so chad and our friend david played at the coffeeshop where i work last night...they sounded good together, and had a good time despite the lack of too much of a crowd. march madness was blamed, as as was spring break, global warming, and the cold wind outside. there are two more dates to hear them play together set up, should be good...

(i used 'good' three times in that short post...sorry for the uninventive use of language, but i'm just too tired for revision at the moment)

whenever i watch tv (which isn't too often) i am struck at the volume of perscription drug commercials on these days. it's a shame that capitolism extends its free market deep into the health care industry the way it does, and common sense is thrown out the window in favor of making a buck. it's sad for us that there's no money to be made telling people to drink lots of water, eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies, get your fill of fiber, and go easy on the fat and processed fare...oh, and get off your rear and exercise. seen a commercial for actual good advice lately? (this seems to be part of a series of late where i gripe about the lack of fulfilled idealism in our life and times...maybe i ought to rename this blog "hmmm...she commentated")

it's 2:17 in the afternoon on this wednesday, this first day of spring...and my whole family is sleeping :). the kids are all deep into their afternoon naps, and chad is sacked out on the couch. i am thinking, "should i film him?" - but instead i think i'll share something with you that i read in the local paper yesterday...i quote - "A mistake in timing on the part of Cox Communications Inc. FORCED many area television viewers to SUFFER interruptions of their favorite Sunday night programs." (emphasis mine). really, God help us if we've grown so fat and complacent, so ignorant of what children in third world countries and the body of Christ in places like sudan go through on a daily basis, that we can refer to missing out on a little boob tube action in terms of suffering. craziness. shake your head slowly from side to side with me. unreal.

ok, ahem...had to rant (wouldn't you?) happy spring, you faithful and few visitors to my little world on the web...go outside and appreciate something today.

I don't feel good…I have a cold, and a hypochondriac with any sort of real illness is no fun to be around, I'm guessing. Blech. Since you would probably rather be spared the details of my headache and runny nose at the moment, I'll instead share some thoughts on observation from the other night…

So I'm sitting here in this coffeeshop, the one I work at a couple of nights a week just to keep my foot in the door of interaction with people taller than me, and also for a purely selfish reason - I like to be a barista. It keeps some small part of me college aged. Anyway, I've been coming to work early lately just to read, or write, or look leisurely at the pictures I just picked up - that sort of thing. To decompress from the day, to unwind, to catch my breath before the next wave hits. To have that precious thirty or so minutes when I am not being asked to give time, attention, or energy on someone else's behalf. Me time. It isn't much, but when you don't have any for an extended period, you'll take what you can get.

Right now the sun is shining in the front windows, overpowering the lamps and overhead fluorescent bulbs with its warmth and brightness. It is a welcome intruder, a blazing reminder that the sun cannot be contained any more than the God who created it - we could slam shutters and roll down blinds against it but that would only be foolishly sticking our heads in the sand. Because, of course, the ethereal rays would still be freely flooding over everything else in the general vicinity, right? It would be like those people we know who insist on making terrible life choices and then live with the ugly consequences when they really don't have to - if only they would choose not to ignore the patient and strong hand of love hidden in the shadows…it would be like a scientist insisting he believes in evolution when all the evidence right down to his own bones is screaming this simply cannot be…it would be like Jonah running from God and Nineveh…it would resonate in each of our sordid souls because we can all be this way, yes?

So the sun is casting interesting shadows everywhere, and I am content to gaze at them over my house coffee…renewal feels good, even in small steps.