Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Pretzels and Tulips

I’m supposed to be working right now, writing a piece about the Fairness Doctrine. But I’m tired of thinking about it. Maybe a blogging break will help clear my mind?

Meredith had been BEGGING me for nearly a week to make pretzels. She saw it on one of her sing-along videos. There is a song called I’m a Pretzel where kids are contorting their bodies and then it shows some workers making those mall pretzels. When Meredith saw this, she declared, “We need to make pretzels because they are hearts for Valentine’s Day.” Finally yesterday we did it and she had a good time.

Let me just say that this recipe for Mall Pretzels is amazing! I had never made them before. They were SO good. Way better than mall pretzels. It was a last-minute thing so I didn’t have the coarse salt, which would have been fun. We did half with salt and the other half with cinnamon sugar. They were the perfect blend of chewy/crusty and gooey on the inside. We loved this recipe. Plus, Meredith had a lot of fun making something she saw in her video.

And … tulips.

I have a friend who recently posted about how receiving candy and flowers on Valentine’s isn’t as special because it’s expected. Well, maybe Kevin is lucky that his wife has such a bad memory (I am not kidding about this) because I always forget every year that he gets me flowers on Valentine’s Day until they arrive at the door. Then I’m surprised and delighted.

I really, really enjoyed having these tulips. They were a much-needed reminder that spring is around the corner. They brought freshness and beauty to my house. I don’t know what outrageous price Kevin paid for Valentine’s flowers but, at least this year, they were worth it and very timely.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Library Day

Every week or two, we do a major library run. We usually come away with at least 50 books, most of them children’s books, and some videos. Right now I have about 80 books checked out from the library, which is typical. I love it. My library card makes me feel so rich, like the whole world is at my disposal.

Today I spent about an hour playing on the library’s children’s computer with Meredith. I was trying to teach her how to use the mouse. She got the clicking part, and that you’re supposed to click on certain icons, but wasn’t very good at coordinating the moving and clicking together. So, basically, I moved her hand and she clicked. There were some really great educational games for toddlers on the kids’ computers. We had fun with it. I’m glad to see that Meredith enjoys the library as much as her mom!

Even the moon sent good wishes ...

I’m 29 now. I’m not really nostalgic about my last year in this decade. I’m kind of looking forward to my thirties, actually. My twenties were, in many ways, a continual struggle. I read a book once called Quarter Life Crisis, which made a really good point about how the twenties are often the hardest years. There have been many things said and written about mid-life crisis, but it’s the twenties where people are trying to find their place in the world and figure everything out from career, finances, finding a mate, etc. Not much has been said and written about this quarter-life crisis.

I know one thing, in my thirties I’m not planning to move across the country three times, be intentionally unemployed with no idea what the next job will be, be uncertain about my man, and one thing I know for a fact … Kevin is NOT going back to school!

Speaking of Kevin, he decorated the house with streamers for my birthday after I had gone to bed the night before. Sweet! I woke up to a festive house and a little pile of presents. Then he took me to dinner and shopping. That, plus the fact that I got a free Starbucks coffee card at my MOPS meeting (they give out random prizes at every meeting and last week I got one!), totally made my day!

And, to top it all off, even the moon decided to eclipse, give us all a show, and make my birthday special. Wasn’t that so nice?

Freezer Fun

This week I’m committed to using up stuff I have in my freezer (mostly meat but also some frozen veggies and fruit for smoothies). Someday soon (next house?) I hope to get a second freezer. Right now the one I have is jammed with stuff. So, I’m looking forward to clearing it out a little bit, and the money we’ll save on groceries!

Ummm, let’s see … this week I think we’ll have …

1) Our very favorite meat loaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and vegetables.

2) French Dip (this is likely our family’s favorite meal and it’s easy as a blink), green salad, fresh fruit.

3) Baked teriyaki chicken (truly amazing recipe!), steamed rice, broccoli

4) Breakfast for dinner: Granola Pancakes, scrambled eggs with bacon, fruit smoothies

5) Fettuccine Alfredo w/ grilled chicken, steamed carrots and green beans

I think I’ll also make some pumpkin bread (recipe below).

