Obsessive Compulsive

Although I've never been accused of being a neat freak, I have always liked my things organized and arranged just so. Since I'm concerned with how well my closets and drawers are organized, my house tends to be on the cluttered side until I have time to make sure everything gets put away just right. Because of the cluttered aspect, friends are often surprised when they learn of my obsession to be organized.

This afternoon, I had the joy of talking to a dear friend of mine who has experienced that side of me and won't let me forget it. She was visiting one day when Sam was just an infant. I had a load of his laundry that I was folding, and she graciously offered to help. Although I accepted her offer, I rather unconsciously went behind her re-folding everything since it was not folded to my specifications. Finally, she told me she wasn't going to help me any more since I kept re-doing everything she did. I hadn't even noticed what I was doing and was somewhat embarrassed at the situation. But, she was right. I was better off just doing it myself, my way.

Today, I was very happy to let her know that I am no longer quite so obsessive. My obsession for organization can never compete with Scott's obsessive compulsion to clean! He gets in what I call a "cleaning frenzy" every so often and even gets down on his hands and knees and scrubs the kitchen floor nearly every weekend. About a week and a half ago, he helped me by putting the laundry away. Now up until I started working full-time, I wouldn't allow that because something might not be folded just right or put in the right place in the drawer. This time, I just let him do it since I was busy in the kitchen and too tired to do everything that needed to be done. I exultantly informed my friend today that there are STILL towels not folded correctly and not put in the exact right place, even several days later. I have certainly improved!

Kids say the darndest things!

This weekend, I had the privilege to babysit for a friend of mine. She has four sons. I was there for the sake of the younger two, since the two older ones are more than capable of taking care of themselves. They are, in fact, Sam's age or older, so he got to go also and have fun with his friends.

The two little ones are named Isaac (I think he just turned 6) and Levi (3 y/o), and what fun they are! For lunch, they wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but had to settle for tomato soup as there was no bread for sandwiches. So, Isaac had a brainstorm and informed me that sometimes his mommy will mix up peanut butter and jelly in a bowl. Then, he can eat it with a spoon and not need any bread with it. Good idea! I mixed up some pb&j for him, and he let me know that his mommy always gives him MORE than that, so I gave him more, and he was happy.

Just as I was about to put away the peanut butter and jelly, Levi came in and asked for some, too. It took a few times of his saying what he wanted before I got it. This is what it sounded like: "I nunt neenut nunner an newwy mit in a bow wike Idek but no newwy." After the third or fourth time of his saying that, I thought I understood him and asked, "You want peanut butter and jelly mixed in a bowl like Isaac, but no jelly?" After he replied with, "Uh-huh," I asked, "So, you just want peanut butter?" Uh-huh. Why didn't he just say that to start with? Because he is a precious little dear that I would take home to live with me, if I could!!! LOL

Here's a picture of the darlings sitting in our pastor's chair on the platform at church, after the service one Sunday evening. I think they have suckers in their mouths.

Sometimes, life stinks!

I've not been writing in here every day lately, because I've been so stinkin' busy! As I wrote earlier, I've started working full-time now. One of my co-workers has been out of the office most of the past 2 weeks, so I have spent my time at work doing her job. Although I know how to do it, I'm not always comfortable with it, so I've been going home oh, so tired and stressed out. Once I get home, I have to do the usual....get supper on the table, clean up the kitchen, do a little straightening around the house, etc. Before I know it, it's already bedtime.

It's only 2pm now, and I'm ready for bed already!!! Goodnight. ;)

Frogs

I love frogs! I'm not really sure why. Perhaps it's because they are usually green, and green is my favorite color. I accidentally began collecting them some time back, and now I purposely add to the collection. Here is a picture of my recent addition:

The Importance of a Smile

Here is another poem I wrote in my younger days:



The Importance of a Smile

A smile does a lot to brighten one's day.
It doesn't take much to smile along the way.
You can make someone's day brighter;
You can make someone's load lighter:
All with a smile on your face.

A smile does a lot to cheer a sad heart.
It doesn't take much to make singing start.
You can make someone's hear cheerier;
You can make someone's life merrier:
All with a smile on your face.

A smile does a lot to win a girl's hand.
It doesn't take much to make your life grand.
You can make some girl your wife;
You can cheer your own sad life:
All with a smile on your face.


©1991 Suzanne Mulkey

Trumpet!!!!

Yesterday, Sam finally got his trumpet. How excited he was!!!! I believe the last time he was this excited about something was about a year ago when we got our dog Pearl. He played on that thing all evening and some more on the way to school this morning. I hope he's still excited about it a year from now.

Here's Sam on the way to school today:

OOPS!!!

I had an "Oops!" moment this weekend. Have you ever had one of those? Mine was rather embarrassing and not at all funny at the time it happened. I can laugh about it now, though.

I drive a Mustang with a standard transmission. That's because according to Scott, any kind of sports car with an automatic transmission is "sissy," and we (translate "he") would NOT want to ever be considered to be sissy.

Saturday afternoon, I became very upset about an incident at home and decided the best thing for all involved would be for me to leave the house for a while and cool off. So, off I drove in my Mustang to my mother-in-law's house. When I got there, I was still so upset I was shaking.

