Happy Things

More from me . . .

• Weston turning somersaults in the phone lobby
• The man at the nursing home telling us about his sleep apnea: "I had a long beard and long hair and went to my brother one day and told him to trim it. My sleep apnea kicked in, and I woke up to find it all gone!"
• Zuleima's "Oh my wor"
• Trying to speak Spanish as we painted the shed
• The thought of spelling Autumn's name "Ottom"
• Autumn trying to guilt-trip me for stealing her dad's ladder
• Brian, on the girls painting the volleyball courts: "Last time we did it, we had machines."
Nate: "Well we have machines."
• Working math problems (for the foursquare court) in chalk on Zulei's skirt
• Knock-Out--living in terror of being in front of someone named Paine, especially Danny or Joey
• Mr. Kraft coiling the hose for me so that I could play basketball instead
• Warning Sara not to blow-dry her hair or go near a smoker after Annabella took paint out of her hair with paint remover
• All the LIT department girls painting lines for volleyball and/or foursquare
• All-day outlet shopping with Tabitha
• Screams of "Room check!" whenever I knock on Autumn and Susanna's door
• Mr. Ritchie working on the canopy with Mr. Kraft
• Two small Hill girls hanging from the front door
• Night time leaders' meetings
• A random phone call from Jon Lee
• Phone calls from Danielle E. and Tiffany
• Zuleima photographing scads of mannequins at the War Museum, commanding them, "Smile"
• Getting an "Excellent--almost a fair" on a room check
• An elderly man's response to Bruce Wilkinson's question about what he thought of marriage: "Early purgatory"
• Dave Ramsey, on whether we tithe because God needs our money: "If God wants your money, He'll take it and leave greasy spot where you're sitting"
• Ultimate frisbee in a ghetto park
• Imagining writing our own character certificates: "I'd like to share all the ways I demonstrate Humility"
• Faith to Annabella: "I'll bet your name isn't in the Power for True Success book!