"Mrs. Simpson, What Does It Mean to Be In-love?"

A couple of days ago I volunteered to take 18 of the sweetest first graders to lunch for teacher appreciation day. All of the teachers got to partake in a feast at an "undisclosed" location in the building. I love volunteer days because I always get lots of hugs and I am a hugger, so my tank is FULL when I leave school! You know how it is. You walk into school and you see the twinkle in all of their eyes. The little girls hug you, compliment you on the food you served at the last birthday party and tell you how lovely your home is, while the little boys quickly scan the room to see if their teacher has exited the building.

We were finally off to lunch. Everyone was quiet, walking in a straight line and giggling. After all, it is springtime. The bees are starting to buzz and the birds are singing... ahhhh!

We were all seated at the cafeteria table and I was counting heads to make sure I had all of them. Tap. Tap. "Mrs. Simpson." "Yes sweetie," I responded. "Well Mrs. Simpson, I have a question for you." Her precious little eyes rocked back and forth while she quizzically looked up at the ceiling with one fingertip patting her cute little nose. "O.K." I cautiously responded. "What does it mean to be in love?" She asked. My heart stopped beating. "Mrs. Simpson?"

I quickly took a visual scan of my end of the table to see who all was listening. ALL EYES WERE ON ME! I have always wanted the authority to say, "One, two, three...eyes on me." Not as cool as I thought.

So, I do what any well prepared parent would do. I resort to my sales training! When you don't know the answer, you answer with a question. Right? In this case, I desperately needed to buy myself some time :). "What do you think it in means to be in love?" I asked. "I don't know that's why I asked you," she politely but firmly replied. No one giggles. They are ALL waiting for THE answer. Then I get this sweet hand on my arm as this precious one tries to console me. "You see Mrs. Simpson, x kissed y on the playground yesterday. And, x says that she is "in-love" with y." SILENCE. Still waiting for THE answer. She continues.... "The problem is that there are several girls in love with y!" At this point, I wished I was in Star Trek and could be "beamed" to the undisclosed location!

Fortunately, my daughter had brought the whole "x and y" drama to my attention the night before and today, she was sitting mid-way down the table. Half the girls in the class are smitten by y. Poor y, he is so precious and honestly does not have a clue what is going on. And fortunately for y, he was sitting at the other end of the table!

My first kiss (a tiny, nanosecond of a kiss on the lips) was the summer after 7Th grade. I remember the anxiety building up to it, my palms were sweaty, and knots were building in my stomach! What are they doing kissing in the first grade?! More importantly, I ask, why are they so worried about falling in love in the 1st grade?

"Being in love takes grown-up responsibility." I replied. "Do you know how old I was when I fell in love?" "HOW OLD?" They all chimed. "I was 27." "27!?!?" "It was when I met Mr. Mark." They all smiled. I then asked, "How old are you?" "SEVEN!" They all chimed. "So how many years before you need to start worrying about falling in love?" They were all working on the dot math to figure out the answer (hee....hee...hee....). "Twenty!" They shouted. They were so proud of themselves for figuring out the math. I was relieved that everyone was distracted.

Tap.Tap. "Mrs. Simpson. What about the kissing?" Oh jeez. "How many of you have colds right now?" I asked. Several boys raised their hand and they all began, "My nose is running." "My throat hurts." "I am coughing." All the girls including myself replied, "Ewe!" "So, like I said, being in-love takes responsibility AND you can get a cold! Doesn't it sound like more fun to just be friends and have fun playing on the playground?" "YES!"

Tap. Tap. "Mrs. Simpson, when you have some time, I have a lot more questions to ask."

By the grace of God, the mommy with me that day pointed at her watch and shouted (it is loud in our cafeteria), "It is time to go!"

In all seriousness, I spoke with the teacher later and she is going to "address" kissing with the whole class. I am so grateful for her and her teaching knowledge and experience. And later that night, Mark and I were able to talk with Sarah about how each little person in her class is made in a unique, beautiful and special way. It was our first "real" discussion about healthy boundaries and how to respect ourselves and others when it comes to the preciousness of our bodies and why God made them. And, honestly, I can not wait for the next opportunity to have a similar conversation.

Precious little x's and y's, as God's word says in 1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us."

And as written from a precious little seven year old I know:

I Love Jeses.
I Love My Mom.
I Love My Dad.
I Love My little sistr.
I Love My Dog Belle.
I Love God.
I Love evryone.

Thank you Lord for the purity and preciousness our little ones possess.

ASimpson

Is this the One?

