Turning insults into compliments

Probably my favorite comment from Maddie this last week came as she was practicing writing words. Not yet in Kindergarten, she is very into spelling and writing, and does most of it phonetically.

She wrote me a message, giggling all the while, and brought it over to show me.

"See, Aunt Lana. It says, 'Hey, Aunt Lana, you're a baby!"

I looked down and read: "Hey, Aunt Lana, you are a BABE!"

She rocks. Obviously.



Another time, she was holding a squirmy Katie on her lap and responded to her grandma's request to help clean up:

"Well, I'd really like to help ya, but I've got this full grown kid on my lap. I'm handling a heavy kid."

And the good times roll

Being the primary care-giver for the girls these last 4 days has been quite a challenge. Not to say I hate it. I don't. In fact, I very much enjoy the hilarity that their little jokes and antics bring to my days. But the emotional adjustment to having an aunt 24-7, instead of parents, has been quite rough for them (and for me).

"It's not that you're doing a bad job, it's just that I'm used to my mom and a babysitter for maybe a couple of hours, but not you and not all of the time." (Maddie, age 5)

At least she is mostly reasonable and you can ask her to explain her feelings and, miracle of miracles, she can. Katie (age 3), on the other hand, hasn't really been vocal about it. Meaning, she hasn't said too much about being upset, it's just extremely apparent in her grouchiness and her fear of sleeping alone. Also in the fact that she hadn't defecated in three days and today left me the most unbelievable pull-up full. Wow.

Here are some snippets of conversation that Maddie and I have shared in the last four days.

"Is God real?"
Upon my affirmation that He is real, she said, "Well, is Santa Clause real, too?"
I swallowed hard, prayed for God to forgive me, and chose not to be the one to give her that reality check.

In our discussion of God's presence and reality in the world, we talked about how he sends angels to watch over people, especially children.
"All the kids in the world?" she asked, incredulously. "Well, then, I think there must be six thousand, one hundred and six angels watching over all the children. Even the ones that are sixteen. Maybe even the ones that are, like, a hundred!"

Upon her direction, our conversation turned to good and evil, God versus Satan.
"Satan must have, like, two angels, and God has a hundred, right?"
I assured her the ratios were something like that.

There couldn't be a day with Maddie that didn't somehow involve talking about clothes and appearance. I fear for her as a teenager, but for right now, it's hilarious. She and I were laying on our sides on the couch our first afternoon together. We were both wearing pink and both thought we looked pretty good. She studied my shirt for a moment and said, "Um, not to be rude, but I don't think, if I were you, that I would have bought that shirt." Completely taken aback, I had no words, so she continued. "I mean, it's a little too open right here." She pointed to my chest. "I don't think I would wear that again, if I were you." Laughing at that point, I had to explain that it wasn't so "open" when I was standing up. Gravity affects us in the most unfortunate ways sometimes.

Another cute moment: "You have a freckle on your lip. That's pretty cute!"

Evidence that she can be sweet.

Music is also a very big part of Maddie's life. When Stevie Wonder's song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" came on the radio yesterday, she listened intently to the words and then blurted, "I think you should sing this to Mr. Kyle. He'd really like the part where it says 'Here I am, baby'."

And finally, as we've been exchanging emails with her parents while they travel the world, it's been good for her to work on composing letters and awaiting responses. When she heard that her parents had escargot at dinner and that they want to take her on another cruise so she can try it again, she exclaimed, "That Rocks!" And instructed me to email her mom back saying, "That rocks, and because you said it, Mom, You Rock!"

So, four days in, we are starting to have fun. I see much more fun in our remaining week and a half.

Theodore Roosevelt

On Sunday, we continued our exploration of Nehemiah's vision for rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. This week we were looking at the various distractions and the inevitable criticism that will arise in the midst of trying to reach one's goals. Matt offered this quote from Teddy Roosevelt as an inspiration to not give up, to withstand the trials, to take a step of faith in the direction of our dreams.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

A la Frederick Buechner

“In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there will never be another just like it again. Today is the point to which all your yesterdays have been leading since the hour of your birth. It is the point from which all your tomorrows will proceed until the hour of your death. If you were aware of how precious today is, you could hardly live through it. Unless you are aware of how precious it is, you can hardly be said to be living at all.”

[emphasis added]

A Witness to my life

Somewhat embarrassed, I have to admit that I came across this profound quote in the movie Shall We Dance? which discusses why people get married.

"We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

A great thought

"God does not force his kingdom upon anybody but gladly gives it to all who know they're losers without him and humbly seek his help."

~ Clarence Jordan, Sermon on the Mount