friday five: scattered

At RevGals, revkjarla writes: So, I don't know about you, but I have had quite the scattered week. Sometimes, life is that way, right? In the spirit of Scattered-ness, I offer you a scattery kind of Friday Five:

1.  I lose my keys all of the time.  Even if they are in my hand, I still am looking for them.  Sigh!
What is something you are chronically looking for, if anything?

My eyeglasses, although to cut down on the chronic nature of that hunt I keep a pair at the computer, a pair in my purse, a pair at the kitchen table (shared by living room use), and a pair at the office.

2.  What movie are you looking forward to watching sometime in the future?  (me, the new Footloose!)

I've had so little time lately to pay attention to things like movies, I don't even know what's coming. I do about Footloose, however, but I'll wait to see that when it comes out on dvd.

3.  What is one of your favorite comfort foods?  (me, pizza. hands down).

I love pizza, and I confess that it's extremely convenient to pick up an already baked, personal pan pizza at work (I take one flight of stairs and walk about one hundred yards), but I try to eat less pizza than my soul desires for health reasons. Sadly, most comfort foods stand squarely outside of the healthy eating zone. My favorite snack is some peanut butter on slices of apple. Just about everything else feels guilty because it's essentially impossible for me to lose weight.

4.  Story time.  Tell us a story of one your favorite people that has touched, blessed your life.

My goddaughter is the person who regularly touches and blesses me. There are many stories, but one early memory from about 20 years ago stands out. One night after a Lenten program at church (back in the good old days when I was a laywoman), I walked out to my car at the same time as Johanna and her family. Johanna was about eight years old.  Before climbing into the family car she turned to me, opened her arms wide and tipped her head back for a goodnight embrace. It was a spontaneous gesture of love different from the usual hug of kids wrapping their arms around your legs or hips and squeezing at their level. Those open arms said to me that her heart embraced me fully, without reservation or limit. The blessings of her love continue to embrace me.

5.  What do you do to focus or calm or center yourself?  (please, I need ideas!!!)

Here's a surprise--I turn to God! I also cuddle with my dog, or simply close my eyes, empty my mind and breathe. If I have access to a scenic view staring at it for a while is also a great way to find calm.

BONUS:  Share the first thing (or second thing) that comes to your mind after your read this!

Our son-in-law leaves on Sunday for temporary duty (army) in Hawaii for six weeks. Our daughter and grandkids will also make the trip. They  have invited us to come visit them while they are there, but 1) we can't afford it, 2) even if we could afford it there are other plans and obligations littering our calendar for the duration of that six weeks that don't allow us to take the time, and 3) even we we could afford to go and the calendar wasn't an issue, I only get paid for time I work, which sort of puts us back to number one. It breaks my heart to have to say no to this amazing opportunity, and pushing the various components around in my mind to arrive at this conclusion is, indeed, a practice of fragmenting/scattering.