I haven’t posted a blog in a LONG time (over 1 month!). Where has the time gone? I have been entrenched, cranking out a new picture book manuscript; and, it is my first Christian one. YEAH! I have it memorized and even my girls do. I love to hear them chant their favorite lines while walking around the house or during play. I walk around, head held high, pretending that they are reading it for REAL. Time flies by for me when I am writing a new manuscript. There are not enough hours in the day to write when I am in the groove! This time I am promising myself that I will not edit it to death! I have received some wonderful feedback recently from two of my closest friends, "Angela, I think this is the one! YOU need to leave it the way it is." These friends know me very well because this is totally going against every fiber of my being! I met with an agent after writing my first manuscript and she gave me the same advice and I didn't listen. I worked feavorishly for one month to recreate the entire thing! Why is it so hard to take trusted advice and move forward with it? Why am I so nervous? Maybe because now I am exploring the not so fun part of writing (once again) - the part that requires researching editors. The part that will see rejection eye to eye. It feels like I am getting ready to travel on a camel across the Mohave Desert with 100 mile an hour gail force winds in my eyes. And my eyes are already bug-eyed from all of the coffee that I am drinking to stay awake until 3 in the morning! Each step forward is painful, but necessary. Which editor will possibly look at my work? Which editor will even look at an unpublished author? Which editor will even look at a PB manuscript these days? The prayers begin...I have to admit that I am somewhat of a princess too. I just want to write, be a mom, play with my girls, and read my picture books to a bunch of excited, runny nose, silly little kids. If only I could hire someone to edit all of my work, AND research editors for me, AND read all of the latest market scoop, AND figure out this confusing blog stuff, AND bring me my coffee and chocolate. A girl can dream, can't she?

"I Will Sign for The Lord"

Try to imagine for a moment that you are hearing impaired. Please cover your ears. Can you hear anything? Maybe you can hear your breaths or possibly your heartbeat? Walk around for minute, ears still covered tight. Instead of straining to hear, relax and take a deep breath. Try to feel each footstep that you take. Can you feel the reverberation of your dog’s footsteps on the hardwood floor, a door slamming shut, or the furnace turning on?

Mark and I entered church this past Sunday fully rested and ready to go. The girls were visiting with their grandparents and we were so excited to be together, kid-free. Wahoo! Life was grand! Simpson’s dictionary defines the word date as ANYWHERE that parents go together, for ANY length of time, WITHOUT kids. We attended a wonderful fellowship class that morning with parents from the girls’ school and then we were off with the masses, heading down a massive hallway towards the large sanctuary for worship.

I am at the church a lot during the week, taking the girls to school, picking them up, at prayer group or bible study, but not with this many people. With each step I took, I nervously prayed. For us introverts, large churches offer excellent opportunities to become connected, but equally as many opportunities to feel lost in the numbers. The old, but yet still familiar feeling of belonging to a church of 13,000+ in Colorado came back to me all too fast. I took a deep breath and stepped in through the doorway with as much strength and determination as I could muster. Over and over, I chanted to myself, “It is O.K., I am in church. It is O.K., I am in church.”

Upon entering the sanctuary, I cautiously looked around and as I began to take in all of the individual groups of people that were clustering together, it was with great surprise that I noticed everyone entered exchanging familiar handshakes, hugs and kisses. One man was showing off his new granddaughter. And let me tell you, she is a beauty! Everyone seemed so genuine. The reuniting smiles and hugs were igniting. My heart was warming up. The worship team (4 not 40) stood up and the chorus of music beautifully cascaded over the stage.

Then one group of the congregation, sitting to my left, grabbed me by the heartstrings. They were different. Their joy was contagious. You’ve heard the saying, “that person wears their heart on their sleeve.” Well, no doubt, this entire group of individuals did. They were wearing love and joy like no other. Wow! I want what they have, I thought. I wonder what they had for breakfast was my next thought. Better yet, what bible study are they doing? I was ready to stealthily fly over to their section of the sanctuary and hang out behind their pew just to find out the secret to their joy. With hands softly and lovingly placed on the next brother’s/sister’s shoulder, their smiles and their eye expressions clearly said to one another, “I love you and I am glad to be in the house of the Lord with you today.” Dr. Gary Chapman mentioned a few announcements and the music continued. I was captured!

The praise group was in full force now and as I looked around the sanctuary this time, I noticed the reservation that the majority of us (I) tend to have. You know, cautiously swaying, reluctant to sing that we may be off key, looking out of the corner of your eye to see what everyone else is doing. What would others think if I looked somewhat excited to be in church this morning? What if I sing off key? My silly thought was, Well, I can’t sing off key. We are the new people! Lousy excuse, huh?

As my eyes veered back toward my favorite group of folks, I noticed even more their expressions of love and grace. Arms rose with palms facing upward towards heaven. Smiles became larger, and eyes were lifted upwards. It was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever witnessed. Then, as the lyrics appeared on the screen above, their expressions of faith were even more beautiful as this group of the congregation began to sign each word they sang. As they signed, each word of the music became alive and real to me. I found myself simply quiet, listening, and watching in awe.

My personal challenge in the coming weeks is to learn how to feel compassion for others in my life and how to truly show Christ’s love through my actions. I don’t know about you, but I am quick to speak. Honestly, I have good intentions most of the time; but, I still plant that left foot firmly where it doesn’t belong in my effort to speak first, or to be heard. My late grandfather was an amazing man. When you walked into his home, he greeted you with one hand on your shoulder and the other hand locked in yours. He embraced you until he got a good look into your eyes. There was no doubt that you would be remembered always by him. His look was intentional as if to say, “I now know you and I will pray for you.” In the future, when I want to tell my husband and children how much I care for them, maybe I reach out and touch their shoulder or hand first, or I just simply smile and listen. What if next Sunday at church I don't worry so much about how my voice sounds, but belt it out with joy? What if next Sunday I try lifting my palms towards heaven acknowledging my savior?