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Pumpkin Bread

3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground clove

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Kid Post

Here’s another kid post … the overwhelming majority of my time is spent taking care of these two precious girls. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Clara Faith

Overnight, Clara’s personality has changed from docile creature to feisty little girl. I don’t know what happened to my tranquil little baby. It seems that since she's tasted the freedom to move around, she has acquired a spirited streak.

These days she’s a total mama’s girl. This is new for me. Meredith was always a daddy’s girl and very independent. I’m trying to find the balance of enjoying the fact that I’m Clara’s favorite and getting her to appreciate other people more!

Meredith Grace

Meredith is drawing really awesome stick figures these days! The figures have no body—just a round head, two legs, two arms, a bunch of dots on the face, and crazy hair. But they are SO cute. I love it!

This morning I told Meredith to make up her bed. She said, “I will do it. I promise.” I have no idea where she picked up on the “I promise” line.

Last Sunday when she was loud in church, I took her to the back and asked her if she knew why she was going to get a spanking. She said, “Yes, because I was noisy and disobedient.” Then she quickly held up her index finger and thumb and said, “Can I just get a LITTLE spanking?” It’s so hard to discipline kids when they’re so dang funny.

The other day Meredith found a gaudy ring that someone gave me and I let her play with. She exclaimed, “Oh! I think I can get married with that!”

After I put her hair in piggy tails the other day, she asked me if I wanted piggy tails too. When I said no, she looked horrified and said, “But don’t you want to look like ME?” [What am I supposed to say to that?]

When I was putting away her ABC puzzle (which she had scattered all over the floor and wasn’t even playing with anymore), she rushed over to me and yelled, “No! Don’t take my letters away because then I can’t learn to read!!”

When I was buckling her out of her car seat, she saw my wedding ring and said, “You have a diamond.” A: “Yes, who gave it to me?” M: “Daddy.” A: “When?” M: “Sometime you had a wedding before Clara got in your tummy!”

She’s been enjoying carrying around a new purse that grandpa bought her. At the grocery checkout the other day, she pulled a penny from her purse and held it out to me. She said, “Here is some money to pay that lady.” [Like, hey mom, I’ll take care of the grocery bill this week!]

Meredith asked me recently, “What is the opposite of resting?” I didn’t answer right away because I was trying to decide the best word. Then she piped up, “I know … it’s THINKING!”

The other day she asked, “Can I bring my makeup brush to Meijer?” I asked if she was going to hold onto it and not drop it and lose it (which is what she normally does). She thought for a second and then replied, “You can put it in your purse. How about THAT good idea?”

Ever since she’s said this, Kevin and I are always asking each other, “How about THAT good idea?” I think this will be a family line for a long time …

Monday, February 11, 2008

Mmm, mmm, mmm ...

Well, due to the aforementioned plumbing issues, I didn’t cook as much as I’d planned last week. Here are some additional things I think I’ll make. It appears I’m relying heavily on the AllRecipe’s site this week! Gotta love it.

The first menu is for Valentine’s Day. Something special. It’s unlikely we’ll go out because of the crowds and the realities of having kids. Maybe we'll make up for it next week when it's my b-day!

1) Bleu cheese crusted filet w/ port wine sauce, whipped sweet potatoes, green beans, molten chocolate cakes with sugar-coated raspberries

2) Tomato Gorgonzola Soup w/ corn cakes on the grill (Rachael Ray’s)

3) Chile rellenos pie, Spanish rice, green salad—tho’ I’ll probably heavily modify the chile rellenos recipe because I’m trying to recreate something I had once.

And I’m planning to make and decorate heart-shaped frosted sugar cookies with Meredith. I like to put almond extract in mine.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Craziness!

You wouldn’t believe how crazy it is here right now. We’ve had to take sponge baths and wash our hair over the sink for the last two days because our one and only shower is having major clogging issues (not even professional-strength Draino helped this time around). Right now the ceiling over the stairs has huge orangey-brown water spots and is literally falling apart (onto the stairs which is covered with towels and buckets) because of the leakage. Our lucky landlord is the one who gets to come fix it today.

Then, somewhere between my work deadline and trying for the second time to potty train Meredith, Kevin came down with the flu. Ugh.

