Thursday, August 19, 2010

The good news... and the bad.

The good news is that I spent the past two days in Dallas and had a great time with my family. I spent the first night with my mom and stepdad, and my mom and I went to dinner and saw Eat Pray Love together. I adore Julia Roberts, so I would have enjoyed the movie no matter what, but I have to say that it wasn't nearly as good as the book. There's something about the author's (incredibly clever and wonderful) writing style that didn't translate very well to the movie screen. But I enjoyed my time with my mom anyway. :)

The next night, I had dinner with my dad, stepmom, brother and sister-in-law for an early birthday celebration (I turn 25 on Sunday...). Faith and my brother (well, probably mostly Faith) got me Pioneer Woman's cookbook for my birthday, and I can't wait to cook all of the wonderful recipes inside!


So that's the good news. The bad news is that, on my way back to Houston, I got a big, fat speeding ticket. Apparently I was going 81 in a 60 zone. Oops! So it looks like I'll be forking over $300 and spending a few hours learning how to drive defensively sometime soon.

Also, I found out today that the fellowship with the US Attorney's Office here in Houston fell through. For a lot of frustrating reasons that I won't bore you with, they were unable to get my background check completed in enough time for me to be able to participate in the fellowship. But, honestly, I'm just trusting that the Lord has things taken care of, and I'm just trying to stay out of His way. :)

So the first half of my drive back to Houston was pretty crappy, but the second half was much better.

I stopped at the Jack-in-the-Box in Centerville for a bathroom break and a quick lunch, and I got in line in between a teenage boy and a seventy year-old cattle rancher in overalls. The young guy was first in line, and he was flirting with the cashier. When she told him that he owed $11.65, he pulled two five-dollar bills out of his pocket and said that he'd have to run out to his car to grab some more money. We all smiled at each other awkwardly as he ran out to his car.

When he came back in he handed the cashier $1.15 in change, looked at the cash register, and said "Oh crap! I didn't grab enough money! Let me go get some more." I grabbed two quarters out of my purse and handed them to the cashier. The kid smiled at me, said "Thanks!" and continued flirting with the cashier.

After I placed my order, I walked over to fill my kid-size cup with diet coke (I have to ration my liquid intake on road trips or else I'll have to stop every thirty minutes to pee - my bladder is apparently the size of a five year old's). The adorable old man in the overalls had also ordered, and he came over to me with a handful of change.

"Was it fifty cents that you had to pay for that young man's meal?" he asked, in an adorable Texas drawl.

"Oh, please don't worry about it, sir. It was no problem at all," I replied.

"Well, how about we go halvsies?" he said with a smile, handing me a quarter.

I sensed that I'd offend him if I refused, so I took the quarter he offered.

My meal was ready, and as I grabbed my tacos and mini churros (don't judge me... they're delicious), I heard the old man talking about "working for the cows." It reminded me of my childhood, when my dad, uncle, and Papaw complained so much about the "damn cows" getting out of the fence that I started to believe that "damn cows" were a special breed.

As I walked out the door, the old man turned around and said, "You drive safe now, you hear?" I just loved how adorable and southern he was, and it made me wish I was driving toward my hometown instead of Houston. There definitely aren't enough adorable old men in overalls in this town. Nevertheless, for the rest of the drive, every time I glanced down at the quarter sitting in the bottom of my cup holder, I pictured Micah and me, fifty years from now, sitting on our front porch and holding hands. I couldn't help but smile. :)

And, speaking of Micah, the very best news of all is that today is the eight-year anniversary of the day that Micah and I started dating. What a wonderful day that was! You can click here to read about how my cute husband won me over.

1 comment:

Sarah McM said...

Happy Date-i-sary! I love remembering those fun times, first falling in love... sigh.........

So sorry about the fellowship falling through. Frown. I also believe God has plans for you and just hasn't filled you in yet.

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