The BBC, A&E and Me

Just had one of those funny moments that only happen when you work in a school. A teacher friend came in and asked if I'd check her head for lice. There's a bumper crop of cases going around and she was sure she had a few bugs crawling through her tresses. Luckily, she only had a case of "psychological" lice; the kind you probably have now just because I wrote (and you read) the word lice. It's no consolation that lice only come to the cleanest of heads... lice ain't nice!


But it's moments like these that have me looking for the cameras. I'm just sure that Ashton Kutcher (ok... maybe not him, but someone funny) is going to jump out and say, "You've been Punk'd!" Things have happened in my life that only reality tv can top. Like the time I got pooped on by a bird in flight while I was sitting INSIDE a car!?!? Or the time my oldest child dialed 911 on an old discarded cell phone and started talking to a woman on the other end who was very concerned about whether she was home alone or if there was a fire at her house (who knew that even without a SIM card old cell phones still work 911 dispatch?) Add to that the fact that my husband works in mental health and you might think our little family is just an arm's length from "hug-me-jackets!"

It's the fact that my husband Ron (hereto for called "the Stig" - It's the stunt driver's name from a gear-head show on the BBC called Top Gear... and, it's a guy thing... sorta) works in a mental hospital setting, that keeps us from sharing photos of our girls. We're not trying to be paranoid, though after my confession about getting Punk'd that may be hard to believe. But it got us to thinking early about how much of our girl's lives we wanted to share with the world at large - and whether pictures opened our family up in a way that we couldn't control.

When I decided to blog, we were again faced with the decision about how much to share. I mean this stuff on the internet is for good... for keeps once you hit "publish." So we had to come up with pseudonyms for the girls - I looked at other blogs - and so many of them had cute little names for their kids. I started thinking "The Princess & the Pea" and decided that someone might end up in therapy over being called the "pee" all their life on their mom's blog and decided to keep praying & thinking.

One night, while catching up on DVR'd episodes of Deadliest Catch with the Stig, it hit me... A&E... as in the Arts & Entertainment Network! So we'll call the little one "A" (and "A+" when she's in a tutu) and the oldest "E" (or "E!" when she's got the drama on full throttle!)


When I was little my mom used to prompt me to say funny things, partially because she was bored - I mean what do you do with a 18 month old in a trailer in Lansing, Michigan all day? And partially because I loved then, and still do, to make people laugh! So, if I wanted seconds at the table, she'd ask me to say, "Oink, oink, I'm a pig... more corn please!" and we'd laugh and make piggy noises until our bellies ached. And it remained funny until one day when we were visiting at a relative's home and  I asked for a refill on green beans with my usual "piggy please". For the first time I experienced being laughed AT rather than laughed WITH. And I hated the way that kind of laughter made me feel...

I have the privilege of working with children. It is a sacred trust that God has allowed me to share.
I am honored to be told each tale of tooth loss, school woes (both the bully & the bullied) and sibling rivalry.
I grieve with the loss of each goldfish, gerbil and yes, one screaming cockroach! 
I am humbled by each prayer for parents (both alive and gone on to glory), petition for the sick and hurting.
I have an extensive collection of NEW band-aids - but could have easily collected used ones as well.
I am grateful for each crayola masterpiece, every dandelion picked with me in mind.
I vow that within this blog, when I share sweet things my children say, or kids that I work with have whispered - NEVER to laugh at them. But rather with a mouth filled with joy & laughter at the wonder, depth and incredible perception of these precious gifts from God.

So in the words of my sweet "E!" here's something to "rememorize"
"When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."
Psalm 126:1-3 (NIV emphasis mine)

More of You Lord, less of me...