Giddy Just Thinking About It

A few days ago, a friend's Facebook status said: "So many awesome things coming up in the next few months. I get giddy just thinking about it!" When I first read this, I thought, "Lucky you." Because I spend most of my time lately, not looking forward, but just wishing to go back. It's so easy to throw those private pity parties, isn't it? Oh, to go back in time just a couple years...

Celeste around the corner...

Lindsey across the street...

Our beloved Metra Ward...

Etc.

However, this kind of thinking is neither healthy nor productive. We cannot go back. We can only move forward. So I started to consider what "awesome things" I, myself, have coming up in the next few months. There are many, many.

For example, one week from today, when I finish teaching my class at noon, I will get in my bright red car and drive the 5-1/2 hours to Rexburg to spend the weekend with Lindsey. That same day, when Shulamith finishes up with her kindergarten babies at 2:30, she will get in her car (which is not bright red, but still a good car) and drive the 3 hours to Rexburg to meet me. Woot! That's really all I have to say about it. Woot!

The following weekend, I will participate in my semi-annual weekend of self-indulgence. Another friend's recent Facebook status quoted author Parker Palmer: "Self-care is never a selfish act--it is simply good stewardship of the only gift that I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others." (Isn't it fortunate I have such intelligent, insightful Facebook friends?) Two weekends each year, one in October and one in April, I treat myself. I wear my jammies, I lie in bed, and I watch TV for eight hours. I watch all four 2-hour sessions of our church's semi-annual General Conference. I used to call myself "selfish" for this because I really do put everything else aside, and I don't allow myself to be disrupted by anything or anyone. But the quote above assures me that I am not being selfish when I care for myself in this way. I am better for it, better emotionally, better spiritually, and better psychologically. I deserve that. And my family deserves a better me.

Three weeks after General Conference weekend, I will board an airplane and fly to Indiana. I will leave Billings around the same time Shulamith leaves Salt Lake City, and we'll arrive in Indy within 30 minutes of each other. Last year when we did this, our planes touched down just two minutes apart. We couldn't come quite that close this year, but we're still pretty close! Waiting at the airport will be Luke. Hooray! I haven't seen him since August, and Shulamith hasn't seen him since her wedding in February. We're pretty freakin' excited. In addition, we'll finally get to meet Désirée in person. I feel like we already know each other through email, phone calls, Skype, and even this blog to some extent. But it will be so fun to get to meet her in person and spend the weekend playing with her and Luke.

The weekend after Indy is Halloween. I won't lie. It's never been my favorite holiday. Pumpkin carving is right up there with Easter egg dyeing on my list of NOT fun things to do. Guys! I'M JUST NOT GOOD AT THIS STUFF. I have no skill whatsoever in this area. However, Halloween is Seth's absolute favorite holiday. Despite my efforts to train him better, he likes it even more than Christmas. From carving pumpkins to choosing a costume (the bloodier the better) to trick-or-treating to basking in the joy of his candy stash, Seth loves Halloween. And, as I believe I discussed in last year's Halloween blog post, I can't say for sure how many more years this will last. I know too well how fast kids grow up, how soon they leave, and how much it hurts when they do. Seth is 10. A perfect 10! I will dig in there and help him carve pumpkins. I will not let one single pumpkin carving experience pass me by.

One lovely thing about Billings is that about two weeks before Thanksgiving, local radio stations do something wonderful. They begin to play Christmas music.

Christmas music.

No matter what problems we may have, no matter what sad things surround us, no matter how cold it is in Montana, Christmas music makes everything better. Last year, Gerald kept better track than I did of when the music would begin, and one very cold morning in November (and you non-Montanans should know that by cold I mean 18 degrees below zero), wrapped in as many layers of clothing as I could fit on my body, I ventured out in the early morning to start up my very cold van. To my surprise, I found Christmas music playing on my radio. Gerald had programmed it for me. Through the biting cold and the early-morning hour (the only thing I like to do at that hour of the morning is sleep), I felt joy.

Thank you Megan and Rebecca for your thought-provoking Facebook statuses. And Megan, I agree! With so many awesome things coming up in the next few months, I get giddy just thinking about it.