Sound the trumpets!

Da da da da...here it is, what you've all been waiting for: POST 100! I've been giving a lot of thought to this post. It seems like it should be something special. At first, I thought I'd write about 100 things that make me laugh. I came up with a bunch, but not quite 100. If I had more time, I'm sure I could manage it; however, I want to get this 100th post thing over with because I've got more to write about.

So...if not 100 funny things, how about 100 things I'm thankful for? Well, besides the dangling modifier, I saw problems with it becoming far too sappy. 100 places I love? Boring. 100 of the best people in my life? Yeah, right, I'd leave someone out and they'd get their nose out of joint. Not a good plan. 100 intriguing thoughts? Well, you've already had 99 of those, dear reader!

So here's the list. 100 things worth putting in a 100 things list. Some are funny ha ha, some are funny peculiar, some are full of wondering, some are wistful, blah, blah, blah. Read along, you'll get the idea.

1. I think the Sinclairosaurus at the gas station is strange. I get the play on 'fossil fuel,' but I still think it's weird.
2. I married C because he made me laugh, because he brought me back down to earth and, as my dad said to me before the wedding, because C is the only man who has ever gotten away with telling me 'no.' I continue to love him for the same reasons even though we don't laugh together as much as we used to. I admire his willingness to not only follow me as I pursue my dreams but to also fully embrace those dreams.
3. I love CH because he is someone I'd want to know even if he was not my son. He has an infinite capacity for compassion, an old soul wisdom, a quiet edgy humor, and an incredible, beautiful, darling face. I admire his willingness to go with the flow even in those times when he'd rather not do so. His brilliance amazes me.
4. I love TT because he is charming, insightful, bold, dynamic, and funny. After years of denying it, I see how he is a little me oftentimes. His connection with animals and with those in need blows my mind regularly. I admire his tenacity to live with all of the challenges his little body and brain shower upon him.
5. I found the pink-painted Elvis store at the Memphis airport hilarious. As I was walking by it, I couldn't resist calling both my sister and Shana and asking them what they wanted me to pick up for them as long as I was there.
6. I love it when my cat Arwen puts her paw and leg under the bathroom door because she feels left out if she isn't wherever I am.
7. The Detroit airport has a gift store for pets. Hear me clearly - not a store where you can buy little ceramic trinkets of pets for your family and friends, but an actual gift store where the guilty traveller can pick up presents for his/her pet(s). At this store, one can purchase Doggy Bad Hair Day shampoo, a doggie Barbie purse that attaches to the collar, and a chew toy that looks like a loaf of Wonder Bread. This is strange.
8. Desperate Housewives is my favorite show. There I've said it.
9. I'm thankful for my Israelite-like, long, convoluted path through seminary. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.
10. I laugh when I hear myself say "South Caroliiiiiiiiina." I only lived there 10 months, but I still pronounce it like a good Southern girl.
11. After living in the Midwest for 3 1/2 years, I get scared when I hear myself say any word with an "oh" sound.
12. I wish I drove a Jeep Wrangler.
13. I'm amazed how Shana, someone who is young enough to be my daughter, is one of my most treasured friends.
14. I laugh when I see my cat, Aragorn, run. He hops like Tigger.
15. Little Mister in California and his charming lobbyist ways make me smile. I'm glad he's my friend.
16. Snobbery bugs me. That said, I willingly admit that I am a creamer snob (liquid and flavored creamer only!), a wine snob (no box wine unless I'm really desperate) and a gold-only jewelery snob (silver just doesn't go with my sunny autumnal coloring).
17. I love how much little girls love having their hair french braided, and I love how I'm known in the neighborhood for french braiding their hair.
18. I love it when Mark the little brother I never had (as opposed to Mark the older brother I do have) makes fun of me with his "I'm Skdo...I have a gold class ring....blah blah blah...I'm Skdo....I'm from the Pacific Northwest....blah blah blah..." routine. I miss that harassment.
19. I treasure the Christmas picture from our first year of marriage. We had a Charlie Brown tree that we couldn't afford to buy until December 24 and we spent over an hour trying to get the tree into the stand just so before we realised the tree itself was crooked.
20. I love how one of our kitties at the time, Hannah, climbed the tree.
21. I am incredibly thankful for special education teachers, all of my children's amazing teachers (past and present), paraprofessionals that care about my kids, and a wonderful school district.
22. I will never forget Doug, the man I met at a wedding during internship who ended up being a child psychologist and who ended up changing TTs life.
23. I will never forget Paula, the social worker who talked me through the absolute worst day of my entire life when post-partum depression had taken over and was swallowing me whole.
