Sometimes you need a homecoming queen

It was a good day, really... especially for a Monday that followed 4 days without my hubby (who was at an artists' retreat), until...

I came home from work with the girls and EVERYONE was a little GRUMPY (except Greg, he wasn't home yet). We were tired, Grace has a little cold, several of us are experiencing varying degrees of hormonal influences these days and...

arguments ensued with ATTITUDE. My middle daughter who shall not be named seriously perturbed the youngest, who shall not be named but who consequently grabbed a full glass of water and poured it all over the pile of violin books sitting in front of middle daughter. I just ordered these violin books as requested by middle daughter's private instructor... I spent a LONG time finding them on Amazon and paying for them last week and they just came in today.

I yelled... youngest daughter yelled back. Time outs and more heated discussion along with explanations, apologies, forgiveness, etc.

In the heat of the moment, not knowing what else to do with the intensity, I popped an atomic fireball into my mouth.

I've never had one before, and I don't know why I did it except that they gave them out at church to go along with our "GO BOLDLY" series. I guess I thought that somehow it would help.

It didn't. Greg came home to me sitting on the step of our front walk with tears- not due to the recent situation, but due to the pain in my mouth. I left it in, because I somehow needed to feel I was going boldly (don't ask, it was completely inapplicable - I was grasping).

Greg took the girls to music lessons while I took the dog for a walk as a bit of emotional therapy, and then the dog pooped and I grasped it in my plastic bag-covered hand - except my middle finger was too tall.

:{

Then I got a timely phone call back at home, and my co-worker let me know who won homecoming queen at our high school last weekend...

"You know her," she said.

The very special girl who won has Down Syndrome. I have had the privilege of communicating with her via an augmentative system on her itouch.
I was told she had on a beautiful dress and went to the dance as the date of the homecoming king.

Tears again... the better kind. Sometimes you just need a homecoming queen to bring the beauty back.