Friday, March 29, 2013

Good Friday

Is 'good' a strong enough word to use on Good Friday ?

Growing up I guess I never paid attention to Good Friday except that we got the day off from school so in my mind it WAS a good Friday ! I was always grateful to God for His timing and having all this go down on Friday instead of , say , Tuesday . Good Tuesday and then back to school . Or Work . I'd like to think the three day weekend was part of the plan .

We are cat people . Well , really , kitten people as we don't have much use for them past the first 8 months . They're just so cute in that box the kid's holding at the Publix front door . "Free kittens mister" he says with this sad look in his eyes . "My mom wont let us keep 'em on account of my dad lost his job and she has eye cancer and can't look after them and my sister ran away 'cause we have no food and . . . " "Alright stop . I'll take . . . 2" . sucker .

Dummy . We have 5 kids and each one needs to 'have their own' so I had to go back and get 3 more because it's 'only fair'. I shoulda given 'em the life's not fair speech but there you go . I like cats so I didn't fight it .

Cats are sorta disposable aren't they? We've had bunches over time and they just disappear after a few years . We've taken a couple to the vet in a moment of weakness but mostly if they get sick they wander off and die . I guess . It sounds heartless and fairly irresponsible (sounds ?!?) but my granny used to put 'em in a sack with a brick and toss 'em in the pond so I like to think I've evolved .

It's not a good Friday for one of our cats . I'm going to take it to be put down . He's been sickly for quite a while and he's to the point of being disgusting . He sneezes snot all over the place , he pulls out his hair , doesn't clean himself and he stinks . He's really gross but he's a lover . He wants so bad to be a lap cat but it's like eeeww when he jumps up in your lap .

 I was raking the lawn this morning and he kept coming by and rubbing up against my leg and meowing , wanting a scratch and a rub and a little love . Most of the time he ignores me like all cats until he wants something and then it's purring and the lovey dovey treatment . But he's gross and looking down at him in all his grossness I said you gotta go . I felt bad . He didn't deserve this . He deserved better care . Truth is I don't care . Ouch . I am a small man .

As I contemplated this I realized what day it was . Good Friday . A day when Someone who didn't deserve to die was put down . A day when God looked down at a gross and hairless and stinky humanity and had mercy . At a people who occasionally come around , for a scratch , and a pat and more food in a bowl , and He had mercy . He didn't put me down!  He put His Son down .

Then He raised me up .

It's not Good Friday .

It's Great Friday !





Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Things I Love

My mom's cat died this week . Or last . We're not sure . The smell appeared this week so I'm guessing it met it's demise last week . She doesn't listens to me . I told her you can only keep a cat in your trunk for so long .

I had a cat that I really loved when I was a kid . Tiger Paws . More than his feet looked like a tiger so I'm not sure why only his paws got the credit but there you go . Moms doing . Probably because when she threw him in the trunk and slammed the lid on his legs that's all that was showing . Mom has a way with animals .

Mr. Howard lived next door and had a dog named Brutus who chased Tiger Paws up a tree one day and commenced to camp out at the base of the tree until his meal came down . It was a long wait . After 3 days Mr. Howard got tired of the kid next door crying and saying "here kitty kitty" so he called someone . Turns out the fire Department doesn't rescue cats after all , no matter what the children's books tell you . He called a tree service . Perhaps if I'd been calling "Tiger Paws" instead of kitty kitty we could have avoided this whole episode . I loved that cat .

I loved Andrea Palmer too . She was my first kiss , behind the shed . We started dating in 3rd grade and made it to 5th grade before she called it off  when she found out Tommy Billings had hair on his chest . Loser . If she could only see me now . I have mine braided ! Still , first love . . . .

I love Lou Fortier . My best friend from a long long time ago and a galaxy far far away . We met at church and have been fast friends ever since . Not sure why he liked me but I chose him on account of he had a car , a Mustang . Don't get all excited . It was brown and was from the mid 70's , not Mustangs finest hour . And it was haunted which was awesome .  It moaned . Maybe because it was brown and from the mid 70's . No moaning about Lou though - the most best friend ever .

I love music . I put my Ipod on shuffle today and was surprised at all the different kinds of stuff on there . I think that's called eclectic . Of everything I heard today it's the instrumental stuff that gets me going , I think because I fill in my own words or thoughts . I play along with my air guitar , keyboard or drums and look . . .  ridiculous . Still . I missed my calling .

The blog isn't long enough to tell you all the reasons I love my wife . Suffice it to say she's the air in my balloon , the jelly in my doughnut and the varooooom in my motor . Might be good if I told her some of this stuff .

I so love my kids and would be happy to live with any one of them in my later years when I'm too frail and need help going to the bathroom .

I love doughnuts and pastries and cupcakes . Did I mention doughnuts ?

I love my bible . My in-laws gave it to me back in the 80's and for a book that is as little used as it is it sure is tattered . Lots of yellow highlighted things and underlined truths . Do you find it hard to understand in some places? I'm a bit ashamed to say after all these years I'm far from a scholar and sometimes barely a novice . A lot of life seems at odds with some of the things I read and being of smallish mind I ache over what is truth . I so want to know . So I keep reading .

This is the point where I'm supposed to say I love God most of all , last paragraph and all . And I do but I'm all too aware of my own foibles and short comings and so sometimes I wonder . Is it enough ? Do I put out ? Love Him with the abandon He is due ? Nah . But I try and hope to hear one day "Well done Good and faithful servant" and know He means it . That tattered book I have says He loves me . Always did . Always will . I love that about Him . My prayer is that on my final day , when I breath my last and I find myself in His presence I can say "I loved You so much , with all my heart " and He'll say "Yeah, you did! C'mon , lets go get a doughnut"!