A Full Moon is a Disturbing Sight

I know you only clicked on the title because you thought you'd see pictures. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am actually writing about the moon.

Now, I realize the moon in its full phase is beautiful to behold. I do have a healthy appreciation for the beauty of creation. However, when you are in my line of work, a full moon is indicative of the havoc about to ensue -- an excellent time for a sick day. Unfortunately, most of the time I don't notice it until I am en route to work. Much too late to call in sick. Man, I wish I paid more attention to the moon indicator on my atomic clock!

Can I just say you have never truly experienced the full moon phenomenon until you have tried to hold captive a class full of hormonally-charged middle school students long enough to teach them your lesson plan? I'm telling you the truth. There is something disturbing about the sight of a full moon.

He Knows

It's been awhile since I've posted, I know. Pretty busy the last few weeks, I guess. Funny how the blog gets shoved lower and lower on the priority list. Today, however, I couldn't let the opportunity pass by without saying something.

Lately -- probably like many others -- I've been disturbed in my spirit. I have been concerned about the future of my family. I've been praying a lot about it -- What will we do? Where will we go? And, frankly, feeling at a loss for any of those answers.

Today, I was going through the kids' school folders while they did homework, and I discovered the new verse for this week: Psalm 32:8. If you knew the true bent of my heart lately, you would understand why I felt God was speaking directly to me. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." You know what? God knows. He knows me. He knows where my heart is. He knows my worries. He knows what is going to happen, even though I don't. He knows, and He is watching over me. I don't think you can get much more personal than that.

P.S. For people who like history: Today is the 70th anniversary of Kristalnacht.

The Shadow of Death

My daughter has always been a bit too preoccupied with death for my taste. Tonight she told me she didn't want me to "get died" from being shot or "get died" from an accident. I had to ask, "Well, what if I 'get died' from being really sick? Is that okay?" To this she replied, "Yeah." I guess if you think about it, you could say she is concerned that I would be taken from her suddenly, but if she's expecting it, it wouldn't be as bad. I'm not exactly sure how to take that.

She went on to tell me she had been worried I was going to die when I went to the hospital to have the baby last year. She added, "Women do die of that, you know." Quite honestly, I do remember the anxiety being visible in her face when she came to see me in the hospital that afternoon. She was truly afraid it would happen.

It's one thing to reflect on your own mortality, but when your child brings it up, it is very disconcerting. I want to run away screaming, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Instead I told her, "We'd miss each other too much." She replied, "But you'd be in my heart. And I would always remember you." A small consolation, I guess.

Not to be morbid or belabor the point, but this does bring up some deep questions for me. What would my kids do without me? Have I been doing a good enough job raising them to keep them on the right path when I'm gone? Will they have good support and role models around to help them get through the teenage years? Through life? Are they going to remember me as someone who was too tired or preoccupied to talk or play with them? What kind of legacy am I really leaving behind?

I just better not 'get died'. I still have too much child-rearing to do.

One of My Hobbies

Quilting is one of my hobbies. I made a full size quilt once, but it took me four years to finally finish the thing. I don't venture past baby quilts anymore, because I need to see a finished product regularly; although, I have found my production slows down considerably when I have a baby in the house. I actually have two I'm working on right now, and at least two which have to be done quickly thereafter. I make a quilt for each of my nieces and nephews and only a few others whom I consider as close as family, but I have done two or three for pay (they are hand-quilted, so each one is special). Some of the patterns are my own creation, others I just modified from one I've seen or done before. Here is a small sampling of my work:

Snoopy quilt
Sports Ball quilt - the fabric was textured, so each ball square was different
Strawberry Shortcake quilt -- can you find my mistake?
VeggieTales -- btw, stippling by hand takes FOREVER! - LX's
Zoo quilt - Taz's
Cars quilt - it's supposed to look like a race track in the middle
Elmo quilt - QB's
Ladybug quilt - Looks really cool, but the snowball pattern is a huge pain
Pink Panther quilt -- my all-time favorite, I think
Precious Moments quilt - I liked the textures in the different fabrics, but I prefer a better contrast in the colors

Room to Run

It's not often Taz has an entire gym to run around. We were at church this evening, but Taz has a bad cold, so he couldn't join the babies in the nursery. He got to hang out with Mommy instead. Of course, that meant I couldn't really sit in my class, I got to chase him around in the gym.

The reason I brought this up -- have you ever seen a puppy try to run? You know, its back legs get going too fast for its front legs and the poor little thing ends up running sideways. Well, I have never seen a bi-ped do that before tonight. Taz gets going so fast, his body can't keep up with his little legs, or vice-versa (I'm not exactly sure what's really happening). He looks just like a puppy trying to run!

But, Boy, was he having a blast. He ran ALL OVER the place. Every time he saw a new basketball hiding somewhere under a bench or behind a chair, he would drop the one he already had, run to the new "brrr", pick it up and throw it. One of these days I'm going to bring my video camera with me just to capture this for posterity. It was easily the most entertaining thing I've seen all day, and I teach middle school! :)

P.S. If you've been anxiously awaiting new vocabulary words, I've still been posting them, but they are on my Academic Drivel blog. I have enjoyed reading your uses of the new words. Keep up the good work!