If Only I Could Have Just One More

I found this note under my Christmas tree…

Dear Santa, (Mom and Dad too!)
This year I have been asking my parents for a beatutiful puppy. I could take a dog that would grow to be big or small. I don’t know if your really real but, I disited to try and write you a letter this year of age 9, 2009. I wanted to give you some ideas on were to get the dog. Maybe you could get a doxin from my friend Katie, or a yorkie from the human socioty, or any dog really. My dad wants a small one, so be thinking, but, I have a big one that is very nice! I want 1 more dog and I am so ubsested with dogs and love them so much. And dad if you read this letter I want you to know that I will take care of the dog. Santa please make this wish come true and come through my chimny door and make a wonderful child be filled with joy. Mom if you read this letter I want you to know I will be on my best behavior.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love, Aubree
P.S. Please, please, please make it happen. And my dad keeps calling the REAL dogs stuffed animals make sure he knows!!!
P.S.S. Please sign here if your real! (Your real name not Santa) _________________________________

I laughed when I read this note that my daughter wrote to Santa (and her parents that might have influence in the matter). She shook the first package addressed to Aubree that I placed under the tree and said, “Mommy, hurry, get something to poke holes in the top of this box or my dog might not be able to breathe!”

It is with that determination and desire for something special that makes me smile. Her youthfulness at Christmas time causes me to remember my childhood Christmas days. Now as I’m living on the other side of those days I find it much more difficult when my little one plays the Santa card.

Sometimes what we want isn’t necessarily what we need. Other opportunities are presented and life deals a different set of cards. Some doors that open swing with ease. Others are heavy and must be pushed with all our might. Still other doors open and shut everyday just the same for years and years.

I am sad to say that I am officially writing my last Life In The Fishbowl for The Derby Informer. I have had great fun writing this column and I would like to thank all of my readers for following. It has been a delight to work for The Derby Informer and I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! You may still read my writings on my blog at www.franzlifeinthefishbowl.blogspot.com.

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last column’s word was ruminated, to meditate or muse, ponder.

The 2010 Shadows That Will Be or May Be

I overheard an older gentleman, with a spring in his step, talking on his cell phone in the mall. I assume the person on the other end of the phone asked how he was doing to which he replied confidently, “I am blessed and highly favored!” I was taken aback at first by his bold statement and then smiled as I saw how happy and grateful he was to be alive.

Scrooge, in the Christmas classic, ‘A Christmas Carol’, looked frightened as the spirit of Christmas future gave the visual of what was to come if he didn’t turn that frown upside down. His cold and bitter heart was warmed once he realized how miserable he and everyone around him would be in the years to come if he didn’t change his attitude drastically.

As I ponder the upcoming Christmas season of hope and the year 2010, I wonder will we deeply appreciate all that is given to us in a given day, no matter how small? It’s about believing that you are meant to be here, every day, regardless of the tribulations. Choosing to help another person in need is a weighty endeavor.

I recently made a new friend. His name is Victor. He’s 57-years-old and homeless. He lives in a place called Tent City. No family, only one friend in Indiana. So, we invited him to share a meal with our family on Thanksgiving Day. At the table, when Victor was asked what one thing he was thankful for, he sat silent for what seemed like hours. We had each rattled off the usual answers, faith, family, friends, a home, church, etc. Victor ruminated, trying not to cry, he said, “I am just so grateful to be alive and to be here. To not be alone today and to have this food to eat.”

We were all moved and felt a haze of reality come over us. Here was a man with nothing. Granted he had made some bad choices to get him where he was in life. But, now he was ready to start anew, begin again. He has a part time job. He’s saving to be able to move out of Tent City. He walks and walks. Victor attends church because someone from the church served him a free hot meal. His toothless smile is priceless. He doesn’t ask for anything but says thank you for everything.

After stuffing ourselves, perusing the sale papers, playing games, working the traditional puzzle and watching the Cowboys and the Macy’s parade, we took Victor and the family to see Jim Carrey’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. Not only was it his first time watching a 3-D movie, it was his first time going to the movie theater. With popcorn and coke in hand he sat relishing the thought of using his 3-D glasses for the dual purpose of sunglasses.

At the end of the day it was not easy taking Victor home to his tent on that chilly Thursday night.

In the weeks and year to come… think about the shadows that will be or may be. Although, the spirit of Christmas to come may not be clearly showing your outcome in a dream or vision, don’t let that prevent you from doing good for those less fortunate.

