Just one of those days....

Let me just rant for just a second. The rain continues in Ruston and I think for the first time since it started I'm feeling it's effects. Oh the gloom has come and I just can't shake it. I feel like if I could just go to sleep and wake up again to start this day over things would be better. Here's the kicker, nothing is really going wrong. I just have that general state of blahness. Is that even a word? Blahness? Well other than feeling blah like I've been doing this project for school which I actually love.... it's basically an exercise that requires you to look into your past and see how your culture has shaped you. It just so happens I was born into the city of culture. This assignment also requires you to interview family members about memories, traditions and explanations of what early life was like for them. For most of my life I have loved stories, I have had a deep sense of appreciation and love for my family and the time I get to share with them, I feel like my culture has shaped who I am and in that way I think I'm most like my PawPaw. The greatest pain in all this though is why is this a part of who I am when I don't see the reason in it? Some would say that I'm nostalgic but what's so great about being nostalgic? What purpose does it serve in eternity and do people really care about the details or am I'm just in this alone? I'm just quite confused .... the emotion of my week .....

On days like these ........

The rain sloshes outside my window bringing the only noise to my otherwise quiet household. An occasional clap of thunder couldn't disrupt this comfort of sorts and I am reminded that the silence is not bad but intimate. I find myself on these types of days staring into a wet world that beckons me to stay inside tucked far away from it's showers. It is on these days, in my place of refuge, as C.S. Lewis puts it, that "you can never get a cup of tea large enough or book long enough to suit me." Being alone is not lonely but inspiring. Swallowed by a big soft chair and embraced by a warm fuzzy blanket I welcome a journal as my only companion. Nostalgia fills the room and no dream is too big to imagine. I remember friends of old and friends of new and wonder how can you tell someone you truly enjoy being their friend without it being weird? I remember days when dad would tell us stories right before going to bed and I remember mom tucking us in right after that. I remember Gram singing a "bushel and a peck, a hug around the neck" and I remember listening to stories from PawPaw about the korean war. I reread past journal entries to remind me of days already gone. The pages are full of memorials encouraging me to press forward. Torn and wrinkled passages of time scribbled quickly and without thought speak more to me now in this quiet house than they did the moment I wrote them.  It's funny how insignificant things seem until you sit in an oversized chair and reflect. 

I wish I had yellow rain boots or an umbrella.....

The rain this week can be seen as somewhat of a downer. Tromping through puddles just to get to class or getting drenched right before entering work doesn't exactly sound like fun. This week in Ruston has been a wet one and all I can think to myself is I wish I had yellow rain boots or an umbrella. Two very essential things in warding off the wetness. But being the frugal person that I am I opt for getting wet instead of investing in proper rain attire. Today, to ward off my previous grumpiness and gloom that cloudy days could bring I decided to document my day with my little point and shoot camera. Everywhere I went I found something that made me happy and I wanted to share those moments with you..... Me and Geves getting ready to go to class! Still makes me sad that I hardly see anyone I know on campus ... 
  I just like the smell - don't know why






 It says "Something of God flows into us.. from the blue of the sky, the taste of honey, the delicious embrace of water whether cold or hot, and even from sleep itself" c.s. lewis

Back to the Blog - Episode 3

In the words of Alexander, who found gum in his hair when he woke up and no toy in his cereal box, last week I had a series of "no good, horrible, very bad days." By Saturday my swollen and still hurting cheek left me with only one thing - grumpiness. My diet for the last three days had consisted of oatmeal, grits, smoothies and mashed potatoes. This lack of solid stable nutrition left me cranky. I mean even the littlest things get on your nerves kind of cranky. So, I do apologize to anyone I talked to or spend time with - my mood was just not right. Please know that was not the real me - it was the swollen cheek talking. But like all good mothers, Alexander's mom said "some days are just like that." By Sunday I was eating a little more, and I got to watch the Saints game with the Woods family - what could better than that - well maybe actually being in the superdome. Monday morning, brought not only rain but a healed cheek and a happier Dana.  update on the door handle : Good news it's still under warranty and will be fixed soon, more good news : I'm becoming a pro at getting in through the passenger side.

