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  • 01.13.2008 Would You Do It if We Were Dating?
    18 Comments

    That question has plagued the recesses of my mind since Jeremiah and I have been married. Would you do it if we were dating? I’m not sure what happened to make me fear that I would change after we got married. My Dad never complained about this issue with my Mom, or vice versa. I think it must stem back to all the talks my Dad had with me when Jeremiah and I were engaged. “You know, Abby, you are much more of a type-A personality, and Jeremiah is more ‘Don’t worry be happy.’ Neither of you are too far in either direction, and I think you will compliment each other well. BUT, just be careful, because a lot of times in marriage, there is a tendency for Mr. Don’t Worry Be Happy to drive Mrs. Type-A to be more type-A. It can turn into a vicious cycle.”

    In my mind, while I do freely admit to the type-A tendencies, I also love spontaneity. When Jeremiah would drive me home from dates, I used to say, “Instead of you driving me home, just take a right right here and let’s drive to the beach!” And one night, we did 🙂 I was very nervous on horses when we first started dating, but I pushed through and made myself do it because I wanted to be with him. I even nearly killed myself snow-skiing in -20 degree weather because I wanted to seem brave. So, I listened to Dad’s warning, but in my mind could never have imagined losing what, I hoped, was the fun side of myself that Jeremiah helped to bring to the surface.

    Enter the Pine Lake Motel…What you see at the top of this blog is a picture of the hotel (actually I think MOtel would be a more proper term) that we stayed in last night. If you’ve ever made the trek from Montgomery to Dothan then I’m sure you’ve noticed it. While dating, Jeremiah and I must have made that trip 10,000 times and each time we’d laughingly comment about wishing we could stay there. What I just learned yesterday, was that our reasons for wanting to stay there varied greatly. In my mind: That’s one of the creepiest hotels I’ve ever seen. People definitely die there. But, if I were allowed to stay in a HOTEL with you, I would even be willing to stay there. In Jeremiah’s mind: That looks like a family operated motel, that’s pretty dumpy, but they really take pride in it and try to make it nice. Wouldn’t it be fun if we were allowed to stay in a hotel.

    So yesterday, when we were discussing the logistics of how to transport 2 children, who HATE to ride in the car, from Birmingham to Montgomery so that we could meet his parents and pick up my car (my sister had a wreck in my car while I was home and it just got finished being fixed), Jeremiah suggested breaking up the trip by spending the night at the Pine Lake-like we’ve always dreamed! Oh horror…that nagging question crept into the back of my mind as I heard myself telling him that, “No, I do not want to stay at that scary motel with our two small children. Not to mention the packing, the money,…” I stopped, as I remembered myself at 20, longing to be able to stay, even in the Pine Lake, if I could stay with him. I conceded.

    It turns out that the Pine Lake isn’t nearly as frightening on close inspection as its dingy neon sign would have you to believe from the road. I’m not saying that I ever took my socks off when I walked around, or that I didn’t refuse to cover myself with the comforter (that I hear hotels never wash), or that the bathroom wasn’t straight out of 1975, but I went and we laughed about it and it really was fun (and much cleaner than I expected). The night man didn’t look anything like Norman Bates, and Pace told us this morning that she didn’t want to go back to Birmingham, she wanted to STAY at the Pine Lake.

    (Good thing they put a lovely, white, plastic chair outside of each room! I know that I woke up this morning yearning to sit there, coffee in hand, and admire the parking lot and Hwy 231.)



