The Punchline Failed......

I received a text message from Pippin during the night. Their plane is currently broke down in Amsterdam. The airlines gave them food and hotel vouchers and told them to try again tomorrow. While I am bummed not to be on my way to the airport in a couple of hours to pick her up, I am trying to see things a bit more positive.

*They found a problem with the plane BEFORE it was in the sky.
*She gets another stamp in her passport.
*Maybe the team will use the opportunity to tour a bit of the amazing city and culture.


So, while I can't give you any great details about Uganda yet, I can share on life here.
I haven't done a "Out of the corner of my eye" piece in quite a while and I was encouraged to write about this recent episode that happened. Hopefully you will enjoy.

I love to watch people. It is amazing the things you can see when the time is taken to watch. At times it is inspiring and at other times....humorous beyond belief. Sunday evening was one of those times.

I was at the crowded grocery store picking up a few items for school lunches. In front of me I saw a family of 5 picking out apples to enjoy. There was the mom who was doing the picking, 2 young boys trying to help with the task, and the dad standing behind her with his preschool daughter sitting on the top of his shaved head. This dad had a boisterous voice and a sparkle in his eye. Holding his daughter's hands so she wouldn't fall while balancing her little tush on the top of his head, he laughed and loudly said, "Hey Honey. Look at me. I am a butt-head." Then he made upward eye motions pointing to the fact of his daughter's seat position.

The young brothers giggled and pushed one another around while the mom looked at her husband with disdain. Everyone in the produce department had heard his loud proclamation and had turned to view the spectacle.

Now, I don't know about you, but there have been times in my life when I have tried to deliver a punchline joke and people haven't laughed. During those times, I have been slow to get the concept that it was not funny. Instead I will repeat the punchline thinking that if it is heard again then people will get it.

Apparently that is what the dad experienced because he didn't let go of the joke. Instead his voice became more loud as he jumped and danced down the isle holding his daughter in place. He said, "Her butt is sitting on my head. Get it? Butt-head! I am a butt-head...... I am a butt-head....."

Oh my goodness. The onlookers just looked.....not knowing how to respond. The wife quickly drove her cart down a different isle wanting to put distance between herself and the situation. I personally felt embarrassed for him....and his wife. But at the same time I wanted to laugh at the irony of the whole picture. I could just imagine the thoughts of the onlookers while on the other hand the dad was happy with himself, his joke, and spending time with his daughter.

What do you see out of the corner of your eye?

Siblings...

On my drive to take "Pippin" to school this morning, I was sitting at the light and absently looking around at the morning hustle. Across the street from us there were 5 children waiting for their crosswalk sign to let them continue in their journey. They all looked to be in elementary school, probably ranging in ages 6-11 years old. The first 3 were boys, stair-stepped in height and had the same dark brown hair color. I figured them to be siblings. The other 2 children were blonde. One was a boy, maybe 10 years of age, and the other was a smaller girl, the youngest of the group. I figured these two to be siblings as well.

With my window up and cars going by, I could not hear their conversation but they were a sight to watch. The three brunette boys were pretty purposeful in their gaze and direction. They only spoke to each other when it seemed truly necessary. Maybe the dread of the Friday spelling test was floating around in each of their heads.

The two blondes were a bit different. The older brother stood with purpose in his shoulders. He watched the tale tell signs that would let him know when the time would be to use the crosswalk. As the opposing light turned from green to yellow, he reached down to take his little sister's hand. She in turn....pulled away and gave him an obvious and defiant look of, "I am not a child. I know how to walk." He took his eyes away from the light and looked down at her, saying not a single word. Their eyes met, locked, and time ticked away. Then very slowly, the little girl put her hand back into his bigger one and she timidly leaned against his side as they prepared to cross the street.

Life and relationships are all around us. It is a continual blessing. All we have to do is take the time to look.

Today's Walk...

The sky was showing off it's brilliant shades of grey this morning as I was out on my walk. While listening to the birds, (and desperately/competitively trying not to get passed by an energetic couple) the brilliant color of these plants growing alongside the pathway caught my attention. Though my tiny little cell phone shot does no real justice to the color, please trust me when I say it was truly vibrant, practically elecrtic in color.

