Seven Things

My friend Annie recently listed seven things about herself on her blog, and encouraged her blogging friends to do the same. Here are my seven things...

1. I have a few strange eating habits that even I cannot explain: I cannot finish an apple unless it is sliced. If I bite into it whole, I’ll get a few bites in and lose interest. I cannot normally finish a coke if it’s in the can—it needs to be in a glass (not a plastic cup, but a glass).
2. If my life were a movie, I’d most want it to be a musical—where everyone would spontaneously break into the same song and choreographed movements. How fun would that be?
3. Mouth noises: I can’t stand them. I actively avoid people who eat with their mouths open or talk with food in their mouths.
4. My big fear is throwing up. Although Jon dying is a close second. Okay, I’d put Jon’s death in the number one spot, but throwing up is pretty high on my list of fears.
5. The act of peeling carrots makes me happy. There is just something satisfying about shedding the dirty top layer to reveal the bright, clean orange flesh of the carrot.
6. My dreams are significantly more exciting than my life…and I often wake in the night thinking that my dreams are real, convinced that there are mice crawling on the ceiling, an old lady standing at the foot of my bed, a stranger in bed beside me, or an army of snakes crawling on me.
7. One big thing I’d like to accomplish in my life: write a really good book.

These things always happen to me

So, it's Sunday morning. I had just finished preaching at a church where I have never been before. I stand at the back door, greeting church members as they exit. I smile as they say things like, "That was a very well organized sermon" or "That was lovely." Organized and lovely--what more could I hope for?

And then a woman asks if I could email her a copy of my sermon. Of course I could! I happen to have a piece of paper in my hand that would work perfectly for her to write her email address on. So, I hand her this envelope, and she says she'll just step to the side and write it down. Great. I thought the envelope would be perfect because it was an important envelope--it contained the check they had just given me for preaching--so I knew I wouldn't misplace her address. She stepped aside to write it down. I continued to greet people.

And I never saw her again. When people ask me to describe her, I can't remember a single detail.