Month Six: A Sense of Security

The other night I woke up during the middle of the night certain that there was a large snake in the bedroom. I was in that strange state of consciousness that is halfway between awake and asleep. I was awake enough to take note of the time, 11:59, and to remember exactly what happened and the fear I felt, but not awake enough to formulate complex thoughts. I don't recall having dreamt about snakes that night, nor did I recall any snake dreams at the time, so I was all the more certain that there was a large, black snake in the room. I began fidgeting around in the bed, trying to locate the snake, all the while telling my slumbering husband, "I think there's a snake in here, I think there's a snake in here." After what seemed like forever, he responded with a muffled string of grunts. He then rolled over so that his back was to me and went back to sleep. I instantly scooted over to get as close to Chris as possible and said, "well, then Ill stay right next to you so that I'll be safe." And once I was there, I did feel safe and was able to fall right back to sleep. It was all very strange, but I remember how safe I felt once I was next to Chris. It was the same security I felt as a child when I would crawl into bed with my mom after having a bad dream. Being married is more than just sharing a romantic love; it also includes the unconditional love that results in a wonderful sense of security, especially when there's a snake in the room waiting for your bare feet to hit the carpet.

Fourth of July Festivities

The fourth of July in Lubbock brings the annual street fair. Chris and I somehow managed to get up early enough to make it to the morning parade kicking off the festivities, as did the rest of Lubbock. The street was packed.

Of course we saw lots of of horses and convertibles, but in addition to those parade staples there were some pretty amusing entrants. Take for example the trekies with their wishes for long lives and prosperity (it sounds more patriotic when you say it like that)...

I always thought those Scions looked like a refrigerator, but I think a toaster is equally plausible.

The young girls dressed like bratz dolls, singing some hanna montana song as they posed and swung their hips, were creepy. The catholic priest, who was stiffly waving his flag as he tried to ignore the hip-hop station's flagship vehicle blaring loud rap music and carrying a large group of dancing thugs behind him, was amusing. One "colorful" church float touted the slogan, "times are changing." Once I saw their Lubbock-history timeline, with the time period from 1990 to present covered by a giant rainbow flag, the slogan made more sense. The best entrant, however, was the Lubbock Republicans, whose float was a giant oil barrel painted with the campaign slogan "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less." The oil barrel, ironically, was pulled by a gas guzzling Hummer.

After watching these and other equally amusing entrants ride by for an hour, we were ready for breakfast. Tripas anyone???