Not What I'd Planned...

A number of months ago I wrote a post titled "Did I shave my legs for this?"

I talked in it about the moments when you're totally prepared for something, and then something else completely is what ends up happening.

I had a "did I shave my legs for this" sort of evening tonight.

I didn't actually shave my legs, but I did shower, get dressed up, wear high heels, style my hair, pick out great jewelry, and even put on makeup (I don't even usually wear makeup to work so you know it was a big deal!)

I was planning to attend an AIDS awareness fundraiser put on by MCC Alberta. I was a bit apprehensive about going solo, but was quite looking forward to hearing the two people who were scheduled to speak.

I made it to about a block from the event, when with a rattle and a clunk of sorts, George decided that movement was just not in his plans for the rest of the night.

So, I called my dad.

He, fortunately, was home, and came to rescue me. After ascertaining that what was wrong was what he'd anticipated from what I'd described over the phone, I called AMA to send a tow truck, and we settled in to wait.

Time with my dad can be hard at times. We are in many ways very similar, but I've struggled a lot with our relationship over the years. It has seemed in the last few months as if Jesus was perhaps bringing healing in our relationship in really unexpected ways. Tonight was part of that I think.

We had a great conversation while we waited for the tow truck to arrive. We basically just caught up on what's been going on in my life. How my job change has been going. An ongoing crazy situation related to my job change. And we talked a bit of faith and theology, because of the event I'd been planning to attend when George gave out, and because of some intense conversations I've had with various people this week.

I had fun.

It was totally not how I planned or thought I'd spend the evening, but it was good. Jesus was gracious in how I spent the evening.

The evening did, however, end with the news that George requires at the very least a new water pump and a serpentine pulley (what is it with me and things that are somehow related to snakes???). So, I'll be spending money on him again, and likely taking the bus to work on Monday.

Ah well. Dad dropped me at home, and I'm curled up in bed, snacking on crackers and hummus, blackberries, smoked gouda, and chocolate. And sipping a mug of lemon mango fruit infusion loose tea. I'm relaxed and warm, and have plans to enjoy a day at home tomorrow, since I'm without a vehicle.

And, I can say that God was gracious, and George waited to die until I was on a quiet street instead of the major roads I'd been traveling on only moments earlier.

So, it was a "did I shave my legs for this?" evening, but it was great in so many ways as well, and I'm thankful for it.

Did I shave my legs for this?

I was thinking this morning about the way music influences our lives. About the "soundtrack" of my life if you will. Much of mine could be played in country songs.

Now, before you all run away horrified that I do in fact not only listen to, but actually like country music, let me just say this: there is an awful lot of down to earth straight up truth and humor in some of those songs. And, just for the record, for all those authors who talk about how music influences their writing, let me just say that the soundtrack for the moments I'm writing is pretty much limited to dead composers, or artists who don't sing in English, so that their words can't interrupt the formation of my words. That means that these days I'm listening to a lot of Beethoven.

But I was thinking about one particular line from a country song I heard back in junior high today. I can't remember who sang the song, or even what it was really about, though I think it might have been Deana Carter, and I suppose the song must have been about a date that didn't go quite as expected. The line? "Did I shave my legs for this?" (in my head the emphasis is always on the "this".)

I heard it in the days before I was old enough to worry about shaving my legs, or really could have understood what the singer was referring to. But it made me laugh then, and it has stuck with me, coming back at all kinds of moments. It's come to symbolize the moments that just don't go quite the way you were hoping or expecting. When anticipation of one thing falls flat, and you find yourself dealing with something entirely other. It's become a mental category in my head - the "Did I shave my legs for this?" moments.

It's a wry sort of humor I suppose. But it works for me. To inject humor into situations that are often less than funny.

I was thinking about the line this morning (actually while I was shaving my legs!) and smiling ironically to myself.

I've been having a "did I shave my legs for this?" weekend.

It hasn't been the weekend I'd been hoping for or expecting. It hasn't necessarily been bad. Just different. And definitely in need of the injection of humor that comes from it being classified in the "did I shave my legs for this?" category of life.