Just Laurel

Post-it Notes

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I am a list maker.  Ted is not.  He says it makes him crazy having to write things down and then remaining accountable to what the list says he should be doing.  Me?  I find peace in my list-making.  Once a week I look at the future, about ten days out, and write down things that need to be done and spread the tasks out among the days.  Each evening I look at the next day and compile a list of what I need to do tomorrow.   I can go to sleep in peace and not be an insomniac due to the restless worrying of remembering all that I have to do tomorrow.  It’s written down.

I am making lists about what needs to be done to move Amanda out.  I have a sheet of paper with the days numbered down the left side and I am scribbling down things that need to be done (paint bedroom wall Clematis purple, call to get her internet service, get stuff at Ikea) on different days and in a timely manner.  On the right side I have a column listing the things we still need to get or buy (a lamp or 2, kitchen towels, some basic groceries).

Post-it Notes are like tranquilizers to a list maker.  “Oh, oh, oh, I have to remember to ______!” will pulse through our brains and we find that we have to quickly write it down on a handy Post-It note so that our heart rates can resume to normal and calm can resume.  An added benefit of the Post-it Note, is you can stick ’em anywhere:  the fridge door (remember that diet you’re on – stay out!), the kitchen cabinet door (buy pasta on the way home for spaghetti dinner tonight), on the doorway to the garage (garbage day – take the trash out!), or on the suitcase being packed (don’t forget the tickets, gold heels, and nail polish).

In my reading this morning, I was impressed with what I see as the first Post-it Notes.

Mezuzah.

Lesson time here.  (and if you already know about this – kudos to you!)

The ancient Jews took literally the bible instructions of Deuteronomy 6:5-9:  5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

The Mezuzah is a small case affixed on the doorposts of traditional Jewish homes to the exterior doors as well as every room (except closets and bathrooms) of the house.  It contains a parchment inscribed with Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as well as Deuteronomy 11:13-21.  It is put there simply as a reminder of God’s presence and instruction.

Wow!

That’s a note we all could benefit from!  How different would we all be if upon entering our home as well as each and every room as we dwell among our family, that we had a post-it reminder from God?

Don’t forget to:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Don’t forget to call Nicole.

Don’t forget rehearsal tomorrow at 7:45pm.

Now what’s for dinner tonight?

And where did I put my list???

just Laurel

ps – Thank you to Clara, Margaret, and Ted who are busy proofreading my book!

 

 

 

 

Shopping Finds

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My weekend included a little bit of shopping that resulted in a couple of interesting observations.  Now, I’m not a fan of shopping.  Grocery shopping is done strictly by the made-ahead list.  Go in, get what you need, and get out.  There’s no strolling the aisles, fellow-shipping with the fruits and vegetables, or seeking out the new item on the shelf.  Likewise, when shopping for clothes or household goods, I usually have something in mind ahead of time so that I have a good mindset of what I’m looking for.  If I don’t see it right away, I don’t dilly dally hunting for it.

On Friday, Amanda and I took a quick stroll of a couple local stores, looking for a few items for her apartment.  Now her apartment has tiled floors.  Perfect flooring for a wheelchair user.  Carpet can kink up and slow her down.  My concern is that her apartment might be cold and loud with the hard floors.  We both agreed that perhaps the right area rug in the living room might look great and warm things up.  We’d put it in front of the couch (where she wouldn’t be sitting anyways) and we’d be looking for one with a low pile so if she had to cross it, it would be easy to manuever.

At one particular store they had a wall with a rack of area rugs on rug hangers that you could shuffle through.

And there it was!

This beautiful rug.  Just the right size.  A reasonable price.  Dark brown with bright colorful flowers that we could use to pull colors from and add pillows to her couch to match.  I thought we should buy it.  But it would be big and heavy for me to carry.  In the back of my head I struggled also with the thought that making a big purchase like this meant that I was making one more step closer to committing to moving Amanda out.  Of course she is moving out Oct. 1st.  Of course I must still be scared.

No one else was going to buy that rug, I thought.  I decided to go home and sleep on it and bring Ted back the next day so HE could carry it.

