Since we had promised a few decades earlier (during our rousing “vote-for-me-to-be-your-class-officer” speeches) to “be there” for our fellow classmates when the time came to plan our reunions—these officers-turned-attorneys and executives were now hopping on weekly conference calls to make all the arrangements: A special seating section at the Homecoming football game. A tour of the old high school. A Saturday night party on the floor of the famed “Spinning Wheels” skating rink where we had danced the Hokey Pokey on wheels at the end of the night. A web page to sell tickets. And a Facebook Group where we’d begin inviting our graduating class of 550 (we were the only high school in town) to engage, share stories and photos, and shake the trees to get as many people as possible to join us.
Category: Friends
Open Hearts
“The friends of your heart are not to be taken for granted
and should always be granted much more than they would take.”
I really hadn’t planned to get to know them very well. The circles of friendship I’d been investing in over the years were solid and full—I didn’t need to add any more friends. Plus, I might be moving across the country in a few months—so I told myself there really was no reason to forge new relationships, what with leaving town fairly soon and all.
5 Things I’ve Learned Since Prom
It’s prom season. Which means Facebook feeds are popping up with happy photos of dapper couples sporting color-coordinated dresses and cummerbunds, showcasing pretty flower wrist corsages. There’s hope and celebration in their smiles and a wistful “school-is-almost-over” delirium. My friends with prom-going teens are sharing that the make-up, hair, and nail appointments—plus tux rentals, elaborate prom invites, and dinner plans—are budget-busting and more complex than some weddings we remember. At the same time, the dresses are much more simple and streamlined than the fussy, ruffled peach taffeta affair I wore back in the day.
Showers for Singles
At a recent wedding shower, while watching the bride-to-be open a tissue-stuffed box filled with her brightly-patterned dishes, I considered that she already has plates in her cupboard. I was at her apartment recently for dinner and her plates were just fine. Yet here are lots of new ones.
She’s 34 and has lived on her own for quite some time, so owns many of the standard items she’s now receiving. When she really needed the gift shower was after her college graduation as she moved into an apartment. Instead, she, like me, got pans from her mother’s cupboard (her mom’s wedding gifts, in fact), hand-me-down cooking utensils and old, chipped serving platters.
Bless This House
While house blessings are a tradition in many religions, the idea was new to me when I moved into my first home and wanted somehow to mark the occasion and ask for God’s protection and peace. After talking to friends, researching the idea, and remembering a sermon about how Joshua walked the perimeter of his property and asked for God’s blessing (Joshua 24:15), I decided to do the same for my new home.
I discovered that Los Angeles pastors reported a rise in house blessings, especially following an earthquake or natural disaster. Although earthquakes weren’t much of a threat in my Texas town, I gathered a few friends and family and prepared a simple ceremony using Bible verses and hymns.
Sleep Sweetly
Two friends of mine have been fighting sleep for weeks. Desperately wanting to drift off as their heads hit the pillow, they just can’t.They’re in misery. Our bodies are designed for rest and quiet to restore, replenish, and recharge. They’ve tried warm baths, herbal tea, SleepWorks (great stuff, normally), and reading. But at 2 a.m. they’re still awake–minds darting to and fro.
Their bleary-eyed tossing leaves me sad. I’ve prayed for their rest and shared with them this little poem, which has been a gentle reminder for me throughout the years when I’ve found myself desperate for sleep but allowing my worries and fears to swirl untethered.
Letters to Read on a Bad Day
My first job out of college I worked for gifted entrepreneur Dale Hanson Bourke at her consulting firm, Publishing Directions, Inc. She taught me so many things about running a business, client relationship development, and a brilliant method for proofreading and catching mistakes on a page!
One day in a file drawer, I spotted a folder labeled “Letters to Read on a Bad Day.” She created it after receiving a nice letter on a bad day and decided to save it. More than 25 years have passed, and she still has the file and uses it!
Hello New Year
As the calendar page turns over a new year, the flipping feels as fast as the commercials zipping by for Oprah’s WW, Nutrisystem, Lifetime Fitness, and E-Trade Investments….” A New Year, A New You” we’re promised. Blog posts boast the 5 ways to make resolutions stick and how to kick those recurring bad habits.
Motivating perhaps. Inspiring—maybe. Experience, for me, has borne out that focusing on a few areas and considering what might be possible these next 365 days can have a profound effect on what actually happens throughout, rather than just hoping the new year turns out better than the last. Asking, “What do I/we want this year?” “What are my goals?” “What needs to change?”