Hmmm, maybe sitting at the base of this tower made them really electric after all.

What You Can Find At Walmart....

Found:

One green army soldier standing at attention on a garbage can by the store entrance.

If he belongs to you, contact the Walmart just down the street.

Its A Bird, Its A Plane....

I was sitting at the light by my house this afternoon waiting for my turn to go. To the right of me, I noticed a man walking along the side of the street in my direction. At roughly 6' tall, he was easy to notice amidst the afternoon traffic. Munching on some sort of oreo style cookie as he marched along, he had a happy and carefree purpose in his stride. It didn't seem to bother him to be careful that cookie bits did not get locked into his full growth of long facial hair. Ah to be so happy and content.

The thing that really made me take notice of him however was this bright and colorful shirt. Since the clothing we choose to wear is a shining neon sign statement of our personality, I had to wonder to myself......
Is his statement one of comedy or of belief.

In A Moment....

There they were walking down the sidewalk.
Neither could have been more than 16 years old.

At first glance, his tri-colored hair in shades of bottled red to jet black made me think he had been the sad victim of a "tar baby" game. I don't mean that to be snide. It was just truly my thought at first glance. My second glance told me that he was expressing his individuality and creative freedom. He was dressed in all black from head to toe. He had on a duo set of t-shirts, the outer shirt appearing to be about 3 sizes too small. His jeans, which desperately needed a belt, were clean and free of worn spots. He walked with determination and seemed to convey the idea that he knew the world was watching him as he sucked on the straw of his McDonalds drink cup.

She had blonde hair that hung past her shoulders and her shapely figure was accented by her black tube top and tan colored shorts. She was free of tatoos, hair accents, and piercings. Her only jewelry was a black lanyard around her neck with a single key on it...probably her house key. Her step had an energy and spring to it, singing the idea that the world was basically good and just waiting to be explored.

For all obvious purposes, they looked like their worlds and experiences were vastly different from each other. Yet, as they crossed the street in front of my car, I noticed something else entirely. Just a few feet from the curb, he took one last sip of his drink and then with a casual air.....tossed his cup into the grass. At that instant, she grabbed his arm in her hands, laid her head on his shoulder, and looked up into his face like he had the power to hang the moon and stars. He looked back down into her face with a smirk that said there was no place else in the world she ever needed to be but right there at his side...adoring him.

As I sat at that traffic light watching them turn and walk away from me, a few questions ran through my head.
What does she see in this young man that makes her feel so?
Has anyone in her life ever told her that shooting for the stars means looking and aiming above the trees?
Do her parents know where she is?
Is she as innocent as she appears?
Will they still know each other next week?
Who will they be next year?
Will they one day look back on this moment of time and blush?

It is amazing how much of the world you can see at a traffic light.

Perspectives

"Whatever floats his boat I guess."
This came from my 13 year old as we were driving to geography class. She then explained to me that she had seen a guy who appeared to be cutting his grass....with a chainsaw. As comical as that mental picture is in my mind, I wonder, was he in actuality working on a tree stump that was out of the eye view of my daughter, or was he in fact a few marbles shy of a full bag and running on a bowl of frosted flakes?

Perspectives...God made us to be so individual, from the complexities of DNA to the ability to have individual thought. That thought and perspective governs our days good and bad however we choose. It affects us in every way possible.

Is the light barely yellow or practicaly red?

Is the flower wilting away or showing one more day of beauty and splendor?

Either way, it is a choice that we make.

My foster son is a prime example of that choice. Raised in severe hardship and having poor role models that were and still are given to addictions on a continual basis, he has a choice to make. He has a world of opportunities that lay at his feet begging to be picked up and used. And yet, the familiar is such a draw and pull.
He can choose to break the cycle and not wear the neon sign around his neck that screams helpless victim.
What will he choose?

Perspectives and choices....they go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other.

So today, I choose to be thankful for breath. I choose to have the perspective that each moment has purpose and meaning.
I choose.