Thoughts for Thursday (Red)

Calendar September 2, 2010 | Posted by Right Said Red

What am I cooking tonight?


Mandarin Chicken Salad. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? It’s quick and easy to make. I will post the recipe in the comments.

What am I reading? I just finished Anna Karenina and I’m heading to the library today to pick up a new book.  I’m leaning towards A Tale of Two Cities, as I haven’t read it since high school, but I’m up for alternative suggestions.

What are my weekend plans? I’m headed to the beach for a long weekend.  Unfortunately, it is just as much work to take my family for 4 days as it is for 7, so I’m spending the better part of today and tomorrow packing.  After the outer bands of Hurricane Earl clear the area on Friday, the forecast for the weekend looks very promising!

What are my prayer intentions for the day? For my husband, my time of packing, and for our family weekend away.

What is one product that is making my life a little easier? Organic baby yogurts by Stoneybrook Farms.  I love that I can just pop off the top and stir.  They are expensive, but really convenient when traveling or busy.

What am I grateful for? Hugs from my children.

What have I done for my marriage this week? Mr. Red and I went out to very good dinner last night, and we spent some really quality time talking about our relationship.

What’s challenging me lately? Feelings of insecurity about my relationships with other people.  While there is nothing I can do about this other than pray, I have unfortunately been reminded of that feeling on the middle school playground, you know the one where everyone is standing in a circle gabbing and you get the distinct sense that you aren’t welcome to walk over there.  

What is one task or project on my agenda for the week? After I return from the beach early next week, I would love to rid my dining room table of the various empty picture frames collecting there.  I plan to order new photos to fill some of these old frames, and to discard the frames we no longer need.  It seems something is always collecting on my dining room table.

Something that made me think? This article on dying in the United States.  I am blessed to have witnessed the last days of my grandfather’s life, a man who died in his own bedroom surrounded by family.  My grandfather was a man of faith, who taught us all how to live and how to die.  His last days stand in stark contrast to what the author of the article describes.  I realize there are many reasons why so many Americans head to a hospital to die, among them a lack of faith and a cultural fear of death, but I am concerned about a general trend towards institutionalization in all areas of life.  We birth our babies in an institution, we raise our young children in institutionalized settings, we send our older children into institutionalized educational systems, and so why should how we die be any different?  Often in opting out we really live, and perhaps it is also how we should die.

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Category Categories: Thoughts for Thursday  |  Comments Leave a reply

  • Ruth

    I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship too, Red, as I moved recently to a new city. It’s been a good reminder to me of what a tremendous blessing good friendships are and the importance of both intimate friendships and also networks of friends that facilitate good fellowship. I’m realizing that as we get older and move around that our close friends become more likely to be long distance. Thanks goodness for the internet and blogs! And Red, just think about all your readers who would just LOVE to come hang out with you for a day and forget about those other people, OK?

  • Mrs_bruner

    Get Tale of Two Cities, it has the best opening and ending lines. I just listen to that on audio book while I did the dishes, made dinner and folded laundry. FYI The audio book has a male reader that does a very annoying female voice, which just sounded silly. So, stick with paper.nnOh, have you read the Anne of Green Gables books, there are about 6 or 7?? See Wikipedia for a complete list in order (of story, not written). The series takes Anne from an orphan girl to a married women with grown children, she had 7 children by the way. It is a beautiful story of friendship, the blessing of children and motherhood.nnThanks for being honest and open with your readers, and not just pretending with a happy face. Sharing our challenges with each other is so important. I have the same challenge too, and I am usually wrong about it. I just take a step into the circle, smile and say hello.

  • Mary Alice

    Every time I have had that middle school feeling, the friendships involved have turned out to be toxic and I have been better off without them. Often there is a queen bee at the center of the circle, and many times other women feel just the same way you are feeling, even if they seem more included in the group. My advice would be to focus on one-on-one get togethers with people you feel would be a good fit with your family and don’t worry too much about what the group as a whole is doing. nnI am totally with you on the issue of life and death, my aunt was able to die at home and I think it was much better for her and for our family to be able to gather in a familiar place. Hospice is a wonderful thing, though it was not a good fit for us, my cousin, who has nursing experience, was able to come and she was a tremendous help to everyone.nnOh, and I still owe you a picture of Holly — was that a hint?

  • Mrs_bruner

    Oh, and then there are the times I was right, it wasn’t a misunderstanding on my part and I wasn’t welcome in the circle. Perhaps, if you are having that problem, you might add “Mean Girls All Grown Up” to you library list. :-) Besides reading Mean Girls, spending time with my sane, nice friends helped me tolerate unavoidable interactions with not-so-nice ones because they remind me of what true friendship means. Of course you probably already came to all these conclusions, but I hope it helps to know others have the same problem too.