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Monday, March 26, 2012

Climb Every Mountain

When I was young, my friends and I used to sing all the time. Today's song refers to the mountain of paper awaiting organization in my office. I plan to find my "can do" spirit and organize the heck out of this stuff. Does anybody know where I left my "can do" spirit? Maybe I should check under the car, just in case it fell out and landed there.

In anti-whines, my beloved and I went crazy and ran off to the coast north of here. Together; no kids! It has been forever since we did something like that, what with one thing and another. And pixies, we saw whales, among other wondrous things! Small W: the spring break party room was naturally right next door.

What is with the weather? Dry winter after unusual moisture last year, but kind of a deluge last week, with more on the way. I hear of lovely and unseasonable weather in the northeast; of early spring blooms to be followed by frost other places. Freaky.

And what's new with you this week?

37 comments:

Sue said...

AW: in the category of "everyone's a comedian" - when my doc entered the exam room today, he said, "Welcome, I'll be your server today! How can I help you?" then he cracked up. The only thing missing was the towel over his arm....

He also listened really well today. Gold star for doc!

W: I leave for the big city Wednesday morning to have more injections for my head. The treatment I'm thankful for - the plane travel - not so much. I wish I someone would find a way to beam me up......

AW: Some things make it all worthwhile.....I spoke on Sunday after worship with a young lady who is having some troubles. When she was leaving she turned her head just a bit, looked back at me and said, "You know I love you right?" Then she left before I could respond. Which was probably good, because by then I was all weepy - happy weepy. This person who felt so alone on Saturday let me into her pain on Sunday and left a little bit changed.

That's why I keep coming back even when the politics and nonsense tries to consume me.

I come back for her. Because it's not me she loves....it's having a safe place to be herself, knowing she will not be judged. We had all finished worship, but in those few minutes in my office, we had church.

Sorry, long AW......

Miranda said...

Sue that is a beautiful tribute to your parishioner and your ministry.

W: Sunday a few members of my congregation spoke about the annual mission to NOLA. Like most, I didn't understand why we still went down nearly seven years after Katrina. As another woman said during coffee hour, "There is a spot in h-ll for unscrupulous contractors who swindled these poor homeowners out of their repair money." There are still too many without their homes who are forced to live with relatives all over the country or to pay rent on top of a mortgage.

The Treyvon Martin case also hits a little too close to home and my heart. Post racist society, my left hip!

Really I should avoid the news for awhile.

AW: Despite some family set backs this week, we are healthy and safe.

Anonymous said...

Sue--so beautiful!
Miranda--hugs on the set backs. Glad you are healthy and safe.
whine: canker sores for me and standardized tests for my Neighbor Girl, who worries

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

yay for sue's doc! and oh -- such sweetness on sunday, sue.

miranda -- so awful about NOLA. and omg about the martin case. healthy and safe is good; wish it on everyone.

NL, sending good luck vibes to neighbor girl. and also, what are they thinking, making kids all anxious about these stupid tests?

Sue said...

Thanks everyone. It was pretty special.

Sorry to hear about NOLA Miranda. Unbelievable.

And Trayvon just breaks my heart.

NL - I was a worrying child too. The difference was that it was the 60s and the standard response of parents and teachers alike was "suck it up" (not necessarily in those words, but the message was clear). I'm thankful that your daughter has great support from her family and doesn't have to experience any of it alone.

Liz Miller said...

Hugs all around.

Sue, I'm so happy that you are a minister in all senses of the word.

Miranda, I agree about NOLA. I can't believe 7 years later there is still so little recovery.

NL, I find extra practice works well to combat the anxiety.

My husband and I have been talking a lot about Trayvon Martin in front of Muffin Man. Muffin Man asked, "How can I make sure something like that won't happen to me?"

And I paused. And I thought about it. Because my son is white. And wearing a hoodie while going to the corner store isn't a death sentence for him. So I said,
"The chances of something like that happening to anyone is very very low. There's nothing Trayvon could have done to have made it not happen, because the only person who was responsible for Trayvon dying was the man with the gun. But! When you are old enough to walk around without an adult, and you have a cell phone, if you think someone is following you or you see someone following someone else, you call 911 right away. Because that way there's a record of what you are seeing and hearing."

esperanza said...

W: beautiful looking, firm apples. Rotten and/or mushy on the inside.

Sue, hooray for your doctor and hooray for good days that remind you what it's all about.

Sorry for fretting kids and the general state of the world

kathy a. said...

liz, good answer to muffin man.

the whole situation breaks my heart and makes me flame with fury.
a local 5th grade class is wearing hoodies in remembrance; so is our local representative to the county board of supervisors.

Sue said...

