Your Girl or the World's Girl?

"From all that I had read of history and government of human life and manners, I had drawn this conclusion, that the manners of women were the most infallible barometer to ascertain the degree of morality and virtue of a nation."

-President John Quincy Adams

Do you every feel like you were born in the wrong time? I often wonder what it would have been like to live in the 50's. I have a dear friend, Kristy, who was totally born in the wrong era. She is the epitome of the 50's mom...with a little edge to her. She is capable of keeping up with world around her, but she has old fashioned values and that's just one of the things that I love about her.

I would have probably been a stay-at-home mom who could cook and clean and look pretty doing it. Women were just different back then. They were...ladies. They wore skirts and their makeup was modest and they cared about looking nice for their husbands and they were the primary caretakers of the whole family. While some of us still can claim that title, can we say that we do it with our whole heart and take great pride and joy in the mundane little tasks of running a household? Do you care today whether your hair looks perfect all the time or if your husband feels like he is taken care of and he doesn't have to waste any time wondering what is for dinner or if you remembered to pay the water bill? The world moves at such a fast pace that we are willing to sacrifice important family dynamics just to get through a day. I have always been a fan of women's liberties. We should get to vote, work and have an opinion. But these liberties sometimes blur the lines of what God wants for our families.

Recently, I began a bible study by Vickie Courtney entitled "Your Girl". I picked this book up at Lifeway because I was searching for something that would help me guide my daughter through what will no doubt be the most confusing, traumatic, wonderful, impactful time of her life...tweenhood.

Avery is only 8, but already she has begun to make the transition from toys to books and art and jewelry and fake nails and everything else that makes me want to cry. I already miss that little girl with the thick plastic pink glasses and pigtails. She is not completely independent, but she has begun to change her own earrings and spritz herself with perfume. I want to put a rock on her head so that she can't get any bigger because she is my precious angel and I will be lost without her, but I can't. God gives you these little gifts called babies and before you know it they are grown and gone from your daily life. They need you less and less every day. And though it is painful, it is blissful and even knowing the outcome, I wouldn't change a thing.

There are times when I wish that I could turn back the clock and hold my babies again. Their fat, drool covered fingers reaching for the face that I have just spent 20 minutes making up while they sat outside the bathroom door and cried from a broken heart because those few minutes apart are more than they can handle. That soft baby smell that you can only get if you hold them just under your chin and breathe in all that they are. The soft belly laugh that belongs solely to them. The look on their face when you walk into their room early in the morning to greet them and they are as excited as they will ever be because they missed you desperately through the night. These are just a few of the things that I wish I could get back, if even for a day.

But life goes on. They grow and evolve into little people with opinions and likes and dislikes and questions and insecurities and attitudes, but one thing that never changes is the influence that we as mothers have. A wonderful woman that I go to church with, Ms. Pat, always says to never underestimate the power of your influence. I believe that with all my heart. My kids are a product of the environment in which I allow them to live. My opinions, dislikes and insecurities can easily be theirs, so it is imperative that I keep my hand in God's at all times so that I am leading them in the right direction.

I'm only in the second chapter of this book and I have already learned so much. The startling statistics that effect young girls today are more than I ever realized. Between television, magazines, family dynamics and our feminist society, these girls don't stand a chance. I have always believed that everything your child is and will become starts at home. If I want Avery to grow up to be a woman that cherishes God and respects her family and friends, then I need to show her how. I wouldn't give her a sewing machine and tell her to make herself a dress. I would show her how it works and I would explain choosing a pattern and I would help her with the buttons and hems. (Actually I would get my mom, or Jessi, or Cathy, or Kristy, or pretty much anyone but me to do this because I can't really sew, but you get the point.)

How will Avery know to be a strong Christian woman if I don't show her? Kids don't come with an instruction manual. You have to figure it out as you go, but there is hope. We have the book for all questions and answers right at our finger tips. The Bible.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:4 - And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

This is our challenge, ladies, should we choose to accept it. If your children mean the world to you like mine do to me, then make it your life's ambition to bring them up in the ways of the Lord. Start small. Pray for them. This is the greatest and least thing you can ever do for them. Lead by example in all your interactions and conversations. Treat them like little people. Don't water down the important stuff so much that it slips right through their fingers. Instill REAL values in them. Don't let your children fall victim to the society that we live in. Dream BIG for them, but don't encourage them to cast aside what is of true importance to gain something of this world that won't last. They can't take any of it with them when they go, so concentrate on helping them get what they will need to get where the Lord wants them to go.

I hope to start a mother's bible study at church on this very book when I finish it myself. If you want to read it now, you can order it from Lifeway. It is called Your Girl, by Vicki Courtney.

Good luck this week on making sure your kids know that they are loved and that you are there to co-pilot their lifeship.

