Amy Writes

I've been published! Sort of. I've been published elsewhere. I was given an opportunity to post for Revelife.com. Turns out the people over there are pretty passionate about, well, probably anything. Come join in...

I have a super-sense. I don't know if it's the one I'd pick for myself, but here it is. You know how, in a crowded, noisy party, Superman can isolate a whispered phone conversation in another room? I can do that. Sort of. Although here's how it works. Amy: "I love this song." Everyone else at the table: "There's music playing?" Amy: "You can't hear that?" (I sing a few bars...) Everyone else at the table: "That's incredible. You can hear that over the party of 30 8th-grade-girls at the table next to us? Amy? Amy?" Amy: (Too busy singing...) In John 10, Jesus tells a parable about a good shepherd. He says that the sheep follow the good shepherd because they know his voice. It's a beautiful picture, isn't it? The shepherd spends enough time with the sheep - caring for them, leading them, talking to them - that they recognize his voice when he calls and will go where he leads. I was thinking about ...

When you join Weight Watchers, they give you a POINTS finder. I have 6 POINTS finders (that I could locate for this photo). Let's hope this is my last one.

The girls put some music on this morning while we were eating breakfast. Attracted by the castle graphic on the label, Chloe chose a CD of music from the Disney parks. The third or fourth track is the score from the Indiana Jones ride. It starts out kind of spooky - close your eyes and you can see Indy climbing through snakes and reaching for the idol. While I'm having my Great Movie Ride nostalgia moment, my musically sensitive kids start cringing and wincing and shouting "AGH!! Bad guys!!!" They could tell from the minor key and mysterious melody that something sinister was afoot. Not two bars later and much to the relief of the children cowering at the table because of the scary music, Indiana Jones enters, triumphant with his John Williams theme music. "YAY!!! GOOD GUYS!!" Then they embarked on a typical discussion: "I like good guys. Do you like good guys?" "Yes, I like good guys. I don't like bad guys." "Yeah! Who likes bad guy...

I have gotten to a point where I seem to be returning at least 30% of what I buy. Sometimes I buy with the intention of returning. Rather than dragging the kids into a 3 x 3 stall with me, I use my bedroom as a fitting room and return what doesn't fit, or what Matt says "uh...it's okay..." to. These are items in the $15 - $80 range. Sometimes I buy without the intention of returning, until buyers' remorse hits me. When I get home and "it's on sale!" succumbs to "but we don't NEED another wacky sprinkler/funny-shaped cake pan/quirky tote bag." These returns usually put $10-$20 back in my wallet. Sometimes I overbuy, and for the first time, this weekend I returned something to Publix. Two bags of chocolates that I would not be needing . That netted me $8.46, well worth the trip to the store I was already needing to visit. So here's the question. I am sitting on 3 mini-spools of ribbon for which I don't have an imminent need. They ...

Curled up on the bed together, we were having our last Book Time before school. There were a lot of "lasts" that week. Last Pool Day Before School. Last Chuck E. Cheese Outing Before School. Last Lunch with Nana Before School. This was the last Last. Because Hurricane Fay delayed us for two days, we'd had to stay home from a friend's goodbye party to ensure a quiet night with a routine, on-time bedtime before the Big Show. I'd been teary for a couple of weeks...all these Lasts were starting to get to me. The stack of books that night was larger than usual, me trying to delay the inevitable: that I was going to have to put my preschooler to bed and in the morning, she would wake up a Kindergartener. My list of reservations was long. How long before she would come home a card-carrying member of Kids for Weapons in Schools (KWIS) or the Jesus Who? club? I pulled out a book about a snowman that, curiously, had an inscription in the front that said something like ...

Last night, I went to bed apprehensive about today. With 3 completely new experiences on the schedule, there was room for excitement - but my body absorbs stress and uncertainty for my brain and, so, I didn't go to bed feeling great. I didn't wake up feeling great, either. My new position at Bible Study started this morning - not a huge deal, but as someone who likes to have it together, I was not comfortable with my level of togetherness. Then after lunch I am seeing a pulmonologist. I have never been to a pulmonologist. Will he have needles or scary contraptions? He will certainly order more borderline-necessary tests, and I am getting VERY close to no longer being a cooperative patient. Finally, we end our Day of New with that piano class I wrote about down there. But right in the middle of all of that, I had this 1 hour window to look forward to - where I would be home, alone. Not home with sleeping kids. Just plain home, alone. It doesn't happen often. I went to bed fo...

Tomorrow is Tuesday. For the last 5 years, Tuesday has been a synonym for frustration in the Dictionary According to Amy. Because for the last 5 years of Tuesdays, I have taken a deep breath, unlocked the front door, put on my Gracious Piano Teacher hat and assumed my position to the right of the bench. Every Tuesday, some combination of four precious girls (very rarely all four in one week) ambles through my front door. They collapse onto my red, overstuffed sofas or land with a thud on the bench - nearly always uttering one of the following phrases: "Okay. I just have to tell you. I had 173 tests and 9 birthday parties this week." "Okay. I really really practiced this week. Really. I had, like, 20 minutes between my sabre lesson and highland dancing class." "Okay. I've been out of town for like a month and there are no pianos in Papua New Guinea." "Okay. I would have practiced, but I left all of my music here at your house which is five minutes...

Things I like: 1. Mountain air 2. Old friends 3. My home 4. Charlie Gibson Things I don't like: 1. Mountain Driving 2. Ike