I’ve been so busy with homework, I’ve neglected my blog. So here is a random sampling of things I would have blogged about this week if I had time.

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Wal-Mart parking lot:
A male adult carries a baby in an infant car seat. The woman with him talks on her phone. Neither of them pay any attention to the two very small little girls walking ahead of them. A man walking a few yards away yells, “Look out babies!” A car was backing up and would have hit the children if they had not heard the stranger’s warning and if the driver hadn’t finally seen the adults behind them. The male [I call him that because he was not acting like a Man] mumbled something to the children but made no motion to protect them. The woman [I call her that because she was not acting like a Mother] just kept talking on her phone, proclaiming to the listener, “That woman better watch out if she doesn’t want a dent in her car!”

That’s it. They didn’t try to protect their young children or even correct them. They merely blamed the driver, who couldn’t have possibly seen such little kids behind her. It never occurred to them that they in fact were responsible for the safety of their own children.

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Homework Homework Homework,

On Thursday as I studied feverishly for a final, Sarah came up to me and said, “What if God flooded the whole earth with carrots?” She continued on that story line for quite a while, until my eyes began to twitch and I had to distract her with chocolate milk.

For Lunch I walked to a new Chinese restaurant on the corner. I walked because I was so tired, I thought it too dangerous to drive… On the way home I fell off a curb and busted up my knees, elbows, wrists… I was apparently in no condition to walk either!

After a nap, more studying and picking up Jeremiah from school I took my Cross-Cultural final online. I did terribly. Remember my insane disappointment with an A minus? Yes, that is nothing compared to what happened with the final. After I finished my test, Jeremiah came in and asked how I had done. I told him my letter grade. He gasped! I cried. He decided to try comforting me instead of showing signs of horror and shock. He said, “At least you didn’t get an F minus!” Then he said, “Don’t worry mom, you’ll do better next season!” To which I replied, “Jeremiah this is not baseball!”

I still had four hours of homework left to do that night. I decided to go to my Bible study instead. I needed to see those people. We got there an hour late. My children were filthy, I gave them each a hand full of restaurant wet-wipes and told them to clean up. When we got there the leader stood up to hug and greet me. She asked how I was doing… for some reason I told the truth… which led to everyone praying for me. Very nice.

The next morning I received a check which someone in New York had written asking that it be given to chaplain candidate. Three hundred dollars. The reason I had been so upset about my grade was because I thought it might mess up my chance to get a scholarship. Since tuition went up, I need around 1,000 dollars more per semester. I had been worried about my own inability to pay for school when I should have been focusing on God’s infinite ability!

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A new CH-BOLC class starts soon. I’m so excited for everyone going. I’ve met several of the guys going through the Chaplain blogs. I’ve also met some of their wives. I feel an interesting connection with these couples. I’m excited for the guys as they head to Jackson. My time at the Chaplain school was amazing, probably the best time of my life. I envy them a bit, I’d love to go back tomorrow! But I also can relate with their wives. I too have stayed at home and hugged my husband good bye as he left for officer basic at Fort Jackson. It’s painful watching them go. It hurts to be alone.
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Speaking of Chaplains and Chaplain wives. I love these people! I’ve met so many wonderful men and women because of the Army Chaplaincy.

Of course there is Patti. You all know her, we went to CH-BOLC together. I’m so proud of her, she graduated from seminary this week! Patti you’re my hero. Seriously, she really is. While her husband was deployed to Iraq, Patti took care of four boys and went to seminary.

Oh and there’s Rachel, my new friend who I spend way too much time chatting with. Her husband is going to CH-BOLC in the morrow. [side joke... move along nothing to see here.] It is rather unfortunate that she lives 573 miles away. That makes having pizza a little complicated.