To say last week was crazy may be the understatement of the world.

Ok, that's a little drastic.  It wasn't that bad but was full of ups and downs...mostly ups.

Kelsey started the fifth grade last week and a brand new school.  We changed districts and she was forced to change elementary schools with only one year left.  Next year she will be in middle school!  Thankfully, we aren't there yet. 

When we walked in the new school on Wednesday, I could tell she was nervous...but she kept it together.  She didn't cry!  I, on the other hand, lost it after I left her in the classroom.  I was just so proud of her for keeping her cool and not freaking out.  I had to hide in the bathroom for like, five minutes.  Even the principal stopped me on the way out and reminded me that Kelsey would be fine.

I must be the only dork-of-a-mom that cries on the first day of the fifth grade. 

Wednesday was an interesting day for another reason, too.  A teenage family-member went to the hospital with stomach pains.  I think the initial thought was that she had appendicitis or something.  While she was in the ER, they determined she was pregnant.  And not JUST  PREGNANT but 39 weeks, 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced. 

Shock?  Surprise?  Disbelief?  All of the above...

She ended up having a baby girl that night.  By the grace of God, she had a healthy baby girl.  There are a lot of issues that I won't go into on this blog but I am sure you can imagine that she has an uphill battle ahead of her.  Maybe you could pray for her and the family in general.  Things like this have a tendency to cause division among people of differing opinions.

On a much happier note, I went to Charleston, SC last weekend to celebrate my best-friend's birthday.  Have you ever been to Charleston?  The town changes you...for the better.  It's like the history seeps into your pores and slows you down.  I didn't realize how much I needed that slower change-of-pace in my life.  The people, the architecture, the food, the cobblestone streets, the fountains, the steeples...I fell in love with all of it.

It was the best weekend I have had in a long time.  There were four girls onthis trip and Charleston was good to us.  I can't WAIT to go back.

Have you ever experienced something so shocking that you think to yourself, "I can't believe this is really happening?" 

I did.  Last night.

Please allow me to share this experience with you. 

I've been having pain in my wrist likely due to excessive use of the computer mouse.  My mother has worked at a doctor's office for a lot of years, specifically an orthopaedic office, so she suggested that I get a wrist brace to wear at work...where most of my mouse-use occurs.

So last night, she and my dad took me to the drugstore to pick out the right kind of brace.  (We are a very close family...what can I say?)  Mom picked up a couple of items and then we found the supports.  After much comparison and deliberation we finally found the perfect brace and headed to the register to pay.

This is where the real story begins.

The register was empty.  There was no cashier to be seen.  There was, however, a woman's purse and a Subway bag on the counter.

So we waited...for like two minutes.  We figured the cashier was helping someone find an item somewhere in the store. 

Finally, the cashier returned to the register...alone.  She slid the purse and Subway bag to the end of the counter and began ringing up my mother's items.  As mom slid her debit card in the machine and as I was standing in line right behind her, this woman walked up to the counter with a bottle of allergy medicine.  She wedged herself in line ahead of me and started reaching over my mom to hand the cashier her medication. 

My mother said, "Excuse me, but my daughter was next in line."

The lady, who was probably 75 years old, said, "I was in line before all of you people and I am next.  Actually, I was ahead of you (talking to my mother) and you skipped me.  I just had to go over there and get something."

***Let me take this opportunity to tell you that I have a big mouth.  I am not afraid to say how I feel, often to the detriment and embarrassment of the people with me.  Back to the story.***

I explained to the lady that being over "there" meant that she wasn't "here," in line.  She barked something back to me and continued to use her body to move me out of her way.

That's when I said, "Wow.  You are really grouchy."

She turned around and looked at me up and down.  Literally.  She started at my feet and moved her gaze up all the way to my head and said to me, "You are a tramp."

She called me a tramp!  Those words actually came out of her mouth!

People, I was wearing a back cotton dress to my knees and flip flops.  I wasn't dressed like a tramp at all.  But I have to tell you...my blood was boiling.

So I replied, "Well, you are old.  Really old.  You are a very old lady."

By this time, she was done checking out but wouldn't move.  She just stood there...staring at me.  I handed the cashier my items from the end of the counter and began taking out my wallet...but she was still standing there.

Finally, I said, "I really just wish you would move out of my way.  Please move."

She finally moved and I finally paid.  Thankfully.

I know what you are thinking...I am a terrible person.  I should have ignored her.  I should have just quietly let her check out in front of me.

Or maybe you are thinking that I should have tripped her on the way out of the store. 

The truth is, that there was a time in my life when I would have said something very mean to her or used foul language.  There was a time when I would have made her feel very small.  There was a time when I probably would have been so rude that the manager would have kicked me out of the store....forever.

But I didn't do any of those things.  I probably didn't handle myself exactly the way Jesus would have but I didn't embarrass myself either.

When it was all over, I felt bad.  Not bad for what I said to her.  I felt bad because I realized that there was only one sandwich in her bag and that she was probably going home to an empty house.  I wonder if our conversation (if you could even call it a conversation) was the only one she had that day.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have offered to pay for her items.  Not that she needed money.  Believe me.  She drove away in a Cadillac.  But she probably just needed someone to be nice to her.

Even so...that didn't give her a right to be so ugly.

I couldn't imagine being that...mean and crabby.  Ya'll...she exuded ugliness. 

As an aside...I really wish that cashier would have stepped up to the plate and admitted that she moved that lady's stuff out of the way and voluntarily began checking us out first.  But then again...she was probably afraid of the old lady. 

What would you have done or said?  I think it was a learning experience for me.  And if it was a test, I probably failed miserably. 

All I can say is, "He's still workn' on me, To make me what I ought to be."

The other day, I was driving down the road when I had a thought.  I think I was listening to Light of the World from Chris Tomlin's Christmas CD, "Glory In the Highest." 

Wait.  Am I the only one who listens to Christmas music in July??  I digress.

My thought process is not always logical so please don't require me to explain how I went from singing about the light of the world to contemplating the philosophical implication and overall definition of darkness....but I did.

It's back to 8th Grade Science.  Items and colors that we see are a direct result of that object's ability to either absorb or reflect light.  (Have I ever mentioned that I was a science major in college through my junior year?  I was going to major in biotechnology and genetics.  Science is like second nature to me.  It makes sense and so, I often think in terms of science.)

We see because of light.

That is worth repeating: we see because of light.

And that day, as I was driving down the road, the word light reminded me of...darkness. 

The definition of darkness is the absence of light or illumination.

I was immediatley reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says:


I think it is ironic that the definition of darkness is dependant on the very existence of light.  Remember, darkness is the absence of light. 

Not the other way around.  Light exists.  It fills space and it creates colors.  It IS.

The very next verse in that passage in 2 Corinthians says, "What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?"

Belial is the devil in case you didn't know.  The devil is also known as the prince of darkness in some Christian folklore. 

It must be weird to be the prince of darkness and know that you exist only because there is light.

And that Christ is the light of the world.

If we are born in Christ, then we are a new creation.  Part of being that new creation is that the light resides in our heart.  If we have light in our heart, then there is no place for darkness...which can only reside where there is no light.

We see because of light. 

Maybe it's just me.

That is pretty profound.

And if this has been too heavy for you, please click over to my photography page.  I posted the rest of the pictures from my photoshoot last week.  That should make you smile.  In case you haven't noticed, my nephew has the BEST hair around :-)