weather news

The sky is gray and overcast this morning. Just the way I like it. Those who know me well might say I'm fond of calling it "J. Crew weather". You know, the kind of backdrop in all the winter J. Crew catalogs with sweatered models looking way too happy to be outside in subzero temperatures. I like warm, clear, sunny days, too, but for some reason, I have a particular affinity for overcast days. Maybe because I have ultra-sensitive eyes (while everyone else is staring into the sunrise, I'm donning sunglasses and trying to avoid getting a squint-wrinkle). Maybe because the clouds protectively blanket me in to my home, one of my favorite places to be. Maybe because cold, overcast days seem to bring everyone inside, into community with each other. Maybe it's just the way God made me!

While we're on the topic of weather...a tsunami that's killed over 60,000 people?!? What in the world??? I'm having a strong motherly urge to pack up for Asia and go care for the injured and orphaned children. Funny how having a child can make you see the world from a completely new perspective.

a tender tennessee christmas

So the holidays were low-key and unstressful in the Young household. Quite enjoyable in fact, despite two of Rowan's teeth making a noisy appearance, and his Paw (my dad) having a little slip-up on Music Row. Paw's foot found a patch of ice and the curb came up to say hello in a rather abrupt manner. We could have spent the night in the Vandy ER but fortunately Paw and his bones are still all in one piece. Instead we spent the night trying to entertain Rowan who apparently was so eager for Santy Claus that he couldn't sleep from 2 a.m. until 4 a.m.

The week with my parents was great. Rowan enjoyed the presence of his doting grandparents. Some friends lent my mom and dad their apartment, and some other friends lent us their wheels (we're typically a one-car fam). Thanks to the Williams and Duckworths. We are grateful for their generosities. And we are SO appreciative to Rowan's Paw, Gram and Grammy Cheryl for traveling to Nashville for the holidays. We are abundantly blessed by our families and friends. Here's to 2004!!!

please pray

We have some friends in NYC who are in the midst of a church plant in Brooklyn. She is twenty weeks pregnant with their second child. This week they received news that their baby has a condition called Congential Diaphragmatic Hernia. The condition is very serious and potentially life-threatening. They have named their son Ira and are asking for prayers. Please pray for baby Ira, his sister, his parents, and the doctors who will be caring for him. Thanks.

Our friends have asked that we "pray first for a miracle. We want to show up at one of our doctor appointments and them say, 'I'm not sure what happened but all the organs are in the right place now and the lungs look to be developing.' We pray that Ira makes it through the pregnancy and then that he makes it through the surgery. We pray that we will hold on tight to our faith as it will be easy to lose it in a time like this. We pray for courage over the next few months of waiting along with patience. We pray for our role as parents of Sophia and that we will not overlook her during this time. We pray for our relationship and the communication in which we will need to partake now and in the future."

to be or not to be...friendly

I've thought of a bajillion things to write about these past few days, but haven't been able to because we couldn't connect. Turns out our utility room door wore a hole in the cable, thus no access to the rest of the world for a few days. I'm so dependent on email and the internet nowadays. Don't know what I'd do without the World Wide Web.

Anyways, one of our elders stood up in church this past Sunday and said he'd received a letter that morning from a person who had visited our congregation four times and never been spoken to by anyone. The elder went on to say that he had had a similar experience when he first visited our church. He and his family went elsewhere, and then eventually ended up at our "unfriendly" congregation. Ouch. I hardly think one letter of complaint deems us "unfriendly", but I also know we have a responsibility to be a welcoming group. I don't think it is many folks' intent to be unfriendly. This is just one of the dilemmas of larger churches!

