Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT scream like a scared girl in the Kroger parking lot last night when I was surprised by a well-meaning buggy boy who had walked behind my van to unload my groceries.

I did NOT feed my children leftover Thanksgiving food (again) for supper last night and then sneak off to Subway once they were asleep for Chris's and my own dinner. Because we were NOT sick to death of Thanksgiving food!

I did NOT find that grocery shopping is really enjoyable when listening to your ipod.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

My husband did NOT volunteer us to host our family's Thanksgiving meal this year. He loves me and appreciates my lack of stress control, so he certainly did NOT also put me in charge of cooking the turkey. On that note, this will NOT be my first time cooking a turkey, and I am NOT clueless on how to go about it. I truly hope this meal will NOT be disgusting! And I'm NOT soooo relieved that my sis-in-law is bringing some ham...just in case!

While making lesson plans for Smith University's (my affectionate name for our home school) unit on Thanksgiving, I did NOT realize that I needed to brush up on the topic myself. So, I did NOT need to google "The First Thanksgiving" for information to fill in the gaps. Not Me!

I did NOT join the throngs of silly teenage girls seeing the movie "New Moon" over the weekend. While my friend and I were NOT at said movie, these things also did NOT happen:

*After dinner and finding ourselves with a little time to kill, my friend Jody and I did NOT
go to Publix to try to find the "New Moon" collectors edition of People magazine. And we
were NOT mad and disappointed when we failed.

*We did NOT arrive at the theater an hour early so that we would get good seats.

*The following words did NOT come out of one of our mouths when the line finally started
moving and some crazy teeny-boppers tried to break in line:
"Oh! These girls are running! GO! RUN!"

*It was NOT so entirely fun to act like a teenager again!

I did NOT have some friends over for a get-together last week. We did NOT stand outside and laugh so hard that my neighbors probably thought (incorrectly!) that we were drunk. I am also NOT incredibly grateful that "church ladies" can have so much fun.

I did NOT receive this text from my hubs during my get-together:
"Just wanted to tell you that I love you. And thanks for everything you do. I couldn't make it
without you.". These words did NOT make my heart skip a beat and my bones did NOT turn to mush. Sigh!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT oversleep this past Saturday and completely forget about Shaun's appointment for Karate pictures.

I did NOT become extremely upset that I missed the New Moon tour at The Mall of GA. I also did NOT immediately begin texting a friend of mine to commiserate with me. Please. We're almost 30 years old. Way too mature for such things.

I am NOT counting the days until I get to actually go see New Moon. Since my husband makes fun of my Twilight obsession, I did NOT make a "date" with a fellow Twilight obsessed friend of mine to see the movie. I am NOT super-crazy excited about it. Again, I'm almost 30 years old. I have way too much pride to act like a fan-crazed teenager.

I did NOT pick up my husband's phone and pretend to be him in a texting conversation while he was sleeping last night, just for fun. My plan did NOT backfire when said conversation became inappropriate. I did NOT go to bed wondering why grown men are so disgusting with each other.

I did NOT look the other way when Jordan dropped him gum on the floor, picked it back up, and returned it to his mouth yesterday at church. I also did NOT rationalize this in my mind by remembering that the cleaning crew had just cleaned/sanitized the floor a few days before. Not Me!

Breakdown

I had one today. Here's what happened:

We (Chris and I) were gathering up a truckload of junk to take to the landfill. When the truck was almost full, Chris said to me "Why don't you go into the laundry room and bring all those cans out?" Seems simple, right? I thought so, too. I went inside to the laundry room, and there they were.

The cans.

Jars would actually be a better word. Mason jars. Lots of them, full of canned vegetables. But not just any mason jars. My grandma's. I miss her. This seems kind of silly, now. The minute I saw them, a big lump lodged itself in my throat. These jars have been in my home since before we moved in, over 4 years ago. I walk by them, stacked neatly on their shelves several times every day while doing the wash. Stacked where Mamaw left them after canning season when she still lived here. When she was still alive.

Nevermind that the dates on the lids of the jars were from 2003. Nevermind that Mamaw herself had told me several times to throw those things out years ago. It still hurt. When I reached for the first jar and saw the date on the lid - Aug 4 2003- in her sweet squiggley handwriting, I lost it.

2003. Shaun was only 3 years old. We didn't live here then, but Shaun stayed here with his Mamaw while I worked. She had a garden every year. Shaun "helped" her with it. She loved taking care of him, and he loved her. She taught him so much and loved him so much. She showed him Jesus' love. Just like she did for me when I stayed here while MY mom worked.

Something about seeing her handwriting got to me, and it hit me all over again that she's gone. My grandma. My friend. My prayer warrior. I started crying and couldn't stop. I haven't cried like that over her in a long time. 6 months, at least. I called my mom, who offered to come over and take care of the jars for me. I refused, thinking I'd get it together eventually. And I did.

I miss her. I want her back.

But.

I know she wouldn't come back to us for anything. She's in Heaven, where she belongs. Loving every minute. What comfort to know we'll be there together one day.

I pulled it together and finished the task.

But I kept one jar. Its still on its shelf. Just to remind me.