Life Archives - Page 7 of 34 - Trinkets of Thought

Saying Goodbye

September 15, 2012 by Maren 15 Comments

19 years. It’s been 5 presidential terms; 5 leap years; 5 Olympic games. It’s 133 dog years. It’s a long time.

And for every bit of those 133 dog years, my loyal pal Zippity Doo Dog, was about two paces behind me as I walked around the house. One, if I was in the kitchen & cooking.

He was faithful amidst junior high annoyances- like never getting first chair flute because Amber Garrison always did. He was a constant companion through my heartache when my parents announced we were moving yet again and I’d have to attend my third high school. And after my freshman year of college, he was there to meet my future husband who traveled to Tulsa for the official “meet the parents.”

Some fabulous life milestones transpired with my most faithful furry friend by my side…ears pierced, appendectomy, first crush, high school drama, driver’s license, high school graduation, the Y2K fiasco, college graduation, getting married, first ‘real’ job, church planting, home renovation, three kids, 9 moves, and 4 states. When friends disappointed me & when life kicked me in the britches, my dog faithfully wagged his tail and only knew love.

On Wednesday of last week, we made the difficult decision to put him down. It was time and I’d delayed the inevitable long enough. It wasn’t easy, but it was right and I do not regret our decision.

We decided it would be best to tell our three year old before the dog just disappeared from our family and felt it important to tell him the truth. So, I sat him down and explained that we were taking Zippy to the vet and that he wouldn’t be returning.

Pierson’s first question, “Will he go up in the sky and be with God?”

I attempted the best I knew how to answer, “I hope so. I know God loves animals and his creation, and I hope that he will go to be with God.” I elaborated a bit more and waited for the next question. But what came next, I didn’t quite expect.

“Can we get a cat?”

Oh, to be a young child again.

I still ‘hear’ the sound of his paws across my kitchen floor or think I need to take him out before remembering he’s no longer here. Nineteen years of loving a pet isn’t easily undone. And the tears still flow. But I wouldn’t undo the years. Because experiencing the loyalty and faithful love of a furry friend is something that everyone should have the privilege of experiencing; And an experience for which I will forever cherish.

Thanks, Zip.

The Naming Dilemma

July 12, 2012 by Maren 11 Comments

I wish I weren’t so picky.

In most of life, I’m a pretty easy-going gal. I don’t consider myself a very fussy person, but there’s one area where I’m over-the-top picky: choosing names for my wee ones. Some friends I know have picked out names since they were young enough to play with Barbies–their dolls’ names were the names of their current kids. I find myself jealous of these ladies, as with each pregnancy I find myself on the absolute opposite end of the naming spectrum. With each pregnancy, it stresses me out so much that I delay finalizing a name until it’s way too late (as in a couple days post-birth). We’re rapidly approaching the ‘too late’ zone. But, I suppose both boys have names, so maybe ‘too late’ is acceptable?

I named my #2 Thatcher, because I put out a plea on facebook and a friend came through with the name idea. It was a top contender of 3 others, and Michael and I really liked it. So, Thatcher he became. For this one, I put another plea out. I got a ton of responses and have been sifting through them-name by name.

Though I only put out a few qualifications on facebook, I have several criteria for my name selection–which make it almost impossible to find one I LOVE. So, here are my picky qualifications:

1. I don’t want a name that is popular–Can’t even flirt around the top 500 list. Names that I like such as London (94 in popularity-seriously?), Piper, Tessa, & Jada are automatically ousted from possibility when I find they are higher up on the “what everyone else is doing” list than I had imagined. I’ve always enjoyed my unique name and though I don’t wish for a weird sounding name, I also would prefer my child to not share the same name as another student in their school classes.

2. I want the name to sound dignified with a ‘Dr.’ or “Attorney’ title in front of it…Or as I imagine them walking across a graduation stage, it has to sound dignified. Too cutesy of a name and I can’t do it.

3. I don’t prefer for a name to end in “IE” or “Y.” I’m willing to break this rule, but in general, I don’t prefer them.

4. With my last name having a long ‘A’ sound, I am trying to avoid another long A in the first name to make it too sing-songy.

5. It needs more than 1 syllable because we have a harsh-sounding, one-syllable last name which needs something more than another one syllable name.

6. The name can’t evoke a bad memory–either of another person or can’t remind me of an inanimate weird object.

7. My kids currently have 6 cousins. 4 have names that start with the C or the K sound. I’m trying to avoid those letters— as well as reusing M’s, P’s or T’s. I like being able to use an initial and know to which kid I’m referring.

8. Michael leaves naming pretty much up to me, but of course, the top qualifier is that he has to like it, too!

Please understand that I’m so very thankful for God’s blessing of the wee ones in my life and am thankful for the naming dilemma. However, I just wanted to explain why when you ask, “Do you have the name picked out yet?” My resounding answer is NO! Oh, I wish I weren’t so picky.

