The Jesus Year

This year me and most of my friends are turning 33. There are several years that have special things about them:

1: obvi
5: half way to 10
10: double digits
13: teenager
16: sweet 16
18: adult-ish
21: adult
22: when all year you get to sing Taylor Swift
23: what’s my age again?
25: quarter of a century
30: grown up adult
... then there’s
33: the Jesus year

I’ll stop there because I’m typing this on my phone and because we’ve arrived at the actual point of this post: that 33 is the Jesus year.

I’ve heard that scholars think Jesus was about 33 when he was crucified. So, when all my friends who are already 33 or turned 33 when I knew them, I told them, “oh, you’re the same age as Jesus when he died (and lived again, and destroyed the power of death, etc. etc. I didn’t add that last bit, but maybe I should’ve).”

Well, that’s it really. The Jesus year. It’s coming in like 6.5 months for me.

Outloud Thinker

I'm an outloud thinker most of the time. It's got its pros and cons.

Pros:

• I don't often have a shortage of words (arguably, the introverts would think that's really a con).
• I enjoy talking to people and processing things together.
• Sometimes I say things that others don't want to say or don't think to say. For example, I am quick to say sorry when I should say sorry and quick to share my appreciation for someone or their gifts. Those are some of my values, but also, if I thought it, I'll tell you.
• Starting conversations with random strangers isn't too difficult.
• You get to hear my train of thought, which I guess could be a pro, depending on whether you wanted to know it or not.
• You don't really have to guess what I'm thinking much.
• I can "write" a sermon by talking to myself in the car.
• Public speaking is pretty comfortable for me. 

Cons:

• I say things before I've thought them through.
• I put my foot in my mouth often.
• What I say right away isn't always the final product, so you've got to listen longer to figure out what I really think, or where I was trying to go with that thought (that's not necessarily a con unless you're impatient or generally reactive).
• I stew about things until I've said them outloud.
• Introverts don't really want to engage in whatever thoughts I have as long as I do.
• I can't always make sense of things or make a decision until I've processed it outloud. It's hard to make snap decisions in situations that aren't wise for me to think it through outloud.
• It's difficult to have private thoughts. I have them, but not that many.
• I interrupt a lot, because I get too excited to say a thing I thought.
• Sometimes I think outloud into a microphone during church and that is probably a pro and a con.
• From Jesse after I asked him what he thought the pros and cons were: "con: standing around listening longer than you wanted to, when all you wanted to do was go get some ice cream."

Well, there are more cons written down than pros, but I like being an outloud thinker. I think it's a decent way to think, and I'm going to keep doing it. 

Thesis statement

Here’s a working thesis I have: often the difference between a comedian and an uncomfortable over-sharer is delivery.

Feel free to ponder and/or debate.

Spring Hope

It seemed like an extra long winter this year. Especially the last two months with alllllllll the snow. Here's a list of things that make me hopeful that it won't be winter forever:

• Birds, just hearing and seeing them again
• Minnesotans identifying the birds, and various trees, again.
• Snow melting off the street
• Puddle rivers by the curb
• Seeing patches of grass again
• Sunshine
• Going outside in the thinnest coat or not even wearing a coat to walk in and out of buildings
• Not remembering where my snow pants are
• The forecast having a 60 degree day tucked in there
• Knowing what our yard looks like now
• Sunny after 5, and especially hopeful when it was still sunny at 7:30!
• Not having to dress our son in 60 layers to play outside
• Wanting ice cream

Momma's Fancy Shoes + Tool Set

Our two year old likes to play with toys. Here's a list of some of his favs:

• Things that aren't toys: kitchen supplies he can sneak out of the bottom drawers, Dad's tools, bracelets that I haven't worn in 15 years but I still keep in a drawer, Harry Potter books I keep not putting away, pens, magnets, "momma's fancy shoes," rakes, shovels, etc.
• His tool set, especially the drill
• His other tool set
• His other other tool set
• Mardi Gras beads that a lady from church handed out the day before Ash Wed. (Fat Tues? Shrove Tues? ...also what's a shrove?)
• This tray of rice we have that he can scoop with cups and spoons
• His baby
• "Big Bear" (a giant teddy bear)
• Daniel Tiger trolley
• Mimi (Jesse's teddy bear from when he was a baby that Aaron's claimed as his own and named Mimi)
• Easel that has a white board on one side and a chalkboard on the other
• His small kitchen
• Instruments
• Stackable cups
• His make-up bag (it has empty make up containers, an old blush brush, contact cases and empty contact solution, etc. I made his own because he always wants mine.)
• Cars
• His train (it's like one of those toy tunnel/tent things... it has a ball pit included)
• These little animal bath toys that squirt water out of their stomachs

He likes toys. He doesn't like "boy toys" more than he likes "girl toys." He wouldn't know what the differences were anyways. Want to know why? Because they're toys. And he's two. And there aren't any differences between them, we made those things up. 

I really appreciate seeing my kiddo wearing "momma's fancy shoes" (high heel boots are his fav) and playing with his drill and hammer. I'm pretty glad that these weird lines that we made up to are getting a little blurrier. 

