Not Cool

I am not cool. I know it. I tried to be cool in High School. I even managed to hang with the cool crowd, but it was an act. Now, I have a 13 year old son who is very cool. If he is acting, he's doing a fine job. At his old school he bought his lunch everyday because it wasn't cool to bring your lunch from home. At his new school it's just the opposite. This morning he looked at the lunch I packed and said, "Mom, what's the deal with the mini bagel sandwiches?" (I think this is the third time I've made them, but this was the first time he said anything.)

"Oh, I just thought they would be a fun change. Aren't they cute?"

"Mom, didn't you say that you want me to make some guy friends?" (Jacob has a tendency to attract girl friends.)

"Oh, I didn't think about that. What would be a cool lunch?"

"A peanut butter sandwich and a coke."

So from now on, I will try to be cool. It sounds like cool lunches are easier to make anyway.

Feeling Regular

Audra came home the other day and said that she felt regular at her new school. At her old school she felt special. Everyone knew her. They knew she was smart, artistic, responsible, and a good singer and actress. They knew her parents. They knew her brothers. They knew she had a sister who died. She had a reputation. No one at the new school knows anything about her. Starting over can be a good thing, but it can also be a hard thing. We are all feeling a little regular right now. We want to fast forward to when we are no longer the "new girl", the "new guy", or the "visitor."

There have been many times in my life I have wanted to fast forward to better days. Unfortunately/fortunately we can only live one day at a time. But while we are living through those not-so-fun days we have the incredible gift of looking forward with great expectation to what is to come--in this life and especially in the next.