  • 01.09.2008 Joy Bringers
    15 Comments

    A few minutes ago I was cooing at Mary Aplin, and wishing I had a magic genie to bring me a fresh cup of steaming tea and a buttery scone. The joy that came over me at the thought of curling up, unencumbered with a book and those two items, started me to thinking about other things that bring me joy. I hope that most of you know my heart, and things like Jesus and family are my two biggest joy givers, but I started thinking about the “worldly” things that bring happiness to my heart. I am just going to list the first 10 that come to my mind. I can’t bear to say they are the TOP ten, because that would mean I’d have to list them all out and try to rank them–too much work. SO, here are the FIRST 10:

    1) A cup of tea, a scone, and some book discussion. I love any type of eating and book discussion, but there is something distinctly British and lovely about the tea and scone combination. I am fortunate enough to have a dear friend and neighbor who makes an excellent scone and also happens to enjoy the same type of books that I do. Yesterday morning she invited Ashley (Johnson) and I over to rekindle our tea and scone meetings after my prolonged absence. There was nothing really relaxing about our time with the 4 little girls trying to juggle their Mommy’s nice china, the crumbly scones, the enticing fun of adding more and more and more cream to their tea, and the blustering winds of yesterday. However, I looked across the table at Lauren and we both smiled. I said,”We may not be discussing a beautiful novel, but I bet one day soon we’re going to miss these crazy tea parties with little girls.”

    2) The Beach. I could write all day long about the joys of the beach. From the sand, to the breeze, to the sun, to the fun restaurants, to the calm tired that comes after a day in the sun…but you all know those things well enough yourself.

    3) Getting all dressed up for dinner. Whenever Jeremiah and I get a “money present”, this is usually what we choose to spend it on. I love the anticipation that comes after making a reservation at a nice restaurant. I love to labor over what I’m going to wear (which usually means raiding Ashley’s closet for something new and exciting :)) and what kind of eye makeup to add to change my every-day look. I love giving our name to the maitre de, and having Jeremiah put his hand on the small of my back as we are lead to our table. I love to read every item on the menu and think about the chef in the back who has been trained to know that spices and foods I’ve never even heard of can be combined to bring out new flavors. I love the low lighting and the quiet conversation and knowing that there WILL be dessert, because it’s our night and we’re splurging. I just love it.
    4) Feeling connected to a writer. When I am reading a book and suddenly come across a thought or feeling, typed in bold print, that I thought was something isolated within myself, I get giddy.

    5) Going to the movie. If Jeremiah and I get a “money present” that isn’t enough to send us out to dinner, we invariably will use it to go to a movie. Holding hands in line, feeling like we are out on a real date, the smell (and TASTE) of buttered popcorn, the dark theatre, the surround sound, the excitement of the plot… We cherish the whole movie experience. Now that we have wee-uns, our movie-going has dwindled substantially. We have had to substitute renting for the real deal, and we miss it.

    6) A cold night and a good book in front of a fire. Last Christmas, we received a fuzzy green throw blanket that I keep waiting for me on the back of our couch. Fortunately, I have a husband who builds a fire every night he is home and the temperature drops below 70. So, once Pace and Mary Aplin are nestled quietly in bed, I usually can savor at least a few moments in this joy-bringing activity.

    7) A smiling, cooing baby. If that doesn’t make you smile, then you may want to ask Pace what the grinch did with your heart!

    8) A Jesus moment. I said this was going to be a worldly list, but I can’t bear to leave this one out. Nothing brings more joy than getting in the word, or hearing a sermon, or having a friend share something that you know was a gift sent to you straight from Jesus. I had one of these moments a few nights ago, and that is what I was planning to blog today. Hopefully I’ll get the time to share it with you soon.

    9) An antique book store. To look around and feel blissfully overwhelmed by the vast amount of books that are still waiting to be read. To think of all the previous owners who’ve poured over their pages. To smell leather and staleness, waiting to be made new again. It makes my heart beat fast.

    10) Writing. And writing with the anticipation of it being read. I’ve never been a performer. The thought of a stage and crowds of people makes me sick to my stomach, but I will admit to you that there is something invigorating about writing and wondering if any of you will feel a connection with me like I have felt with so many others. I enjoy writing period, and I would write even if my eyes were the only ones to ever read the words. However, I thank you for adding something extra to the joy of writing, and that is the joy of being read.


