Build a snowman, really? This guy would ask that question on a first date… IN JUNE! He’s a bit wacky, but hey, he can work some magic with the hair clippers.
Hurt Like Hell
The inch-and-a-half cut on my finger was from a punch I landed on a jerk at the grocery store. When he hit the ground, I bent down and said to him, “Ring that up with a coupon, Sally.” The cut was deep and I knew it would bleed. But the pain, it was instant and an immediate signal things weren’t going the way they were supposed to.
That’s a cool way to tell you about the cut on my finger. However, I’m not a vigilante. I’m a dog owner. Here’s the real story.
It all started on a beautiful Saturday morning. Rare in this bitter cold winter Nashville’s having. Taking advantage of every ray of warm sunlight, I ventured off to the dog park with Piper and Asia. It’s been awhile since we were in the habit of afternoon park visits. It was a great day, the dogs seemed friendlier than usual and there were multitudes of dogs and owners at the park that afternoon. Piper, the less social one, was more social. And I was, too. After chatting with a few folks, I rounded the girls up and we headed for the exit. That’s when it happened.
I was exiting and there was another group entering. When Asia saw the dogs waiting for us to pass through the gated entry, in her excitement she hurdled towards the dogs. Holding on to the leash with a death grip, my hand slammed into the gate latch and like I said, the pain was immediate. The cut on my finger reminded me of babies when they fall down and hit their head. They get up. It looks like they’re crying but you don’t hear anything. That’s when you know it’s going to be a doozy. The hysterics begin with a loud scream and it goes on from there. Likewise, my finger was cut, but there wasn’t any blood… yet. I knew it was coming so I did the best I could to be curb the flow. Instead of getting in the car, I let my finger soak up the sunlight, raising it as high as I could without looking like a weirdo, and blew on it occasionally.
So if we ever cross paths and you ask about my wound, I might say, “Hey, you should see the other guy!” but you’ll know the truth. I cut my finger protecting a young goat from a puma.
-Out of the Wilderness
Single Forever
There’s a wind of change coming on in my life. The only way I can think to describe how I feel is a deep ocean. And at the same time, I sit paralyzed by recent events. But I mean stillness in the best possible way. Like my life is being altered and decades from now I’ll look back and be able to pinpoint this season I’m in now as a major landmark in my life. From the sadness of grandparents passing to a sister who’s finally getting a ‘yes’ for her prayers. Seeing old friends and saying goodbye to other friends. Things are changing. My brother calls 2014 “The Year of New Things” and it’s looking like he’s exactly right. New things. And I’m reminded of the words of Jesus, “I’m making all things new.” I can’t quite piece all this together, but the ground is shifting. It’s like the earth. Lots of movement underneath the surface with plates shifting and moving. It seems like now those kinds of changes are really becoming visible and it’s good. And since my grandfather died a few weeks ago, I can tell the way I date, and maybe eventually the way I love someone, is changing, too. Because as I’ve looked through photos of him and my grandmother, and worked on a couple of videos with those pictures, I’m frozen in place by the love they shared. Yes, he was a soldier, a Christian, a father, and many other things, but gosh, man, if I had to boil it all down to one thing, he loved my grandma.
I don’t think I can live up to that standard, heck I haven’t gotten off to a good start by any means. But I’d rather be single forever than settle for anything less than that kind of love. I just won’t do it. Pop didn’t settle. Mom Mom didn’t settle. My desire to marry my best friend far outweighs my desire to marry. So it’s settled then. I might be single forever and that’s OK. But one day, if I’m lucky, I can have a love like this…
Prescriptions Filled Daily
OK, my obsession with Dr. Mario is off the charts. Maybe because the temperature outside is too low to do anything useful so I’m inside more than usual? But just when I think I should seek help, I destroy another virus and my ranking goes up. And while I love Mario, I wouldn’t want him to be my doctor. Hello, he’s a plumber! I’d be sitting there like, “What are you gonna use the plunger for? I’m just here for a cold.” Uncomfortable much?
-Out of the Wilderness
Wacky Wednesday: My Life Would Suck Without You
Ok, technically my life with you sucks because you’re my vacuum and I love you. Those questionnaires, though, the ones that ask, “What will you be doing in 5 years? 10 years?” Never once did I answer that I’d be vacuuming my ceiling. But here I am. A 35-year old vacuuming the ceiling. So yes, my life sucks.
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 