Fortunately, Meredith is doing really well with the potty training this time. It happened in like two hours. I’m not kidding. If you remember my last desperate post, you’ll know how relieved I am right now. She’s been dry all day and for the third day in a row. And, the best part is I don’t even have to remind her to go. We’ve run errands with her wearing only underwear (not even pull-ups) and she’s done great! It’s so great to see your child take those first steps toward being a self-governed individual.
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UPDATE: The landlord is here. I'm sitting at my computer desk working and all I hear is what sounds like thousands of little pieces of ceiling falling on the stairs and living room floor. I wonder if this is a full-service landlord (i.e., will he vacuum)? I'd better not press my luck!

For those of us who buy the weekly groceries ...

What is eaten in one week around the world.

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11


Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide

Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.)

Food expenditure for one week $341.98



Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca

Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09


Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna

Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27



Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo

Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Monday, February 04, 2008

This Week's Kitchen Creations

Well, I thought about making gumbo this week in commemoration of Mardi Gras (not that we really celebrate Fat Tuesday or anything, but I love these holidays because they lend menu-planning inspiration), but then I wasn’t really in the mood for it … so that’s just how it goes.

Here's a picture of the tortilla soup I'll make. We LOVE this recipe!

Here's my plan:

1) Rotisserie chicken, broccoli w/ cheddar sauce (recipe below), pumpkin dinner rolls

2) Baked potato bar

3) Chili-chicken lettuce wraps (from Everyday Food) w/ vegetables and steamed rice

4) Emeril’s Chicken Tortilla Soup w/ homemade tortilla strips, corn casserole, green salad

5) Croque-madame, roasted asparagus, fruit

The croque-madame is something Kevin had at a restaurant and loved, so I’m going to try to recreate it. I think it’s supposed to have béchamel sauce but this time I’m going for speed and I’ll just use the suggested mayo (this week I’ll gladly take the help)!

This is the first time I'm making the chili-chicken lettuce wraps. Shannon got me a subscription to Everyday Food and I love it so far!

Here’s the cheddar broccoli recipe we like (I thought it was online but I couldn’t find it):

Steamed Broccoli with Cheddar Sauce

1 1/4 pounds broccoli
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 cup milk
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Steam broccoli; transfer to a large bowl. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking, until mixture darkens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mustard and milk; simmer, whisking, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until just melted; season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over broccoli; serve.

Friday, February 01, 2008

First Dentist Visit

Today we participated in the Give Kids a Smile program sponsored by the Indianapolis Dental Association. It was great! I had read Meredith several books for kids on visiting the dentist. So she was already familiar with what the chair would look like, what the tools would look like, the fact that the hygienist would be wearing a mask and gloves, the fact that there would be a really bright light, etc. She did really well. Much of that was due to the fact that the office staff was phenomenal. They made her feel so comfortable about everything. They let her hold the tools before they put them in her mouth and they even gave her a mask to take home and a goody bag at the end. It was such a positive first-dentist-visit experience.

Afterwards we met daddy at the food court downtown for lunch. Clara is wearing a sweater knit by my friend Heather. Isn’t it beautiful? People who can make stuff like that amaze me! Incidentally, Heather is also the one who told me about the Give Kids a Smile program.





Thursday, January 31, 2008

Little Luxuries

Since getting married, Kevin and I have both changed when it comes to spending habits. I used to pinch every penny until Lincoln screamed. Kevin has taught me to be better about letting go of money to enjoy life and buying better quality products when they’re worth it.

And Kevin never ordered off the dollar menu until he met me! Now he does this on a semi-regular basis. Ha! It’s funny to see how we’ve both changed in five and a half years. I’d say we’ve probably met in the middle.

Sometimes spending extra on little things goes a long way to making every day quality of life better. Here are a few little luxuries I think are worth it. I'd be interested to see what you all have to add to this list!

Bath and Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap—If you’re a young mom who is regularly required to be exposed to poop, I think you deserve this! You need to be able to smell something really good at regular intervals throughout the day. I wait for this to go on sale, and then stock up. Also, this soap is great for kids because it foams up and so kids use a lesser amount. Who knows, maybe it even saves money. That’s what I’ll keep telling myself, anyway!

Tropicana Orange Juice—Kevin and I don’t drink tea or coffee every day. But we do drink orange juice a lot. Tropicana is the next best thing to fresh squeezed O.J.

