From the Observation Deck

I spent the weekend catching up with some good friends from college. I haven’t seen them in about 15 years and was a bit anxious as to how everyone would be—in what ways have we changed and what we’d do during the visit. It took a whole three seconds to see that nothing really changes. It was like stepping back on to the third floor of Bowman Hall. It started with a quick meet with Beth, Kristen, and Karen (who we for some reason used to call Bimbleman) at the breakfast table and then on to a winery. Yup, that’s right. What do you think five forty-year old women are going to do when they meet up again? After the first tasting we met our old bard Shannon at the local mall. It was a bit comical to see a group of women screaming hello and hugging in the middle of the shoe department.

Lunch time was for catch-up where we realized that only one of us was doing anything remotely similar to the degree we earned in college. So if these statistics say anything about the general population then 80% of college students are too young to decide on what they want to be when they grow up. For example, Shannon, the English major who shunned numbers is now an accountant, and Kristen, who now works as a paralegal was an Urban Studies major. I was shocked that our school even offered that degree especially because none of us knew what the hell it was or that Kristen had majored in it.

After talking about careers, babies, husbands, and fun trips, we started talking about other old friends and remembering stories. At first I thought, jeez, I’m old and I’ve lost my memory. But then several of the other women remarked that Kristen just happened to have a recall of details the rest of us didn’t. It had something to do with partying…

The phrase, “Stop me if you heard this one…” started many a laugh. And Shannon topped the one-liner list with the statement, “The title of the book about my life will be, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’” And it’s also an appropriate reply to all the crazy things we did as young twenty-somethings—but not appropriate for my young nieces and nephews or my friends’ teenagers. We’re not that dumb anymore, kids.

Another wine tasting led to happy hour back at the hotel and then a nice dinner. The wine tastings were great. We learned about how certain grapes grew better here in Virginia, how the glass you drink out of can affect the taste, aerating the wine, and how (ahem, Beth) if you flirt a little with the wine guy you may get a little extra in your glass and a tour of the barrel room. (Not to be confused with the Barrel House, an establishment we frequented during our college years.)

What a great time. I encourage all of you to find some old friends on Facebook and arrange a reunion weekend. Not only will your abdomen hurt with all the laughing, but you’ll realize you haven’t changed that much, and your soul may just get the refreshment it needs. Thanks ladies! Ear!

Every time I think of a Gideon’s Bible I think of that song Rocky Raccoon. I’m up late right now and can’t sleep. That’s really nothing new these days, except I’m staying at a hotel and trying to get over a bad cold. I miss having my pets around and I hate the noise that comes with staying in a hotel, but there can be some upsides. I treated myself to some in-room dining. The cold kept me from venturing out and frankly it’s nice to make a phone call and a few minutes later have a nice meal appear at your door. Okay, that’s just like ordering pizza or Chinese food, I know, but it feels different. Better. And I’m also really enjoying the mirror on the closet door. I don’t normally like looking in the mirror, but this one is two mirrors with a divider down the center where the door folds. When I stand in front of the center of this mirror/door, half of my body disappears. I’m thin again. Wow, I look great.

Okay, bored with that and still not sleeping. I’ve had a really tough time lately with the whole unemployment thing plus some other stuff that has basically added up to some serious frustrations and me being a not-so-nice person. The reason I’m boring you with that complaint will become evident with the remainder of the story, so hold on and keep reading. I thought a few months ago I was doing pretty well with the “waiting on God” thing and being patient as His plan took place. Lately I’ve had some serious arguments (one-sided of course) with Him about his lack of haste. In any case, I have always enjoyed God’s sense of humor and the fun ways he likes to inject himself into my life. Like dropping hints and reminders to me through various means. This latest one was interesting and it made me think of a neat experiment we could all take part in.

So back to the sleeplessness in the hotel room. How to calm down and drift off? TV, done. Mirror image thing, done. Bath, done. Read through some passages of the Bible placed by the Gideons in the drawer next to the bed? Yup, good idea. It may help me calm down and sleep and I’ll earn brownie points with God so maybe he’ll get a move on with the job thing and the other stuff that’s pissing me off. As I looked for some uplifting passages I noticed a page that was dog-eared. And when I looked over that page, I started wondering about the visitor to this room that dog-eared that page. Looking more closely, I saw a pencil mark noting a specific passage. Hmmmmm. This started my imagination going. Who was it? What was this person going through that made them pick up the Gideon’s Bible in the night stand and circle this passage? Someone struggling with their marriage? Someone struggling with doing something right or wrong? (Remember, I was in a hotel room suffering from sleep deprivation late at night.) Was it someone who was going to give a speech at a seminar and needed inspiration? I skimmed some more and found more dog-eared pages with more passages circled. And what was funny was that these passages were perfect reminders for me. Thanks God. I know you did this. Good one. Here were two of the passages that the traveler left for me.

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Mathew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Here is an idea I’d like to put out to all you dear readers. Next time you’re in a hotel room, look through the Gideon’s Bible in the night stand and see if some pages are dog-eared and some passages are marked. And maybe make some of your own to give hope to the next weary traveler. At the very least you may inspire their imagination about who stayed in that room and what was happening in their life when they marked those passages…something to dream about. Good night.

Do you ever find yourself thinking; man I’m having such a bad day? Or this has been such a bad week? I do. Especially now that I’m out of work. I know that most of the world is living harder than I am and God has blessed me and provided for me. But still, sometimes it’s hard to not feel sorry for myself.

The other day, just as I was having a little pity party, I saw some poor schmuck walking along the side of the highway. Over his shoulder he was carrying the tailgate of his pickup truck that had fallen off down the road. That’s the kind of thing that makes you say, thank God I’m not that dude.

A bad day about to get worse

And as I was searching for something enlightening to share with you regarding bad days, I found a web site that shows us that even those rich, beautiful stars have bad days, too. So next time you look in the mirror and are upset about loose skin, extra weight, limp hair (or no hair), then take a look at this and know that if you had someone doing your makeup, hair, and wardrobe everyday, you’d look fit for the screen, too.

And if you’re not around a computer you could just thank God that part of your car is not lying on route 50. So just hang on ‘till tomorrow—and remember, life is good.

Life is good. Especially with a Grendel dog to share it with.