Expect the Unexpected!

This morning I decided to get dressed and put on make up-basically look like I was in the land of the living because I had to go to the grocery store immediately after I dropped the kids off and bake a vegetarian zucchini ziti using a recipe I've never used before (the email said stick to the recipe very important) then take it to the middle school by 10:30 and help serve the middle school teachers a teacher appreciation lunch at a fabulous old historical house that is used as a bed and breakfast on the school campus until 1:30. Then I double booked myself and had to be at the elementary school library to volunteer shelving books until 2:45....so no time to be walking around schlumpadinka (as Oprah and Gale call it.)


If I am learning anything about the joys of stay at home mom hood it is be ready for anything. Expect the unexpected! Which I love! I love anything unplanned, spur of the moment, sporadic, spontaneous. To me, that's living.

So I woke up and put on this:

When I walked out of my closet I was facing my husband and his closet-they are two different closets on each side of the hallway facing each other from our bedroom to the master bath. Anyway if you can imagine this I am facing my husband in a fabulous sexy businesslike pin striped suit. He has on a tie and is trying to decide between pocket squares....

I on the other hand choose a cotton navy and white striped comfy skirt a denim button up shirt and my flip flops :) You see where this is going? No? ok. I am rolling my sleeves up in front of my mirror in the bathroom and my husband walks in. I say, "You look very nice." He says, "You do too." I chuckle and say, "Oh, ya right." He says, "No, you do. Your outfit says, 'Hi, I'm a mom!'" This made me giggle because that is exactly what I was going for as a mom volunteer, cook, server, shelver for the day. Little did I know I would also be in the role of Good Samaritan....but more on that in a minute.

So I bring the kids to school and we are having an amazing morning. My jams come on one after the next and Mary and I are doing the car dancing from the waist up with only head and shoulder movement to keep both hands on the wheel. First, All about that Bass comes on- my favorite. Then, Shake it off. So I decide spontaneously to avoid the interstate today and go the back roads route.

As we are driving I pass a road to the right slowly and see a very elderly black woman in a track suit sort of toppling forward seemingly in slow motion. I notice (I'm going slow in a school zone) she is in the midst of falling face forward on the ground in sort of a face plant. I look around panicked and make a big u turn at the 4-way stop.

I say to the kids, "I think someone is hurt-stay in the car." I pull in to the street and see her face down in the grass. Weights strewn in the grass. Her little walkman is around her neck and the back battery case door is thrown aside. Two other men walked upon her and I'm sure not seeing what I saw were quite surprised.

I tell the kids to stay in the car and get out to check on her. She is shaken up and sweaty and discombobulated of course. She insists she is ok and tripped on the curb that her heart is ok. The two men struggle to pick her up. I gather her precious hand weights and fix her walkman that's around her neck. She had almost made it to her house. The two men begin walking her one under each arm to her driveway. I am more concerned than they seem to be and ask should we call an ambulance. She and the men say no. I ask, "Well is anyone home with you right now?" I'm still worried about her heart as she seems my grandmother's age. She said, "no." I get back in the car and turn back to bring the kids to school.

I can't stop thinking of the woman. As I drive away I make a mental note of where her house is and decide to come back to check on her.

I bring the kids to school and sure enough come right back. I walk around to the back door because I guess no one ever uses the front door. I see an old light red brick house one story and in the back a beautiful sun room surrounded with windows and there she is sitting inside.

I (feeling a little awkward) knock on her door. She holds a finger up for me to wait a minute and retreats to the back of her house. She comes back with a hat on and unlocks her door with her keys. I say I am here just to check on her. She invites me in to her table inside. Her house smells old, like my grandmas-I like it. I tell her what a beautiful sunroom she has and she thanks me. I see papers she has written on scattered on her table. She says she was working on her Bible study. We sit and talk like old friends for at least half an hour. She asks me what am I doing with the rest of my day and seems surprised when I tell her I am grocery shopping, baking a ziti, and delivering by 10:30. She asks if I have cooked it already, and I say no! I wonder if 2 hours will be enough time. It doesn't matter.

She tells me about her 3 sons who are preachers and a daughter who is getting her doctorate. She asks about my children, where I'm from, my husband, and even if my own grandmothers are alive. She seems impressed by my description of my 86 year old grandmother. We exchange some recipes. She tells me how to make my drumsticks taste just like they're fried by baking them in milk, egg, and Louisiana seasoning.

We exchange numbers and I offer to come walk with her in the mornings after I drop the kids off.

Who. Would. Have. Known????

To tell the truth I started the day out apprehensive. 9-11 ya know. I wondered should I keep my kids home from school? As I was driving away from Mary Jane G's house. Yes her name is Mary just like my daughter :) and Mary Jane just like the Aunt I am named after. We bonded over both being Janes.

As I drove away I realized the only way to fight and overcome evil in the world is with Love. I thought about our world and how frightening and evil it can seem and thought of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah how God could find barely 2 who were not completely evil. I realized we aren't that bad. There is so much love in our world and we can change things not by guilt, fear, revenge, but living out love every day.

So I eventually got the groceries, made the Zucchini Ziti and one with meat for our dinner tonight.

I served middle school teachers all day from 10:30-1:30 with 4 other moms. The teachers and administrators were so very thankful and appreciative of all our hard work and servitude. By the end of the day after refilling fruit teas, rotating Ziti's and cakes from the kitchen to the dining room, replenishing salad toppers we were completely bonded taking left overs home, cleaning, and putting the beautiful historical house back in order. It was like a mom sorority. We talked for hours about teaching, being a mom, our kids, school. It was just perfect.

I zipped over to the library and shelved books for half an hour and picked my kids up-safe and sound. On the way home as my kids were munching on left over butter pecan cake (from the luncheon) and watching Madagascar 2 I had a wave of peace that we cannot live in fear and hide from evil. The only medicine for the ailment is love. I have heard of people having a "life verse". Of all the verses picking one that is most meaningful to you. I have been looking for over a year now. I even took the "What's your life verse?" Facebook quiz :) But nothing resonated with me. One Sunday during the service I stumbled on my life verse. When I read it and was underling it in my Bible I wrote life verse! Next to it then marked it will a bulletin. Here it is in a few different forms.

Here's my favorite version:

I never expected to be sitting in a strange elderly woman's beautiful sun room today whose house happened to be on a route I take everyday. I didn't expect to get so much joy from serving and loving others. I can't even be huffy about, "Ughhh I was so busy and blah blah blah...." It was great!

I really would rather choose a life paragraph than verse because this is one of the most powerful paragraphs to me on how I wish to live out my life and pass on:

Colossians 3:12-15New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

So basically get up get dressed and-

Oh, and don't be afraid to love like crazy. Like going into the unknown to care for others. Do the unexpected. The unthinkable and Love on others. Even strangers!

ps I was totally dressed like, Hi! I'm a mom today! And it felt great!