W: I just found out that a friend and colleague is now being treated as palliative for a life-long lung condition. I will be going with another colleague to take communion to her on Thursday.

W: I'm home today with a wicked migraine, trying to work on the computer to get Easter services planned. The screen is very bright, so I'm not sure how much I'll accomplish. Bleh.

AW: Relief tomorrow in the big city.

Anonymous said...

Whine of the day:
W2 had wrong SS #. So did last year's but I didn't notice then. Now have to amend taxes from last year (state and federal).
Got sent corrected W2s.......
With wrong address on them. Had to push hard to get them to send me re-corrected W2s.
Just got them and........
they sent me Copy D--For the Employer. Not copy B,C,1, or 2,which,you know, I actually need. And I assume my employer might actually need Copy D!
AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!

--Neighbor Lady

Sarah at ratatat said...

Sue - awww. Your ministry story made me cry. And sorry that the headaches are unrelenting. Hope the doc and the treatments help soon.

NL - Oh my, the tax woes. So tiring. And hope the anxiety for NG relents.

Miranda - So frustrating to think that we could rebuild all of Europe after WWII and NOLA still suffers.

Liz - That is a great answer for your son.

Whine: my therapist made me defensive - I felt like she was being obtuse, not trying to show me a new way to think about my problems.

Whine: my 10-year-old just spoke disparagingly about evolution. Head exploding.

AW: a really good visit from a good friend. Who had some good advice. And after her tough talk, I felt empowered and ready to face the hard stuff, not defensive.

W: probably time for a new therapist. Darn I am really bad at finding therapists. Pixie advice?

Sue said...

Sarah - I'm so glad that you have good friends who will say the hard things now so that you will benefit and grow in the long run.

Finding therapists....sorry. Mine just sort of landed in front of me as they were assigned by a team of therapists in a shared program. Not much help there - sorry.

Tax woes = fingers in ears ...... Lalalalalalala. Hubby does the number crunching here. Thank goodness, that tax stuff might as well be hieroglyphics for me.

AW: went to visit my sick friend/colleague after all. I'm glad I did, as I would have been thinking of her until Thursday when I'm back in town anyway.... Good visit. Sad. But good.

Liz said...

Sarah, ask your current therapist if she knows of a therapist that would be a better fit. Trust me, she won't be hurt or offended.

Sue said...

I hate blogger. Ate my post.

Basically: a day of quiet and taking care of myself turned into a busy day of creating Easter services, communion visit to hospital (glad I went), and tonight another crisis with a family in our church whose patriarch is on his way to the Great Somewhere Else. He is peaceful and comfortable which is good.

Not so good - the family would like me to visit first thing in the morning. Um.....I'll be on the plane.

AW: My favourite Stand-In Mother has taken care of it and found someone else to visit tomorrow. I'll go up Thursday.

W: This family is very complicated. The grown children haven't spoken in years. This could get ugly. Please don't let it get ugly. Is that so much to ask? They can knock themselves out (and each other if they wish) AFTER we honour their father.

oh my.

kathy a. said...

oy, NL, about the tax stuff.

yay, sarah, about your good friend!

liz, once again, has a great idea.

oy, sue, about the complicated family. it seems not-likely that fisticuffs will happen in your presence. you raised teenagers, so i'm sure you can summon "the look" and the right calming words in event of emergency. yay for stand-in mother!

kathy a. said...

so, i thought the big team meeting was thursday, and it's tomorrow, but it's a check in and overview thing, so this should work out. knock wood. i'm bringing pastries just as insurance for good vibes.

esperanza said...

Ugh, Sue. So hard.

NL, you're giving me bad dreams about taxes. Really. I also had a bad dream that Mini learned to climb out of the crib. In reality, she's so roly-poly that she's not very good at climbing. Thank goodness.

W: it's Be a Good Preacher's Wife Day

Liz Miller said...

W: A blogger is deliberately misrepresenting me. I am so angry, I'm shaking. God, I think I need to leave the intertubes alone today.

Anonymous said...

Liz--so sorry for the trolls. We think you are awesome around these parts!

esperanza--sorry about the bad dreams!
oy

kathy a.--pastries are always good

sue--sigh about the family and its dysfunction! hugs to you

--Neighbor Lady

Anonymous said...

And Liz?
Well said.
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

oh, liz. that so stinks.

Sue said...

Kathy - I am told that I can indeed summon " the look" as needed, but I maintain that my sister is better at it than I.

Oh Liz. Cluesticks at the ready for anyone who does not recognize your awesomeness.

AW: back at hotel following treatment. Once the first needle was in, I could already feel that lovely "release". Doc hit the most painful trigger point first, then followed up with the rest. I totally adore her.

