The Cone of Silence is Lifted

I have recently been accused by the spousal unit of spending too much time online in the evenings. Actually, he thinks I spend too much time on the internet period. So, in the interest of Godly submission and less time on the computer I have not blogged all weekend, including Friday. It was surprisingly liberating, because I have become rather obsessive about blogging every day, and sometimes I really have to stretch to find something to talk about.

The weekend was remarkably uneventful and I spent most of it relaxing or sleeping. We were supposed to attend the VBS parent's night on Friday, but Nathan didn't seem particularly excited about going so we bailed. We ordered Mexican food and after eating and relaxing for a few hours, I mustered up enough energy to cut the grass before the thunderstorms promised by the weatherman materialized.

Nathan spent the night with Kaben and Saturday morning I went to get the boys to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought it was awesome, but Nathan and Kaben were picking their noses and wishing that they had thought to bring their Gameboys about half-way through the movie. Nathan really likes the first few Harry Potter movies, but I think that the new ones are just too far beyond his scope of experience. The older the character gets (he's 15 in the new movie) the less that Nathan can relate to him. Harry and his friends deal with more adult issues as they get older and the movie is less action and more dialogue, which bores my 6 year old to tears.

Case in point: Harry kisses a girl on the lips. Now, this was a rather chaste kiss...no craziness, no groping...but Nathan and Kaben (in unison) said, "Ewwwwwww" when it happened. I almost laughed out loud at the stereo gross-out, but was secretly happy that the boys are still little boys and not truly interested in the opposite sex in spite of random comments by Nathan about "hot" girls and the like. When I hear him say things like that (after I close my gaping jaw), I just use it as an opportunity to teach him how to regard girls not as objects, but as smart people with diverse personalities and talents.

Our neighbors had a birthday party that lasted for approximately 12 hours. They must have a lot of friends, because there were cars parked all up and down our street. Now we don't mind large parties and loud music when it is conducted at a reasonable time of the day. But (and this is true to form from what we've seen) their parties last beyond what most people would consider to be a normal length of time. Their guests start arriving at noon or one, and they are still going strong at 11 pm with no signs of stopping. When we walk out on our deck, all we can smell is alcohol and cigarettes and it goes on for hours.

When I woke up Sunday morning, the first thing I did was peek over the fence to see the aftermath and I was not disappointed. Trash and beer cans littered their yard and all I could think was that the mess would not be cleaned up for at least a week. Then again, it's not my yard or my family, so it's really none of my business.

After teaching Sunday School, it was my week to lead children's church during morning worship. Every time that I work with children, it reinforces my belief that I was not cut out for children's ministry. I love my own children and the children of my friends and family, but I am completely and totally uncomfortable with any other children. They make me nervous and I always feel on the verge of losing control when they are in large groups. I've always been this way, and I'd hoped that being a mother would have changed some of that for me, but clearly it has not. I volunteer to help with the kids at church because my own children participate in the program and I feel that parents should be involved, but that is the only reason.

We all have spiritual gifts, and working with kids is most definitely not mine. My prayer is that I can just get through the time that I have committed to work with a cheerful spirit and a gracious attitude.

When I got home from church, I ate lunch and then went directly to bed for a nap. I slept for about 2 hours and woke up in a much better frame of mind, and feeling 100% refreshed. We finished the day with fajitas and homemade tortillas, and now I am looking forward to a new week. Praise God for restful weekends and productive work weeks.