A Little Hazelnutty

I haven't written for a very long time... years, actually, but I want to do it more, so here we go.   I don't want to talk about the policies surrounding the virus, there's plenty of people doing that. I just want to share a bit about what it has been like to work at a grocery store during this time. In 2010, when I was 20 years old, I was hired as a cashier at Hannaford. During my first winter working there, I drove to work in a few snowstorms. One was nasty enough that business was pretty slow when I got there. I had been there maybe an hour or so, when a manager asked me if I would like to go home. Obviously, I said "no", after going through the trouble of getting to work in the storm, it seemed foolish to only work for an hour. I was given the task of doing some deep cleaning, since there was nothing else for me to do on such a slow day. I asked "Why doesn't the store just close on days like this? It's so slow that people are looking for things to

Well, yesterday was National Best Friends Day, and I started writing this yesterday, so it's appropriate that this blog is kind of about friendship. Community is something that we were designed for. Growing up in church, it almost seemed sinful to utter words like "I feel alone". If you dare to say that in the company of other believers, you'll likely get a response like "You're not alone, you have Jesus". As if we're not supposed to desire human companionship. It's time to stop using this line. We need to stop telling people who probably are alone, that they're not. Yes, it's true. Christ satisfies us more than any sinful, imperfect human ever can. He is the only one who will never, ever let you down.... ...but that's not all that we need. How do I know this? Genesis 2:18 At this point, sin had not yet entered the world. There was no chasm between God and man. Adam had absolutely perfect communion with God, and yet God stil

My family has had cats since I was little. One of them, Midnite, was a black female (not a miss-spelling). We got her when I was 7, and she had to be put down about 3 1/2 years ago. She had quite a personality, and plenty of quirks. She liked to play fetch. About a year later, We got 2 more cats (despite the fact that my mother said "no more" after Midnite). A male and a female, both black. The male, Max has long hair, and the female, Speckles is short-haired, just like Midnite. In some ways, she reminds me of Midnite, but in many ways she's different, with all of her own quirks. She likes to fetch just like Midnite did. She's also absolutely obsessed with being brushed, she seeks attention constantly like a dog, and there are a number of other little personality differences that make her unique and different than Midnite. This got me thinking one day. How cool is God? Anybody who has had pets would agree that they're all different. There is variation even wit

Every Sunday, the person doing the announcements at church asks "Are there any birthdays or anniversaries, this past week or this coming week?", and if there are, we have those people stand & we all sing 'Happy birthday' to them. Today, when that question was asked, I couldn't help thinking, tomorrow my brother would have been 27 years old. Me or my mother used to announce his birthday, even though he lived out of state, because many people at church knew him...... but I didn't last year, and I didn't today. I know where my brother is, and that gives me peace...... but it's days like this that are hard. I saw a display at Hannaford of the new Bob Marley cd.... normally I would've sent that down to him for his birthday, since he can't get Bob Marley cds in South Carolina....... I would've called him to say 'happy birthday'....... but instead, it will just be another day. It's little things like that that are hard to de

In a previous blog about SoulFest 2009, I mentioned a little meltdown that I had. Sometimes a meltdown is necessary. At least, for me it is. It wouldn't be if I didn't keep pushing things down. I usually don't cry when I feel like I need to. I also mentioned this in a previous blog. I don't cry in front of people. It's one of my rules. I should have learned by now, that it's a terrible rule. I guess I have a small issue with pride. So... I hold back for a long time (months) until it all comes out at once. That happened to me Friday night. I kind of had a feeling it was coming. I didn't want it to, but it was inevitable. It started last week when I found my brother's dog tag. For years, I used to wear his dog tag all the time. He had left it at home when he came to visit back in 2002. I started wearing it because a). my friends & I were still kind of going through our "camo phase" and b). I was proud of my brother and I missed him. I wore it

I know, it's supposed to be "music's biggest night". I disagree. Here's my recap, I won't go into detail: Lady Gaga: The whole performance was strange, and if her outfit had been even a little bit smaller, we would've had a clear view of her crotch. I could've done without that. Green Day: I didn't really have a problem with this one. I thought it was pretty well put together. I'm just not a big fan of Green Day. Beyonce: I'm not saying the girl can't sing, but I would've been far more impressed if she had done it without getting down on her knees and dancing like a stripper. Pink: This one was disgusting. Yet again, I'm impressed by women who can sing, and put on a good show without looking slutty. Black-Eyed Peas: Who decided that they could waste my time with two songs. One was more than enough. Lady Antebellum: I like Lady Antebellum. Hillary Scott is not a great live singer, but there performance was very simple, and that w