Joy > Happy

Want to know my soapbox? It's pretty much this: happiness is an emotion and it's fleeting, joy is not. Joy is more like gratitude and grace and peace, and also it's a paradox because you can have it at the same time as grief and loss and pain.

I get that it's a weird soapbox to have, but it also seems really important in a culture of people chasing after happiness. Because I'm just not sure we can get it, at least no more than we can get anger or frustration or sadness or silliness or other emotions people can have. They're all fleeting, and when I'm feeling particularly introspective (and joyful, probably), I think that the complexity of human emotions is beautiful. And even though I'd never wish to have the grief that I've had in my life, I'm grateful that I've been able to see it as lovely. Loss aches so much because of love, and I'm really glad that I've gotten to love a bunch of people.

Here's my fav. song about joy that I have only ever found in Ascension's Senior Luther League Songbook:

JOY

Sing when your spirit is down
Run when your mind is weary
Love when the world despises you
And pray, to receive a very strong feeling
and a very strong mind
and a friendship that will last a very long time.

Trust when you've given up hope
Wait when you are impatient
Give when your goods mean much to you
And look to the cross on calvary,
it will give you a peace
and a lifetime of a joy that never will cease.

Socks on Hands

Kids sometimes do weird things. Like how our kid likes to sleep with his socks on his hands. We don't know why. He would periodically do this when we were driving to the store- he'd pull off his shoes and socks and then put his socks on his hands. It was kind of funny, but also frustrating when he'd do that in between every stop while running errands. I don't really want to put his shoes on 5 times in one hour.

Recently he started going to a new daycare and apparently he's been starting to do the socks on hands thing at naptime.

Then he asked for them for bedtime.

It's a little weird and I don't know if I should readily provide him socks to do this, but also he's 2 and not always the best sleeper, and sometimes we get desperate. If we have any indication that there's something working for better sleep, we do that thing.

One time he had a good sleeping through the night stretch and the only thing I could think of that we had done was place his cabbage patch doll ("Baby") and his bear ("Mimi"- he named him) next to his crib so they could "keep an eye on him." We just kept doing that for like a month, and we even found a big enough bag to shove Baby and Mimi in so they could come with us to California in December. That stopped working (if it ever actually was the thing that was working), so you gotta know we've been trying socks on hands in the middle of the night these days.

Speaking of sleeping, I need to do that now.

My socks will remain on my feet though.

Fav Outfit

Here's what my fav outfit for the current weather:

• jeans
• tank top
• zip up sweatshirt, 1-2 sizes larger than the rest of my clothes
• socks
• slippers

It's especially my favorite outfit on Sunday afternoons. I don't really like being dressed up, and I am usually dressed up on Sunday mornings. I have a pair of boots with heels. They hurt my feet a lot, but I like that I can wear socks with high heels and also that my pants don't drag on the floor as much. When I get home, the first thing I do is throw those terrible shoes in the back of the closet and put on the trusty jeans-sweatshirt-slipper combo.

Did You Drink Water?

My answer for most ailments or possible ailments is: how much water did you have? Maybe go have another glass of water?

Does your head heart? Drink some water.

Tummyache (you're allowed to call a stomach a tummy when you're talking to a small child and also when it has an ache)? Drink some water.

Tired? Water.

Stuffy nose? Drink more water.

You had two glasses of wine? That's not an ailment, but just drink at least two glasses of water just in case. Some 32-year olds get tummyaches pretty easy.

Well, it's possible there's only really a handful of things. But they're pretty common ones.

Mostly, drink a bunch of water. It's good for you.

Here's some water options I like:

1. Sparkling

2. In a Nalgene

3. Hot, in a cup, like having a cup of tea, but with no tea.

4. With cucumbers

5. With mint

6. With lemon

7. In a can labeled La Croix, but that's only in a pinch. And the pinch is that I ran out of the carbonator thing for my soda stream.

8. Filtered.

9. Bottled. Scratch that. I don't want to waste bottles, but I really like that mineral-y taste that you can get.

10. From Jesse's bottle, when I forgot mine.

11. Used to make coffee*

So, there are some ideas for ya.

*While it would be delicious to exclusively get your water intake from #11, that much caffeine will probably make you crazy and sick.  

 

YOLO. Exactly.

Do people still say YOLO? (Fam, it stands for You Only Live Once)

Well, for the sake of this, if they don't, think back to like a year ago when they did, or maybe two. I don't know. I have a kid. I'm too tired for trends.

People usually say it when they're about to do something risky or stupid. *Insert risky and stupid things people might want to do* It's like a "what have I got to lose?" or "this is my chance to try this ridiculous thing," "I think people might think I'm brave after I try this" kind of thing... YOLO, might as well try it.

Here's what I think: you only live once. Why are you going to risk your perfectly okay, possibly even great, life? To me, YOLO should really be reframed. YOLO, how are you going to be the kind of person you're proud of? How are you going to care for your family and your community? YOLO, are you caring for yourself in a way that gives some hope for a long life or that demonstrates you think life is precious? YOLO, maybe you want to watch less TV and try not to mindlessly scroll on the internet? YOLO, maybe you'll be risky in the important ways- like loving someone else, like sharing who you are, standing up for those who are vulnerable or looked over, or taking steps to live out a dream you've had? YOLO.

So, how are you going to do it?