As Tiny Tim said, “God bless us everyone!”

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last column’s word was palpable, readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived, etc.; obvious; evident.

Isn't Everyone Grateful for the Easy Peel Seal?

Seriously, you mean to tell me you aren’t indebted to the gel padded bike seats? What about the middle lane? Self-propelled lawn mowers? Craigslist and Ebay? Shoes and accessories? Papa Murphy’s gourmet veggie pizza? Extended deadlines? Paying your hair stylist way too much money just to hear him/her say, “You have the most fantastic hair!”

Maybe those things are too complicated and self-indulgent. But, what about the simple things in life? A hot shower? Clean water to drink? A good book? Warm sheets and blankets to get cozy in? Quality time with family and friends? Ice cream?

I asked my friends to tell me what they were grateful for, besides the palpable answers such as God, family, friends and church. Below is a small sampling or the original responses I received:

· That I don’t have crazy ear hair.
· Firearms and the opportunity to shoot them with my son.
· A warm toilet seat in the dead of winter.
· I am thankful that I am free from Islam.
· My blood work and ultrasound came back negative.
· For where I have been and where I am going.
· Colors!
· My daughter is able to come to the school where I work.
· Challenging life experiences that make me stronger and give me a different perspective.
· The troops that have died for our freedom.
· An amazing job where I get to do everything I love most.

I felt that this was quite an array of varied responses. It helped me to reflect upon the real meaning of this Thanksgiving season and be prepared to share my appreciation to those less fortunate than myself.

How about a friend who motivates and encourages you? The saint who shows up on you front door step to give you a home-cooked meal after you’ve given birth to a baby or had the flu all week? The neighbor that is there for you when a tragedy strikes? The spouse who forgives and loves unconditionally? The unexpected gift selected just for you?

Many are without jobs, homes, food and money this year. What are you grateful for? Is it the simple and/or complicated? Are you in need or able to give? Whatever your circumstance may be I encourage you to find what it is that you are grateful for and pay it forward.

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last column’s word was lardaceous, meaning lardlike and fatty.

True or False: Skinny people are always healthy and physically fit?

I have come to the realization that age and gravity are working against my body.

I was always one of those girls that could eat whatever, whenever, wherever and not worry about calories, fat grams, sugars or french fries, ice cream and fast food. A couple of years ago, all of that junk ended up in my trunk.

There’s nothing nice to say about it, this gradual process of my body morphing into some unidentified foreign object and my hips becoming lardaceous. The depressing state of knowing that I need to make wise food choices and exercise routinely while making sure to confuse my muscles.

I’m every woman. It is true what older women have always told me.

But do not despair for, “Your age will never exceed the numbers that stare at you from the scale you stand upon.” This ancient proverb I contrived will always be true (unless you have a serious case of anorexia) and is meant to encourage.

So, like all desperate American women, yearning to look like we did at 21, I have turned to friends’ advice, magazines, P90X, dieting by eating smaller, healthier portions more frequently, kickball and water.

Yuck. I hate water. It’s so boring and flavorless. This week I decided to beat the power that aspartame-infused Diet Dr. Pepper has over my mind. Yes, I suffered the “I’m addicted to caffeine headache,” and no I don’t like water any more than I did before. I’m pretty sure that I started gaining weight after I started drinking diet soda. Maybe it’s a scam.

At the advice of a special friend I have replaced the caffeine with the all-natural, energy-boosting B-12 spray under the tongue.

I started playing in a kickball rec league this fall and I consider it proper therapy. It’s not so much about toning my muscles as it is about reliving those childhood years with a bunch of other adults on our co-ed team.

Here’s the bright side. Halloween candy screams from every room in my house, “Pick me, unwrap me, eat me!”

Admit it parents, we have all broken commandment number eight and stolen at least one piece of our children’s candy while they were away from their prized loot bag.

Then there’s the brighter side, after the passing of Halloween... Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities invite delectable foods of all sorts.

All sarcasm aside, discipline has to be cerebral. I will attempt to get my mojo on and the only deal breaker may be my own lack of commitment to accepting my slowing metabolism. I will rise above, soar past Wendy’s and make myself accountable to others striving to defy gravity.

So this year as my November birthday adds another year to my double digits, I will look forward to the beginning of a new era and if that fails... I guess there’s always Zumba.

