Saturday, September 8, 2007

I don't dream a whole lot - at least not that I can remember - but when I do, I like to see it as my mind telling me things I wouldn't ordinarily take the time to listen to while I'm awake. Some dreams are crazy montages of what's going on in my life, which just means my life is busy, but last night I had one that I feel was a very significant picture of what's going on in my life right now.

I went to a bowling alley with my friends, and the place was packed. There was only one lane open, but it was so crowded in front of the lane we had to try to bowl from the next lane over. Needless to say we weren't doing very well. Then another lane opened, but it was the end lane, and the wall on the right side was so far into the lane that we couldn't enjoy ourselves there either because the whole time we were concentrating on not hitting the wall instead of bowling.

Just when we got to the point where we never wanted to see a bowling ball ever again, a lane opened that we could actually use all to ourselves. It was...freedom. For once we were not worrying about what was going on in the lanes around us, and there were no obstacles directly in our path to divert our attention, and we could just bowl.

Sometimes there are things we want to be doing in our lives, but there just aren't any lanes open. When a lane seems to opens up, it's someone else's lane, or the conditions are so difficult that trying to do it is so frustrating it's worse than not doing it at all. But one day the lane is going to open up, and when it does...ah the freedom!

'Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.' (Proverbs 13:12).

Posted by Kelley at 5:15pm 1 Comment
 

Saturday, August 25, 2007

For some reason, I have always had good luck winning on the radio. Not the lottery (although admittedly it's hard to win when you don't play), not golf, and certainly not gambling (my only reference being a Spring Break trip to Las Vegas, where I lost $20 on the nickel slots before cutting my losses and facing the inevitable).

But when it comes to radio contests, especially Q100, I have pretty good luck. Do I get through all the time? No. But I am one of the few people who actually have to worry about the rule that says you can only win once in 30 days.

So on my way in to work on Monday, I was listening to the Bert Show as per usual, and I called in to win passes to a Bowling with the Backstreet Boys party. Am I a fan? No. But it sounded like fun. Imagine my surprise when I got through, and even more when I realized this was actually a very small, closed party. The feelings of superiority and smugness didn't take long to settle in.

Last Wednesday was the big day. Monica & I went to Ten Pin Alley at Atlantic Station where the other dozen-ish girls were waiting. We went in & were treated to great food as we awaited the Big Arrival. Bert from the Bert show came around introducing himself, so we had fun chatting with him. After a few minutes, they told us to gather at the steps for the interview with Howie and Nick. Monica & I let the actual fans congregate and found ourselves a cozy little spot on the stairs where we could entertain ourselves by watching the hysterical girls and the interview at the same time. Our favorite quote of the day came from one winner who said (choking back tears), "I promised myself I wasn't going to cry!"....Seriously??

After the Bert Show members finished interviewing Nick & Howie, they told us to line up, get our bowling shoes & get a photo with them (shown). Jeff Dauler from the Bert Show was the overseer of the photo line, so we introduced ourselves, chatted & got a photo with him. Then the real entertainment began.

I can't even describe the scene. To put it mildly, Nick & Howie were immediately surrounded. Eventually the girls finished jockeying for positions, and the bowling began. They were very sweet actually and very good with the fans. At that point it was evident they have been in the business for 15 years and know how to handle themselves.

We hung out for quite a while and took photos, but then Monica & I decided we should get back to the office, so we said our thanks and goodbyes on the way out and went on our merry way.

All in all a very fun adventure!

Posted by Kelley at 7:37pm Back to Top 2 Comments
 

Friday, August 10, 2007

Last week I went to the funeral of a guy I went to high school with - Chris Tyler. To be honest, I didn't really know him in high school. I only went to Wheeler my last two years, so it was little more than a buffer between Westminster and Auburn.

But when I found out he had committed suicide, I was strangely affected by it. This was a guy who was popular, played football, and was voted best looking of our senior class. It's not hard to see why. I think I only really talked to him four or five times, but he really left an impression in those few moments because he would really give me his full attention and was a very warm, genuine person. So I really felt compelled to go to his funeral, despite our limited contact, just to pay my respects.

The service was very moving, and I was very impressed with the pastor because he was not afraid to address the fact that Chris committed suicide. What he said really impacted me. He said knowing Chris as he did, he could say beyond a shadow of a doubt that if Chris had the chance come and stand before us, he would say he had made a very serious mistake, and if he had it to do over again, he would have kept fighting, no matter how bad things might have seemed.

Chris was very gregarious and caring - he kept all the bad stuff to himself. He struggled with depression, but nobody knew the extent of the problem until it was too late. That got me thinking. No way would he have done this if he had known how everyone saw him - how they cared about him, and what they really thought of him. No way would he have done this if he knew, really knew, how much he meant even to people like me who barely knew him.

So I sat there thinking about all the people I care about in my life. Do they know? Has anyone ever told them how much they are appreciated? Not likely. And they need to know. They need to know what it is I like about them, what I see when I look at them, and why I love spending time with them. I totally stink at it, but I have decided to make that a priority. It matters!

Posted by Kelley at 6:41pm Back to Top 0 Comments