Full day, full heart

I am composing this on my iPhone.  My iPad is on the kitchen counter downstairs and I am too exhausted to go down there and get it.  After a long meeting this morning and then at church for day one of a Children's Ministry conference, I am emotionally full and exhausted.  The choir that G participates in sang as part of our evening worship.  I truly believe the group was blown away by their talent.  i was so proud of all of them.  Our keynote speaker, Dr. Leanne Hadley, spoke on grief in children and how to provide a sacred space for children to grieve and heal and become new.  I was absolutely captivated by her message.  Hopefully I can articulate it better tomorrow, but for now just know that I am full and exhausted.  I must be at church by 7:15 tomorrow, so bedtime must come now.   Sleep tight!

Blue suede dancing day

I am kind of tired today. Spending a gross amount of time folding, sorting and putting away laundry, did I mention gross amount, was not what I had planned for my Thursday. A bagel, cup of joe and a good book whilst sitting in Panera or on my couch sounded really nice, but alas it was not to be. You know how socks disappear in the laundry? Well, I think all the missing socks of the world reunited, melded into tshirts and invaded our home. Honestly, and I overuse this term, but tshirts multiply like tribbles in my girls' room. They are like the flippin' Hydra. I throw one out and two come back in its place. Anyhoo, after I completed the laundry task, I went to school to see the first of two performances of the school chior performance. G sang a verse of "Blue Suede Shoes" and danced like only she can dance. I love all my children, but there is something about the way that kid moves her body that is so hysterical. The faces she makes are just the icing on the cake. A blank, but serious, stare on her face while doing the helicopter with her friends. Just a pure joy to watch. It was a fun show with lots of fun dancing, singing and even scooter riding by Elvis. What more could you want?





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Pain, suffering, and renewal

Guest post by the dear hub...

So, I am sure the blogmistress has probably hit on the chronicle of my back pain, the stresses it puts on the family and the day to day status my back seems to take. I know it and I sure wish there was an "Easy" pill to make this back pain all go away. Trust me, I spend my days in "prevent defense" trying to ensure I don't make my back worst or cause aggrevation. I have done a good job since November's steriod injection to keep may back "tolerable" and myself functional. So, here is my pain speak for "How is your back doing?" is the following:

OK- I am functional, but not pain free. I can tolerate the episodes of pain.
Not good - I am functional, some persistent pain, but the show must go on.
Bad - I am mentally searching for a "happy place" to mask moderate pain. I will likely sneak away when the pain makes me angry and lay down.
(I don't want to talk about it) - I am present, but the pain is significant. If I wince in pain, or sit or stand to relieve the pain, please don't think I am angry at you.

Where am I on the pain scale? Prior to Friday, the last 3.5 months I have averaged "OK." Friday was the first practice of the season, and I am a committed dad and continue to coach soccer. Sunday I was at the "Bad" point and today, I am at the "Not good." I am now at a cross roads: Do I give up coaching soccer and other activities? Or do I live life and expect more pain and possible surgery sooner rather than later? This is the line of questions I ask myself as I yo-yo through the pain cycle and associated suffering.

Tonight, we attended Ash Wednesday services. S was a little upset as there is a lady who attends church that suffers from some form of mental illness. She sat in the pew rocking back and forth talking to herself. S has struggled with typical middle school issues, and had a bout with mono in 2013. I leaned other and whispered: Everyone is fighting their own tough fight. Some fights are more visible than others. Be Kind.

Pain has taught me patience, kindness, and empathy. There are times when I would trade pains with others, but tonight i realize that this is part of my journey through life. If you are suffering, you are not alone. I pray that you find renewal, freedom from suffering, and a new beginning.


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Pancakes everywhere

Today is Shrove Tuesday and, as is tradition, we had a pancake supper at church with a family Lent event after. I always find people and their pancake eating habits quite fascinating. Maybe not their eating habits as much as their pancake preparation habits quite interesting. There were many pancake toppings to be added depending on your tastes: strawberry, blueberry, syrup, butter, bananas Foster and whipped cream and then sausage links as well. Some people had their toppings on the side, forming a pool in which they dunked chunks of pancake. I always, per my mother's instructions, always took a portion of butter on my plate and then took from that butter to take care of all the pancakes once I got to the table. Some people buttered both sides of their pancakes right there before getting toppings. Then there was the drown my pancakes in one particular topping or stack one pancake, one topping, next pancake, next topping lather rinse repeat. I found my son roliing his sausage link in his pancake. Cheaper than buying a box of Jimmy Dean's version.

As much as I love pancakes, that is not what this night was about. It was a preparation for Lent, a time to learn about the season. I'm grateful for this time of reflection and preparation for Easter...and the pancakes didn't hurt either.


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I am piling on and feeling evil

I am a bad person, but I am one of those people who has had a bit of a field day with John Travolta's major slipup with Idina Menzel's name pronunciation on the Oscars last night. I shouldn't be enjoying it as much as I am...but I am. There are hundreds of theories going around today about what in the world must have happened. He had a mini "episode" of some sort to the name was phonetically written out on the teleprompter and he forgot his glasses. Whatever the reason, he has throngs of little girls thrusting their frozen fists up in the air, cursing his major awards show faux pas. As I was checking "the Twitter" this evening, I found a handy widget called "Travolify My Name". You put your name in and in gives you John's creative version. Instead of Jenny Cook, my name is "Joey Cloirk". Some of the names I put in there had us crying they were so funny.

Yes, I am a horrible person for mocking Travolta along with lots of my fellow Oscar viewers. I hope he has a sense of humor and does something humorous in reaction to the "feedback". My husband "Blair " and I will ask for forgiveness in our amusement.


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Jenny's Super Bowl Is On

The Oscars are on tonight and I have no focus in the writing department. I have not missed an Oscar show since the 4th grade, I think. Even when I haven't gotten to see many of the nominees, I love it. The dresses and tuxes and presenters and singers and tributes. All of it. I even sacrificed, friends, and took a nap today so I wouldn't fall asleep before the final name was read. I'm a giver...I am.

Today has been a pretty stressful day and I am a distracted mess. Please forgive the brevity of the post. I'm just tapped out. I hope you have a good evening. Night all!


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Outside is the right side

It was yet another glorious day in East Tennessee. The hub took two children and went to line the soccer fields this morning. Since Pythagoras and I are not the greatest of pals, I chose to take S to get a new pair of "character heels" for her dance recital performance. Not sure why they call them that, but she did look like quite the character trying to walk in them...something akin to a tightrope walker in a full force gale. She'll get used to them I hope. Anything is better than her mother. I'd trip on a painted crack in the floor.

"Aunt Julie" came to work with our crazy canine this afternoon. She took a good look at the backyard and tried to figure out how to prevent another dog escape/home invasion incident. Still trying to work out that problem. That dog is a good egg, but she's crazy. We decided to finish the wearing out process by going to the dog park. We were prepared to go in and meet lots of dogs on this fine day until we heard a bad noise. Apparently the hounds of hell had descended upon the park and had decided to get in a fight after a chihuahua started it. Owners were screaming and sticking their hands in the middle of the melee, cursing their dogs and the other owners. That is when we did our best about face and walked away. The dog got to walk and watch a soccer tournament instead.

A good day was had by all. We are tired and yucky, but satisfied and ready to relax. I bought a little sign today that perfectly describes days like this:



Have a lovely evening, everybody.
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