Loose Leaf Tea—Like I said, we’re not regular tea drinkers. But when I do have that cup of tea once a week or so, loose leaf tea is what I want. The difference is profound, even if you just buy the Archer Farms (Target) or Lipton loose leaf brands. I have to credit Kevin’s mom for getting me hooked on loose leaf tea!

Good shampoo—Maybe other people don’t see a dramatic difference, but I think professional shampoo (I buy whatever is on sale at Trade Secret) is worth it!

Real Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla—There is no comparison. Desserts taste so much better. If you’re going to eat all those calories anyway, you might as well enjoy it to the fullest extent, right?

Can anyone else think of other little luxuries that are worth it?

A Bread Pudding Story

At a tender age I once tried bread pudding and pretty much hated it. So I had long given up on bread pudding. But last night we had last-minute company coming and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. So, I decided to give it another try! And I'm SO glad I did.

This bread pudding rocks! (I omitted the raisins, and added extra spices--extra cinnamon and some nutmeg and clove.) I can't wait to try it again!

After reading some of the user comments, I decided to drizzle some vanilla sauce on the top and I think that was a really nice touch.
Yum!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Archive of the Internet

Kevin found this interesting website recently. Apparently, this guy has taken pictures of the internet at various points in time and they are on this site for your viewing pleasure. Who would have thought--a record of websites! You can see if your own blog is there (e.g., my blog), or any company or nonprofit's website (e.g., HSLDA). It's interesting to see how various websites have evolved.

Archive.org

Monday, January 28, 2008

At least we'll eat!

My Monday got off to a hectic start. As I was giving Clara her first feeding of the day, Meredith comes bounding in the room and declares, “I made a big mess everywhere! It was an acci-gent and YOU need to clean it up!” (She had spilled her milk and cereal all over the kitchen table and floor.) Sigh ...

As busy as I’ll be this week, at least we’ll eat. Here’s the meal plan.

1) Chili in bread bowls, green salad w/ feta, cranberries and walnuts

2) Hawaiian pizza and green salad—I’m going to try this dough recipe

3) Beef Carbonnade over egg noodles w/ roasted carrots and squash—this is an excellent recipe I found in Cooking Light (I’ll post it below).

4) Cheddar and Beer Soup w/ baguette croutons, and fruit salad

I’m also going to try making homemade cinnamon wheat bread (not sure what recipe yet). I’ve been inspired lately to bake more bread. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve done this on a regular basis. And, is there anything better than bread fresh out of the oven?

________________________

Beef Carbonnade

2 bacon slices, finely diced
1 ½ pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ t. salt
½ t. black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups thinly sliced onion (about 4 medium)
3 T. all-purpose flour
2 t. white wine vinegar
½ t. sugar
½ t. dried thyme
1 (10 ½ oz.) can beef broth
1 (12 oz.) bottle light beer
1 bay leaf
6 cups hot cooked wide egg noodles (about 12 oz. uncooked pasta)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp, remove bacon, reserving drippings in pan. Set bacon aside. Add beef, salt, and pepper to drippings in pan, cook 5 minutes, browning beef well on all sides. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon, set aside. Add onion to pan, cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, cook 2 minutes. Add vinegar and next 5 ingredients, bring to a boil. Return bacon and beef to pan. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve over noodles. Yields six servings.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Friends and Blogs

My friend Sara left a comment on one of my recent posts, where I stated that blogging can satiate our desire to connect with people but I bemoaned the fact that many women appear to let this meet their need for fellowship without pursuing real relationships where they connect with the women in their own communities, face-to-face.

Sara made some good points, articulating much more of what I have been thinking about this topic, especially her remarks that “you never see the whole person” through a blog.

You can read the rest of her excellent post here.

My Clara

Clara is six months now. She’s sitting up a lot more these days but still not interested in moving around much. She’s happy to play with whatever toys are in arm’s reach. I used to worry when Meredith didn’t roll around much, but with a second child it’s funny how much less you are concerned by things. It’s probably a combination of the fact that things turned out fine once already and I have less time to worry!

We are hearing a lot of “dadadadadadada” lately and other baby sounds. My favorite thing she’s doing now is pulling my head towards her and giving me wet kisses.

