Not Me Monday: Not a Hard Week

We did not have the kind of week that felt like an uphill battle. First, Michael did not get chigger bites while we were not camping last week. We did not try the new Off Clip-ons which protect against mosquitoes but little else so we did not think we were protected from all bugs and sit on the ground while setting up. Several of the bites he did not get did not become infected either, and his feet and ankles did not swell up like a pregnant woman's. The doctor did not give him a shot and an antibiotic, and he did not have an allergic reaction to one or both of those. He was not dizzy and nauseated for two days. The doctor did not advise him to buy clear nail polish and paint his wounds with it. We could not have avoided the infection and the expense of a doctor's visit and prescription by buying a $2 bottle of this polish to begin with. I did not immediately begin to paint his bites and the boys and mine. I did not get dizzy and feel nauseated for two days from the paint fumes.

I did not enjoy substitute teaching at an ESL program this week either. My students were not as cute as could be, and we did not have any fun together. There were not any confusing, language barrier moments either. For instance, Michael, who also did not teach ESL, did not visit my classroom while I was not teaching my second class. This was not a girls-only class. After he did not leave, they did not giggle about having not met my husband. Later in the class, I did not explain to the girls that I would not talk to their regular teacher over the weekend. They did not wonder how I know their teacher. After not explaining that she is my friend, they did not look at each other with raised eyebrows and giggle. One of the girls did not ask me how many friends I have. I did not think her question opened the door to a teachable moment and I did not ramble on for three or four minutes about who all my friends are not. I did not explain that I am not friends with people at church or my doctor or the banker… or just about everyone in town. I did not think discussing all these different people would exercise their vocabulary, so I did not list almost anyone with whom I am even slightly acquainted. I did not pull out the map, point to different states and say, "I have a friend in Tennessee, and a friend in Ohio, and another friend in Illinois." While I was not rambling on, one of the girls did not interrupt and say, "Excuse me. What did you call the man who came in earlier?" I did not immediately understand what the giggles and strange looks had been about. I did not feel like crawling under the table either. I did not instead quickly explain that Michael is my "HUSBAND" and the these other people are my "FRIENDS". I did not follow up with "1 husband... many friends." This did not open the door to a conversation about my wedding day and Christian marriage.

I did not dress up like Martha Washington and teach my students about Independence Day either. I would never wear costumes while teaching... so not me!

Not Me with the Boys

They had not brought show and tell items that represent the phonemes they were learning... like "giraffe" for short i and short a.

Nothing exciting happened on the home front either. Like, the air conditioner did not stop working… twice. A month ago, it did not stop working either, and we did not call the repairman. When the repairman did not arrive, he did not go to the thermostat and switch it on. We had not switched it off the night before so it would not run needlessly. Cool air did not immediately begin flowing from the vents as soon as he did not flip the switch. We did not pay over $100 for the repairman to come to our house and turn on the thermostat.

We did not think that perhaps the last time the a/c did not stop working that the coils had not frozen. We did not wonder if turning it off over night had given them time to thaw so that it would not work the next day for the repairman. We did not decide to try turning it off for a day again before not calling the repairman. We have not gone one day with air and the next day without all week. We are not thankful for ceiling fans and box fans and cool showers and popsicles because we do not live in the deep south where it is not hot… not hot at all.

I have not been slightly envious of my southern friend who now lives in the North who had to wear a sweatshirt to a July 4th bonfire. I did not think it ironic that while she was missing the hot South, I was longing for the cool North. This did not make me think about the fact that while I am hot, others are cold. Each time I did not refuse to turn on the oven because it would only add to the heat and did not struggle to feed my family, I also did not remember that there are those who have gone days without food. I did not imagine while I was unable to do laundry because the drier would make the house unbearable that there are many others in the world without a change of clothes. I did not have a heightened awareness each time I could not get a glass of water cold enough that there are those who could not get water at all. It was not a week of contemplating Christ and finding my contentment in Him alone. I did not remember that while our trials are temporary, the seeds we planted among the Korean community will be watered by God and the growth that He produces will last forever.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2Cor 4:16-18