Always Right

“Text processing has made it possible to right-justify any idea, even one which cannot be justified on any other grounds.” --J. Finnegan, USC

Godspeed, Katydid

This afternoon we saw a katydid outside our apartment, and decided to take a closer look at it. Its delicate movements reminded me what a miracle the natural world is.

Unfortunately, this particular miracle made the mistake of hopping onto Joy's pant leg. It startled her, and when she jumped the katydid fell to the ground where Joy accidentally stepped squarely down on it.

I felt terrible that our clumsy curiosity had made this creature suffer and ended its life, but I took some comfort in the knowledge that there is life after this one. I'm grateful to know that we only ended the katydid's mortal life, not its existence, and that it is probably happier where it is now. That's not to say we should go wantonly destroying things to send them to a better place, but it is good to know that as we make our imperfect way through life, our little mistakes don't cause too much sorrow in the long run.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

Great Chemistry

"While cooking is art, baking is not -- it is mostly chemistry." (Alton Brown)

The man speaks truly. I recall the time I accidentally put triple the usual amount of baking soda in some cookies . . .

Overload

This is why I have no interest in Twitter. It's also one of the reasons I avoid Facebook.

Bad Judgment

"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment." (Jim Horning)

I made a colossal error in parental judgment today. When I took my two kids to Trader Joe’s, I only requested one balloon from the cashier. Both my kids love balloons. I won’t make that mistake again.

Oh Yeah

We often speak of "Ah ha!" moments--big epiphanies that open our eyes and motivate us to make sweeping changes in our lives.

Instead of having the occasional "Ah ha!" I seem to have lots of "Oh yeah" moments. As in oh yeah, building relationships with my kids matters a lot more than checking things off my to-do list. Oh yeah, if I want my sweetheart to be cheerful and thoughtful, he'd probably appreciate the same from me. Oh yeah, if I don't savor childhood moments now they'll soon be gone and I'll miss them.

I find that I offer a lot of prayers these days thanking God for patiently, perpetually reminding me what matters most. Cuz it's so easy to forget.

Food and Fire

"A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as for the body." --Margaret Fuller

The Forth

"I thenth a dithturbanth in the Forth." --Dars Vader