More daily stuff
Last night we had two holiday things to go to. One was a potluck for Campfire. It was fun to do a meal together, but I feel like the end part was a little disorganized and so most of the kids ran wild (there was some holiday singing but very few engaged in that in spite of leaders efforts to get them to) and adults cleaned and put things away. I think there could be more cohesiveness, maybe some activity, or something that would get the kids in the spirit of things (and maybe work towards service)… I don’t know. I feel like I’m criticizing, but I would like to find a way of giving good feedback as a parent to help CF. It seems to be struggling more and more as the leaders chasm more and more. It is such a good idea, I’d hate to see it flounder on the rocks.
After that, Melissa and I went to the women’s church Christmas party. I didn’t necessarily know what to expect. I guess I thought it would be bigger for one. There were only about 30 there. We have a much larger group of women (given almost 500 members). Pris had invited me, and it seemed to be that it was mostly the women’s group that meets regularly that tends to be a group of ladies of the generation older than me. I didn’t really know more than 2-3 and so it was a little uncomfortable. I was glad Mel was there. However, there was a gift exchange, where you brought a gift. And that livened things up considerably. A game was played. Each person picked a number, one for each person/gift. You went in order. After person #1, you were allowed to either pick a new present or steal someone else’s. Each item could only be stolen 3 times and was frozen at that point. It made for quite a fun time. Mark was with us because the two events were right on top of each other, and so he was there. And he actually was quite polite, and had a lot of fun, and many of the ladies made quite a big deal over him… and he just HATED the attention (NOT). Anyway, mine got stolen a few times. However, in the very end, Liz Bean, with whom I’ve talked some before, knew that I really did not like the very decorated purse I’d been given, and that I really wanted the book that I had unwrapped before and took my purse so I could steal the book. I’m sure she would rather have had the book herself, she was very interested in it. I have decided to take very good care of it, and give it to her once I’ve finished reading it. It was a lovely thing to do.
Mel almost had a heart attack towards the end. She went second to last, and having had her eyes on them since the beginning, stole some lovely door hanging Christmas bells that will go perfectly with her house decorations. The rule is that something can only be stolen 3 times. Hers was the second, and as things got rapidly stolen at the end, each time someone came to look at her bells, she wanted to hide them under her chair. No one took them, and in the end she was able to keep them. I was delighted when Pris got the present I had bought, and it was one she wanted since she stole it from someone else. The nice thing about the game was that I got to know a little about he personality of each woman. And now in church I will feel good about greeting them and getting to know them better.
Of course, at both occasions, the CF potluck and the women’s party, once it was asked if Melissa was my daughter. It happens a lot in new situations. But we’re used to it. It is certainly highly possible since she is so much younger than me, and I don’t know if it means I’m immature, or she’s just very mature, but I suspect it is in the middle. In some ways I do many more things that people think of people her age doing, and she is more conservative and does things the way it would be thought I should. All I know is that she is one of the best friends I have ever had and I loved that she was there. She has become family to all of us, and all of us really love her.
Last night I didn’t sleep well. I had what seemed to be this long and drawn out dream that Pris died. It was so real and so horrendous that I am left with the hangover of it today. I want to be able to just call and connect and make sure she is ok. I keep feeling in the back of my head that something is wrong, there was a reason that I had that dream, it is not because I have realized the depth of the love both Mark and I feel towards her, and that makes me fearful of losing it. That is of course a deep seated and very real fear. But I would like to just put it to rest. Of course, even if I did talk to her today the dream could be fore tomorrow, next week or even in a year. It was disburbing to say the least. And I just can’t shake the feeling.
