Funny How Time Slips Away

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Yes, it's been a long while since I have posted. And no, I haven't given up blogging for Lent, although the idea might be appealing. I wrote this post on Monday the 18th, but didn't publish until today, Sunday the 24th. I really have been trying to decide if I'm blogging because I'm writing, or if I'm writing because of my blog. Years ago, when I got into scrapbooking (I got back out quickly), I found myself taking pictures so that I could scrapbook, which seemed backwards. I should have been scrapbooking because I took pictures. So I don't want the blog to be the thing that drives the writing. Instead, the writing should drive the blog. Yes, I've become too philosophical about it. Maybe the real reason that I haven't posted is because I have been a bit busy cleaning out drawers and closets at my parent's house. We are moving Mom and Dad closer to us, which is turning out to be a good decision, because my mother continues to have operations to amputate her limbs. She is having another amputation tomorrow, and they will also be re-amputating her other leg, which sounds impossible but basically means that they will be removing more of the leg. So in the midst of the surgeries and the recovery and adjusting to a completely new way of living, we have also been taking a few jaunts down Memory Lane.

The passing of time is mysterious. Sometimes it feels like life is creeping along, and sometimes we turn around and wonder where time went. As we prepare for the move, we've found old photos that I had never seen. They were stuffed in a chest and dresser, destined for obscurity - probably the dumpster - and so we decided to go through them with "toss" and "keep" bags. I found the photos in plastic bags, envelopes, thrown loosely in small boxes. And when you're cleaning out drawers and closets that contain old photos, there is just no good way to do it quickly. It takes time to sit and soak in the time and place and moment when the photo was taken. As I looked through all these photos, I was taken back to sights and smells and sounds that I thought were gone. And I saw faces that had faded from memory. My Aunt Mary's image had become a blur, and suddenly there she was in a blue dress with pearl clip-on earrings. And even my own childhood face had been a little lost with the passing of time. Did I really wear sponge rollers as I pedaled around the neighborhood on my bike? I didn't remember that. And was there really an era where young mothers wore ponchos and headscarves...on vacation??? There was my mother staring out from the faded images of the old photos...young, healthy, with two legs and her whole life in front of her. She has fleeting moments of wanting to give up these days, but we tell her that she can't because we need her and because life can go on without legs, and because she is still the same person regardless of what parts of her body are removed. As I look at the pictures, I wonder if my words sound empty to her. As she told me last night, "this isn't happening to YOU, it's happening to ME." And she is right. It is her body, and I can't feel what she is feeling. So all I could say to her was, "Let's just take it one day at a time...one moment at a time." So now, the passing of time seems to be creeping along because we aren't going to allow ourselves to look too far ahead these days. Just a day - a moment at a time. But we're doing it together. We're still making memories even though we have aged and changed since the old photos were taken.

Time passes. Life goes on. And God has brought us to this place because there is still life to live and so we will live it. It makes me realize that I simply must start taking more photos of these days. Because time has a habit of slipping away.

Happy Year of the Rat!!

Chinese New Year begins today and lasts about 15 days. And it's the year of the Rat.

Ever since I learned to love Chinese food in high school, I've loved reading the Chinese Zodiac placemats. Usually you find these at the less fancy restaurants (and Royal Dragon in Tulsa), but I always go through everyone whose birth year I know and compare the traits with the person. And amazingly the Zodiac seems to be pretty accurate. I'm a Snake. Here is my Zodiac:"Rich in wisdom and charm, you are romantic and deep thinking and your intuition guides you strongly. Avoid procrastination and your stingy attitude towards money. Keep your sense of humor about life. The Snake would be most content as a teacher, philosopher, writer, psychiatrist, and fortune teller." See? Pretty right on except for the romantic part. And I would never say I'm stingy with money - I'm just thrifty. But of course it's oh so true about that wisdom and charm. And who wouldn't agree completely that their Zodiac is accurate when it starts with those traits. You see how these things work, don't you?
Kyle and Alison are dragons: "Full of vitality and enthusiasm, the Dragon is a popular individual even with the reputation of being foolhardy and a "big mouth" at times. You are intelligent, gifted, and a perfectionist but these qualities make you unduly demanding on others. You would be well-suited to be an artist, priest, or politician." Absolutely, they would agree that this is accurate. Gifted and intelligent. Who would argue? Not sure that either one of them are foolhardy or big mouths. Although Colin would say that Kyle is a great "lecturer", so maybe not a bigmouth, but long-winded....? See, this can be a dangerous exercise and we've gotten into more than one heated discussion over the placemats.
You can read how accurate your Chinese Zodiac is if you click the title link.

I'm not sure how we'll celebrate Chinese New Year. Last year, we were invited by Chinese friends to the Buddhist Temple, and that was interesting. We were floating on the incense by the time the service was finished, and Alison had learned to bow every time the gong sounded. She was like Pavlov's dog. We're not much in the celebrating mode this year, so maybe we'll just find one of those placemats and talk about each other's Zodiac traits.

So if you aren't familiar with Chinese New Year, here are the facts:

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar.
The Chinese year 4706 begins on Feb. 7, 2008.
Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day.
New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest.
In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality.
Chinese New Year ends with the lantern festival on the fifteenth day of the month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.
In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In the United States, where the New Year is celebrated with a shortened schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In addition, many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements such as marching bands and floats.

Happy Chinese New Year!!

We're All Sick! (Except Erin)

Fortunately, only one of us has a Man Cold.

We Were There

In October 2005, we traveled to Houston to see these guys. Every concert since then has been kind of a downer. Kyle and I go way back with U2. All the way to about 1984. We remember when Bono had really big hair and wore boots with heels and Edge had hair and Larry Mullen Jr. didn't look like a truck driver. But it doesn't matter. They are timeless. I think what I like best about them is that they are still relevant and they're what some might call "middle-aged." So there.

We were planning to be at this theatrical experience soon after it opened at the IMAX, but we haven't made it yet. Have a few other things on our plate. But soon...we'll be there.