Now I'm tired. I'm going to get something to eat, as I've been too nauseated to eat all day (that's when I know the pain is really bad - even pastries didn't sound enticing until now) .

So......food, turning off of the inter webs, no checking of emails. I realized on the plane that I have 11 days to go before sabbatical time, and I will be working all of them. I can do it (especially now that I have - hopefully- a few weeks of lesser pain), but it's going to tough slogging. I already feel like something the cat dragged in.

An evening of rest will do me good.

Liz Miller said...

(((Sue)))

NL, thank you. Thank you very much.

Sue, thank you too. But this is one area in which I'm okay with people not recognizing my awesomeness as long as they are honest. Which this particular fellow is NOT.

kathy a. said...

sounds like we have a special category this week for fireplacing liars and the lying liars who love them.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh Liz - that just sucks.

Sue - yay for relief. And ELEVEN days! Hope "the look" is not needed and the family can avoid taking out their crazy on you.

KathyA - yay for pastry

kathy a. said...

passing virtual pastries! i bought extras, because unless my old office has totally gone over a cliff, i knew somebody would need some if i left them in the kitchen area.

Sue said...

Alarm clock = FAIL.

AW: woke up in plenty of time anyway. Me. Seriously, I woke up ON MY OWN at 6:10. That has never happened before, and likely will not again.

W: need a new travel alarm.

Sue said...

W: so very typical of me.....I have an appointment tomorrow to switch out my winter tires for my all-season tires.

It is snowing out.

A lot.

Liz Miller said...

Reschedule?

I yelled at Muffin Man this morning because he was in a negative argumentative nothing is good enough space, and after a whole half-hour of that, I asked him to put on his sweatshirt to wait for the bus, and instead of Just.Putting.It.On, he asked me what the temperature was.

And I lost it.

"I want you to practice saying, "Yes, Mommy" and "Yes, Daddy" and "Ok"."

"But I was just asking a question!"

"Right now would be a really good time for you to just say, "YES. MOMMY."

"But..."

"YES. MOMMY."

"yesmommy"

"Thank you"

Gah. GAHHHHHH!

Anonymous said...

Can anybody recommend any good parental control software for the internet? Have just installed a password access for the kids with some of the parental controls built in to our @pple computer, but wondering what others use.

Yes, there is a huge whine between the lines. But I am still too tangled up in knots about it to go into it. Let's just say I am not a big fan of the internets at this moment. Pixies excepted, of course. Seriously, what is the matter with people out there?

Also? Parental FAIL!

As Liz said, GAHHHHH!
:(

--Neighbor Lady

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah.
Also, strep for Neighbor Boy. and possibly Neighbor Girl!
GAAAH! and doubly so!
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

my, the parental whines are surging this morning! NL, wish i had a suggestion about ze internets.

awards a little later...

Liz Miller said...

We have "allowed sites" on the computers. And yes, the internet SUCKS sometimes.

kathy a. said...

NL, on the up side, you have a mac. i'm told they are not vulnerable to the kinds of viruses that kill machines. (i don't know how many PCs my kids killed during the teen years -- at least 4.) FAIL.

i forgot to whine yesterday about the conference call committee from hell. i am so not a good fit for this committee. it's about a thing that i really care about, but -- there is this big disconnect between the leaders of the committee and me.

Anonymous said...

Kathy a.--so sorry about the committee disconnect! That is so discouraging when it happens!

Liz--We are just moving to allowed sites. Sigh. Wonder what else we don't know we should be doing.

Yes the mac part is good. Right now, though, it's not so much the computer I worry about being fried as much as the little brain not ready for everything it has seen!! Heck, my brain isn't ready for everything his has seen!
Finding myself trying to calmly and rationally talk about topics I wasn't ready to go to yet. No choice now.
Good news and huge antiwhine-- he came to us and told us what he couldn't process. this is a silver lining right?

le sigh, again.

and, strep times 2 confirmed

--Neighbor Lady

esperanza said...

Ack, NL, what a day. Haven't y'all had strep already this season? And the internet...remind me of this in a few years, please.

As for the argumentative child...I know it only too well, Liz. Sweet argued over whether her physical therapist was out sick or not. "No, she not sick." Pretty sure she meant, "I don't want her to be sick, because I don't want the substitute." She's also been known to argue that it wasn't raining, when a wet substance was falling from the sky onto her very own precious little head. Sigh. I'm glad she can talk well enough to argue. Yes, I am. Really.

Mini did not take a nap today. This is not good.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh no Esperanza - no nap?

And I share you frustration Liz, NL and Esperanza on the argumentative children.

It has been a bad day. I don't like it. OK universe, I know what a week where everything goes awry - can we try a week where most things go right? Just to see what that's like?