Wheel Of Fortune Auditions, Round 2

June 28, 2012 by Maren 9 Comments

A Fortune-ate Haiku
Wheel of good Fortune,
I’m who you need on your show.
Help the Bucket List.

Yesterday, I drove to a local hotel in Louisville to try out for Round TWO of my auditions for WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!!! There were signs requesting no photography, and though some people chose to break the rules, I tow the line when it comes to making my bucket list dreams come true. So, sadly this post will be minus the pictures. Here’s the day in 10 easy steps.

1. I stopped at my least favorite drugstore (And keeping in the Wheel of Fortune spirit: C□S) to purchase ‘prescription’ strength deodorant and a brush.

1. I got in place early, with enough time time worry about every possible scenario of the next few hours. What if I went into labor? Will I have to name my baby ‘Lucky’? What if forget the alphabet? What if I have to pee? I waited for the doors to open. About 10 minutes prior to the audition, the doors opened and we filed into the room. We were directed to our chairs and I was issued the chair, front and center.

2. We received paperwork to fill out – you know, the typical…name, job, hobbies, interests, unique facts about you, etc. I signed up as interested for a few “special weeks” including sweetheart’s, pet lover’s, and family week…

3. We spent the remaining 3 hours clapping and smiling. Seriously, if you’re allergic to clapping, these auditions are not for you! And I think I smiled more at these auditions than I did for my wedding photos. The audition was divided into 2 rounds–and every person (approx 100) was given a chance to guess. They were primarily looking to see if your voice was clear and if you guessed logical letters.

4. We spent 5 minutes on a wheel of fortune test. There were 4 different categories on my test: Things, Same Last Name, Rhyme Time, and Show Biz. I felt like I was back in middle school working on a math test, except this test was in another language. Hard stuff.

5. We were issued a 20 minute break. I sped my pregnant belly down to the lobby restroom and lamented about the size of the sweat rings on my shirt and tried to devise ways to hide them. I considered running to the car to change shirts, but surmised that going from royal blue to bright red may be a little obvious. Note to self: write store-brand “prescription strength” deodorant company–product fail. I spent the rest of the time making sure I wasn’t ‘SURE’.

6. Returned to the tryout room to learn of my fate. Drum roll, please! I made the cut down to about 25!

7. We were then called up in groups of 5 or 6 to mimic a real game show, and even were asked to pretend to spin the wheel. One thing they specifically wanted was for you to call out JUST the letter with no extra verbiage…i.e. “R” was good, but “I’d like an R, please” was not. I failed that a couple of times…perhaps, I’m too polite? Or just a goof. We were individually given time to share a little about ourselves-I talked about being a mom to 2 boys as well as to my geriatric dog and mentioned my love for games and my bucket list game show wish.

8. There was another time of brief collaboration by the casting team, and 5 remaining individuals were called back up (I was not). I couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or not, as the people who were called back up seemed to have quieter personalities/voices/demeanor.

9. We were dismissed and told that if we made the final cut, we’d receive a letter in the mail in the next couple weeks.

10. I replayed all the “canna-coulda-woulda’s” in my head all day. Then, feared the rest of the night that Zippy will die before I get called for ‘Pet Lover’s Week.’

And want to know the craziest part of this story? Last night, I was called about another game show I auditioned for in August of last year. Weird…I wonder if their databases are synced somehow? I’d applied for Minute-to-Win-It in August of last year (Bucket Lists know no prejudices, you know). It’s for a new game show that is airing and I guess they got my audition from the Minute-to-Win-It people? How crazy is that! Don’t know what will come of it–but I figure if I don’t keep trying to knock out this bucket list, I’ll have to live forever! And if I do knock out my bucket list early, I’ll have to add more to my list to avoid dying prematurely. ha!

And the following can be disregarded by all reading who aren’t interested in auditioning…This is for people, like me, who google to find information after they get called up at a Wheelmobile Event. After my first audition, I was DYING to have an answer to this question: How long after the first wheel of fortune audition did I receive a response? I had convinced myself I’d never get ‘the’ email, and googled this question for longer than I care to admit. I even emailed strangers to find out this answer–so here it is for any googlers out there. I originally auditioned at the Wheelmobile event on May 13, 2012. I received an email inviting me to the second round of auditions on June 12th. And the second round of auditions was for two weeks later, June 27th.

And if you’ve stayed with me this long…the moral of this story? Say ‘no’ to generic deodorant.

Until my luck becomes lucky,
Maren

Lucky Luck, Maybe?

June 26, 2012 by Maren 1 Comment

Remember this? Tomorrow is Audition, round 2! Here’s to hoping that my luck becomes lucky!

Until then, I’ll leave you with a current fave. My littlest currently loves to play a game that makes my heart smile. He’ll close his eyes and then ask, “Dat (aka Thatcher)?” He wants you to guess where he is until he opens his eyes and expects you to be surprised that he’s right there.

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