Natural Rhythm

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

I am the alpha mare. I had a filly who turned into a yearling who turned into a young mare and who continues to grow, and with that grows the desire to move up higher in the hiearchy of the herd. She is second and she knows she is second; she is dominant of the third and reminds the third of this fairly frequently. With me, she wants to know where the limits are, what boundaries are still there and which ones have stretched a bit and in what direction. What happens if I do this? What happens if I do that? She wants to know your buttons and how to skirt around them. If the young mare tests the alpha mare of the herd, the result can be a whirlwind reaction of nipping and kicking that tells the young mare no, she is not yet ready to challenge the matriarch. I am still dominant. Then it is over. The hiearchy of the herd is still as established and the members can go back to their assigned roles within the herd. Until the next challenge.

posted by Jennifer | 8:59 AM

I don't think of myself as getting old...

I think of myself as halfway to heaven and enjoying the trip!

AS WE COMPLAIN...

Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.
He stays up for days on end.
__________________________

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.
__________________________

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit and keeps moving forward.
__________________________

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
__________________________

You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
__________________________

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
__________________________

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists. __________________________

You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
__________________________

You go out to lunch and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.
__________________________

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks but makes sure his weapons are clean. __________________________

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
__________________________

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.
__________________________

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home. __________________________

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
__________________________

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child and wonders if they'll ever meet.
__________________________

You criticize your government and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting. _________________________

You hear the jokes about the war and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.
__________________________

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
__________________________

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told.
__________________________

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat. __________________________

You crawl into your soft bed with down pillows and get comfortable.
He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap only to be woken by gunfire. __________________________

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him!


If you support your troops, resend this to everyone you know. If it gets to another veteran who hasn't received it yet, it will bring back memories.

---Bragging Rights---

I'm so in love with my family. Laura was grounded for four days after coming home late from an outing with her friends. Grounding means no visitors, no phone calls, no computer except for homework, no video games, and lots of extra chores. She was given various tasks around the house and actually performed them cheerfully and with what Mike called "a good attitude." I later learned that with each "Yes," and with each smile came a price. Our little clever one had hatched a plan where yes, she may be grounded, but she would be able to say she thwarted the system and exacted revenge. She got me a glass of orange juice at my request. It was a tall glass so it took me a while to realize there was salt at the bottom. Salted OJ. Yum. Thanks a lot for that. Then when Mike made dinner that night, I just had to ask him, "Did you put sugar in the mashed potatoes?" "No," he said, he'd made them according to the recipe which called for salt, not sugar. (duh!) A few bites and a few minutes later I asked, "Where did you get the salt for the mashed potatoes?" Hmmmmm. The salt in the shaker above the stove had turned into sugar! Now when the girls ask what's for dessert, we say, "Mashed potatoes!" Later the four of us went for a walk and the girls stopped at each honeysuckle bush for a treat of nectar, just as I did as a child. They brought a honeysuckle flower to Mike to taste, and he said, "Hmmmm, yum. Tastes kind of like mashed potatoes!" Then he chased Laura and she ran for her life. Sometimes she is Mischief personified...a little gremlin. Good thing she's so darn cute.

Another scenario: Alison the angel. Mike had been looking forward to an ice cream cone all day. After dinner he asked who wanted to join him at the corner "general store" for a treat. I declined. Laura accepted and Alison did too, but she had a friend over so they had to get permission from her parents. Her mom said no. Alison decided to stay home because if her friend couldn't have ice cream she was not going to eat it in front of her or send her home, because she's cool like that. She made like it was no big deal, but if you know Alison you know how she craves sweets! Mike recognized her sacrifice and instead of him and Laura getting cones, they brought home a half gallon of ice cream so Alison could have some when her friend went home. We praised her for being Christ-like. I'm sometimes amazed at the depth of her character.

Thank you, Lord, for blessed moments like these.

Tag! You're It!

Tag, you're it! Okay, the point of being tagged is to get you to post in your blog. So copy these questions to your blog, then answer them. Happy blogging!