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last column’s word was odious, meaning deserving or causing hatred, detestable, repugnant, disgusting.

The Systematic Comparison of U2 and the Swine Flu

As I scanned the highlights of my friends on my Facebook site I noticed that many of my friends have attended the recent U2 360’ tour. The band is in the United States during the months of September and October.

Sell out crowds flock the stadiums and arenas universally to catch a glimpse or better yet an eye of one of the band members. My best friend in college, Tammy Davis, went to a show with her husband.

“We made it to the inner circle. Close to the stage. I got some awesome pictures. And oh yes, Bono looked at me (& Jordan Stancil), pointed to us, and said ‘Walk on,’ I don't care who you are, that's cool,” she said.

This band has been around since I was an adolescent. They were the stuff then and they are the stuff rock and roll legends are made of now. I’ll never forget Trevor Hicks. Not only for his wholesale amounts of intelligence but for his devotion to U2. Vice President of my 1990 graduating class, Trevor Hicks stands next to a U2 sign to express his individuality in the yearbook.

Countdown after countdown appeared as posts on Facebook walls. Hourly and daily updates leading up to witnessing the epic event according to U2 fans. As I watched a post concert video of Bono singing “Amazing Grace,” my daughter asked whom it was singing. I told her U2 but she heard, You Tube, and thought that was a weird name for a band. I then clarified.

Although our economy is skidding down an icy mountain into the hungry mouth of Sasquatch, the same theory holds true. People will spend all of their savings (in America = max out credit) and travel to the ends of the earth to see and hear their favorite band live.

People will also do whatever is necessary to prevent an odious disease from attacking. A vaccination will be purchased and injected or snorted. The media will hype the scare to the “nth” degree and the good people of the world will believe that this vile virus will soon live in each of our bodies if we don’t act immediately.

Imagine thousands of people in an arena watching a concert, spitting, singing, yelling and sweating. Imagine those germaphobes everywhere holing them selves up and shuttering at the thought of a flu that can cause death in some rare cases.

I’m not sure the hoopla for either U2 or the Swine Flu are pragmatic.

What I do know is that with or without you, even if you live where the streets have no names or have lived through Sunday bloody Sunday or an unforgettable fire, an overwhelmingly large amount of our population still haven’t found what they’re looking for.

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last column’s word was arcane, known or understood by very few; mysterious; secret; obscure; esoteric.

How to make the best of an ER visit

“Sometimes, despite your best efforts otherwise, life will give you lemons.” (Quote from the newly released movie, Love Happens)

I can’t think of one time that I visited an emergency room and it was a pleasant or expeditious experience.

There was the time I was in college and had an earache so acute that I thought having only one ear would of been a better option. Or the time I drove to the hospital as my son grabbed at his heart in agonizing pain. He had just played a basketball game at the YMCA in Wichita and was having severe chest pain. And, most recently, the middle of the night visit for my son’s infected elbow.

I had just taken him to see the pediatrician that same afternoon and she put him on an antibiotic and gave specific instructions to call if he started spiking a fever. Sure enough, the fever struck his tween body and the pain crept into the elbow region, next to his wenis. The skin on your elbow is called your wenis. Mothers with boys may know this little known fact already. This is the most memorable anatomical fact my son learned while attending Derby Hills Elementary. I’d like to think that he has genetically inherited my love for arcane words.

In we walked at the midnight hour bracing ourselves for a long wait, ready to people watch. We did our best to stay germ free as the lady sitting adjacent to us sounded as if she might hack up a lung. The nurse asked us if we’d been out of the country or state within the last two weeks and if we’d ever been exposed to tuberculosis. I tried to remain calm and not think about all of the questions that were spinning through my mind.

I sat with my latest read, while Avery played Tetris on my cell phone. After being seen by the doctor and x-rays were taken, Avery left none the better. The doctor said he did not what to “cut into that mess,” and suggested we go back to Avery’s pediatrician in the morning. It was morning! 2 a.m. in fact. I was not a happy mom. I didn’t show my frustration but took my son home to sleep and waited till the next day.

That afternoon we went back to the pediatrician who told us to go to the children’s hospital. He finally had his elbow drained of the infection the next night at a children’s hospital and has since recovered from the two-day ordeal. My point in sharing this story is that when life throws acidy lemons at your open wounds, make the best of a bad situation. When emergency room and pediatrician co-pays are stacking up one on top of the other we have to find a way to make sugary sweet, lemonade.

