My Favorite Ladies

I worry and complain a lot. I mean, I'm tired of this and tired of that. I complain about students I ran into that day or those who sat next to me who made my teeth itch. I complain about my teachers who give absolutely ridiculous homework assignments and those they call "busy work". I complain about teachers who give weekly exams over 60 or 70 pages of reading.

I worry because we haven't found a place to work yet and graduation is only 8 weeks away. I worry because things seem in such turmoil with our economy that I wonder what will happen in the near future. I worry about family members who are throwing their whole life away. I worry about family members who don't really know the love of God, only pretending that they do. I worry about what kind of father I will be when Lyla actually gets old enough to remember things I say and do. I worry about grades, about graduation, about money, about Jennifer, about Lyla, about jobs, about church (things I can't even control!), about family (again, I can't control!)

But I will tell you one thing (and I mean it when I say it), each and every time I walk through the front door and see my favorite two ladies sitting in the recliner, so many of those worries and frustrations melt away. I walk in, and I can see my wife's face light up like a christmas tree (granted, it's probably because now she gets some relief!) and when I walk in Lyla seems to perk up a little bit (though it could be gas!). When I walk in and see what God has placed before me, right now, all the "unknowns" in the future just seem to fade away. Nothing can describe the feeling of when your daughter looks at you and gets the biggest smile on her face, just because it's daddy (or again, maybe gas!) All the complaints fade away. Granted, they rear their ugly head back up again, but for that moment nothing else matters. When I look at my wife and see the strength that she has had going through everything she has in the last 2 months, I am astounded and overwhelmed with love for that woman. When we are laughing (usually at nothing) nothing else matters. Who cares about grades? I have the greatest two ladies that any man could want. Who cares about what teachers do or don't do? I have two great ladies waiting on me to get home.

Unconditional love...

So, I thought after my last post I should write something positive...

One of our cats crack me up. Well, she actually drives me insane, but then she cracks me up. She is so AGGRAVATING!!! She walks between your feet and right in front of you, bowing up and trying to get you to pet her. I would rather kick her than pet her cause she is soooo aggravating! She gets into everything that she can possibly get into, and she knows the rule that she is not allowed in the baby room. But every time the door opens, she runs in there and tries to hide! Also, she knows that her and minnie (the other cat) is not allowed in our bedroom because they like to keep us up, yet every time the door opens she dashes right into the room and under the bed. She makes my teeth itch!

We pop her, holler at her, snap our fingers at her, and just get aggravated with her. Yet, everyday we come out of the room, every time we get up from the couch, there she is in front of us, wanting for us to love on her. It doesn't matter what we do to her, she still loves us!

It may sound weird (or maybe I sound like one of those weird cat people :)), but I wish I had the sort of love a cat has!

In the arms of the angels??

WARNING! The following may offend...

First off, I want to say that I am an animal person. I like cats (have two of my own) and occassionally dogs (neighborhood dogs excluded!) So when I say the following, I am perfectly unbiased!

Okay, so I am watching tv and there is this commercial running. You've seen it, you can't help but see it. They run it on every channel! Sara McLachlan's "Arms of the Angels" begins playing (which will immediately melt anyone with that piano intro) and you are prepared for a tear jerker. Here is comes, it's a commercial for.......neglected animals. And there is Sara McLachlan herself advocating for abused animals and trying to get me to send money. Okay, I am the first to melt at the sight of a sweet little kitten or puppy. As a matter of fact, just like night I saw a itty-bitty kitten on the sidewalk and stopped to try and get it (what I would have done with it I have no idea). And to the producer of this commercial credit, he picked the cutest, saddest little animals to put on there. DISCLAIMER! I do not, in any form or fashion, condone the abuse or neglect of animals. Beating an animal until it is dead is ridiculous, inhumane, and honestly is a sign of something far deeper psychologically. But, I wonder...

Where are the commercials for the neglected and abused children or women? Yeah, we see the commercials for the starving children in foreign countries but what about in our own backyard? DISCLAIMER AGAIN! I do not advocate the removal of the foreign children's commercial, I am just asking a question. I mean, we have superstar singers like Sara Mclachlan spending her time and energy fighting for abused animals, but yet where are the superstars standing up for abused children? I'm sure they're out there, but I don't see a commercial running on every major station known to man! If you think this is sort of a retarded subject to write about, or if you think I am being too cruel, allow me to present you with something...

There have been many nations who have placed animals above humans by worshiping them. Egypt worshiped cats as animals of the gods. They were placed in high esteem in the temples and with the pharoahs, all the while they had millions of Israelites in slavery. Their own people were starving to death and suffering, but the cats were worshiped. We see what happened to Egypt. Once the most powerful nation in the world, not it is a speck on the map. I'm not saying that the worship of cats brought the dynasty down. I am saying that their misappropriated priorities did bring them down. Their priorities were way off base, and the worship of man and animals instead of worshiping and following the God of the universe did bring them down (in my opinion).

Okay, so this went a little further than I wanted. I was just blown away that we cry out over the abuse and neglect of animals, but remain silent when it comes to the rape, beatings, and even emotional abuse of children. We say, "well we can't do anything about that, but that cat over there is being abused! OUTRAGE!!! MAKE A COMMERCIAL!!!" We overlook human abuse but scream about animal abuse. Where are out priorities? And I didn't mean to equivilate the abuse of animals to the fall of the Egyptian empire, but I wonder...what's next for us?