Ten on the Tenth -- A List of Ten Totally Random Things

Obviously, I've had some difficulty coming up with a topic for this month's "Ten on the Tenth".  So here's a totally random list of ten things that have been on my mind lately...

1.  May is Brain Tumor/Brain Cancer Awareness Month.  Who knew?  Clearly "gray" doesn't get the same amount of press as "pink."  And yet, the number of people affected by brain tumors is staggering.  And many, many of them are children.  In fact, brain tumors are the most commonly occurring solid tumors in children.  The average age at which they appear is six years old.  Six years old!  This month I'm sporting my gray ribbon, promoting brain cancer awareness.

2.  Bethany's track season wrapped up with a second place finish in the high jump at the state track meet. Yes, I know that is very good, but no amount of back slapping could convince Bethany that second place was good enough.  She really wanted to win, and had a good chance, because she actually came into state competition with the highest jump in the state for a female athlete at a 2A school.  She would have been somewhat consoled with a first place finish for her track team, but would you believe they came in second place by only half a point?  Half a point!  Oh well, there's always next year!  Here's a picture of the track team with their second place trophy ... Just try to ignore the first place team celebrating in the background!  Yes, I know I should crop them out, but something about them being in the picture just makes me chuckle.

3.  This time of year always seems to bring out my inner Eeyore.  All the awards banquets, graduation festivities, etc., bring back such difficult memories of what would have been Hannah's senior year.  She loved school so much, and she would have enjoyed every minute of her senior year.  I have to remind myself that she did enjoy every minute of that year ... way more than she would have if she had been stuck at school all day!

4.  I can't believe that it's almost the end of Bethany's junior year.  As of May 24th, when this year's current crop of seniors graduates, she will officially become a senior herself.  As that is something we never experienced with Hannah, it seems somewhat surreal.

5.  Speaking of Bethany, she did not go to school today.  As a reward for performing well on their end-of-course exams the previous year, students are given a free day out of school, which they can use whenever they want.  So she took the day off today.  And on her day off, she didn't go to the mall, or to the lake.  She didn't even sleep in.  Instead, she went to Yell County and fixed up her sister's grave.  Her friend Brad came along, and they laid sod, placed bricks, and planted flowers.  You can't really tell from the picture, but Hannah's grave is on a relatively steep hill.  The brick wall they made will nicely define it.  I really can't tell you what a gift this is to me.  I really want her grave to look pretty, but I just can not bring myself to work on it.  When I am there, it's all I can do just to breathe.  Maybe this will help me feel more comfortable there.

6.  I can't write a post this time of year without mentioning American Idol.  It's been an interesting season.  I really liked Colton because of his unabashed Christian faith ... I loved his performance of "Piano Man", and I hated to see him go.  Joshua is an amazingly talented singer, and his rendition of "When A Man Loves A Woman" was absolutely inspired.  Jessica and Hollie are great, too ... I just prefer male voices over female voices.  I would have to say Phillip is my favorite this year ... I always tend to lean toward the guys who are unique and different.  I've been wondering all season which one would have been Hannah's favorite.  So hard to imagine would she would have been like at age twenty.

7.  Speaking of American Idol, I downloaded Scotty McCreery's new album the other day.  It's good ... really good.

8.  You must pre-order this book on Amazon, or you can wait until May 22nd, when it will be available everywhere.  It is the story of Navy Seal Adam Brown, the son of our dear friends and "While We're Waiting" ministry partners, Larry and Janice Brown.  The Browns are already being sought for radio and television interviews in advance of the book release, and rightfully so.  This is actually why we do not have any While We're Waiting events scheduled until late summer/early fall.

9.  Just like Humpty Dumpty, I had a great fall the other day.  And yes, I actually fell off of a wall!  We have an ivy-covered stone wall that lines the edge of our driveway, and I decided to weed that patch of ivy early last week.  I was probably about six feet off the ground when I lost my footing and crashed onto the black asphalt driveway below.  It was one of those falls that seems to happen in slow motion.  I knew I was falling, I knew there was no way to catch myself, and I literally felt each part of my body as it hit the asphalt.  My right knee, my left hip, my left elbow, and the back of my right wrist.  Don't ask me how I landed on the back of my wrist ... I can't really explain that one!  No serious injuries, just some bruises and a couple of very deep scrapes.  You know, it's been a long time since I've been scraped up like that, and wow, does it hurt!  It's been almost two weeks now, and I'm just now getting close to being able to bend and straighten my left elbow without pain.  The worst part has been everyone asking me what happened.  "I pulled a Humpty Dumpty" just doesn't satisfy most people's curiosity.

10.  School is almost out!  May 24th is coming up very quickly, and frankly, it just can't get here quickly enough for me.  After last year's snow-day-shortened summer, this summer is going to feel luxuriously long.  Sooooo looking forward to it!

So there you have it ... ten totally random things that have been rolling around in my mind over the last several weeks.  Hopefully you enjoyed the ride!