Don't Push Me!

I interrupt this marathon of "Emily's Christmas Memories" to bring you an update from "The Ghost of Christmas Present also known as INSANITY!!" This week has just been something else. From what I remember Monday was pretty calm. I even got to the dance studio EARLY to pick up Sarah AND I remembered to pay her tuition. Punctuality and memory are not my strong suits so I feel the need to congratulate myself on those two things. :)

Tuesday night the kids and I accompanied Josh on a tour of some local funeral homes. Eli got so excited and said, "Yay, we're going to a new funeral home!" That is a moment you know you are a preacher's kid. But really, who needs Disneyworld when there are so many funeral homes to visit? One of our church members lost his father and so we decided to brave the cold and the rain and take 3 kids under the age of 7 to the funeral home since I wouldn't be able to attend the service. It went better than expected. I had the chance to have a very serious conversation with my 4 year old. He wanted to know why his body was still there if he was dead. We've talked so much about going to heaven that he didn't get why his body was still here. It may bother some of you that we take our kids to funeral homes or that we discuss such things, but I am a big believer in the fact that we teach our kids how to react to death and grief. With Josh being a preacher and both of us working for Hospice (and, oh yea, we live across the street from the cemetery) our kids have been very exposed to death and funerals. I'm just amazed at the faith they have and the way their little hearts and minds handle things. It blows my mind the questions they ask. I will always cherish that night sitting on the couch at the funeral home with Eli. I hope that he will always feel like he can talk to me and ask questions. (Although I have the feeling that in a few years I will be asking him questions and seeking his wisdom!)

I had been feeling pretty bad for a couple of weeks and so Wednesday when Josh came home early after the funeral I dragged my pitiful self to the After Hours Clinic. It was full. Is it sad when you almost enjoy waiting at the dr.'s office because you actually get time to read through an entire magazine in peace and quiet? Probably. Well, I got a prescription and headed to Laurel to Wal-Mart. Apparently so did everybody else in central Mississippi. I was in line between two people who must have been blogging on their phones the way they were texting. Aren't y'all so glad I can't do that on my phone? Y'all would have been reading a blog that said, "I feel like crud, I'm in line at the pharmacy at Wal-Mart. The end." I prefer to sit down and give you detailed, chapter reviews of my week instead. :)

Thursday was a much anticipated day. Josh and I got a date! Well, it was to a memorial service, but still, we went without kids! Josh works for the same company I used to work for just out of a different office. Every year each office holds a memorial service to honor all of the patients who have passed away. Josh was asked to speak at the service for the office I used to work for. I have to confess, when we pulled into the parking lot I became a nervous wreck! I haven't gone back to the office or seen any of those people in over a year and a half. I am the type that I always assume people have forgotten me. Like, I'll call Josh and say, "Hey, this is Emily. Your wife." Okay, not really, but still I just feel like it is better to assume people have forgotten you than to go running across the building with arms outstretched, you know what I mean? Well, I had no need to fear. The chaplains who invited Josh to speak even said they did it because they knew it was the only way they would get me there. :) It was SO good to see the people I used to work with. It was also very emotional for me. I was only there 2 years, but y'all I can't explain those 2 years. They were so intense and really, I grew up in those 2 years. I figured out more about myself, my faith, and real life than I had in the previous 20 something years of my life. I'll go ahead and forewarn you that I may move from Christmas memories to work memories in the next week or so. What can I say, I've just become a sentimental, remembering fool. :) I also found out that several of those patients listed who had passed away were some of mine. See, I still consider them mine... Josh thought his message that night tied for his worst ever with the first sermon he preached in 6th grade. :) I assured him he was wonderful, and really he was.

We left there and had supper at LaPinata, the BEST Mexican restaurant. We had a real, uninterrupted conversation and cheese dip. That's all I ask for y'all. How did the kids do you ask? Oh, they cried. When we got there and they had to leave! Ha! Nothing like feeling loved and missed....... :)

Yesterday Sarah and I went shopping for some much needed winter wear (and by winter I mean if the temp drops below 74.5 I am breaking out the scarves). She is at an age now where it is fun to shop with her. She still picks out stuff that is the total opposite of what I like, but she is much easier to sway in my direction now. I so wish my computer would let me upload pics so I could show you the picture of her in a hat she picked out. All I can say is, obviously I have taken her to too many funeral homes! It was this huge black hat with feathers. And speaking of feathers, do you remember in this post when I talked about the feathered headdresses? Well, guess who bought a feathered headband yesterday? Oh yes I did. $2.99. I couldn't pass it up. I feel like a fashion icon I tell you. :)

Last night was the Christmas parade. Sarah rode on a float with her dance class. I walked through half of Bay Springs (seriously. For you local folks I walked from Hardees to the City Hall!!!) to find the float. But it's not like I was wearing high heeled boots, because who would do that? Okay so maybe I was. Anyway, we stood in the freezing cold for about 20 minutes, caught some candy, almost got run over by some crazy police officer showing off on his motorcycle, and then it was over. We totally didn't see Sarah at all. She was on the other side from where we standing. I tried to just get a pic of the float and do you know what my camera said? REPLACE BATTERY. It has become a Christmas parade tradition that my camera does that. (I think that Josh may sneak in and put old batteries in so I will stop embarrassing him by taking 40 million pictures, but that is just a theory.)

I guess today was the grande finale of the week. Just so you know, I decided to go for the real tree. Mostly because after looking at all of those pictures of our tree from last year I realized what a sad looking thing it was! I really wanted to go to a fancy tree farm and have that whole experience, but we just went to Lowe's. I'm glad. I don't think my kids were up for experiences today. Eli was having emotional breakdowns about wearing shoes and a coat and he couldn't keep the crayon box from falling out of his lap in the car. I thought we might have to sedate him for the ride. Once we got to Lowe's I really had no idea how to pick out a tree. Finally we saw one that was not all tied up and I said "That one looks good!" I think Josh was amazed I picked one so quick. I'm just too lazy to be picky, I really am. I think we did good though. I'm happy with it. I really don't know if I can ever have a fake tree again. Of course, this is day one. ..

After Lowe's we headed to Wal-Mart to get a tree stand that didn't cost more than the tree. Really, I think that some of the ones they sell must come with a full staff to water the tree everyday. Good grief! Kate did not want to get in the jeep and leave Lowe's. It was the first time she has ever fought me getting in her seat and I started having flashbacks of Sarah being that age because she fought me every.single.time we went anywhere. It was very traumatic. Well, I finally figured out that Kate was so unhappy because she had spotted one of those big swingset playthings they have outside and she wanted to play! I really hope that little battle of the wills was a one time thing. But now I'm not so sure. Once we got to Wal-Mart I started pushing the buggy while Josh looked at lights. Do you know what my 2 year old started saying to me? "DON'T PUSH ME! DON'T PUSH ME!" While it may not have been used in the same context, I am pretty sure she has heard those words from me!

It's been a week of funerals, parades, and Christmas trees. Oh yeah, it snowed here last night! Can you believe that? I'm going to go to bed now because our tree keeps making noise and I just know that at any moment a squirrel is going to jump out at me. If you think I'm joking you just don't understand my experiences with the rodent population. Knowing my luck there is a whole family of squirrels in that tree preparing for the holidays....