Month: August 2012

Certifiably identified

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I hereby declare that this is the school year in which I will know where each and every certified copy of each and every identifiable document for each and every kid is located.

I have reorganized the fire box and will create folders for each kiddo. Need a Social Security card, immunization records or birth certificate to go with whatever obscure stamped-in-wax and signed-in-blood form they ask for next? By golly, I will have it handy.

I will do anything to avoid having to go back to the Social Security office anytime in the next decade.

A Vision of Humility (Prayer Devotional for the week of August 5, 2012)

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Last week, we talked about King Uzziah’s prideful downfall (2 Chronicles 26). Interestingly, the year that King Uzziah died was the same year that God appeared in a vision to the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 6 for the awesome story).

Although Isaiah’s vision occurred in the temple – the same place where King Uzziah made his fateful transgression, the two men’s experiences could not have been more different:
·    Uzziah marched into the temple as if he owned the place, but Isaiah cried his heart out to God.
·    Uzziah banked on his powerful position, but Isaiah acknowledged his lowly place (v. 5).
·    Uzziah had a how-dare-you attitude, but Isaiah expressed his willingness to go and do the Lord’s work (v. 8).
·    Rather than responding to the Lord in a contemptuous way like Uzziah, the prophet Isaiah was extremely humble and remorseful.
·    Uzziah’s arrogance earned him a lifetime of punishment and exclusion, but Isaiah’s repentance was rewarded with forgiveness and the honor of experiencing God’s presence (v. 7).

How many times have we heard of heroes – both real and fictional – who lost their power and/or position because of their pride? Uzziah was afflicted with a physical disease. Moses was denied entrance into the Promised Land. Thor was tossed out of Asgard. Pick the lead character out of any Shakespearean play, mythological tale or comic book, and he or she probably dealt with pride, to some degree.

The question is: how did our heroes handle it? Did they let pride consume and destroy them, or did they demonstrate humility and overcome the temptation to think of themselves as better or more deserving than others?

What about us? We aren’t even famous or have special powers, and yet we deal with pride in our own lives every day. We can take the tragic hero’s path and end up as a lesson for others to learn, or we can choose to take the superhero’s path and rise above – victorious!

What’s in a name?

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When I got married, I dropped my maiden name for a variety of reasons, the most trite of which was that it sounded funny as a blended name. It didn’t sound as natural as other hyphenated friends’ names like Chicas-Castillo or Morgan-Cox. It sounded clunky and odd. So, I dropped it.

I’m not famous, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have developed a professional career under my married name. Everyone who has met me in nearly the last decade-and-a-half knows me by that name. When I started my master’s degree in 2006, some friends joked that next thing they knew, I’d start signing my name with my middle initial and maiden name like some pretentious professor, just to make it longer and more exotic. Well, I didn’t … at least, not then.

After my brother died and I obtained custody of my nephew-sons in 2009, I decided to informally reintroduce my maiden name. I took baby steps, like changing my email signature and eventually signing letters with both names. When I started my doctoral studies in 2010, I almost quit doing it because I remembered the teasing conversations about turning into a snooty academic-type.

My driver’s license expired last fall, and when I went to renew it (had to get a new photo this go-round, so I couldn’t renew by mail), I asked the clerk about adding my maiden name to my license. She said that I could only do it if I had another form of ID (SS card or passport) with that name. So, I didn’t fiddle with it.

Well, I had to go to the Social Security office this week for other matters, and I decided to look into it while I was there. The clerk seemed a little confused by my request, but I explained that I wasn’t dropping my name, just adding back in the old one. So, as of this morning, I have officially re-incorporated the use of my maiden name into my legal name. I decided not to hyphenate it, just list it as two names.

I realize it’s just a formality, since I’ve been using both names in written correspondence for quite a while, but it felt like the right thing to do — not only to honor my brother, but also to demonstrate to the boys (though they won’t understand it all for years to come) that they belong here, with me, in our family, and that they are always part of me.

Of biceps & birthdays

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Today is my brother’s 34th birthday. It’s hard to believe that this is the fourth birthday we’ve celebrated in his memory, rather than together. We talk about him often, which I think helps all of us, to varying degrees.

Just the other day while we were watching the Olympics, I made a comment about the gymnasts’ and swimmers’ strong arms and backs (not that I was, ahem, paying too close attention! 😉 ) But, I digress. What was I saying? Oh, yes – athletes. I asked the boys if they thought any of those guys on TV had 17″ biceps like Nathan had. We speculated that some probably did.

Then, No. 4 gave me a once-over (as I lounged on the couch in my frumpy PJs, looking the complete opposite of an athlete) and asked, “So, Mom – do you have 17″ biceps?” I laughed and said that I didn’t think so, but I had not bothered to measure. Then, the pathetic thought crossed my mind that if I did have 17″ biceps, it wouldn’t all be muscle mass! :/

On that note, Happy Birthday to my body-building, smack-talking, uber-geek, little/big brother! I love you & miss you.