The countdown in my mind to vacation is definitely starting to be a loud voice in my head. Thirteen days from now, Dan and I should be laying on a beach or at least be able to see one from the pool. That is a very nice thought to me. It's been forever since we've had a real vacation and I am ready! Okay, I have that out of the way....
The other day, I ordered a beach bag from a company called Trade As One (thanks, Joan) and I have to say, I really like it. It is made from lime green rice bags and appears to be quite sturdy and just the right size. I am glad I went with the medium sized one, because from its size, the large one must also double as a sleeping bag in emergencies. It folds nice and flat so it won't take up much room in my suitcase, which is good. It would also seem to be quite water resistant - also good. The other thing I like about it as opposed to other big beach bags I've seen, is that it is lined, has pockets on the inside with zippers and the whole thing actually zips closed. I also have a feeling I won't mix it up with someone else's bag as it is quite unique. All of that, and the money actually helped to further someone's craft while supporting them financially. Good buy.
After my last post, I had been searching the internet for a place to buy some coffee for our church. I just wanted to buy a little to see how it tasted, etc. I was becoming quite discouraged that we were not going to be able to buy enough to make it cost effective due to the shipping prices, which were about as much as the coffee. I finally had the idea to go to a local co-op grocery store in Ft. Wayne and - yeah - they had it there. It is quite a cool place to go as well and their produce department makes the ones at some of the regular groceries look pretty bad. I also bought an onion, by the way, which was quite yummy in our omelet last night. Our son, Isaac, also informed me that you can buy fair trade coffee at Kroger as well, so I bought a little bag there to try. (It was a little cheaper, but the other place is, well, more interesting). I think supporting the local produce growers would be a good thing this summer and we actually have someone right down the road!
Last week Dan and I had an "interesting" experience at our usual Sunday night location. There were a couple of people in there who were more than just "under the influence" and the whole thing, although somewhat annoying, was really quite sad. The two people in question were really quite different from one another. One was a young man, late twenties who was giving the impression that he was quite successful in his work and quite popular with the ladies in the towns he traveled to. The other was a woman who was there with a person who appeared to be her husband. She was probably in her forties. Both of them were being quite loud and then they started in on each other. From a personal standpoint, I was getting quite uncomfortable with the whole situation and probably could have just left. There are many different angles to take in observing this event, but I'll just go with the one that really struck me. This woman's husband, or whatever he was, apologized, said she was an alcoholic and tried to get her to leave. She was not cooperating in any way and was finally asked to leave by the manager. The man with her never raised his voice or seemed to get angry. I watched them walk out the door with him holding her hand the whole way, talking quietly to her. Now, I have absolutely no idea where they came from or what their story was. But it seemed to me, there was someone who really cared about this woman, even with all her apparent problems. You just don't see that too much in situations like that. However, I think that is what is expected of all of us. You know, to care about each other even with all of our obvious flaws and problems. Not to condone everyone's actions, but to still care about the people. You know, "but for the grace of God, there goes me...." Maybe that's what I saw that night, grace in action.
Finally, another class is checked off my list and I am glad for that. Of course, the next one begins next week and I have a bunch of reading to do.
That's all for now...
JAH
4 comments:
Yay! You posted! And a good thing, too. I heard there were some unruly people there, but didn't get the whole story.
When Kim was telling me about it, I invented a quick 1 step program--I said if I were there, I would have bought her any drink she wanted, but she had to drink it out of Jerry's shoe. That'd send her chasing after the wagon for sure.
I feel sorry for the guy. From what I hear, the people in that position--providing unconditional love to someone who doesn't love themselves--usually get chewed up and spit out.
Makes our own lives look pretty good, doesn't it? I feel sorry for the guy, too, wondering what it feels like to see that sort of caregiving as the future and not see an end in sight. That's me, filling in the blanks of the story, I guess. Congrats on your great progress in the educational arena - sorry the next one starts so soon. And that beach looming in your future . . . it's all good!
MR - Jerry's shoe? That might be construed as cruel and unusual punishment. I did however manage to persuade him (Jerry) that throwing gasoline on a fire that has already started would really be a bad idea. He actually agreed and kept (most) of his comments to himself.
Joan - Yes, it does make life look pretty good. It does seem sad that he will probably spend the rest of his, or at least her, life doing that very thing. Some questioned why he would have brought her out in the first place. My suggestion was that everyone wants to try and experience life with some sort of normalcy and that was maybe his failed attempt at doing so. He just had really had a sad face...
This sure had a similar ring to it. Yes, you do go out in those situations - sometimes - 'cause it won't be like that this time'. Promises that it will be different, hope that it will be different and the reality that it isn't and won't be different until...
It's hard and it's sad and it's sickening and it's frustrating and it's infuriating and it's embarrassing and it's heart-breaking.
And sometimes...enough is enough and you just can't do it one more time.
Post a Comment