The Good Fight

Usually, I use this blog as a way to jokingly complain about certain parts of my life. This post is not going to be like that; instead, this post is going to be a catharsis for me.

One week ago today, a dear friend of mine's father had a heart attack with essentially no warning. He was 54 years old, physically fit, and incredibly active. I was shocked and saddened but thought that it would be like every other heart attack that I've heard about the past few years. I thought that he'd have surgery, get a few stints, spend a few days recovering, and then be back in the saddle with a low sodium, low-fat diet. Instead, this time, it wasn't that simple. Instead, this past week has been filled with tears, heartache, and grief. My dear, sweet Chelse: I love you and I loved your daddy. He was an amazing man and will be missed so much by everyone who knew him. We're here for you.

Fatefully it seems, I was given a book last week to read. It was one that had been suggested to me many times, but I had never gotten around to reading it. I guess that I just wasn't meant to read it until now. The book was Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. If you haven't read it, I don't want to ruin it for you but I do want to share the last passage written by a homeless man, Denver Moore, on death. He wrote:

"The truth about it is, whether we is rich or poor or something in between, this earth ain't no final restin place. So in a way, we is all homeless - just workin our way toward home."


It is fateful that I read that passage this past Thursday because on the Tuesday before, Mr. Ronnie passed away. It is fateful that as I was contacting people to let them know that he had passed, my autotext feature on my phone kept wanting to type "home" instead of what I wanted, "gone." Had my phone had its way, the message would have said, "He is home."

I think, perhaps, the fate that lead me to read that book this week and the fate that wanted me to write "home" instead of "gone" was, in fact, God. He wanted to remind me that this earth is just a temporary dwelling place and our bodies are just temporary vessels. I needed that reminder. I still need that reminder. I'm pretty certain that I'm going to need that reminder every day for a long time.

During the funeral today, the preacher spoke of those verses in Ecclesiastes 3 that talk about how there is a time for everything. While I may think that Mr. Ronnie's passing was way too soon, it wasn't too soon. It was his time; whether I want to accept that or not. The preacher also spoke on 2 Timothy 4:7 where it says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." I have trouble even thinking about that scripture and not tearing up, but, in Mr. Ronnie's case, that scripture is incredibly appropriate. He was here for 54 years and did what he was sent to do without wavering from his appointed task. He just finished the course a little sooner than we were ready for him to finish it.

I know these next days, weeks, and years will be tough for all of us, but I know how I am going to get through them. For now, I'm just going to say, "goodbye Mr. Ronnie, I'll see you when I get Home."

A letter is stuck on my keyboard.

My computer and I ave never seen eye to eye, or and to keyboard as it may be. I, owever, ave been incredibly patient and understanding. I know tat it is only a macine and was made, or at least designed by umans wo make mistakes. I may not be one of tose people, but I understand te concept. Te concept of making mistakes, tat is, and te concept of being uman because well, I am. I don't make mistakes toug.

You may be tinking tat I do make mistakes since my post is full of "typos." I ave to inform you toug, te letter '' is not working on my keyboard. It does work if I press down ard on it, but it breaks my o so fast rtym so it usually doesn't work. O well. I am going to try and fix it myself. Te Dell people ave my number on teir "do not answer" list.

An Open Letter to My Neighbor

Dear Mr. Alabama,

We've been neighbors for two years now. So far, I can't really complain. Granted, you do like to do your laundry late at night and incredibly early in the morning, but since you are only in residence for about a week out of every month I have been able to overlook it. Yes, I am fairly certain that you are pretty high up on the narcotic distribution ladder but again, your absence has given me a chance to reevaulate my once negative opinion on drug dealers. I don't mind that your clothes never match and you dye your hair blonde. I am not the tiniest bit jealous of your Jaguar, BMW, or Mercedes as they all have Alabama plates and let's face it, Bama and I aren't the best of friends. I admit, your casual questions about my personal life are somewhat unnerving, but again, we are neighbors after all and I might need a cup of sugar one day ... or a new car.

All that being said, Mr. Alabama, the noise has got to stop. I can only take so much of the drawer slamming, the washer cycles, and the woman yelling. Please sir, leave the wife in Alabama next time. Her shrill voice has dogs for miles barking and I am this close to knocking on your door at 11:30 at night to punch her in the face. Excuse me, to punch her lights out (that's for you Alex Trebek). Also, here's fair warning. Next time the Merry Maids come to clean your apartment I am going to slip in, knock one in the head, take her uniform, and remove all the drawers and cabinet doors from your condo. I may even steal your washer and dryer. You now know and I can only take your silence on this matter as consent. I've got finals next week and can't take much more of you or Mrs. Alabama. Glad we could talk this through. I'll see you next month.