Back to the Blog - Episode 2

My Bizarre Week .....

 Monday morning:  I wake up with an uncomfortable feeling in my right cheek. It feels as though I had just bitten the inside of my cheek-no big deal it will feel better tomorrow or so I thought. 

 Tuesday Morning: I wake up to a swollen right cheek and a little bit of pain. I thought, maybe my wisdom teeth are acting up or something. I couldn't figure out what else it could be, it had to be my teeth. But my teeth didn't hurt, nor did my gums so I thought it very strange that my cheek would swell because of my nonhurting teeth. Being the smart and logical person that I am I go visit my friend Elizabeth, the wife of a dentist. Not an actual dentist.  I thought maybe that being married to a dentist, some of his knowledge of the teeth might have rubbed off on her. She was able to make an emergency appointment for me with her husband for the next afternoon at 4. Apparently swelling isn't good and usually means infection (you might want to jot that down for when that happens to you). 

 Wednesday Morning: The swelling has gone down but the pain has increased. I'm still tapping on my teeth to make sure that isn't what is hurting and counting down the minutes until I can find out what is wrong. By 11 am at work I'm pretty desperate to see a professional. "Ding" the drive thru sound buzzes in my ear (as I am at work wearing a headset) and I recognize the voice - Shaun McIntire and friend and a doctor. So, I proceed to tell him my problems when he reaches the window and I  basically get a medical exam through the starbucks drivethru window. No joke. He noticed the swelling and told me it was a duct or gland in my cheek that was clogged and not letting the fluids flow properly causing the swelling, pain and pressure (which by the way was now reaching my ear). I do not know the proper name for this. Dean Kirby tried to help me pronounce it but I don't remember. It's long and medical and that's all you need to know.  So, he called in some antibiotics for me and I couldn't wait to get off of work to get them.  So, on my way to get my medicine I go to get into my car and my handle of my driver side door comes completely off - and I think to myself "are you serious?!" My car already looks ghetto with my two back tire hubcaps missing and now I don't have door handle. For crying out loud the car is not that old. Maybe I just have brute strength that I didn't know I had or maybe was brought on by my swollen cheek. Now I climb in and out of my passenger side door to get into my car. Ridiculous. Then that night I play dodgeball with a bunch of teenagers wrapped in bubble wrap - oh yes - my life is not boring. 

 Thursday Morning: My cheek still hurts. I haven't eaten anything solid in the last two days and I'm cranky. Yesterday my thoughts were - this is hilariously disastrous. I mean I could laugh about this. Today my thoughts are I just want to eat. My dear friend Tara brought me ice cream and for that I am so grateful. I thought if there was any week that I needed a little extra encouragement this would be the week. But you can't ask for such things. I started my first class of grad school and found it unusually boring as my professor decided to tell us all about his life in Arizona. But at the end of the day I got to see Chris Larsen, hear him speak and hear the common ground band guys lead worship - that was wonderful. 

 Friday morning : well that's today and I don't know what's in store but I'm still hungry, have lost some weight and am battling crankiness. Pain is still there but I'm hoping next week will be better. 

Back to the Blog - Episode 1

  The thing about blogging is that I never keep up with the actually blog. It's a lot like exercising. I start of motivated and eager to make "this thing" work and for the first two weeks I'm golden. I'm running everyday, or doing some sort of activity and then one tiny insignificant thing happens and in the third week I'm on the couch again going "I really should exercise more often." The same thing happens to me when I blog. I start off good, refreshed and full of ideas to jot down on paper - or in this technological world - to type on the computer but one thing leads to another and I find that I have forgotten my password to even get on the blog. By the way, why does everything need a different username and password. It's like you need a notebook to remember them all and then that defeats the purpose of the security because what if someone steals the notebook? But I digress .... Maybe after months, ok maybe after a year of neglect from my little blog a friend at work suggested I go back to it. My amazing friends who listen to me rant and ramble about everything might actually be applauding this effort because then I can get my words all out in writing instead of talking people's ears off about seemingly minute details no one wants to hear but I feel are so necessary to the story.  So ... my peculiar week as prompted a return to the art of writing for the public, which i will tell you all about in Episode 2.