God laughs!

I have long known that I don't fit very nicely into a mold.  For example, as an 30-year educator, I have been around long enough to see many "trends" in the business emerge, fade away and re-emerge (usually with a new name).  One of the longest lasting "trends" involved identifying the type of "learner" a student was, and then teaching according to the individual type (visual, auditory, kinesthetic etc.) To demonstrate these differing types, we teachers were given the opportunity to identify our own learning styles...well, I basically flat-lined. Now, some wonderfully gracious workshop leaders suggested that I was a gifted learner who could learn regardless of how the material was presented (what a crock that was!) You see, I just don't fit nicely in a mold. With that in mind, we move to the heart of this post, it comes from an old Jewish proverb that states: "Man makes plans and God laughs." For many people, long detailed plans must occur prior to any and all events.  Well, I like to plan, on the other hand, I like nothing better than for someone to suggest going somewhere or doing something "right now..." I'm off! So I guess that makes me both a planner and spontaneous...see no good fit. 

One of our most recent plans was to spend Haime's birthday on Mustang Island.  Haime loves to fish but really only goes fishing if we are at the coast.  Once there, however, he'll fish for about 16 hours everyday.  On the other hand, I fish at the seafood counter at the grocery store.  I always "catch" exactly what I want and all I have to do with my catch is to cook it...no gutting or scaling required...what could be better?  Well, we had this trip planned for a couple of months then, Haime got pneumonia, so instead of a trip to the coast, we took a trip to the emergency room.  (God laughs.)  I'm very happy (and relieved) to report that thanks to antibiotics and some good home care, he's much better.

I designated Friday of this week as "yard-work day" for me.  I planned to mow the front and back yards; edge and trim; pull weeds from beds; turn the soil in the raised veggie beds in preparation of some fall veggies; and just do some other much needed maintenance around the outside of our home.  I had just finished mowing the front yard, started the back (got far enough to move my grandson's play set) and the mower refused to restart...after several pulls I decided to check the gas. Yep, empty and the same was true of the 2.5 gallon gas can. Just as I was loading the gas can into the truck for a quick trip to the station, my son Boo drove up the drive. "Hey mom, lets go to Costco together" (spontaneity!) So instead of completing the yard-work, I got to spend a couple of hours with Boo. (God laughs.)

My son Chipper and I have season tickets to Texas Aggie football games.  We each paid for a ticket and divided the home games among us so we each have two tickets to three games each.  The first game, against Florida, was mine and my son Boo went with me.  Unfortunately time ran out before we could claim a victory on the field but Boo and I had a great time.  This week is Chipper's game against the S. Carolina Bobcats.  Originally He and his beautiful bride of (nearly) 6 years, M, were going to go to the game and I was going to go along and watch it and tailgate on campus.  Well, as with some plans, they could not attend the game after all so I scored the tickets. (God laughs). This time, my sister J (who lives in Dallas) was seated beside me.  Two of my sisters and I all attended A&M and graduated from there in the early 80s. As J and I watched march in and enjoyed the game and each other's company, one of Cher's tunes kept coming to mind..."If I could turn back time..." How the hell has 30+ years passed since I was a student here? (God has such an amazing sense of humor.)

Prior to the football season's start, we were hopeful that we'd go to the TAMU vs Arkansas game with some friends (J & K). Unfortunately, they were not able to score tickets to the game, and truth be told, since they misguidedly cheer for the razorbacks, it could have been ugly; (actually, it would have been great fun and we're sorry we couldn't make it happen). At any rate, as things have turned out, Chipper and I have traded games so he and M will be sitting in the stands as A&M BTHO Arkansas. I will definitely be on campus (again, tailgating and enjoying the sights and sounds of Aggieland) and I'm very hopeful my grandson Car will be with me. I've already bought an S.E.C. inaugural season Car-sized football for us to run and play with on the grassy knolls. (God, I hope the laughing you do is a reaction to seeing a maroon-blooded Nana playing ball with her grandson in her beloved Aggieland).