there are those who are born into my family and have no choice in the matter (thus illustrating the Biblical principle that the world has fallen and we just have to deal with the consequences of a fallen world, i.e being related to me). and then there are those brave souls who decide for some inexplicable reason that they LOVE some boy in my family and they sign up for a lifetime of being related to lea (thus illustrating the other half of the equation, man is fallen and sinful and has consequences for that sin. being related to me is merely a consequence of their choice to love a relative of mine)... so our first lucky limpet by personal choice will be...
my sister-in-law, kathy.
who is now thrilled to have been introduced by the title “lucky limpet” as well as a brief explanation of the entire message of the fallen world.
i think i have the right order on this... she was my first sister-in-law, wasn’t she? i will consult the scrapbooks later and just type now... in case i am wrong about sister-in-law order, i will chalk it up to a fallen world AND my own sinful self...
kathy married adam’s younger brother, matt. they were both still in college and lived in atlanta. since they hadn’t finished college and taken a very important biology class, they wound up pregnant a few weeks after their wedding (biology class is so important children). so they were newlyweds, pregnant, and impoverished. adam and i were 5 yearsly wed, not pregnant, and double incomed...
and we had this nice new HUGE house with 1000 square feet of unfinished basement. so adam and matt finished the basement and matt and kathy moved into it. those were some fun days. we played a lot of spades and cooked a lot in the fry-daddy (kathy had cravings for fried foods). matt and kathy are incredibly funny and good natured and we had a great time living in one house together. we have some inside jokes from those days that can still make us all start laughing hysterically.
my first niece, marah, was born and i got to practice on a real live baby to make sure that i would be a suitable mother. and even though i wasn’t really suitable... God decided that i had a passing score on my baby exam and i was pregnant within a year of marah’s birth. that also showed my most excellent scores from biology class...
matt and kathy built a house of their own fairly close to us in dacula and lived there for a few years. then they moved to south carolina and they still live there. we visit them once a year or so.
so kathy always is one step ahead of me in the mothering department. i like to hear all about what she is going through so i can be prepared. right now, she is teaching marah to drive. ugh...
so i won’t talk to her anymore because i don’t want to hear any more of that nonsense.
kathy is so much fun to talk to on the phone. entire hours can go by while we are talking and you won’t even realize it until you hang up. she is very open and very real. i always enjoy going and staying at her house and i can’t wait to go for thanksgiving and see her new HUGE house (we may go and live in their basement for a while). except for the whole “i will be covetous and want all that space and all her new pretty furniture”. and again we are back to the “fallen man” thing...
matt and kathy are great game players. they introduced us to karaoke games on the playstation. and they love them some karaoke. i didn’t say that they were good at karaoke, i said they LOVED karaoke. there is no embarrassment or shyness to their singing - and there should be.... again, results of the fall.
it is so wonderful to love the people who join into your family. it would be an added benefit if they were talented at singing... but to love them is enough.
and i will close with these poignant lines to represent kathy and my relationship... sing along everyone...
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up ev'rybody and sing
Ev'ryone can see we're together
As we walk on by
(FLY!)
and we fly just like birds of a feather
I won't tell no lie
(ALL!)
all of the people around us they say
Can they be that close
Just let me state for the record
We're giving love in a family dose
(CHORUS x2)
Living life is fun and we've just begun
To get our share of the world's delights
(HIGH!)
high hopes we have for the future
And our goal's in sight
(WE!)
no we don't get depressed
Here's what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
(umm, i thought the golden rule was “do unto others”)
You won't go wrong
(umm, this kind of theology really is wrong, remember the fallen world/fallen man thing...)
This is our family jewel
(REPEAT CHORUS TO FADE)
and repeat assuring yourself that this whole little “september to remember” is more that halfway over....