Think Kit 20- who made a difference

Think Kit Day 20: Who made a difference for you this year? Was it a close friend or a stranger? A specific moment in time or the entire year?

I think it's hard to think over 365 days and pick a single one person who made a difference to me in 2013. this has not been the best year for me: I'm still in this crappy job so I worry about money all the time. I still live in dad's attic (which I'm thankful to have and not be homeless) but I'm 42 and live with my dad- it's a blow to my independence/ ego, and I feel like a mooch. Mac has run me through the emotional and financial wringer this year. I have no health insurance and I'm paranoid about getting sick, and I haven't felt all that healthy for about 5 months. My relationship with Sam, which was on again and off again felt like it was going in a good direction, then we started the relationship roller coaster in June and that's been tumultuous at best. I'm not complaining, though it sounds like it, I'm just explaining why my 2013 has felt crappy. And I've tried to change so much but after so much discouragement, it feels rough to develop the motivation to change anything and to just plod along. My life is the devil I know... so, all that being said I feel like many people made a difference, so in big ways and some in small because I think people can help me stay sane.

• my friends all make a difference in some way because they listen to me, I can listen to them. We laugh and cry and hang out. We talk seriously and are silly. We give and received advice and preserve sanity for each other (and this I've needed it!). They're the people who give me a reality check in a nice way but also know when I need to just vent. These woman- Curley, Mama Cashew, Lori, Steph, Mandi, Kayla, Jess, Kim, Other Kim, Rebecca- are the family I was able to choose.
• My family has made a difference- for many of the same reasons as my friends, especially my dad because no matter how ticked off he gets at me, he still love mes unconditionally.
• The minister at my dad's church made a difference. I realize it's technically "my" church but I don't go very often so I feel weird about claiming it as my own. Anyway, at the beginning of the year I was going to church a couple times a month and I liked it. I like his preaching style and his outlook. I like his "voice"- not the sound of, but his personality/ character/ brain. It might've restored my faith in "church" (even though most of the time I agree with Amy Farrah Fowler-"I don't object to the concept of a deity, but I'm baffled by the notion of one that takes attendance."
• Many of the people I met when I was going to Indy- for creative ideas and positive attitudes. It's fun to meet new people and learn things. Brittany, Lynn, Nancy, Sacha, Blare, Dawn, Jenn-- these are all pretty cool women from Indy who I met this year. It's nice to have them as acquaintances and if I would move to Indy, it's nice to know there are possible friendships to form
• My online friends and penpals make a difference. Most of them I've never met face to face- Patti, Sam, Jack, Bragger, Annie, Georgette, LR, Tony Mc, Nic- but either through my blog or USPS or email, these people make a difference- many for the same reason as my face to face friends and family. There is something to be said about sharing secrets with a stranger who can be completely objective...
• It might sounds silly but the staff at the local Starbucks make a difference to me because they make me feel like I matter. They know me by name and know my usual. They ask about my dad or dog or work. They ask about the book I was reading the last time I was in. I like that feeling of routine and belonging. (which we can armchair psych evals- after the year I've had, routine is good, duh! Routine means security- duh!)

I'm sure there are more people to this list... people have made a difference this year and for that I thank them all for being in my life, in some way... and for restoring my faith in humanity, one person, one kindness, one selfless act at a time...

Love,
Maggie

I'm probably going to hell for this, or at least have to have a serious conference with God when the time comes

I called our minister at the church a few weeks ago. I wanted to ask him some questions about a part time job opportunity and to discuss some community service outreach ideas I have. And I wanted to talk to him about Social Media marketing the church. He wasn't in and I left a message.

He finally called me back. Three weeks later. By that time I couldn't remember what I wanted. He had been pretty sick and then on vacation. He swears he didn't the message that I called until that day. I laughed and then said, "Well, in my experience ministers don't usually return calls unless someone's dead, having a baby, getting married or wants to give the church a bunch of money."

Oh yeah, I said it. I can't believe I said it. It was out my mouth before I thought. I stumbled around and apologized profusely and said I didn't mean him specifically and just basically rambled and apologized like an idiot. He laughed and said not to worry and he wasn't offended in the least and sometime just being honest is good. And now he knows how I think and he will always make calling me back a priority. And I apologized some more.

As if that wasn't bad enough...

I remembered a few hours later what I wanted and I sent him a text. I didn't think I could bear another phone call. I simplified what I wanted and he responded pretty quickly and made arrangements to get together in the next few weeks to chat. I thanked him very much for getting back to me so quickly, and apologized again for my earlier gaffe. And said, "sometimes my filter doesn't work and I say stupid shit." Then i hit send. Then I re-read what I wrote.

To the minister.

At this point I should've just given up on the minister, the church, God and went back to the heathen that I was so good at being, or else just took a vow of silence. Or found a new church.