She’s also starting to notice other babies and interact with other babies a lot. The other day she carried on a lengthy “conversation” with an older man (seven months old). He would grunt and she would squeal. It went back and forth like this for quite a while.

Seriously, I think six months is my favorite baby stage. Is there a cuter baby age? I submit no.

Meredith Sayings and Doings

Upon telling Meredith that she couldn’t have any more sugar for the rest of the day, she asks, “Is crackers a sugar?”

Like all children, she always wants to push the elevator button. As she reached for the button at the library elevator the other day, the door opened and someone started to exit. She looked SO disappointed. I told her, “That’s okay Meredith. Go ahead. You can still push the button.” She then gave me this “like-duh” look, turned her palms to the air, and said, “But, mom! The door opened already!”

Yesterday I told her that she could watch a video during my shower. I suggested the “Leap Frog” phonics video because it’s educational. To further persuade her, I told her that “Leap Frog will be sad if you don’t pick him.” She replied, “Well, I think Peter Pan will be MORE sad.”

I tell Meredith that the reason big people don’t wear bibs is because they have learned not to spill their food. Yesterday I spilled milk out of my cereal spoon, while holding Clara (who is grabbing for everything these days). Meredith promptly said, “See mommy, you DO need a bib. You need a very BIG bib.”

M: “Mom, where’s my hair clip?”
A: “I don’t know.”
M: “But you have a barrette. A barrette is a clip.”
(Some days I feel like I’m being cross-examined.)

Meredith cracks us up with her ability to find similar words to help us understand another word that she is having a hard time articulating. For instance:

M: “I saw a sworoll.”
K: “A what?”
M: “A sworoll.”
K: “What?”
M [with exasperation in her voice]: “A chipmunk!!”
K: “Oh, you mean a squirrel?”
M: “YES!!”

Also …

M: “I want hot chock-it.”
K: “What do you want?”
M: “Hot chock-it?”
K: “I’m sorry Meredith, I don’t understand you.”
M: “I want COCOA!”

And also, recently …

M: “Where is my wahn?”
K: “Your what?”
M: “My whan.”
K: “What?”
M: “My bibbety-bobbety-boo!”
K [laughing]: “Oh, your wand!”
M: “YES.”

Meredith loves to dress up. Understatement! She has a new outfit on about every ten minutes or so. When I tell her that she looks beautiful, she often said, “Yes, I am, thank you.” At least she says thank you, but we need to work on the humility part.

She is SO opinionated about how her hair should be done. Sometimes we don’t know exactly what she wanted until after the fact and she acts like it was a life and death thing! She is very specific in her instructions about how her hair should be done. These are the exact words she uses: a high pony tail, a low pony tail by my neck, a middle pony tail, a half pony tail, piggy tails by my ears, one braid, two braids, French braid, etc. If we don’t do EXACTLY as she says, we … hear … about … it!

She’s starting to correct us when we skip over words in her favorite books. When I was reading her Corduroy the other day, I came to the part where the girl “looked into Corduroy’s eyes.” She said, “No, it says BRIGHT eyes.” Yes, my bad! It’s fun when toddlers memorize their favorite books. But also unfortunate—no more quick reads!

She is constantly trying her dress shoes on my foot and saying, “Mommy, you are not the true princess.” Then she tries it on her foot and she beams, “I am the true princess, and I can marry the prince!”

When we ask Meredith what are the names of her friends at MOPS, she always (without fail) tells us that their names are “Anastasia and Drizella.” These are the names of the stepsisters on Cinderella! Ha!

She says “Peter Pan” with a British accent, just like Wendy.

When Clara was crying the other day, she nuzzled up to her and said, “Trara, I’m here. Don’t worry. You don’t cry. Everything will be alright.” She said all of this in such a loving and caring voice, while patting her on the head.

The other day I told Meredith, “You know what? Your eyes are so pretty.” She nonchalantly replied, “You know what? I put Desitin in my eye.” I then leaned over to smell her eye, and sure enough, it smelled like Desitin. It’s a good thing I paid her that compliment!

M: “I don’t have any more bracelet.”
A: “Why not?”
M: “Because the Cheerios took it away.”
A: Looks over and notices that there is a pink rubber band (aka, Meredith’s bracelet) wrapped around the Cheerios bag.

