Actually, It's NOT ok...

"It's ok."

Two little words...

...that I'm starting to think that I use TOO often.

Call my cynical. Call me "not very Christian-like." Call me whatever. It's true.

For example, the next door neighbors have 3 little children all under the age of six. I come home the other day to find them playing outside completely unsupervised. When I pulled up they stopped everything and stared. I smiled, said hi, and went inside. Later that night, as I'm unsuccessfully cooking dinner I managed to burn an entire pot of oil. Imagine fire alarms going off, smoke pouring out the windows, etc. In a moment of panic I took the hot pot outside onto the back porch and left it there to continue scorching while I go back in and try again. A few minutes later I hear scuffling on my back porch. I peek out the window to find little girl, the ring leader of the three, sitting on a chair on our back porch. I'm worried she's going to mess with the scalding hot oil and so I flung open the door sending her into a scurry that could put Speedy Gonzales to shame. No harm. No foul...YET.

Today I come home and find several rocks from our front path in the street. And 3 little innocent faces smiling at me from my own front yard. Again, smile, say hi, go inside. Later, I got outside to bring the trash can from the curb and find our Welcome mat is missing. Now this isn't any regular old Welcome mat. This is a $30 Welcome mat that Will and I received as a wedding present. This baby is designed to withstand acid rain, pestilence, and whatever elements might get thrown at it.  Ok, so maybe I made that last bit up, but needless to say I like the darn thing. On a hunch, I take a spontaneous "walk" down the street and after a bit of lurking find my Welcome mat in their bushes surrounded by a bunch of McDonalds toys.

I gathered up all my courage (and believe me it took courage, just ask my sister who for the greater part of my life had to ring doorbells for me) and knocked on their door. Before the woman could even get a word in edgewise these words come stumbling out: "Yourchildrentookmywelcomematandhavebeenloiteringonmyporchlately but IT'S OK."

ACTUALLY. It's not.

Kind of like it's NOT ok that I provide you paper, pencils, erasers, calculators, snacks, and graph paper but you STILL take the 15 pencils off MY desk to turn your sonic cup into a model of Sputnik.

And it's NOT ok that I scheduled a meeting with you a week ago and you failed to show up and I've been begging you to come sign papers that require your signature and are now due which means I'm fielding nasty emails because I'M the one not on top of things!

Yet I continue to find myself saying..."Oh yes, I understand." "No biggie.""Don't sweat it."

I'm sure God's got a lesson in here somewhere but right now I'm too cranky to learn it. And lucky for me God doesn't mind saying "It's ok."

Phew.