Consuming Conspiracy

I was shopping at Walgreen's yesterday when I came across the school supplies. I had been in on Monday to snatch up the deals that I had found in my weekly flyer. What with the fortune that you have to spend on school supplies, every little penny counts. I don't mind going to a few different places to get what's on the list if it saves the fam some money. While my daughter perused the shelves of endless supplies, I took notice of the prices, storing this in my memory so that when I go to a different store, I will know which one had the better deal. Does anything in these pictures look odd to you?

These supplies come in ready marked bulk boxes like candy does. You might think that Walgreen's would be a little wiser than you average gas station, right? But clearly they are far from it. The gas station attendant knows to rip the price off the actual display box instead of doubling it on the shelf tag below it, confusing the consumer. So, the geniuses at Walgreen's have been lazy enough to put their items on display in the box they came in. Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a snaffu, but the display boxes have a different, more reasonable, price than what Walgreen's is actually asking. Notice that the composition notebooks are "suggested" to be $.49 and Walgreen's is doubling that suggestion to charge $.99 and the glue sticks should be $1.29 but Walgreen's thinks they are worth $1.99...Hello, can I speak to a manager?

Now, I am bringing this to your attention because I care and because I like it when a store that I frequent makes a total blunder. It makes me smile. Here is my advice: When you go shopping for school supplies this summer, remember to comparison shop and to check your sales ads for the best deal. Don't be stupid enough to pay $.99 for a notebook, when more than likely that same manufacturer is supplying another store and you can get it for closer to the "suggested" price.

P.S. If anyone who is affiliated with Walgreen's reads this...keep up the good work. LOL

Paging Mr. James...The Rest of Us Would Like to Get on with Our Lives

In our house, the television tends to stay within a few channels; Disney (any of the 5), HGTV, DIY (which has been the catalyst for some of the dumbest ideas my husband has ever had, bless his heart), the Discovery Channel (I have a little crush on Mike Rowe) and ESPN (any of them). We don't get outside of our comfort zone too often. I don't complain about this fact. It is what it is.

Typically, several times a day you will find the tv on ESPN because God forbid we miss a score. And honestly, I don't mind to watch Sportscenter. I actually enjoy the top 10 plays/bloopers. However, I do have a problem with the constant coverage on Lebron James.

I don't think that NBC, CBS, CNN and all the other networks spent as much time on the 9/11 crisis as ESPN has on the mystery of where Lebron James is going to bounce a ball for the next 5 years. WHO CARES?!?!? Seriously, the man doesn't have the cure for cancer, he has a great jump shot. That's it. He's talented at basketball. I don't deny that he is one of the greatest, but come on!! He is slated to make more money than all of the people I know, their children and their grandchildren will in their lifetimes. Ridiculous!!!

Anyone who knows me understands how much I love basketball. I like every aspect of it. Playing, watching, coaching. It's all good. I really don't like professional sports. They take the heart of the game away and replace it with endorsements and shenanigans. Years ago, when I was a kid, I enjoyed it. The players were just that, players. They didn't have paparazzi following them around and their wives didn't have a tv show on VH1, which, by the way, is ASININE!! They just played ball and they were applauded for the talent it took them their whole lives to develop. Now, it's all glitz and glamour and they get traded from team to team for publicity as much as anything else.

Thank God, we still have college basketball. Those kids play with everything they've got whether they have professional potential or not. Why? Because they are living out their dreams. Every kid fantasizes of playing for their favorite team. Through that desire they learn hard work and dedication. And, maybe if they are really good, they will get paid for all this hard work. I'm okay with that, but I am not okay with the amount of money that is wasted on professional sports.

These men are not changing the world, they are bouncing a ball, throwing a ball, hitting a ball with a stick, tackling each other, chasing each other, punching someone in the face that they don't even know, kicking a ball, trying to get a ball in a little bitty hole...how does the world benefit from ANYTHING that they are doing? On average, these athletes will make enough money in a few years time to sustain a small country. Why?! It's only entertainment.

No wonder some of the other countries around the world are disgusted with us. Wouldn't you be? They are trying to feed their children and crapping in a hole in the ground and we are paying millions of dollars to a "sex-addicted" golfer for driving a Chrysler. Hello? Is anyone out there? Anyone listening? It just doesn't make sense.

However, if you don't pay the players, then the team owner gets all of the revenue while the actual talent does all of the work. It's a catch-22.

So, I am pleading with you, Mr. James. Please just make your decision so that I don't have to listen to anymore of the sports analysts try to figure out what city you will grace with your presence. I hope that when Jesus comes back to get us, someone notices. However, if free agent negotiations are going on, I am doubtful.