  • 12.30.2007 Book Update
    7 Comments

    Several of you have sent emails asking what the “heaven” book I mentioned in the last posting is. So, I thought it might be time to go ahead and do another book update. With all that’s been happening, my reading has slowed substantially, but it still hasn’t come to a halt. Two of the books on this list I haven’t actually finished reading, but here we go:

    Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter: This was my selection for our book club. It is a kid’s book, really, but it is wonderful. I actually retold the entire book to Mom on our last trip to the beach… It’s the story of a little Irish orphan boy, filled with valor, a hard work ethic, and love for his “Swamp Angel.” The book opens as he is running away from his first job out of the orphanage. He was abused because the plantation owner who hired him didn’t know that he was missing an arm. The rest of the story is about how he overcomes his disability, finds “family,” falls in love with an unobtainable beauty, and earns the respect of all he meets. It is very touching and has a surprise ending. Porter was also an avid nature lover and this colors the entire novel.

    Middlemarch by George Eliot: This is one of the books that I haven’t actually finished. I bought an antique copy, and it actually came with two of Eliot’s books in one. For this reason, it is HUGE, and I had people at the doctor’s office ask me if it was an antique Bible I was reading 🙂 Perhaps it’s the daunting size, or maybe the problem is that I watched my BBC movie and ruined all the surprises, but I have had a hard time getting into it. I have never started a book and not finished it, so I will get around to it eventually, but right now I’ve been too pre-occupied to read a book that isn’t going to drag me along with it.

    A Room with a View by E.M. Forster: Florence in springtime, English countryside, charming little community…this book has a great back-drop. The story, however, is a little on the strange side. This books shows the difference between loving someone from your mind and loving someone from your heart. Unfortunately, my heart never did fall in love with the “hero” of this novel…He was just a little flighty. I would recommend the movie over the book in this case, which is something I rarely would say.

    Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: I LOVE THIS BOOK! My love for reading started as a young girl reading my Mom’s old Nancy Drew books. Perhaps that’s why there has always been a special place in my heart for the mystery…the twist. This book has all the elements I love: rags to riches love story, English estates, old-world setting, and SUSPENSE. The creepy house matron, Ms. Danvers, is sure to make an ever-lasting impression on your psyche, and there are twists that will make you gasp out loud. I should probably clarify that this is just a Gothic novel and not Stephen King or anything like that. If you’ve read Jane Eyre, you will see some definite parallels. Rebecca was my favorite book in high school, and re-reading it as a wife was even better.

    The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: First of all, can you tell me how I am supposed to pronounce that author’s last name 🙂 There was a very nice black man at Books-a-Million who looked up this book title for me so that I could locate the book by the author’s last name. I asked him to repeat it three times, turning more red with each re-pronunciation, until he finally laughed and said, “That girl was one letter off from being really wrong.”

    I decided to forgo our book club selection of the month because I read the first page and it sounded depressing. I decided there was enough in my life bringing sadness, and I just wanted an easy-to-read page turner to take me into some other fascinating world. I remembered this unusual title being mentioned by one of our book club members, so I decided to give it a go. It was a page-turner, the story line was very clever and must have taken a LOT of planning for the author. I have just still yet to find a book written in the last 15 years, about present-day society, that I would place on a level playing field with the old stuff. This, like most other new stuff I’ve read, seems to need to use crude language, or sex, or some convention like time traveling, to keep the reader’s attention. Something about that just seems plastic to me.

    Saying all that, I couldn’t put this book down. It may have seemed a little plastic and a little raunchy at times, but the plot was intriguing. Unfortunately, I ran from a book that I thought had a depressing tone, straight into this book where a mother dies of cancer and other death that I hate to give away.

    Heaven by Randy Alcorn: I haven’t finished this one yet either, but it is fascinating. There is so much that I never knew! Alcorn does a good job of showing different opinions, and then stating his own. Everything (at least so far) has been based on Scripture. Did you know that the heaven that exists now is not the same heaven that we will live in for eternity? Did you know that the verse everyone quotes about there being no more tears or sorrow in heaven is referring to the New Jerusalem, not the intermediate heaven that exists now? Alcorn believes that the Saints (those in heaven now) can see those of us on earth, and they even pray for us. I won’t give any more away, but I would highly recommend this book.