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last column’s word was commences, to begin, start.

What 1 Book Would You Want to be Buried With?

Up until the last couple of years the word “reading” wasn’t even in my vocabulary. Reading has become part of my daily routine.

I wish I could say that I am a fast reader but I read at a slow pace in order to process every word printed on the page. Maybe it’s my ADD, “Attention to Detail” Disorder that causes this innate meticulous behavior. It could also be the fact that I have two children that are constantly interrupting and needing my attention?

Trying to read is much the same as a mother answering or making a phone call. Every mom knows that once she picks up the phone or a good book there is always a child nearby in dire need of some important question to be answered such as, “Mom, can Braxton spend the night?” Or a sibling spat commences. Or something in the house is missing and only Mom, can find it at that exact moment.

Reading has become a habit that I have acquired since the kids have gotten older. My sister is nine years younger than I with two little ones at home.

She asked me, “Did you read a lot when your kids were younger?”

To which I replied, “The back of cereal boxes, internet news headlines, Dr. Seuss and once in a while a parenting magazine.”

When the kids are little it is tough to pick up a good book and escape. I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read, “I make milk, what’s your superpower?” That was my story not so long ago and the thought of extra-curricular activities such as reading wasn’t a thought at all. The idea of finishing a whole book was as funny as Ellen Degeneres becoming an American Idol judge.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Let me encourage you mothers all over the world; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It starts at the beginning of the school day. Unless you choose to home school, and then you’ll need to speak to an experienced home schooling mom to find out if reading beyond textbooks is fiction or non-fiction.

I have found that reading while the kids are in school or at night after they have fallen asleep are the best times to squeeze in my quiet time. Of course, this means sacrificing cleaning the house during the day and watching some of my “must see” TV shows in the evenings. The indulgence is worth the payoff once I finish a book and am strengthened, rewarded and educated.

This year my goal has been to read a book a month and I have already surpassed my goal by reaching 14 1/2 in the month of September. For a list of these books and reviews please visit my blog at www.franzlifeinthefishbowl.blogspot.com. In my blog I also explain why I only read half of one of the books I began reading.

May I take this time to encourage you all to pick up a book and read? Time restraints, media and technological outlets and the great outdoors always seemed to be a better choice. However, after taking some time to join a book club and discover the vast variety of interesting authors and genres of writing I believe I will be able to have a good book in my hand for the rest of my life.

When I breathe my last, the only book that I want to be holding in one hand is the one straight from heaven, the Bible. It’s a best-seller, inspired by God, that offers His hope and promises. It is relevant, timeless, and spans the generations. But don’t just take my word for it, check it out at the library.

Word of the Week: Each week I add a word that I have come across in my reading for which I did not know the definition. After looking it up I try to use it in my future columns. Last week’s word was chieftain, a leader of a group, band, etc.”

The Wednesday Letters/Jason F. Wright Fiction - dull 2
The Glass Castle/Jeanette Walls Memoir - stick-to-itiveness 3
Sunrise Series/Karen Kingsbury Christian fiction – goodness 3
Sister Chicks Down Under/Robin Jones Gunn Christian fiction - girly 2
Blink of an Eye/Ted Dekker Christian fiction - non-judgmental 3 Adam/Ted Dekker Christian fiction – satanism 4
Tamar, Unveiled/Francine Rivers Historical religious fiction – callous 4 Bathsheba, Unspoken/Francine Rivers Historical religious fiction -humanity 4
And the Shofar Blew/Francine Rivers Christian fiction – sinful 5
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness/Andrew Peterson Fantasy – imaginative 4
North! Or Be Eaten/Andrew Peterson Fantasy – venery 4
The Great House of God/Max Lucado Non-fiction religious – encouraging 3
Crazy Love/Francis Chan Non-fiction religious – bold truthfulness 5
The Last Lecture/Richard Pausch Non-fiction – useful 4
Tourist Season/Carl Hiassen (half read) Florida fiction – disturbing 2

My favorite author is Francine Rivers, but I do not regret reading any of these books. Each author dispensed a degree of education, comic relief and drama.

Carl Hiassen, author of Hoot, was new to my list. He is a well-known Floridian author who writes about the Sunshine State. A Florida native, I have a deep understanding of the tropical climate. Alligators abound and the belly crawler already stimulates enough fears and anxiety deep within my bones to add to the imagination. I chose to conclude my reading half way through the book.