24. I love that I can let laundry pile up without much guilt about it.
25. Medical providers who really listen to their patients are a gift to the world.
26. I think hammocks on third terraces that look out over the ocean are sweet.
27. I am incredibly thankful for people who are willing and able to babysit TT.
28. Digital cameras are an amazing invention,
29. so are digital voice recorders,
30. and laptop computers,
31. and email,
32. and HTML code,
33. and blogs.
34. I'm thankful that I have an interview at a great congregation on Friday.
35. My news sources are the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.
36. Travel is one of my favorite hobbies. I have been to England, France, Spain, Western Canada, Germany, and the following states: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Georgia. I have driven through some or all of Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, and Ohio.
37. Music is one of God's greatest gifts. Thank you, God, for music.
38. Sitting and reading the Sunday paper and looking through the ads is one of my favorite rituals.
39. I treasure the darling rural parish where I've been preaching as I wait for a permanent call.
40. Shaving cream is really fun.
41. I'm glad there is paint. I cannot wait to paint a new house so I no longer have to look at the Castle tint called "ice cream".
42. Every morning, TT makes me giggle when we wake him up. He always has to do his "secret stretches" and we have to leave the room until the stretches are complete.
43. I'm glad that I've already lost 4 pounds on the South Beach diet.
44. I think bedhead on kids is cute.
45. I love the beach. No doubt about it. The beach is my centering place. The mountains and the woods aren't so bad either, but they aren't as special as the beach.
46. I hope I do actually learn to play my guitar someday. It's kind of bulky just sitting in the corner of my office collecting dust.
47. I pray every day for my friend Margie whose husband died when she was just weeks pregnant with their 4th child.
48. Other than that, my prayer life is usually pretty abysmal. I go in fits and starts and I wish I was a better pray-er.
49. I'm glad I'm disorganized and happy. When C first met me, I was much more MyersBriggs J, but it was a hang up and not really me. I did it out of an endless need to be loved and somewhere deep down I unconsciously thought that if I was "perfect," I'd be more lovable. After CH was born, I went through therapy and discovered that my people pleasing tendencies and my perfectionistic ways were a bunch of crap. I got over being a J. I'm glad about that. Now, C loves to say to me, "So you mean to tell me I spent thousands of dollars on therapy so you could be disorganized and happy." To which I reply, "Yes! But I'm HAPPY!" To which he replies, "Yes, but you forgot to pay the rent/feed the cats/do something adult-like." To which I reply, "Yeah, but I'm HAPPY!" It's a little game we play. :)
50. I'm glad C puts up with my blogging and my quirky habits of (a) putting dishes wherever there is room in any given cabinet and (b) putting CDs in any empty case.
51. For me, the most important qualities in a close friend are courageous and loving candor, understanding me even if they don't agree with me, an ability to see my well-hidden vulnerabilities, an ability to remind me that I can safely share said vulnerabilities, trustworthiness, humor, and authenticity.
52. Imagine a number line numbered from 1-10 with 10 representing the deepest, most inner part of yourself. While most people tend to let just about anyone in to level 2 and only a select few all the way to 6, 7 or 8, I tend to let just about anybody into level 4, many into level 6 and a very, very, very select few any deeper than that. Many people think I am extremely open about my darkest and deepest thoughts. Actually, I'm more private about them than most people.
53. I'm thankful for Dallas who understands this about me. He's a true friend and I miss him.
54. Coffee, chocolate, white wine, and beaches are some of the best things in life. And, yes, I know I already mentioned beaches. So what? It's my list of things to list and I'll do it my way.
55. Most of the time, I like that I can be petulant and show my youngest child ways. Sometimes it gets me in trouble.
56. I'm glad I'm a redhead. It suits me.
57. I wish my hair was as red as it used to be but I'm too cheap to color it.
58. I'm sad that when this list is all written, I will think of 100 more things I wish I'd said. I may just edit it here and there...which, I'll admit, I do to my posts on a fairly regular basis.
59. I admire my husband's grandma and I am so thankful I know her.
60. I have been blessed with incredible siblings. I thank God for them and their families often.
61. My in-laws ROCK!
62. I'm glad that I missed the ACT registration deadline in high school and ended up going to University of Oregon instead of Middlebury College in Vermont. Otherwise, I would never have met C and all of our amazing college friends.
63. Cordless phones are not all they are cracked up to be. We have never owned one that I liked.
64. I love my printer. It is an HP Deskjet 970Cse and it can print in duplex. Duplex is cool.
65. I love that somebody out there is still reading this ridiculous list that seemed like such a great idea when I began writing it.
