Ugh

Chad left on a youth trip, and I've been to Target twice in two days.

I realize this is not a good sign of things to come, especially when Chad leaves for his week-long trips later this summer.

The truth is that Chad leaving town is lonelier here than it was in Baytown. In Baytown, I usually hung out with my parents or my best Baytown girlfriend Lois, who is retired and was usually available to hang out with me and the girls.

I know there is something to be said for being a grown-up and learning to get by without my family or the close friends I had in Baytown.

But it is a bit lonely, nonetheless.

On a non-whiny note, the girls and I made a day of it today by going to Little Rock and hanging out at Barnes & Noble and then Mimi's Cafe for lunch. (Speaking of Barnes & Noble, check out the May issue of "Empowering Women." I've got four articles in there and you'll also find Sarah Paulk's byline.) Tomorrow we start "Summer on the Rock," which is our children's program for the summer. I'm teaching the 3rd grade. The theme for the summer is "HERO" and the third grade has a Yoda theme. I'm thinking of knighting all the kids tomorrow and calling them "JEDY" knights: "Jesus' Everyday Directions for You." (Which is what scripture is, and we're going to have an emphasis on memory verses this year.)

Julia and I also came up with "Jesus Evacuates Dizzy Idiots," plus a few others that are probably not worth mentioning.