Bathing Suit

Wes and I were at Superstore today browsing the Joe clothing. At one point Wes drew my attention to a bathing suit and commented on how it was nice. A few seconds later, he showed me another one. I found this a little odd and asked him if he didn't like the bathing suit I have.

Ever see a man squirm? I could see all the synapses in his brain on high alert. (If I say no, I don't like her bathing suit, she'll be offended. If I say yes, I'd be lying. What am I to do?)

I let him squirm for just a little while.

He made some lame comment about my current suit being not very chic. He didn't actually use the word chic but if he had said old fashioned, he would have been in big trouble. Believe it or not, I actually like my current suit and have absolutely no desire to buy another one.

Wes was happy, I think, that I found the whole exchange funny. And I really don't care what he thinks about my swimming attire because I'd rather have a tooth filled than go bathing suit shopping.

Memories of the Renovations

Before Rob and Michele moved into the basement apartment this past fall, we had already removed a wall which opened the apartment up to the rest of the basement. Rob felt that it had to be re-erected so that his family could be a little separated from the construction. It also kept the dust down.

The wall was a very clever use of use found and scavenged material. The door was most unique. It used to be the door to the closet under the stairs, a little narrow and short. It is the most fun door I'd ever seen. Every morning, when I walk down the stairs, this is what I would see:

If you look very carefully, you will see Dixie just to the right of Jed. They never made it through the little opening but they really tried!

Peace in the middle of chaos

Every now and then a thought pops into my head that there is something I need to work on in my life.

When I was a teenager, I read a poem by Rudyard Kipling called "If." "If you can keep your head while all those around you are losing theirs..." was the phrase that caught my eye. This past year the phrase kept coming back to me and I felt that God, in the gentle way that God works, was telling me that this might be the year that I could focus on those words. And so I gave God permission to lead me along a path that would teach me about being a calm, peace loving influence in the middle of chaos.

The interesting thing is that if you ask for patience or the ability to remain calm and peaceful during chaos, God doesn't often just "give" you calm and peace, he tends to send chaos so that you can learn the things you ask for.

To say this has been a chaotic year would be a pretty good description of the last 8 months or so. The chaos that has been most prevalent has been the renovations of this old house. It is a much bigger project than any of us anticipated. We've lived with mud, plaster dust, drywall dust, tradespeople, hopes and expectations of a completion date, moving boxes, beds, appliances from one spot to another and then back to their original spot. I think that the biggest challenge for me has been the fact that home has not been the sanctuary that home usually is for me.

I was asking God one day how I could keep perspective and a peaceful spirit in all of this chaos. And then it hit me. I am getting exactly what I have been asking for. Have I handled it in the calm peaceful way I would have liked? Sometimes.

I'm glad that life is almost back to normal. I think that I have learned a thing or two about tolerating chaos. I think that I was able to "keep my head" most of the time. I appreciate more than ever the peace and security of a home, something that so many people in this world do not experience.

And to be honest, I'll miss having the workers around. A little bit of chaos keeps life interesting. But just a little bit. I'll enjoy the peace and quiet for now.