Asking for Help

As I was in the store today I had an epiphany about myself. I don't like asking for help. I came into the bookstore, looking for a particular book. I gave a friendly "hi" to the salesperson who greeted me - but revealed nothing of my quest to her. Nope, I took it upon my self to find my book myself. And so I strolled and browsed and meandered and looked and eventually left - without the book. "they probably just don't carry it, I'll check Amazon at home" was my self-talk. What is wrong with me?

I don't think I am alone in this "I can do it myself" attitude. Am I? People like me must be a frustration to Customer Service Representatives who by nature want to serve the customer.....or do they? Maybe they are just pretending to be friendly and will be irritated by my petty requests. Perhaps it comes from times when I have asked where something was in a store only to have it pointed out directly in front of my nose. Who needs that embarrassment? Perhaps my "I can find it myself" attitude comes from an underlying suspicion of those seeking to help. Maybe I am spending too much time over thinking this!

When you get past all the excuses - I think it really comes down to an issue of pride. How often do I blow off offers of help because "I can do it just fine thank you" (or even better). Don't get me wrong, I have gotten better about it over the years - when I had our twins my doctor literally told me "you need to accept help when its offered". This was harder to do than I imagined, but I realized the wisdom in those words.

By not asking for or seeking help when I need it, I miss out on a connection - perhaps even one God has placed. I rob someone of the opportunity to serve. He is our help - but God uses people as his hands.

Maybe I should go back to the bookstore.

Psalm 121:1-3 "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber"

The Black Hole in Homes

The idea of a black hole or mysterious vacuum in the home is not new. We all wonder where the matching sock is and how it if two went into the washer how come only one comes out of the dryer - I mean really, where is it?

I have a new item that seems to disappear yearly - rulers. Ever since my kids started school, we would make our annual trek to the store to stock up on school supplies. Each year I would buy a ruler. Somewhere, somehow these disappear into oblivion.

"Mom, I need a ruler for school"

"I bought you one last year, where is it?"

"I don't know"

By my calculations I have had this exact conversation every September for 11 years. I should have bought them in bulk when they were in first grade and rationed them out. A nice thought, but in reality I know they too would be sucked into the black hole. "Where's that box of rulers?"

Perks

A perk, I am finding, of having children work in and around NASA is the cool stuff I have access to. Via Kristal I have a NASA t-shirt celebrating its 50 years (the fact that it was around my 50th birthday last year made it especially sweet). We also have some stickers from Space Shuttle missions that go up.

The coolest item now in our possession, (courtesy of Stephanie) is a photo of the crew from the latest shuttle mission....complete with autographs! Many offices I go into around Clear Lake have photos of astronauts on their walls. So excited to have a photo in my office now too!

Paying Attention

In light of my previous post, this is almost comical.

My daughter offered to make dessert - when anyone offers dessert AND wants to make it, I am all for it! I showed her the box which contained all the ingredients and she read the directions; I went off to do the myriad of things on my to-do list. I couldn't wait to eat the lemon bars.

After a short while, she emerged from the kitchen with a package in hand.

"Is this the crust?"

I look up briefly from my work, quickly examined the package and confirmed that it was the crust. Off she went and I went back to what I was doing.

"This doesn't look right!"

Came the next comment from the kitchen. The lemon bars came out of the oven and indeed didn't look quite right. I decided to taste it. Okay it REALLY didn't taste right! Then it occurred to me....

"when you mixed the topping did it smell really lemony?"

"no"

In my inattention I gave her the wrong advice. I assumed the package was the crust - it was not. Our lemon bars were made upside down with backwards instructions. The results were awful!

Fortunately, it was only lemon bars. It made me realize that when my kids ask me a question I need to focus on what they are saying, understand what they are asking, and pay attention to the details so I can give an informed and accurate response.

Following Directions

The directions seemed easy enough "Fragile Handle with Care". Judging by the gouges, tears and dents in the box it was quite obvious someone didn't take the time to read. Judging by the broken pieces inside, it was obvious this was ignored by a number of people. It's too bad they didn't write it in bold red letters......oh wait they did! Such was/and is the saga of my office furniture.

During this incident I was reminded of a poster we used to have hung in our middle school room many years ago from a verse in James "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." Directions mean nothing if you don't do it. Our boxes (yes boxes) are a visual reminder that not "doing what it says" can lead to destruction.

40 Years Ago

It was forty years ago this week that man first walked on the moon. It doesn't seem that long ago that I sat and watched this event on TV. Now I don't remember much that happened forty years ago, but I remember this event. It is exciting for me to realize that now, living in Houston, I actually know an astronaut personally. For some reason the idea of space exploration and astronauts fascinated me as a child. I still have the newspaper articles I saved about different trips to the moon. I also remember a regrettable decision I made around that time.

The idea of astronauts intrigued. I discovered that some had been Air Force pilots, so when I got my hands on an Air Force recruiting brochure one day I didn't give it any thought to fill it out. The regret came as soon as I dropped it in the mail. I remember riding my bike back and forth in the path of the mailbox, staring at it, almost hoping it would magically shoot back out knowing my mistake. I finally confessed it to my parents who assured me the Air Force would not recruit a ten year old. It was then I made the other confession - I lied about my age on the application. More angst. Another trip to the mailbox.

I'm not sure when I stopped worrying that the Air Force would force me to my commitment, or arrest me for falsifying a document. But I did. Now it is a fond memory of a more innocent time.

Stories from the Orthodontics Waiting Room

I experience such a unique segment of life in the orthodontist's waiting room. Normally, it is a odd conversations I overhear. This visit brought something totally unexpected.

Upon arriving we heard an odd sound and peculiar looks on the other client's faces. It was then we noticed a woman sleeping. Not just sleeping - laying sprawled on the waiting room couch. Not just sleeping and stretched across the couch, but snoring. Snoring loudly! Even the sound of her cell phone going off didn't rouse her.

I found myself torn between wondering what this poor woman's life must be like that she was so exhausted she would fall asleep in a waiting room (though I knew the waits sometimes seemed like an eternity) and wanting to video her with my phone and post it on youtube.

I then hoped that whoever she was waiting for would be compassionate. The tables turned, I am pretty confident my kids would just walk out and pretend they didn't know me.

The whole experience made me yearn for the days when it was just having someone talk on their cell phone.