The Good, The Bad, and the Just Plain Wrong

THE GOOD

This morning was the women’s brunch at church. It was, as usual, awesome. I always come away feeling so… so… oh, I don’t know. Pumped. Stoked. Charged. Psyched. Wanting more. (Beans – I’m so sad you weren’t there! I missed you!!) Thankfully, there is plenty more to come. And plenty more for me to share as we go. In fact, I will probably do a more thorough post on today’s brunch at a later date, but I’ve got other stuff to share today. Just know this morning’s event was The Good. Or maybe I should say The Really Good.

THE BAD

My sleep quality hasn’t been the greatest lately. It seems like the only time I get a good night’s sleep is when I take Advil PM. But then I have a hard time getting up in the morning so I have to make sure I have about nine hours before I have to be awake. Which means I very rarely take the medicine and last night was no exception.

The alarm was set for 6:10 (because 6:10 sounds so much better than 6:00 on a Saturday) and I went to bed a little after ten. I slept great! I vaguely remember lightly surfacing from a deep sleep and feeling overjoyed at the wonderful night of sleep I was having.

I slept so deeply that I never heard the back window of Todd’s truck break when the fist-sized rock was hurled through it. Nor did I hear the vandals nearly rip the dashboard off as they attempted to get to the stereo. I didn’t even hear the doorbell when the policeman rang it somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30 this morning and I didn’t notice that Todd had gotten up, mumbled something about the door and padded downstairs to see what was going on.

Very shortly after that, however, I did wake up and I watched the policeman and Todd look through his truck. I saw the policeman get in the squad car and drive off while Todd came up the walkway and into the house. Apparently some thugs came through our safe, quiet neighborhood, smashing car windows and performing mayhem upon vehicles parked on the street. As far as anyone could tell, however, nothing was taken.




We decided to stay here instead of going to New Jersey, hoping our insurance guy would get in touch with us today. Todd doubtfully called the concert venue to see if we could get a refund or a credit for our tickets and had to leave a message. Surprisingly, a woman from the box office called and while she wasn’t able to give us a refund, we will get to choose a future event so we weren’t out the money for the tickets.

I suppose I maybe got a little cocky in my last post, talking about how you shouldn’t be jealous of me and all that. I’ve learned my lesson.

THE JUST PLAIN WRONG

One of Katie’s good friends from church lives next door to her grandparents. They also attend our church and are loved by everyone who knows them. Her grandfather is going through chemotherapy for brain cancer. As if that’s not enough stress, the township they live in is wanting their land for another park, even though there are parks aplenty already. And the township isn’t wanting to pay anywhere near fair market value. This is the first time I’ve ever known someone who may lose their home because of eminent domain.

I know most of you who read this blog don’t live near here, but this can happen anywhere. You can read more about the atrocious situation at this website which has been set up for the purpose of disseminating information. There is also an on-line petition you can sign if you’d like to. But even if you don’t want to read the website or sign the petition, please pray for these families.

17 Comments

  1. Girl on September 13, 2008 at 9:58 pm

    That plain sucks. I am so sorry for the bad…

  2. beans on September 13, 2008 at 11:49 pm

    Ugh . . .I am so sorry I missed it too. I should have been there-the thing I had to go to wasn’t nearly as helpful as it could have been cause I kept wondering why I wasn’t there. I even got a text from someone there asking me if I was coming–not sure who, but I was thought of and missed 🙁 Thanks for missing me, too!Sucks about the car–that is an awful feeling . . someday I will tell you my story of my car being striped in Philly. Sorry you have to deal with that.Not sleeping is rough. I have tried simply sleep by Tylenol and it seems to work better than advil pm–not so much of an effect-enough to get me to sleep and nothing extra.hugs–see you tomorrow maybe???

  3. beans on September 13, 2008 at 11:50 pm

    oh, and even crappier about the umsteads . . .i can’t believe that is even a legal thing to do . . i signed and will send along to my peeps in hope they, too, will sign.and no jars of clay for you . . .sheesh . . .

  4. Becky on September 14, 2008 at 12:01 am

    That makes me SPITTING MAD. (That means really, really mad!)Malicious mischief really gripes me. As does that whole eminent domain thing. Especially for the poor guy going through Chemo.Glad you at least got a good nights sleep and a nice women’s luncheon out of the day. 😉

  5. CindyS on September 14, 2008 at 12:09 am

    Horrible about the truck but like you said, that’s just the bad. I’m horrified that the city would not pay market value for the property – I wonder if they could get a ‘pro-bono’ lawyer. Up here you have to offer market value although Hydro can offer you money for just the value of the land part they need for their towers. Uh, no. You would need to buy me out!I really hope the family can find help – it looks like they will have lots of support.(((Jen)))))CindyS

  6. Colorado Writer on September 14, 2008 at 2:01 pm

    What a drag! All of it.

  7. Swishy on September 14, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    Oh my gosh!! I am sorry about your car. I am glad you had a good time at the brunch, though 🙂

  8. Sing4joy on September 14, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    Sickening. Just sickening. Except the women’s thingy in the morning!

  9. Tina on September 14, 2008 at 8:08 pm

    Jen,That really stinks about Todd’s truck. It just goes to show that it can happen anywhere. I enjoyed hanging with you at the brunch. It really was a nice program and the topic was right on the money.As far as the Umsteads, I am so proud of the people in our church who are getting behind these families. There is strength in numbers and Perkiomen Township doesn’t know who they are messin with!

  10. creative-type dad on September 15, 2008 at 1:52 am

    That makes me angry just thinking about it (the car window)What’s wrong with people! Things like that really make me wish karma was real.

  11. Monnik on September 15, 2008 at 9:56 am

    Oh no! I’m sorry about your car, but even sorrier for Katie’s friend’s grandparents… I’m amazed at how sucky that is!!!Hope things turn up and that you have a fabulous week.

  12. Lynilu on September 15, 2008 at 10:41 am

    Many ouches there. Sorry, first for the vandalism. It open the feelings of vulnerability and just throws them everywhere. Second for the sleep. Lack of quality sleep puts a pall on everything, doesn’t it? I hope you find your balance in that soon. The body gets so wonky with sleep disruptions. And as to the eminent domain …. GAH! My son was faced with that at one time. He was fortunate that it was dropped, and I hope your friends are similarly blessed. You know, except for the extreme situations [and I can’t think of a particular example] that is a law that should never be used. My prayers for everyone. And hugs around, too.

  13. Barrie on September 15, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    How horrible about your truck! (I haven’t read the link yet) Thank goodness you had a great brunch.

  14. mel on September 15, 2008 at 9:18 pm

    thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment about ‘knowing-kinda’ terry. cool about the little rock church. i read your blog but not as often as i’d like to lately. if you saw my previous posts of the past week, you’d see the busyness of life….God bless.

  15. His Girl on September 16, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    *stomps feet in indignation*

  16. Lainey-Paney on September 17, 2008 at 9:34 am

    I’m sorry for the bad too.There were quite a few people in Texas that lost their homes for the new Cowboys Stadium.:(Sorry ’bout the stereo/window.Sorry you missed the concert.Sorry you aren’t sleeping well.

  17. Rowena on September 20, 2008 at 12:34 am

    I’m glad you enjoyed The Good, I’m sorry about the Bad and the Just Plain Wrong sucks…HUGS sweetie!

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