If I Could Freeze Time - Super Powers!

This topic makes me think of Cher's song, "If I could turn back time." I'm not sure I want to turn back time or freeze time. What a powerful concept. If I could freeze time, I would have frozen it with the last time I visited with my dad before he was taken so suddenly from this world. I also think of the book Tuck Everlasting where all the family had was time, and too much of it! They would never die, and that's no way to exist. If I could stop time, would I? What would I accomplish? If I could add an hour to the day, wouldn't I just end of with an hour's worth of more to do and still have no extra time? There are times when I wish I could live part of my life, then come back to the rest with no time having actually passed like in Narnia.

My greatest wish, though, is that I could spend time with my dad once again. That's when I would freeze time.

Super-Powers! I already have them. Who is able to clean house, feed the children, feed the dogs, wash dishes, cook supper, work a full time job, get the laundry done, take kids to their activities, take a class, attend church, and see to all the minute but necessary details of life, in one single bound? ME!!!!! I'm Super-Mom! But seriously, folks. If I had a super power, I would want to create a new one for myself. No flying for me. No twisting or morphing into different shapes. No ability to rescue people or use my hands to throw fire bombs. My Super-Power would be the ability to always say the right thing under any circumstance. My power would really give me power! Those who always know what to say and actually say it when they should and how they should, with the right tone of voice, the right amount of empathy, the right amount of concern and love... those are the people who truly have a gift. Is that too much to ask?

Interesting Observations at Church

Tonight at church during my Bible Institute class - The Life of Christ - we learned of Jesus' compassion and his ability to drop what he was doing to help someone in need - for example, he was teaching when the paralytic was lowered to him through the ceiling. Instead of getting mad that his teaching was interrupted, he was glad to help the man.

Well, tonight, my 13 year old step-daughter interrupted while I was downloading some photos for cheerleading and science projects, and I dropped it to comfort her. I think that's what Jesus would have wanted me to do. Her boyfriend had broken up with her (for the second time), but instead of an I-told-you-so, I felt like I gave her the hugs, love, and encouragement she needed. No told-you-so's. I feel so happy that I was there for her with love and compassion. And it just seemed like the timing was so "there" that it was a way for me to demonstrate what I had learned. I'm not saying I'm like Jesus - nowhere near! I'm just saying it felt good to show her love and compassion and not preach to her. I feel like it went well. I hope that it was a help to her in some small way. Seems small, but it made me feel good.

October 8 Sunday Scribblings

Jim is an average Joe. He watched his son play football today... and his team lost. Jim was on the sidelines cheering the team on all they way, even cheering with the cheerleaders and telling them, "You girls rock!" Jim's son is age 8 playing football for the first time. Jimbo isn't getting any younger. At age 37, he is getting to relive some of his own football glory through his son, although today wasn't so glorious. A 38 to 19 loss, to be exact. But Jim yelled till his lungs were tired and his throat was raw. That's what he does every weekend.

Jim is about six feet three inches tall, in pretty good physical shape with curly blonde hair and a cleanshaven face. Not handsome by today's standards, but not awful to look at, either. There are two things that endear him to his friends and the ladies. Not his height, nor his physique, nor even his golden hair. Not his high school football trophies, and not his $90K job, either. Not even the red Mustang GT convertible that he drives. One thing is his infectious laughter, laughter that comes from deep within the belly. Sincere laughter. The kind of laughter that comes from truly enjoying everything life has to offer. The other thing people find is they are hypnotized by his clear turquoise eyes, the kind of eyes that remind you of the ocean, that you could dive into and swim in the coolness of their translucence.

So, why is Jim alone at the game? He's not a wife-beater. He's not a cheater. He's not even a penny-pinching Scrooge. So what is it? He's too nice. Yep. Too nice. His wife left him for a man of more drama and mystery. His heart was shattered. Since then, he's found that the women he dates don't want to be treated chivalrously. They seem to expect a man to be uncouth, foul-mouthed, selfish schemers, and when they find he isn't, they leave him.

He's a good dad, and the kids come first. There are two. The 8 year old and a 4 year old boy who would rather paint that play sports. But that's okay with Jim. Although he wishes both his boys would be interested in football, he is completely accepting of the differences in his children. He shares custody of the boys with his ex-wife, and the two of them get along as though there never was a disagreement between them. There probably wasn't. Jim would've hung the moon for Patricia if she'd let him. There just wasn't enough excitment for her.

So Jim is alone at the game today, just like last week and the week before that, wearing cut off jeans, sneakers, and a plain white tee shirt, screaming his head off and encouraging the boys to do their best. Was it different for him in high school? Well, that's another story.

Sunday Scribblings

I've decided to participate in the Sunday Scribblings blog when I can. They give you a topic, and you respond to it however you want. Here's my take on "skin."

What I first thought of when I saw the topic "skin" was what I’ll write about. People often say that you have to have "thick skin" to get through this things in this world. Exactly what does that mean?
For example, I had a cheerleader mom complain about something the other day. A little background: I’m cheer director (a volunteer position) for a group of 10 girls ages 5-10 for a local little league football team. The parent wasn’t criticizing me personally or really complaining about something that I have control over. I had to have thick skin so as not to take it personally, but I didn’t. It really bothered me until the next time I was able to talk with her. She’s very sweet, but I felt like I was being asked to fix something I couldn’t fix. I don’t think it was meant to be an attack, but it felt like one.
Another issue where I needed thick skin but had a hard time with it was also during this past week. I had a boy write something naughty on the computer screen with a certain program, and I saw it, and I had to write it up. He finally admitted to the principal what he did, and he got in trouble, both at home and school, and when he came to get his books out of my room after seeing the principal, he was crying, and I felt so terrible. If I had thicker skin, it wouldn’t have bothered me so much since he’s the one who made a mistake and needed to learn from it.
My daughter is also very sensitive. My sister has told me a number of times that she’s going to need to develop thicker skin or she’s going to be miserable. I don’t think it’s that severe. My stepdaughter is fairly much the same way.
Then, there’s the oldest stepdaughter who’s exactly the opposite. She doesn’t care what anyone thinks! Actually, I think her case is worse because no matter how much she claims she isn’t bothered by things, I think she hold it inside and makes herself almost sick over it. Sometimes I wish she had thinner skin so things would matter to her, because the way it seems now, nothing does!
Thick skin… definitely a trait that can be useful. Not letting things "get" to you. As long as you know in your heart you’re doing the right thing or that you’ve done nothing wrong, then why let other people have the power to control your emotions? So much easier to say than do.