Arguing Encounters

Some days feel like this. Some days you are Tom Hanks. Others you are Dan Hedaya. And some days you get to be Meg Ryan.

"I'm not arguing that with you."

Glowing Encounters

I just got off the phone with my Sitti (that would be my grandmother for those of you who are random creepers... I mean, readers).

She's a funny lady. She had a busy day today, and was, when I called, having coffee with two of her friends. These two girls are her cohorts. The three of them are always doing something. In fact, they've been so close for so long they were supposedly the first ones to see me when I was born.

I've heard the story a million times: It was a snowy Sunday in January. They were in church, my parents and grandparents weren't. They whispered (reverently, I'm sure) up and down each pew and left right after communion (tisk tisk) to make it the hospital to see me. Aunt Viviane always makes sure I know she was first. It went Dr., dad, mom, sitti, jiddi,my mom's sister Aunt Cheryl, Aunt Viviane then Aunt Beverly.

Anyways, they are funny.

I was talking to Sitti and they were hollering in the background about how they had better be invited to my wedding since they were the first people on earth to lay eyes on me and then Aunt Viviane took the phone and the following conversation unfolded:

Aunt Viviane: Erin, what are you wearing?
Me: ummm, what?
Aunt Viviane: What are you wearing?
Me: Like, right now?
Aunt Viviane: Yes. Right now. What are you wearing? Jeans?
Me: ...yes. I'm wearing jeans.
Aunt Viviane: Well you still look like a bride! Even in jeans! You're just glowing!

I almost couldn't contain myself. Not only was she unknowingly asking very awkward questions, but she could see my glow through the phone and the 200 miles that separate us.

Like I said, they sure are funny.

Love it.

Cursive Encounters

I have a serious problem.

Really.

Like a "complicate your life multiple times a day" kind of problem.

This. Is. Serious.

You see, in a short while, my last initial will change. I'm going from an L to a G. That's right, moving up in the alphabet. My children will be so grateful.

BUT.

I CAN'T WRITE CURSIVE G's.

Not pretty ones, anyways.

It's very difficult.

I'm doing that crazy girly thing where I practice writing my married name and I'm failing miserably. This is not good, people/person. Every credit card transaction will be painful. Each purchase will strike a tone of anxiety and uncertainty. Who hesitates when they sign their own name? Criminals and people in witness protection, that's who.

I'm going to need more spiral notebooks.

Thoughtful Encounters

It's not often that I get a contemplative blog itch. I mean, I guess I'm always contemplating things that happen and then writing about them, but most of the time it's pretty trivial. And that's a good thing. But today I have an itch that leans toward the serious and I intend to scratch it. Even if it's just for a moment.

Seekers of triviality, you have been warned.

Life has felt... heavy lately. Even the good things going on are BIG good things that come with a sense of gravity. There's so much to do. So much not to do. So much that seems like it can't be done. It can be overwhelming.

Forget that. It IS overwhelming. Or at least it was until I was reminded of six simple words spoken by Mother Teresa:

"Do small things with great love."

Life really is a series of millions of small actions and it's the emotion and drive behind those actions that makes them important. When tackled one tiny action and small step at a time, tasks don't seem as daunting. And when you throw love into everything you do and say, well that my friend is when greatness happens. Because that's when life isn't about you anymore. And when life isn't about you, the craziest thing happens: YOU reap the benefits.

It took a weekend in Wagoner, Oklahoma, with 140 teenagers to remind me that life might feel heavy but the light of Christ makes everything...well, light. Getting outside yourself changes everything. Owning your humanity makes everything different. It changes the way you see the world and the way you see other people. Our lives are short, and our to-do lists are long, but they aren't unconquerable. With faith, love and a heaping dose of perspective, maybe we can actually learn what it means to live. What it means to be alive.

The quote I mentioned above is something Mother Teresa said many times. It's part of this amazing quote that pretty much sums up my thoughts at the moment:

"What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things with great love, and together we can do something wonderful."

In other words, teamwork makes the dream work. We are here together for a reason. Let's do a bagillion small things with great love.

You in?

Cool.

Commercial Encounters

I miss jingles.

Almost every commercial used to have a snappy tune for you to sing along to as you were bombarded by subliminal messages to buy things you don't need. Those were the good old days.

Nowadays, commercials just scream at you or confuse you with the rapidly-read fine print at the end. I wonder how much that speed reading guy gets paid. He's super fast. (NOT as fast as the Micro-Machines guy. He was the fastest. So fast, in fact, that he landed a role on Saved by the Bell as a teacher who gave impossible tests and lectures. I can still see Jessie Spano's pen making smoke as she rapidly took notes in his class.)

I really do miss good jingles though. I have an auditory memory, so they help me remember things. I can still sing most jingles from back in the day. Not that it does me much good. But it's kind of a cool party trick when you are hanging out with people from your age group. It almost becomes a trivia game.

Someone should make a game like that! A theme song and jingle trivia game. I would definitely buy that game. And even if it turns out like Scene-It and my cousin refuses to play with me, I will still love it.

Hmmm. Let's try to play via this blog. Here's a list of products/jingles that jog my memory. Do you remember them too?

Double-Mint Gum

Big Red

7-Up

Creepy Crawlers

My Buddy

Pepsi (there are like 10 for this one, this one was my favorite)

Dr. Pepper

Coca-Cola

Mentos

Toys 'R Us (that Steve Urkel on the swing at the end!)

That's only a few. I could play this game all day. This is dangerous...

Famous Encounters

Well, thanks to Orthodixie, the little brother and I are famous!

Check out our ghosts of Christmases past on his latest podcast. (We're right after the story about the boy his encounter with a doctor.)

We used to be so cute.

What happened?

Absent Encounters

Wow. It's been more than a month since I posted on here. Some sort of update is definitely in order, but how should I present this? Hmmmm.

Poem? Poems are great but that could take a while.

Narrative? Always dangerous with a logophile like me.

List? Lists are always good.

At the risk of sounding braggy, here's a list of things I acquired over the last month and a half:

1. A fake case of strep throat.

2. Mononucleosis. Doing "nothing" might sound fun, but when you are forced to do it for three weeks, it's not. Trust me.

3. A large knowledge base of other people's experiences with mono. TMI, people. TMI.

4. A fiance. He came with a diamond ring. Bonus.

5. A wedding date. (I'm not telling. So don't ask, creepy Asian hooker.)

6. A love/hatred for the TV series The Tudors. So fascinating, and so depressing.

7. A panicky feeling because my Christmas shopping wasn't done before Thanksgiving.

8. A date with my husband and my fiance at the same time. Yeah, try and figure that one out. (hint: Michael Buble may have been in town recently)

9. A thrice-daily phone call with my mother. She is determined to be the most hands-off, well organized, non-opinionated wedding planner ever. We'll see how that goes.

10. A realization that wearing flats on my wedding day would send said mother up the wall. Who knew?

I'm sure there are other things, but I think that covers the highlights. Plus ten seems like a good stopping point. If you go past ten, who knows how long the list could get.

So, consider yourselves updated.

Boom. Updated.