I'm apologizing again now, for the profanity, and he sent back text messages that were HILARIOUS! He actually thought it was funny and said that sometimes "there's no other word that's appropriate except for sh**".

I saw him on Sunday morning and he just started laughing before I could say a word. He said I was hilarious and honest and he appreciated that I just would talk and not have to worry about his "job". I said I could be a little more tactful but he said he was not offended in the least, he thought the whole thing was funny, and to not worry about a thing.

At least God didn't strike me down with a lightening bolt.

Yet.

Mags

Crocheting post edit found here

I want to say I hate using Blogger in Microsoft Explorer. I've figured out that 99% of the time I do, there's some weird error.

I wrote the prayer shawl post on Sunday, saved it, then added a paragraph later, and hit publish and today as I re-read it, I discover the added paragraph is gone. So:

Some of the kids wanted to help but had never crocheted before and some has just started learning. This became... an issue. All of the kids had their hearts in the right places but some of them didn't have the crocheting talent to back it up. We had some yarn projects that were... challenging. So God Bless Daddy-O and Curly who "fixed" a bunch: gave them edges, ripped out knots, made shawls longer or wider, and in a couple situations just... um. sorta, maybe took out some stitches and then redid them a bit smoother. This project had 2 angels who made ALL the blankets, shawls, and lap robes able to be used. AND, they each made their own shawls to contribute because I was afraid we wouldn't have enough and the project became HUGE so I didn't want to let anyone down. The ones they made were so pretty, too! (and I have to admit: I can't knit nor crochet so Daddy-O made one for me to contribute!) Thank you Dad and Curly because there is no way I coordinated this alone!

That is the VERY IMPORTANT missing paragraph that stupid Explorer ate!
Mags

Crocheting up a storm

(above is just a partial pile!)

So a few weeks ago I did an art club project with my students that turned into a huge THING. It was supposed to just be a yarn project and a community service project all at once and I was supposed to be behind the scenes and then.... well..... wow.

Daddy-O and Curly make prayer shawls for the prayer shawl ministry at Daddy-O's church (along with other members of the congregation). I have a whole bunch of students at school who can crochet. So I brought prayer shawl samples to school and some patterns, explained the prayer shawl concept, and recruited about 15 kids. I gave them all yarn and 2 weeks to finish. I told them that anyone who made a shawl, a baby blanket, or lap robe would be invited to come to church with me to donate them.

To keep the kids motivated, we meet in the campus chapel to crochet together. They came to the art club space after school and crochet. They crocheted in the library, and of course they could work on their projects in their dorm rooms. While the making and creating is going on with the students and me, there were behind the scenes happening.

Daddy-O told the minister at church and he got together with the woman who coordinates all the prayer shawl donations (who I called to see if she would care if my students made some and then donated them if we had any) and decided to do a special service dedicated to our students who made the yarn projects.

Then on campus, one of the women in the marketing department decided to make the project a the feature project to raise money for our organization. Then the development office sent literature to the church and it became Alcatraz Sunday

Holy Moly!

End count: We had 4 adult volunteers and 14 kids make a total of 24 prayer shawls, baby blankets, and lap robes to donate to the church.

Some of the kids wanted to help but had never crocheted before and some has just started learning. This became... an issue. All of the kids had their hearts in the right places but some of them didn't have the crocheting talent to back it up. We had some yarn projects that were... challenging. So God Bless Daddy-O and Curly who "fixed" a bunch: gave them edges, ripped out knots, made shawls longer or wider, and in a couple situations just... um. sorta, maybe took out some stitches and then redid them a bit smoother. This project had 2 angels who made ALL the blankets, shawls, and lap robes able to be used. AND, they each made their own shawls to contribute because I was afraid we wouldn't have enough and the project became HUGE so I didn't want to let anyone down. The ones they made were so pretty, too! (and I have to admit: I can't knit nor crochet so Daddy-O made one for me to contribute!) Thank you Dad and Curly because there is no way I coordinated this alone! (edited post- this paragraph added later)

Then today I, along with 3 other staff, took 10 of the kids to church where the entire congregation recognized the students. Then the minster blessed the shawls. One of my students (she knew in advance) was asked to say a prayer and did. Two others presented 2 shawls the kids made to a couple in need. An administrator from our facility spoke as part of the service and then the offering for that day was donated to our facility! Wow. Just wow.

I took all the kids out to lunch to celebrate their success. What started as a community service project, a spiritual journey for some, a way to give of themselves and to give back to those in need, to use their many blessings, turned into this wonderful reward for them, and so many others. What a wonderful blessing that day!

Those kids just rock my world more than they will ever know, and they don't know how much they gave to others.

Blessings,
Mags