August 6 – “Speaking of …”

Great interchange between Cailyn and Chris went down yesterday.  As we sat at the supper table Cailyn was obviously lost in deep thought.  Finally she rejoined us with this sequence of conversation:
Cailyn: “Who was your favorite princess when you were a little girl, Nani?”
Chris: “It had to be either Cinderella or Snow White.”
Me (I couldn’t resist this temptation, so I whispered to Chris): “They were the only princesses.”
Cailyn: “Did you have a doll of them?”
Chris: “They didn’t make dolls of them back then.”
Cailyn: “Did you have costumes of them?”
Chris: “No.  They didn’t make costumes either.”
Cailyn (becoming more incredulous by the moment): “Did you see them on TV?”
Chris: We didn’t have a TV when I was little.  Or a phone.”
Cailyn (Now not sure what to believe, and with just a tiny hint of sarcasm): “Yeah, and my Daddy said that the phone used to be stuck onto the wall.”
Sigh.  Ain’t nostalgia grand?

Speaking of the supper table, we heard about one of those mystery delicacies that Cailyn just loves.  “It comes in long, skinny pieces and you just grab it with your teeth and it’s hard to bite off and then you just chew it and chew it and I really like it a lot.”  Figured that one out yet?  Of course.  It has to be none other than “Beef Turkey.”  Her Daddy gets her that all the time.

Oh, and speaking of her Daddy.  I finally got indirectly introduced to one of the leaders at her cheerleading practice.  After a shy little wave in my general direction, Cailyn casually pointed over at me and announced, “That’s my DadDad.”  Wow.  I was glowing, I’m sure.  She was proud enough of me to actually point me out to her coach.  And then she continued, “He’s my Daddy’s chaplain.”  Hear that creaking, groaning, crackling sound?  Not to worry.  That would just be my ever-morphing sense of identity. 

Speaking of cheerleading, we learned another one of their favorites yesterday.  It seems to be one of those behavior brainwashing, compete-with-yourself attempts couched in rhyme.  Goes something like this:

Good better best

Never let it rest
‘Til your good is better
and your better is best

Chris was not altogether convinced about the philosophy behind the words, though.  I think she was worried that it was putting too much pressure on the girls.  I assured her that it was still quite benign.  In fact it really didn’t even fit into the category of athletics quite yet.  That wouldn’t happen until they added the next line:

Good better best

Never let it rest
‘Til your good is better
and your better is best
And your best is better than all the rest.

Now that’s the spirit I remember from my old coaches.  I can still hear it now … “Get past that feel-good-about yourself stuff and onto what matters – winning.”  Sigh. 

Ephesians 2:6 says, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”

Father, now that’s a sense of identity I can really get excited about.  Thank you.  Amen.