Well, we settled ourselves in the living room and were talking and having a good ole time, when Louise suddenly exclaimed, "What are all those cops doing out there?" When I looked out the window, I counted four police cars, one of which was parked exactly where my car HAD BEEN. I looked around and found my car out in the middle of the road, setting at an angle. OOPS!!! In my distraut state of mind, I had forgotten to put the car in gear or set the emergency brake. Now, it was surrounded by police trying to figure out whose it was and what was going on.

I rushed outside, hurried shamefacedly past the cops, and parked my car once again -- this time making sure it was in gear AND the emergency brake was set. I mumbled an embarrassed "I'm sorry" to the nearest cop and went back inside, begging Louise not to tell Scott about it. I also said a very fervent "Thank you" to the Lord for keeping it from hitting anything. WHEW!!!

Thanks be unto God!

I have been working half-days at Kintronic Laboratories for nearly 2 years now. Although I like my job and most of my co-workers, I have recently felt the need for a full-time job. Because I do like it here, I hated to look for a job elsewhere and had looked at first for another part-time job; but when that didn't pan out, I applied for every full-time office job I heard of. A couple times, I have been convinced that I was going to get a new job, but the offer didn't come through. Those experiences left me feeling down and made me wonder if I would ever work full-time again.

When I first started working here, I was informed that there was not enough work to warrant hiring me full-time, so I hadn't bothered to ask if I could increase my hours. Yesterday, on the verge of feeling desperate, I went to my boss and asked if it would be possible for me to start working full-time. I was shocked at her response. She was so happy!! She said she hadn't asked me because she knew that I always pick my son up from school in the afternoon and assumed I wouldn't want to work full days. I told her that I was in a position where I needed to work more, whether I wanted to or not, and that I was checking into after-school care for Sam.

So, God answered my prayer in the best, albeit the least likely way possible. I went home very happy yesterday, and I'm still very happy about it today. Thank you, Lord, for Your answered prayer!!!

Real Life

Most of you who read my blog know that my mom passed away over four and a half years ago and that I still grieve that loss in my life. I'm currently reading an excellent book on grief from a Christian standpoint, and it has been very helpful. In the book are a couple quotes by Benjamin Franklin that I'd like to share with you.

Now, I always enjoy reading quotes attributed to Benjamin Franklin. He was down-to-earth and so doggone practical. Although I have heard quotes that would lead me to believe that he was not saved, I really like this one about the afterlife.

On February 2, 1756, he wrote the following to Elizabeth Hubbard: "I send my condolences to you, and we have lost a dear and valuable relation. But it's the will of God and it's the nature that these mortal bodies be laid aside when the soul is to enter into real life, because it's rather an embryo state that we're in."

How interesting to refer to our present life as "an embryo state"! I had never thought about it like that, but I certainly appreciate that point of view. Here is more from Ben Franklin on the subject:

A man is not completely born until he is dead. Why then should we grieve that a new child has been born above with the immortals, that a new member has been added to their happy families? That bodies should be lent to us is a kind and benevolent act of God. When they become unfit for the purposes that are afforded us, and it becomes pain with our bodies rather than pleasure, and instead of an aid these bodies have become an encumbrance and they answer none of the intentions for which they were given, it is equally kind and benevolent that God has provided a way that we can get rid of these bodies. And death is that way. We ourselves often prudently choose a partial death. In some cases it may be a mangled limb which cannot be restored and it's amputated. It may be he who plucks out a tooth and parts with it freely, since the pain goes with it. And thus a person surrenders the whole body and departs at once and with it goes all of the pain and all of the possibilities of pain, all disease and all suffering. Thus we're invited to go abroad on a party of pleasure that's to last forever. Perhaps a loved one has gone on before us. We could not all conveniently start together. And why should we be grieved at this, because we're going to be soon to follow. And we know where to find him or where to find her that knows Christ.

Labor Day

I hope your Labor Day was as fun as mine! We went to the South Holston Dam and had a cookout. A couple of Sam's friends went with us, and the boys swam and fished pretty much the whole 5 hours we were there. Sam was exhausted when we got home, and he had a hard time getting up this morning. I've decided that we won't go there again when he has school the next day!

I wish I had some pictures of yesterday! I usually take pictures with the camera in my cell phone. Unfortunately, the battery was too low yesterday for me to utilize the camera feature.

My friend Mary Katherine, her husband Jimmy, and their 4 sons joined us for a great time! The two older boys went with us, and the rest of the family came along after Jimmy got off work. I fired up the grill as soon as we got there, and by the time they showed up, the meat was all grilled; and we were ready to sit down and eat. Since I accidentally left the hamburgers and hotdogs at home, we had to stop and buy some more on the way to the dam. I told Scott that between our leftovers and the meat I left at home, we'll be eating hamburgers and hotdogs for 2 months! haha They sure were good yesterday, though!!!

While the older boys were swimming and fishing, we kept the two little ones (3- and 5-years-old) busy with playing catch. That was really a lot of fun but more activity than I am used to. It served as a reminder that I need to get more active so that I can get in better shape. I could use more days like yesterday!