Upon seeing the parmesan cheese on her breadstick the other night she said, “Look! There’s hay on my bread.” She also says that Little Boy Blue is “like Jesus because he sleeps in the hay.”

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Lovin' Bloglines

About a year ago Kevin tried to get me to use a feature similar to Bloglines. Anyway, I wasn’t sure about it and decided to just keep my old system of rapid mouse clicking.

Then recently several friends have mentioned it. Because I’ve been discouraged by my general lack of time and the fact that I haven’t been able to keep up with friends’ blogs like I want, I decided to give it a try.

Let me just say that I LOVE it.

No more clicking through ten blogs only to discover that no one has updated … or going an entire week without checking blogs only to realize that there have been 20 new posts on one blog alone.

It works kind of like an e-mail inbox, telling you how many “messages”/posts are out there.

This will enable me to read twice as many blogs in half the time.

Did I mention that I love Bloglines?

Quaker Questions

Ever heard of the Quaker Questions? Last night I went to a fondue party with some friends from my Mother of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. About halfway through the evening the “mentor mom” host directed the conversation to the Quaker Questions.

The Quaker Questions: 1) Where did you live when you were six years old and who lived with you? 2) How was your home heated? What were the winters like? 3) What person, place, or thing was the center of warmth in your life when you were a child? 4) When did God become a “warm” being to you and how did this happen?

I had experienced this icebreaker about a year ago. It’s a creative way to dig deeper and get to know people’s backgrounds more. One person remarked how each question gets harder to answer.

After spending an evening with these ladies I realized more how blessed I am to have met them. They are a sincere and transparent group of women, which I value.

As important as it is to maintain old friendships, I think it’s also important to make new friends and always be open to new friendships.

Sometimes as moms, it’s easier to stay home with our kids than make an effort to get out and be a part of the broader community. But I think that’s crucial to our well-being and it also enables us to bless others and society. (Obviously, our homes should be our priority. But in addition to being wives and moms, we are also neighbors, community members, and citizens.)

I think excessive blogging can even be a danger because it satiates our need to connect, while allowing us to avoid face time with others.

For me, not making new friends hasn’t been an option. In the past eight years, I’ve moved across the country three times. It’s been a choice of either making new friends or not having friends.

In many ways, I’m glad that I’ve been forced out of my comfort zone because each time I could have never guessed in advance the blessings of those new friendships.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Humility and Reality

Andree Seu had a thought-provoking article in World recently, Keeping it Real: Want to achieve humility? Acknowledge reality.

“Shoot for that low opinion of your talents that you’re sure is the essence of humility. You may not get there, but the devil will be pleased enough by all the time you’ve spent thinking of yourself. Or you may indeed arrive at humility, and notice it—which saddles you with another problem: pride in your humility.”

“Would you be free of the roller-coaster ride of a life of serial humiliations? Then assess yourself accurately. Humility is acknowledging reality, nothing more or less. And here are some realities: Everyone is smart at some things and stupid at some things.”

The entire article is excellent, you can read it here.

After reading Seu’s article, I thought of the Gothard teachings about “deflecting praise” and a conversation I had several years ago with a young woman who is still seeped in that way of thinking.

The young woman, an acquaintance of mine from childhood, had played a violin solo at my parents’ church during the service. I felt that the music was God-glorifying and beautiful and I paid her a genuine compliment after the service.

Her reply? “Well, my parents should really get all the credit for encouraging me to practice my music lessons. Everything I am today is because of them.”

First, this isn’t true. This young lady had worked very hard herself and she was very gifted musically. Secondly, because I was aware of the seminars she had attended, I knew that this was a canned answer. It was a line that had come straight from the textbook, or something she had copied in her own notebook. So it seemed entirely disingenuous to me.

It was everything I could do to not burst out laughing. Or worse, say what I was really thinking.

If this young woman had simply said, “Thank you, I was so happy to be able to play today,” I would have been blessed by that and we could have continued our conversation. Instead, I was struck by her canned answer—even though I know it was well-intentioned—and I quickly realized that I couldn’t have an honest conversation with her. So why bother?

Deflecting praise is meant to be a gesture of humility. But I think what Seu is saying about assessing ourselves accurately is so true. When we don’t, we are either truly prideful or, arguably even worse, we are proud of our humility.