Seeing Stars

So, I was on my morning trip to the bathroom today when I looked up to find our local movie star, Steve Zahn, gracing our office with his presence. It is so surreal to see him in the flesh mere inches from yourself, and you never get used to it, but the thrill is not quite as good as that first time...

About 5 or so years ago, I discovered that he would be joining our little community through my work. The deed for his multi-million dollar home came across my desk and while I was the only one in the office to know his name, I was able to get others on board by referencing his bigger movies like "Daddy Day Care" and "Sahara". I was stoked to know that he would be living here and I might just run into him somewhere. My dreams of becoming Paul Walker's first wife were coming into better focus. They were in a movie together called "Joy Ride" and I just knew that Paul would come a visitin' and we run into each other at Walmart. Still waiting. Still happily married. But, I just like to keep my options open, ya know.

Anyway, I told everyone at work that at some point, Mr. Zahn would be coming in to license his vehicles or record a document. We didn't put a whole lot of stock in that notion because being from Georgetown, we just assume that everyone in Hollywood has a personal assistant at their beckon call waiting to carry out such mundane tasks as registering a vehicle. I actually forgot all about such a possibility...until it happened!!

Amber was working on the front line (where you get your car tagged) and had been briefed months back on the celebrity sighting potential. The office was busy, as it was the end of the month and I was across the hall at my desk, working diligently. (LOL) Anyway, she calls me and says, "Come out here for a second. There is a customer out here that looks so familiar, but I don't know him. Maybe we went to school with him. Just come out and look." So, I do.

I nonchalantly made my way to the supply cabinet and stole a glance out of the corner of my eye. I stood there looking at him for probably 10 seconds trying to place him in my mind. I had nearly given up when it hit me...THAT'S STEVE ZAHN!!! OMG, THAT'S STEVE ZAHN!! My mind was screaming. I was not. I was frantically trying to get Amber's attention, but she was busy with a customer. I made my way around the row of desks, keeping one eye on STEVE ZAHN!!! and the other on Amber. Finally, she looked at me.

My eyes must have been the size of saucers considering the look on her face. "Who is it?" she mouthed. "Very funny," I said, thinking that she was trying to play a joke on me. She finished with her customer and followed me around to the door.

"No, seriously. Did he graduate with you?" At that point, I realized that she was as oblivious as I had been. "Well, we didn't go to school with him, but we DO know him," I said. I wasn't just gonna spell it out for her.

"Who is he?" she asks, her eyes widening. I am staring at her now, waiting for her to do the math. My eyebrows creeping up my forehead, willing her to make the connection. One thing that you may not know about Amber is that when she gets excited or worked up about something, ONLY dogs can hear her. She gets this high pitched squeaking thing going on and her speech speeds up to that of light. So, it is hard to understand her. Finally, she gets it. I think.

"That's him? Steven Zahn?" She squeals and then we both commence to laughing like we never have before. "I thought you were just trying to freak me out," I say. She assures me that she was as confused as I was. We are over in the corner in a fit of laughter stuck in our own private joke that no one will EVER get like we did. You just had to be there.

So, our office is shaped like a U. There are two exits. Most people go out the same door they came in. Superstition or habit, I don't know. We are huddled, out of sight, by the door that no one really uses, having our hysterical laughing fit when a one Mr. Steve Zahn rounds the corner. He is the only customer that used that door to exit all week long. I guarantee it. But there he is, shag hair, khaki shorts, rumpled t-shirt and flip-flops walking right toward us. We both stopped laughing so quickly that it was painful. I don't even remember what I did when he walked by, but I do know that he smiled and said hi in passing.

We stared out the door until it finally clicked quietly shut. Amber and I looked at each other and I have no idea what she said at that point because, uhm I don't walk on four legs, but just when I thought we couldn't laugh any harder, we did.

Neither of us has ever been a fanatic about Steve Zahn, but once a movie star smiles and nods at you in your ridiculously boring place of employment, you become fascinated with his work! It is sad, but true.

So, I have seen Mr. Zahn several times since then. He seems to come into the office a couple of times a year and once in a blue moon, I will see him somewhere else. Shortly after he moved here, we saw him at the Pavilion, our version of the YMCA. His children were taking swim lessons right next to mine. While it is still exciting to see him out and about, the thrill is kind of gone or at least short-lived. He puts his pants on just like you and me. He comes in and pays the taxes on his vehicles, just like I do.

Even though I say that the thrill is gone, the minute I seem him it makes me want to have a Steve Zahn film festival. He is so funny and over the top on screen and then he is very reserved and laid back in person. I will also say that he is not as short as he may seem and he is a good looking guy. Some here say he has a great butt. I digress. He seems like a really nice guy, but who knows b/c I've never actually spoken to him. I admire from afar.

So, stay on the look out for the local celebrity that you won't recognize until he is gone.