Okay. Enough about that. But keeping on the topic of friendliness, I went for a cup of joe the other day and tried to practice a random act of kindness only to be DENIED. The college-age gal in front of me was trying to use her credit card to pay her bill of $2.98. The card machine was temporarily kaput, so the cashier asked if she had any hard cold moolah. I heard her say she only had two dollars, so being the kind-hearted soul that I am, I offered her one of my George Washingtons. She glanced over her shoulder at me, then proceeded to dig up some coins out of her purse. She left with nary a "thank you" or a smile in my direction. It hurt my feelings. I wanted to cry. Seriously I did. Oh well. I can always count on Brandon to cheer me up. My upbeat, positive-thinking husband said, "Well...at least you got to keep your dollar!"

talkin' dirty...diapers, that is

Back in the spring, before Rowan made his appearance, one of my co-workers -- newly married and all of 25 years old -- asked me if I was going to be one of those parents who constantly discussed the contents of my baby's diaper, the state of his mucus, how many times he had thrown up, etc. He kind of went off about how new parents are always volunteering unnecessary information about their children's bodily excrements. I, too, had noticed the same phenomenon. I promised to make an effort at not sharing "diaper stories" in everyday conversation. Well, Aaron...I've failed you, man. Just the other day one of my new-mommy friends called and asked me what I was doing. I matter-of-factly replied, "Changing the most rancid-smelling diaper in Rowan's eight months of life."

I now understand why new parents discuss the aforementioned matters to such a degree. The simple fact is your life revolves around the baby, and since all babies really do -- besides look so stinking cute all the time (pun intended) -- is eat, poop, and spit up, it's only natural that their caretakers would discuss those events. When you're wiping someone else's rear every few hours, the topic is bound to make its way into conversation at some point.

I'll just be sure to keep my lip zipped when I'm around Aaron. At least until he has a baby.

some of my favorite people

The more time I spend with our life group, the harder it is to think about leaving Nashville. I guess if all the people in our group either moved away themselves or started trafficking drugs or something, maybe THEN we could move somewhere else. But only then. I just love them so much! I LOVE them!!! They are some of the most thoughtful people around, especially the ladies. Every time we gather together as a Christian family, I feel extremely blessed. I hope I don't ever start taking them for granted.
I'm also really in love with my parents and Brandon's mom and my brother and new sister-in-love and my cousin Jake and our extended families. How many people can say that? I wish everyone in the world had the stability and constancy of loving parents and grandparents and siblings. There would probably be a lot less griping and feuding.
And then there are our friends who are spread across the nation, with a strong concentration in Texas. Geography keeps us from spending much time together, but fortunately email and memories keep our lives intertwined.
And finally, a shout out goes to Joe and Jason who actually regularly read and leave messages on my blog. Thanks guys. I appreciate the encouragement. Must be nice having all that free time on your hands...

dreamy

If it's not one kid lurching me out of sleep at the ridiculous hour of 4 a.m., it's the other. Usually it's Rowan. But this morning it was Brandon. When Brandon has a nightmare, he lets out this eerie, feeble yell, and that's exactly what woke me in the wee hours. Apparently, he was dreaming that a Grim-Reaperish-like being was stalking him and my brother. Creepy. But at least his dreams kind of make sense. Mine usually resemble an over-the-top CSI episode with all the scenes in absolutely no kind of chronological order. I've given up even trying to explain my dreams anymore. Seriously. It's maddening. I think the antidepressant I'm taking doesn't exactly help either. I've read a few places online that some folks have major wacky dreams when on various meds. Oh well. I'll take freaky dreams anyday over postpartum depression.

the trinity...journalistically speaking

Today is the end of an era. Tonight Tom Brokaw steps down from his evening anchor position on NBC. The Big Three will now only be the Big Two...and that only until next March when Dan the Man retires. This is a huge deal. HUGE. Tom, Dan and Peter watched me grow up. I guess a more accurate statement would be that I watched THEM as I grew up. As far back as my memory allows, since way back in the dawn of my childhood, those guys ruled the airwaves. Sure, I recognize the names and faces of their journalistic ancestors – Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley and the like – but Tom, Dan and Peter were my generation's dinner table staple. I remember them before their hair turned gray and the wrinkles set in. I could always turn on the TV and count on their familiar faces and even-keel voices to comfort me in some odd way. But not so anymore. Someone else will step in. Someone who Rowan will remember from HIS childhood. And life marches on.