Four Jobs I've had in my life:
1. Go-cart track ticket salesperson.
2. Mystery shopper at a department store.
3. Horse sitter.
4. Cocktail waitress at a luau.

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. The Godfather.
2. Phantom of the Opera.
3. Ghost.
4. Gone With The Wind.

Four places I have lived:
1. Atlanta, GA
2. Alpharetta, GA
3. Sarasota, FL
4. Anna Maria Island, FL

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Lost
2. American Idol
3. The Apprentice
4. The Sopranos

Four places I've been on vacation:
1. San Francisco, CA
2. Ireland.
3. Jamaica.
4. US Virgin Islands

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Yahoo! 360
2. Blogger.
3. MTDaily
4. Weather.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Chips and salsa.
2. Ravioli.
3. Spicy garlic shrimp.
4. Anything from Mama Fu's!

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Sleeping in a hammock in a rain forest.
2. On a yacht in the Carribean.
3. Any beach anywhere.
4. Ireland.

parallels

parallels. as i sit and think and feel and judge i realize that all of the things i see that need correcting also apply to myself. reverse projection. mirror reflection. misplaced truth. this could get long.

i invited my little sister to go shopping with me so i could buy something for her new baby girl. she agreed to come. i expected her to come. she didn't come. i thought first of all, 'how rude,' then, 'she missed out,' then 'some people make it really hard to do something nice for them.' somewhere in my daily musings and beings God spoke to me. something along the lines of 'now you see how it feels,' or 'yes, i know, i get that all the time.' how many gestures of offering does God have to make before we take time out of our busy day to accept them? how many, many times have we missed out on a blessing much better than a shopping trip because we went our own way, either purposefully or by allowing ourselves to be distracted? God has great things for us; we just have to be available.

another parallel: i get exasperated with one of my daughters because she is at that exasperating age. her modus operandi is 'question all authority.' she has a fundamental need for reason and has difficulty accepting things just on faith in authority or tradition, whether it be her parents, school, society, etc. my stance as a parent is you obey, then you may question. i expect to be given that respect simply because of my role as mother. uh oh. how does that correlate with my own relationship with God? do we have absolute faith in Him? do we obey Him because he is God or are we weak in faith and pick and choose the commandments we will follow? are we as guilty of selective hearing as our children? i'm beginning to suspect that being a true child of God entails more of an all or nothing approach. we need to believe in His authority, believe in His love for us and believe that what He wants is truly best for us, even if we as willful children want to go our own way.

parallel 3: a friend asked me for prayers. there is a need in her household for peace, love and understanding. i have been praying quite a bit for their situation. today as i sat on my front porch i was gently reminded that i needed to pray for them. as i prayed for God to cover their home in peace, love and understanding i realized that this is a universal prayer that would benefit all of us. we all need peace, love and understanding.

New Survivor Challenge

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each
for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids, keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry and pay a
list of bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives and
send cards out on time.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist
appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and
inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care (weekend, evening, on a holiday
or right when they're about to leave for vacation).

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting
flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all
chores are done. There is only one TV between them, and a remote with dead batteries.

Each father will be required to know all of the words to every stupid song
that comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, which they will apply to
themselves either while driving or making three lunches.

Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a
tortilla and one marker and get a 4-year-old to eat a serving of peas.

Each man must adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish
shoes, keep his nails polished and eyebrows groomed. The men must try to get
through each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal
cramps and backaches and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once
complain or slow down from other duties. They must try to explain what a tampon
is for when the 6-yr old boy finds it in the purse.

They must attend weekly school meetings and church and find time at least
once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

He will need to read a book and then pray with the children each night
without falling asleep and then feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and
comb their hair each morning by 7:00. They must leave the home with no food on
their face or clothes.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be
required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday,
height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. and then spend the
remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot
until they are better.

They must have a loving, age-appropriate reply to, "You're not the boss of
me."

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with
his spouse at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again
for the next 18-25 years...eventually earning the right to be called Mother!