Jewels

HEY! Thank you! I'll go figure out how to put that on.

I didn't MEAN any of those big words. They might be bannable offenses, for all *I* know! I didn't have anyone in mind. It's just that after last year, I figure you're the marrying kind. Love 'em and leave 'em, maybe. . . . As for J, he very kindly helped me size a pic for my avatar early on (which has never changed because, well, that just requires too much technology). I have to give him the benefit of the doubt after coming to my photo-resizing rescue early on. I still think it's prudent to watch out, though. I mean, it's another one of those FARM people! TPM Sister #102

The wording you chose . . . just . . . um. . . . And I don't even KNOW J!!! TPM Sister #102

Just another skydiver three-way. TPM Sister #102

I don't know who should get married, but I told psipike02 that I thought he should rate the threads and the posts in SC--you know, for cogency, relevance, significance, creativity, vitriolic qualities, that sort of thing. And, as for getting married . . . there's always Bolas. . . . TPM Sister #102

Anyone know who Santa is? Well, I mean, we ALL know who Santa is ( Santa, I'm still behaving), but . . . um . . . you know what I mean. TPM Sister #102

I am technically sitting at my desk. "Work" gets done periodically but the phones are getting pretty quiet and my inspirational work mojo is faltering. TPM Sister #102

It's never good when the pastor is a jerk, but if they have some other good leaders working with the kids, it might be okay. You just want to know that you're comfortable with whoever's going to be in charge. TPM Sister #102

You can have my pineapple garnishes, then. Blech. TPM Sister #102

Pineapple should never be served hot. Period. TPM Sister #102

I'll be at church! We don't do mass because the church I go to is pretty much mainstream Protestant, but we do have a Christmas Eve service and I'll go this Sunday as well. Kudos for being willing to take your son to a service because he wants to go. I can't give you any pointers on Methodist/Church of God/Episcopal, but you might find out which one has a pretty active youth group for kids his age. I'm not suggesting that going to church for Christmas means that he's going to want to start going all the time. However, if there's an active youth group, he'll probably see more people his age that he can relate to in the service as well. Some churches tend to get an older crowd; some a younger crowd. It might help to see other 13-year-olds around. TPM Sister #102

Grieving for me was a little bit like living with a stranger watching my every move. The grief never went away; it might recede and fade into the background, but it was always there. Days that I thought should be difficult might be somewhat normal, and days that I thought were nothing special turned into days that felt irrational and out of control. I was changed in the process. I don't mean that I was hurt beyond recovery, but I was still never the same. Something fundamental changed in an instant and there was no going back. I wish there had been a process of recovery that I could recommend but, frankly, sometimes it's just a matter of willing yourself to take the next step and live in the next moment. It WILL get better. You'll never lose the memories and it may be that you can always recall just a bit of the pain, but you will be able to smile again; to feel "normal" again. Be patient. It will come. In the meantime, it's okay to grieve. The wound is new. A loss as deep as this one doesn't disappear quickly, but you will learn to live with it in a way you can manage. TPM Sister #102

I think that makes a lot of unfair assumptions. I'm not a "hot freefaller" but having a lot of tunnel time allows me to worry less about the freefall portion of the dive, which is the bigger sensory overload part (unless something goes wrong under canopy), and to concentrate on the more significant risks--time to pull, what I do under canopy, how to land, that sort of thing. I only have three AFF jumps. I think I'm able to focus more on the "real" issues I need to be aware of because I don't worry so much about the freefall issues. Plus, I'm around skydivers all the time because I'm at the tunnel and it's like an extension of the dz. I may have a more cautious personality when it comes to this stuff, but I think I have a better idea about what's going on in a dive than some of the people I know who have their A licenses. I don't know it all; the point is, I *know* that I don't know things. I also can't comment about people wanting to downsize any sooner than other jumpers, but I hear a lot of people talking about wanting a canopy course as soon as they're ready for it--which I think is a good thing. I'm hopeful that this means it'll have a positive impact on the sport. Sure, the wrong person could make a little experience into a dangerous thing, but I think on the whole that it's helpful. TPM Sister #102

Am I the only one thinking that if you can afford someone to clean the house, you're not jumping enough? TPM Sister #102

IT WAS A TWO-FER AND I MISSED IT?! Life is full of disappointments. TPM Sister #102

I think I missed his call. I had some voice mail message from a guy who sounded all FOREIGN. Welcome to the States, Squeak! You and Lisa . . . together . . . in the same state. . . . Should get the CNN breaking news email any time now. TPM Sister #102

Right on!

Sign me up for the body glove thing. In fact, I might have to try this with everyone just for practice. You should never allow your hugging techniques to get sloppy.

Funny, I was going to post a reply and it, too, was going to include the specific phrase, "wreck havoc." TPM Sister #102

They are that big and they are only seven weeks old?!! Glory. Might require an addition to the house and the dog would definitely have to be named "Clifford." They are most decidedly precious, though! (Caveat: Most dogs would look huge to me. I have a chihuahua. Maybe they're not that big . . . but I think they probably are!) TPM Sister #102

I'm definitely not into talking to the dead through psychics, but I had a wild dream after my grandmother died, wherein she called me on the phone from heaven to tell me that she had, in her words, "defrosted the frigidaire" that day. In my dream, I wondered how I could tell her that she was dead and couldn't call me anymore. It was so incredibly realistic that it still stands out in my mind as a very different dream than any "normal" dreams I've ever had. I woke up and wasn't really sure what had happened. I saw a lot of my grandmother and loved her but wasn't so tremendously close to her that her death was devastating to me, otherwise the dream would have made more sense. I'll never forget that one--and I'll always wonder about it just a little bit. Oh, and not only do you dream every night, I think you'd have some fairly serious medical issues if you didn't. As others have said, the real issue is what you actually remember. TPM Sister #102

The only problem seems to be the price. Those sound like pretty short strands. TPM Sister #102

LOL Who, me? TPM Sister #102

Don't knock 'em. I LOVE mine! Tonight, it's set on 4 out of 10 and that's plenty. TPM Sister #102

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you'll be employed again in no time. TPM Sister #102