The dreaded comment...

On Saturday, my good friend Rena, got married. I was one of the bridesmaids (Pictures coming soon hopefully). I arrived on Friday morning at the appointed time to sit and wait for at least half an hour before the bride herself arrived with the decorations. Granted, I should've known that Rena would not have been on time. I spent 12 hours at the church, setting up, preparing food, decorating, etc, etc, etc. I experienced my first rehersal in sneakers. I had a very cute outfit picked out for the rehersal but no one else changed so I wasn't going to either. It was a busy day to say the least.

I must say that for the first time in a long time I felt pretty. I have finally gotten my hair highlighted and cut. I scrounged up enough money to get a much needed pedicure. I felt good. Wedding time rolled around and Kayla, Rena's sister, did my hair for me. It held the "do" most of the day - despite the wicked heat. I had a great dress that I looked and felt good in. I was pretty tired when the actual ceremony rolled around. I was escorted up the aisle by one of my favoritest guys of the moment. One who I wish would notice me more and want to be a better friend with me! We have the same sense of humor and competed most of the weekend to get the one-liners out. We chatted up and down the aisle and maybe it was imagination but I swear he kept looking at me during the ceremony and smiling. He's just an all-around nice, grown-up, single, Christian guy.

Now back to my point...I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had received several compliments from Rena's friends and family. Then came the downer...after many rounds of pictures after the ceremony we entered the reception. I knew some of the people there and they were waiting to speak to me when we entered. My loving former Sunday School teacher from West Asheville was one of the first to get to me. Here is what she said: "So how does it feel that Rena (who's younger than you right?) got married before you?" WOW - punch in the gut! I know she loves me and I know she wants God's best for me but I hope she realizes that the way she just said it wasn't nice. I struggled my way through the rest of the conversation. I was told that when I do finally get married that I needed to remember to invite them as well. The bridesmaid standing next to me said "Do you get that question a lot? How does it make you feel?" I went on to explain to her that I get it sometimes and I respond to it differently at different times depending on the circumstances of life at the moment. The sad part is that it most often comes from well-intentioned Christians. There is a whole generation of Christian women who believe that in order to serve God fully and be happiest in life you have to be married. I disagree - yes, I do desire to marry someday but I also know that if God wants me to be single forever then I can't do much about it. Whichever way it happens, God has my best interest at heart. Does that make it any easier - absolutely not - but my head knows He loves me more than any man ever will and He'll care for me better than any man too. Did that question sting -yes! Is it a familiar sting - yes! Know that single or married, I'm pursuing what God has for me because He knows what's best.

Good Ending for a Sad Day

After a long and somewhat depressing day at a summer workshop, I was treated to an extremely early birthday present by a wonderful friend who is visiting from Louisiana. She took me to Longhorn Steakhouse and this is what I had for dinner:

Rocky Top Chicken
Two juicy grilled chicken breasts, basted with our signature BBQ sauce and topped with hickory-smoked bacon, melted cheese and diced tomatoes (got rid of those). Served with seasoned fries and choice of side.

Then for dessert:Chocolate Stampede
Great for Sharing! Two peaks of chocolate cake packed with six types of chocolate, including chocolate mousse and fudge icing. Served with vanilla bean ice cream and real whipped cream.

Needless to say I have leftover chicken for dinner tomorrow night and cake for breakfast in the morning! I received some much needed encouragement and had a good chance to catch up with Lori. Courts - Mom liked your strawberry salad.

Slacker that I am

Yes I know it's been over a month since I've blogged...yes, I know that way too much has happened in the past month to include in one post...yes, I know that I should be working on round two of my counseling licensure program...yes, I know that I haven't gotten caught up on everyone else's blogs in a LONG time...yes, I KNOW!

Here's the Reader's Digest version: The month of May was full of school, school and some more school. I was spending extremely long days at LMS getting my kids ready for their EOGs. I spent several afternoons a week tutoring and getting in some extra practice. I also brought home some projects to make reviewing a little more exciting in the classroom. I also took three days to complete my bus driver training. I slept occasionally on the weekends, but even those filled up fast. I had my "Nicaraguan" friend here for a weekend visit. I had a random trip to Asheville to spend some quality time with the soon to be bride. Then EOG week hit. This time of year is incredibly busy and stressful for NC teachers - not to mention the threat of job loss hanging over our heads and a pay decrease for the month we work the hardest! I came through it with a contract for next year, a school bus driver's license, and less pay!

June came in quickly with us scrambling to remediate and re-test of first time failures. The bomb was dropped on the last Friday of the year for those who are potentially losing their jobs this year. It's not a good time to be a NC teacher!!!! Despite all this bad news, I believe that for the first time ever (unofficially) LMS has made AYP! We were told by a county office official at our end of year luncheon that we just looked tired. How encouraging but true!!

Finally, Dad gave Mom tickets to see Phantom of the Opera in Charlotte this past Friday as a Christmas present. This included tickets for Pastor Todd, his wife, all three kids and a date. That was easy for my brothers because they have wives! My search was a little more complicated. Even if I was talking or casually seeing someone right now I wasn't ready to expose him to the entire family this early. Realizing how few friends I have close by, I decided to drop a few hints to a certain friend who can usually travel pretty easily. Needless to say she came to be my date for the weekend. I REALLY enjoyed the show. I sat next to Jenn, who is trained in opera - among other types of music. She loved it, I loved it, but the boys I'm not so sure. At one point, Tim, Joe and Todd all had the same bored posture going on. I laughed at them. It was a great dinner and show with the family.

Summer vacation has started! Today was my lazy day - probably one of the few I'll get this summer. I've read through almost an entire book today - will probably finish it before going to bed. Tomorrow I start on volleyball plans, my lawn, maybe Majesty Motors work, laundry, and any other things I put off today. The summer is pretty busy but I hope to post more often. Thanks for reading this long to get a brief catch up on the last month of my life! Happy Summer!