Fondly,

Your Neighbor

six-word wonder

Recently, our AG class was assigned a project to come up with six-word memoirs based on life, law school, the future, and ourselves. The inspiration was this site - http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/. After I completed the project, I got on a roll and just kept going. Here they are:

1. June fourth two thousand eleven, hurry.
2. I sleep with a stuffed bear.
3. Pretty clothes make me feel pretty.
4. I always wish upon a star.
5. Never too old for Disney movies.
6. My heart’s gone, he has it.
7. I am the world’s best procrastinator.
8. Six words are too many.
9. Don’t touch my feet, I’ll die.
10. I can make the best lasagna.
11. Jane Austen makes me feel better.
12. Cleaning is an obsession. For someone.
13. Shakespeare wrote some pretty amazing stuff.
14. I am a fan of chicken.
15. I was once tall. No more.
16. I am scared of forgetting everything.
17. I want to be crafty tomorrow.
18. Milk and I do not mix.
19. Can we cover it in chocolate?
20. One day, I will be carefree.

I have to admit, coming up with these was kind of fun. Does that make me a dork?

For the first time ever, I feel... wicked!!

Okay, first of all, I am pretty sure that this weekend I uncovered my secret love of musicals. I admit, I haven't seen that many. Only one. Right, not many at all. Though, The Sound of Music is an old friend but I've only ever seen the film version. There's just something about Julie Andrews... she really can do it all. What was the point of this blog again? Oh, I remember.


WICKED!!!

I took Matt for his birthday and I may have loved it more than he did, but oh well, he got beignets out of it - twice. Here's the promo poster:

My favorite song (so far) is Defying Gravity. Here's a clip from the Tonys from the best known actresses for the production, but neither were in the one we saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc582myFziY

Look at Glenda's clothes in the other videos. I loved her clothes. Think I could get away with the blue sparkly dress? I do. Look out world, it'll happen one day. I just have to get my courage up.... and find the perfect dress!!

The point of the story is to get the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. I have to admit, I've read the book that it is based on and wasn't a fan. In fact, I was pretty dubious about seeing it. But the play was so so so much better than the book. I wouldn't recommend the book, but for sure the musical. If you like it, check out the other Wicked videos. The music is pretty great. In fact, I may have downloaded the soundtrack and have been singing all day...

Pray for You

Okay, let's talk about the new country song Pray for You by Jaron and the Long Road to Love. Here's the video (compliments of YouTube):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atBg9zLI2bA

and here are the lyrics:

I havent been to church since I don’t remember when
Things were goin’ great ‘til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do
He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them

I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and
knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know whereever you are honey, I pray for you

I’m really glad I found my way to church
‘Cause I’m already feelin’ better and I thank God for the words
Yeah I’m goin’ take the high road
And do what the preacher told me to do
You keep messin’ up and I’ll keep prayin’ for you

I pray your tire blows out at 110
I pray you pass out drunk with your best friend and wake up with his and her tattoos
I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know whereever you are, near or far,
in your house or in your car, wherever you are honey,
I pray for you. I pray for you

****

Don't get me wrong, it is catchy and I like the singer's voice, but I can't help but feel guilty every time I hear it and sing along. Seriously, we're supposed to pray for our enemies, but I am pretty certain that those prayers are to be for forgiveness, understanding, and redemption. Not so much for loneliness and embarrassment.

But all the same, I still like it. Now, where did I put my headphones....

I'm feeling introspective -- time for another ten things.

I really need no introduction as I'm sure you read the title.

1. I discovered today that after four years, I still get incredibly jealous. Though, I'm not entirely sure that I want that to change.

2. My side hurts a lot. I may vomit.

3. I cheated my Lenten sacrifice. More than once. I'm not sure what that says about the person I am.

4. Next time, I'll give up beef. I'll have no problem keeping that one.

5. I'm calling dibs on the name Emma Grace. Granted, if you have kids before me and use it, that's just fine. We'll just have a bunch of little Emma Graces running around.

6. I'm taking back my earlier post. I'm sick and tired of unsweet tea.

7. I really really really want a puppy.

8. I bought a second Wii-mote today (get it?). Now I can play with a friend. Though, the new one is black because the white one was $10 more. I saw a problem with this, but didn't mention it to the clerk as I wasn't in Mangham and might've gotten shot.

9. I don't pay a separate electricity bill but I play a little game with myself. The goal is to make the bill be lower than the month before. I never ask what the amount from the previous month was because I don't want to lose. I think I may have transferred my competitiveness to a less disappointing venue.

10. I'm incredibly excited about the possibility of seeing Matt every day this summer. That hasn't happened in three years. I may have to do the whole adjusting thing again in August. That won't be pretty.