66. My favorite holiday used to be Christmas.
67. The other day, tears filled my eyes because I discovered TT reading (!) to CH.
68. I'm thankful for vision therapists, reading therapists and occupational therapists and all of the difference they have made in TTs life and our family's life.
69. I love my super awesome spiritual director (SASD) with whom I belly laughed on Monday morning when she said, "If God were here..." and I said, "God is here." I smiled when SASD and I were talking about worthiness on Monday and she said, "Skdo, hold your head high whenever you walk into any room and think to yourself 'if these people only knew all that I do each day as a mom, wife, minister, etc, etc....most of them would be blown away.' " I'm not sure many would be blown away, but I love that she said this.
70. If I ever had plastic surgery, I know exactly what I'd have done (nope...I'm not telling!)
71. I treasure the spiritual director I had in South Carolina who was paid by the seminary and who helped me to discern to leave said seminary. Ah, irony.
72. I'm thankful for all of the professors along the way who taught me to speak the truth and use my voice appropriately.
73. I'm grateful for all of the pastors along the way who have nurtured, challenged, taught, mentored, and loved me.
74. In all honesty, I have to admit that there are a handful of pastors and professors for whom I am not grateful. Even so, I see that sometimes we learn the most from our challenges and challengers
75. I'm really glad that I got to meet Jimmy Buffett once and have my picture taken with him.
76. I continue to giggle when I look at the personalized autographed picture of Bradley Whitford (Josh from West Wing) that my friend Ben got me for Christmas one year through one of his connections.
77. I love my taste in clothes even if others find it interesting (that's Midwest code for 'concerning').
My life would not be the same without:
78. Journey Girl, Wise Southern girl, and Anne the Preacher's kid,
79. TTs Godmothers, Shana and Eileen, and Sorority sister Dana
80. Leslie (who I haven't talked to in years but was my best bud in elementary school and always laughed at my jokes),
81. my first boyfriend and my other former boyfriends,
82. great families I've met in seminary, including PMC and the whole Awesome clan and the Hospitables
83. Small Town girl whose wisdom blows me away regularly and who was able to see that I was losing myself during my first internship and was brave enough to tell me so
84. Seminary Sandy, Future Bishop, Pastor Karen, and all of my classmates
85. I'm thankful that anyone who wasn't listed up to this point knows that I love them too. I am too blessed to list everyone who has touched my life. What a wonderful problem.
86. I'm looking forward to getting a dog when we move. My kids think they are the ones getting a dog...
87. I think it is a tragedy when pastors refuse the Eucharist, refuse to baptize, or refuse to do non-member weddings. I do not think that pastors are called to be grace gatekeepers. Did Jesus ever turn anyone away? Anyone besides the rule maker Pharisees? Hmmmm...
88. In the 20 years that C and I have been together, there have been 3 other men with whom I've had strong emotional connections. I'm thankful for these amazing friendships and I'm thankful that lines have never been crossed.
89. I'm incredibly thankful that C has understood these friendships and has even said, "Of course you are close to so-and-so, he gives you something in a relationship that you need and that I simply am not wired to provide." Wow. I'm a lucky girl.
90. Speaking of lucky, I'm really thankful for Soul Friend. He helped me finally get the idea that all God wants me to be is myself.
91. I'm not sure that a day goes by when I don't think about my father-in-law and my grandparents. I miss them tremendously and I wish my boys could have known them.
92. For the most part, I hate winter. Winter as a weather-season, winter as a time of life, winter as a season of grief. Winter is cold and biting and bitter and hard.
93. My favorite seasons are Spring and Summer. It depends where I am which wins out. In the Midwest, Spring wins. In the PNW, summer wins.
94. I'm glad my house is one of the neighborhood kid houses.
95. Someday I would like to travel to: Jamaica, Hawaii, Mexico, Holland, Australia, Florida, New York, Maine in autumn, and 1000 other places.
96. I love Disneyland. It's the happiest place on earth! If I ever worked there, I would want to be the Wicked Queen - she's the only Disney employee who gets away with being crabby.
97. I love LA, Chicago, Charleston, Savannah and Portland, and the unrelated fact that my husband is a great cook.
98. Someday I want to own a vacation home somewhere warm.
99. I'm thankful that even though I regularly and routinely screw up, fall short, make stupid choices, and forget my manners, Jesus truly does forgive me. When I stop to really consider this, it's pretty mind blowing.
100. I can't believe I've come to #100. I'm glad blogs aren't limited to 100 posts because I love my blog. And I love my blog friends and readers.