Previous entry: South Beach Report
Next entry: Life in Oklahoma
The First 14 Random Things
Jan 31, 2009 Categorized: Musings •
1. I am incapable of writing a single sentence about any particular fact about my life. Far too many details swarm through my head, trying to get out. My Facebook status is the most challenging of assignments for my little mind.
2. The colorful spilled-paint image on my Macbook wallpaper is terribly hideous and hurts my eyes. I thought it was really cool when I downloaded it, but like most wallpapers, it made me tired after 5 minutes. I’ll probably change back to the purply black spacey theme that shipped from Shanghai on this machine.
3. I’ve never been to Shanghai. But I have traveled to Istanbul, Turkiye, somewhere down in Mexico, and a good many states across the continental US, mostly in the name of mission work.
4. As a minister’s daughter, I grew up in several different states across the South. At this point, I’m a little confused about which one is home, and if I had my choice of where in the world to live, I’d probably just stay right here.
5. Which, by the way, is a very strange phenomenon. When we first moved out to southwest Oklahoma, I wasn’t too thrilled about the place. Honestly, I probably could name on one hand the things I actually like about this desolate region. In fact, let’s do that right now. 1. The sky. After about 3 years, it finally grew on me. The trees back home now make me feel claustrophobic, even though I would still choose them over having none. 2. The dry climate. Despite the fact that my hands bleed all winter and I have to sleep with gloves and thick greasy lotion every night, my hair always looks the same. That is not the case when I visit the true South. And I have my hair every day of the year, not just in winter. 3. Um...I’m thinking...I can’t think of a third reason I like Oklahoma. I think I’ll go on to number four. 4. The people. These folks are the best. Noone, anywhere, is like the folks in Oklahoma. They’re a little crazy about their favorite sports teams, but then so are those cajuns. If I lived here long enough, I might develop a preference for one team or the other. But all sports aside, these people out here would do anything for you. The sense of community is like none other, and in this small town, everybody knows everybody, and sometimes that’s a good thing. 5. The last thing I like about Oklahoma is my family. It wouldn’t matter where I lived, as long as I have them. So really, I guess it’s not Oklahoma I’m stuck on. I just feel content. Content to be here, content to stay here, and glad that in all the stuff that looms ahead of me, I have a safe haven. This haven I call my home, happens to be in Oklahoma.
6. A friend of mine recently told me she was accused of living under a rock for several years. I told her, “Of course you have! You live in this town!” We all live under a rock. But it’s a nice rock. It’s really big, and it does a good job of sheltering us from mainstream materialism.
7. Speaking of materialism, I depend on God, not things, to get me through life. If I trusted in things, I’d be in trouble, since we have to drive a couple of hours to get them. God has been my everlasting source of hope and peace, and all things eternal for me throughout my lifetime. There have been many times of testing, many opportunities to turn to false gods. But only the one true God has what I need to carry me through.
8. God is carrying me through some not-so-fun times right now. I wish my first facts on here about my children were lighthearted, but the truth is, my thoughts for them are a little overshadowed by the medical trials we are facing. It’s really not so bad, when I think about friends who have lost their children or suffered through cancer with them, but it’s not so easy either. I look forward to saying, “Oh, it’s no big deal. We just do this and that, and it’s no big deal.” One day, hopefully soon, it will be no big deal.
9. We took our daughter to the doctor today to initiate her growth hormone therapy. I was really put out with the nurse who was supposed to train us on giving the daily injections. I had to show her how to put the pen device together myself. The whole situation was high-pressure and chaotic, and I wished I had just gotten that needle out at home and stuck it in Hunter’s leg hardly saying a word about it. She would have realized it’s not that big of a deal, and we probably could have eased into the daily therapy a lot more smoothly. Instead, we’ll probably have to hold her down to give tomorrow’s injection. I wonder how long it will take before she will sit still for us to do the shots. Learning to give them is bad enough, but doing it on a moving target is sheer misery.
10. Bill and I have just been discussing our plan of action for tomorrow’s shot. Lure her with a candy melt to suck while we give the injection, and promise another one if she doesn’t fight us. Eventually this will not be an issue. I wonder if it will work. She loves the candy melts, and they’re new to her.
11. I bought the candy melts in a kit to make Valentine’s lollipops, which are sure to be more work then they’re worth. The bad thing is, I busted up into the package last week, disregarding my commitment to the South Beach Diet Phase 3, and consumed the entire red packet while chatting with my friend well after midnight. It’s like my college friend always said, “Nothing good happens after midnight.” Well, that certainly wasn’t good, because then I had a tummy ache. And if that wasn’t enough, I took another bag of them on our little family Jeep outing in the ice the other day, and we all rode around gawking at white roofs and eating candy melts. I had another tummy ache. And then I had to get online and order replacement candy melts so we can make our lollipops without buying another whole kit. Even though...I now realize I could have bought another kit for the amount I spent just on the shipping. I’m laughing. Really. I am.
12. I spend a lot of money on shipping. Come to think of it, we probably ought to have a line item in our budget just for shipping and handling. As it is, we just group it in there with whatever we’re purchasing, which really cuts down on the amount of money we have to spend in each of those categories. But thanks to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, we do have a budget, and we usually stick to it.
13. I’m tempted to turn the conversation here to the amount of money growth hormones cost. Although I’ve probably talked about that too much already, any time an expense nearing twenty grand a year crops up, it seems to be a talking point. When people get real sick and have lots of medical treatments, I never hear them talk about how much it costs. You kind of think about how awful the illness is, and you forget that they have to pay good money for it to boot. But let’s get real. We could buy Hunter a house, a car, and a college education for the money someone will spend on her height. Hopefully the insurance company will foot the bill. If they don’t, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He is already showing His amazing hand of provision to us, and we have not the least bit of doubt that He will provide every penny.
14. I am insanely mad at myself for clicking the x on my browser tab accidentally while I go back and forth chatting with my friend and writing this article. I lost numbers 14, 15, and 16. I’m too spent to finish this list tonight, especially since I have to rewrite some of it. And you’re probably too tired to finish reading it. So, I think I’ll stop with 14. The last few things will give you something to look forward to, right?
Hollabacks
Aw...sweet Hunter! What a brave momma you are, I would be a basket case in your shoes (over shots). Your attitude about it will rub off on her!
Love you all, and miss you! Really, Oklahoma isn’t that great… 
. Greenville is the happenin place!
Posted by Emily on 02/01 at 02:40 AM