of one of my favorite songwriters, Sarah Groves, "At the end of your life, your relationships are all you've got." And, man, if that's all that counts, I'd say I've got it pretty good.

Love you girls.

Good Friday.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

Keepin' It Real...VERY real

My girl Erin tagged me in the latest game to hit the blogosphere. Here are the rules:

Take a picture of yourself right now.

No primping or preparing.

Just snap a picture.

Load the picture onto your blog.

Tag some people to play.

Let's just say that it is pretty obvious I followed these rules. No primping. No preparing. Allow me to set the scene of today:

• Got up at 8 p.m. (Which sounds lazy, but I have worked every night until about 11 p.m., so I went in at 10 today. Don't hate, appreciate.). Ate breakfast. Drank coffee. Got dressed.


• Tackled my Outlook inbox


• Participated in a planning meeting for the two months of summer orientation put on by the U of M. Yep. You read that correctly. Orientation goes on for two months here. Yowza.


• Ate black beans and rice at my desk while accepting a gagillion tag requests on the recent Facebook albums I uploaded for work. Students LOVE to tag themselves. Pretty sure there were 88 tags. How can you forget a number like that?


• Uploaded all the sorority and fraternity grade reports from last semester into one database.


• Had an interesting meeting with my boss regarding some complicated issues within our Greek system


• Received a phone call regarding a significant conflict between two organizations...ah, how I love conflict mediation!


• Attended the Panhellenic council meeting.


• Left the office, filled the car with gas, stopped at Sonic to pick up dinner.


• Ate with Jonathan, laughed at Weber in the back yard


• Took off work clothes, put on bathrobe, took a quick cat nap


• And here I am... Did I mention that I get to go back to work in 30 minutes? Panhellenic All-Greek Talent Show, here I come!

Yeah. Here's how I feel about that....

Look at that wrinkle in my brow! You can feel the hostility oozing from that glare. Yikes. I was going for the "I'm pooped" look but obviously there is more going on under the surface here!