We didn’t go back on Saturday.

On Sunday I went grocery shopping with my ready list.  As I efficiently worked my way through the store, finishing in the front by the produce, I overheard the following conversation.  A young boy, perhaps seven or eight years old, walked past the bin piled high with fresh green beans.  He stopped and quizzically picked up a bean between his thumb and index finger, like he was picking up some icky little thing.  He turned to his dad and asked, “What is this??”

Really?  Are you kidding me??

His father answered, “A green bean” and the boy just responded “Oh” and dropped the icky thing back on the pile.

What is wrong with our kids these days?  Are we not feeding them vegetables?  Or maybe all this boy got were cut green beans from a can, or green beans hidden under layers of mushroom soup and cheese in mystery casserole form.  He didn’t recognize a green bean!

Later Sunday I took Ted back to the store with the area rugs.  We shuffled through the heavy hangers, as I expected to recognize our perfect rug at the next turn … until I got to the end of the hangers … and realized it was gone!  Major bummer.

Next time, when I see it, and recognize it as the perfect thing, I am going to purchase it.

And I’m going to be sure to (some day) teach my grandchildren all about vegetables.

just Laurel

Flavors and Facets

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If you are friends with me on Facebook, you would have seen a picture I posted this morning.  The picture was of my laptop keyboard, and on it was a greeting card, a chocolate candy bar, and a BIG box of Jelly Belly jelly beans.  Today is Ted’s and my 33rd wedding anniversary!  Counting as well the two years I knew him before we got married,  Ted and I have been best friends for 35 years now!

So where were the flowers you ask?  Phshawww.  He knows better than to get me flowers.  Flowers are expensive and don’t last.  Candy is more pleasing to this sugar-craving palate and I can share, too.

I love Jelly Belly jelly beans!  They are my favorite snack for when I have to make a long driving trip where I am doing the drivng.    I like to have a mixed bag where I can reach in and grab one, then put it blindly in my mouth (so I don’t see it – duh – I’m driving and I can’t close my eyes).  You see, it helps to keep me awake.  I slowly work on smashing that little beaner in my mouth while trying to guess the flavor.  My taste buds are firing, my mind is taking inventory on familiar flavors, and the little burst of sugar all work together to keep me from dozing.

I love all flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans that I’ve ever tasted except for one.

Buttered Popcorn.

Jelly beans are supposed to be sweet.  And fruity.  They are candy.  A buttered popcorn flavored jelly bean is just plain nasty.  I mean, there’s no crunch, no butter on your fingers to lick, and the texture is all wrong,

My anniversary box of jelly beans has 20 flavors, all segregated in their own separate little cubby so I can pick and choose and savor them one at a time.  All except for the buttered popcorn ones.  It’s great to have so many kinds to choose from.

Thirty three years ago Ted and I were busy opening up wedding presents.  The very sweet little old lady that lived across from my parents gave Ted and I a small wrapped gift as well.  We weren’t expecting Mrs. Greenfield to spend money on a gift for us.  Inside the small square box there rested a little crystal orb, about one and half to two inches in diameter.  When you moved it around, you could see all colors of the rainbow reflect through the facets.  It was just a little knick knack thingy.  Not even big enough to use as a paper weight.  The most meaningful part of the gift was the note attached.  It read:

May your married life together be as many faceted as this colorful ball.

Mrs. Greenfield’s best wishes for us have certainly come true through the years!  We’ve weathered job changes, raised three daughters, have traveled places, and weathered both the good and the bad.  I still have that colorful little orb sitting on my dresser.  Through the years it often became a play thing for our young daughters, so the shiny faceted surface has weathered several nicks and bumps .  Sorta how life is, huh?

So it seemed rather fitting that, as I reflect on being married forever, or at least for 33 years, that like my many-flavored box of jelly beans, I can look back at years filled with many flavors of life. And like the many facets on a gem, life has shown many sides to us   I wouldn’t want it any other way.  Oh I recall some very good times, and some not-so-good.  But to look back on a life that might have been only one flavor seems boring, tasteless, and not so precious.

I could totally skip the buttered popcorn, though.

just Laurel