Cleaning House: A Godly Twist

Hello again.. I know, I know.. last night's post was a little rough. Well, last night WAS another rough night. The only thing that sets it apart from other nights is the fact that I finally told you about them. My low nights are few and far between, but they still are there, and they still hit me like a ton of bricks.

As usual, the morning comes and I get yet another new start. I think this morning makes like my 200th new start morning, but one of these days, it will stick! After Mrs. Bonnie's funeral, I didn't drive anywhere for almost 2 whole weeks. I didn't realize that I was hovering around the house, but I did. I've tried to slowly venture out of the house again, and I catch myself finding reasons not to leave the house, even after I get ready. I actually cut my hair, because I knew that couldn't be a reason for me to not get ready. Instead of my hair taking an hour, it takes about 15 minutes, and I LOVE it!  The smallest things like that make the day a little better.

Some great close friends of ours, Lee and Gena Anderson drove all the way to Tallassee to take Scott and I out to dinner not too long ago. It was my first time out of the house, and they will never know how much that night meant to me. They actually drove all the way here, just to see us. Lee and Gena have been here from the very beginning, and I love them so much. Lee just "gets" me, maybe because I'm so much like him, even though I think he would beg to differ. He's extremely set in his ways and his manner is often abrasive... but I found his heart hidden inside him. And he has a HUGE giving heart, and he's not the kind of friend you have to talk to everyday to know he still cares. He's always there, and he would absolutely DIE for Scott or me, and especially Izzy and Evan. And his wife Gena, well she's my long lost grandmother I think! She's a tough little lady, but she's had her own health struggles, and she understands what I am going through. We used to go to their house quite often, but with men ot driving and Scott doing my wifey duties and his husbandly role, we don't get to go often. But, when we do go, I feel comfortable and welcome. That's rare for me. When I was in the hospital in February, Lee didn't just visit me everyday, he visited several times a day, everyday. We were actually eating dinner at their house when I started to have my attack, so I'm questioning whether I should eat his shrimp again... (Just kidding Lee).

My oldest best friend Kristin, she also drives all the way to my house to see me too! She will come stay all day long, and I don't have to "coddle" her when she's here. If she wants a drink, she fixes it. If she wants to take a nap, she sleeps. We don't have to talk the whole time, and she just knows that I want her presence there. We make a game out of picking the movies to watch, because I always try to find one that she will love but hasn't seen... and she's seen everything! We're at the point now where when I call out a movie name, she says, "Chel, I watched that last time with YOU!" haha... She just graduated with her Masters from the University of Alabama (My little girl is growing up.. sniffle...) and we all thought she would go straight from the diploma to a new fancy job. Thank you recession for being such a pain in the butt with that. No, really, God hasn't found her perfect job yet, but maybe he knew I would need her right now, so he's made her available all the time... There's a reason for everything and when the time comes, God will give her the best job in the world. She deserves it!

Dawna, Mrs. Bonnie's daughter-in-law, is my newest best friend, and she is my other sweetheart. She is also in pain over Mrs. Bonnie, and we hurt together. Dawna had to call me and tell me about Mrs. Bonnie passing away, and that was a HUGE burden for her to bear. Dawna had shared Mrs. Bonnie with me for the past year, when she could have just held on to her for her own. After all, Dawna is in fact the daughter-in-law... but my heart melted when Dawna told me she thought one of the reasons she met Grant (Mrs. Bonnie's son), was so I could meet Mrs. Bonnie and be helped by her. I'm thankful for Dawna being so selfless and letting me have a closeness with Mrs. Bonnie when she could have been jealous... I'm thankful that we can cry together on the phone, and she has been here from day one as well.

I have other close friends, and I will write about them later when I'm not so groggy. I just wanted to give a special "shout out" to those friends that make a HUGE difference each and every day, especially when I need it the most. I need all of you, Kris, Lee, Dawna, and Gena.. I need you  more than you know right now. I just need to know you're there, so just keep doing what you're doing already, because I thrive off of you. And Daddy, thank you for coming to spend the days with me, just taking me wherever we go, even if it is Hobby Lobby... I love that store, and I will teach you how to find the deals.... haha.

And Mama, she's at the beach this week. I hope she's relaxing and having a great time, because she needs it! I'm ready for her to come home though! I'm ready to see her and throw my arms around her neck and smell her familiar smell. It's been too long! I miss her more than she knows!

On to today: I am going to clean my house a little bit today. I want to clean a lot, but let's not be too optimistic. I can only tackle so much before I get distracted by the oreos in the cabinet.. ha.

The whole point of this was to tell you about my latest venture out of the house. I decided that I would start trying to get out a little bit every week, even if for an hour to give me some interaction someone other than the people who work at the gas station a mile down the road. They probably wonder why I only buy Laffy Taffy... They have no clue that I'm just finding a cheap reason to get out of the house and they are my interaction for the day... I've learned quite a bit listening to conversations from the old men who sell potatoes in there...

Anyway, I ventured out yesterday and guess what I did? I got me a LIBRARY CARD! Yay! The Tallassee Library is about three miles from the house, and I promised myself that I would go this week and get a Library card... FREE BOOKS.  I think that's a YES! I checked out the max amount yesterday, which is 5 books. I checked out:

The House That Cleans Itself        by Mindy Starnes Clark
http://www.mindystarnsclark.com/house.php


Drawing for Dummies
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Dummies-Brenda-Hoddinott/dp/076455476X


Inc. Your Dreams:  For Any Woman Who Is Thinking About Her Own Business     by Rebecca Maddox
http://www.amazon.com/Inc-Your-Dreams-Thinking-Business/dp/014023537X


Write It Down, Make It Happen:  Knowing What You Want and Getting It      by Henriette Anne Klauser
http://www.henrietteklauser.com/_books/_writeitdown/index.htm


The Business of Bliss:  How To Profit From Doing What You Love        by Janet
Allon
http://www.amazon.com/Business-Bliss-Profit-Doing-What/dp/0688160840


I'm going to start with the cleaning book today. Wish me luck! I rather enjoyed the whole library experience. It's wierd though, because it feels like people can look at me and tell that I haven't been out of the house much. I know that's in my head, but it feels so strange. You know, when I do get out, God always sends me people randomly that start conversations out of no where. It's almost like He says, "See Chel, you are alive and people do want to talk to you." I love those conversations, because those people have no clue that I am sick. If there is one thing you should take from this entry: You never know when the conversation you strike up at the grocery store with the random lady may be her only conversation that day. So take the time to make your words count. YOU can make a difference without even realizing. NEVER forget that.

I'm off to clean!