This morning on my way down the North Dallas Tollway I began to change lanes when in my side mirror I caught the blur of something flying. The silver streak caught the morning sunlight as it zoomed toward me in the center lane.
In sheer appreciation, I watched as what I now understood to be a late model Mercedes C230 zoomed toward me. I paused to watch as it caught up to me and thought it would be slowed down by the traffic that was hampering my own progress. Not so! In moves that are generally acommpanied by disclamer statements such as "stunt driver on a closed course. do not attempt", the sweet ride flowed to the right and left and right again in as graceful a zig zag as I have ever seen.
The Mercedes lane jumped cutting in and out back and forth again and again. It dodged the myriad of SUVs, sedans, and sports cars cluttering the tollway as smoothly as a hawk gliding on updrafts on a lazy summer day.
Though lane jumpers generally piss me off as a rule, I could be nothing but amazed as I watched this car do what it so obviously was built to do - perform. I could not muster angry feelings as I simply appreciated seeing something doing what it was designed to do. I suppose that is the way God must feel when we are using our minds, talents, and gifts in the way He intended. To be as graceful as a performance car on a spring morning would be something. Something that would scream, "I am built for His pleasure and will perform as I was intended to perform".
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Yea though I walk...
...through the valley of the shadow of death
That pretty much sums it up. The kids are both gone to relatives' houses. I can't help wondering how they are. I miss them so much - do they miss me?
What a wreck of a day. There are hundreds of songs, stories, and poems that have a central theme of "If I had only known we only had one more day..." Well, we knew, and let me tell you, it did not make it any easier. I can only pray that I never again have to experience the heartache of letting a child go.
One last kiss, one last cuddle, the so soft hair, the insanely soft skin on his neck. I just have to keep going and keep believing with every fiber of my being that God has a fabulous plan for them and for us.
So no more death and dreariness. Every single human being has something terrible happen to them - sometimes several times. But the testament to the human condition is that we continue. We get up, dust ourselves off and go on.
So, walk with me out of the shadow and let God's rod and staff comfort us. Tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities for life, love, and happiness.
That pretty much sums it up. The kids are both gone to relatives' houses. I can't help wondering how they are. I miss them so much - do they miss me?
What a wreck of a day. There are hundreds of songs, stories, and poems that have a central theme of "If I had only known we only had one more day..." Well, we knew, and let me tell you, it did not make it any easier. I can only pray that I never again have to experience the heartache of letting a child go.
One last kiss, one last cuddle, the so soft hair, the insanely soft skin on his neck. I just have to keep going and keep believing with every fiber of my being that God has a fabulous plan for them and for us.
So no more death and dreariness. Every single human being has something terrible happen to them - sometimes several times. But the testament to the human condition is that we continue. We get up, dust ourselves off and go on.
So, walk with me out of the shadow and let God's rod and staff comfort us. Tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities for life, love, and happiness.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Let me talk to someone...please!
When I was young and smug I could not understand why people complained about the IVR systems in place at most big companies. I mean what's the big deal? Just listen to the questions and enter your response - couldn't be simpler right? WRONG!
Now that I have a 2 year old and 6 month old taking every spare second I have, I cannot imagine how I ever tolerated listening to the electronic voice present me with a seemingly endless array of choices. The biggest offender lately has been the bank that holds my mortgage loan. I am not a banking customer at Chevy Chase Bank - nor will I ever be now. This limits the entries that I can make drastically as the only two options are to enter your checking account number or your ATM card number - of which I have neither. One time I navigated through to the loan department only to get a lady's voice mail! I kid you not! All I want is a human to answer my question - that's not so much to ask is it?
With kids, I have a limited amount of time available and that time that I do have the kids are generally demanding my attention in the background. This means that invariably I miss some of the choices I can make and have to listen to the whole thing over again. It's particularly annoying to miss options and then re-miss options again! Arggggh!
I try pressing "0" anytime I am confronted with one of these systems, but that does not always work. Good news though! I found a link in today's news articles on MSN to Paul English's cheat sheet. Check it out! It has the cheats for beating the systems at many of the most frequently called companies. Whoo hoo! Sadly, Chevy Chase Bank is missing from the cheat sheet. :( If I ever figure out how to beat it, I will be sure to add it to the list. So, I start 2006 penniless, not so smug, and complaining. What's new?
Now that I have a 2 year old and 6 month old taking every spare second I have, I cannot imagine how I ever tolerated listening to the electronic voice present me with a seemingly endless array of choices. The biggest offender lately has been the bank that holds my mortgage loan. I am not a banking customer at Chevy Chase Bank - nor will I ever be now. This limits the entries that I can make drastically as the only two options are to enter your checking account number or your ATM card number - of which I have neither. One time I navigated through to the loan department only to get a lady's voice mail! I kid you not! All I want is a human to answer my question - that's not so much to ask is it?
With kids, I have a limited amount of time available and that time that I do have the kids are generally demanding my attention in the background. This means that invariably I miss some of the choices I can make and have to listen to the whole thing over again. It's particularly annoying to miss options and then re-miss options again! Arggggh!
I try pressing "0" anytime I am confronted with one of these systems, but that does not always work. Good news though! I found a link in today's news articles on MSN to Paul English's cheat sheet. Check it out! It has the cheats for beating the systems at many of the most frequently called companies. Whoo hoo! Sadly, Chevy Chase Bank is missing from the cheat sheet. :( If I ever figure out how to beat it, I will be sure to add it to the list. So, I start 2006 penniless, not so smug, and complaining. What's new?
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