Grill, and Cooking Bowls

Today has been a bit of a sad day that spilled over from last night. My husband is generally a GREAT gift giver, and spoils me quite often. However, even he slips up occasionally and gives "bad" gifts. Four years ago for Christmas he bought me a Cockatiel because he would watch me play with my mom's Cockatiel and thought that meant I wanted one of my own. The truth of the matter was I felt sorry for her bird because no one ever played with it. But Chris never asked, he just assumed I would love a bird for my very own.

So needless to say when I opened my gift I was quite surprised and not very enthused. I started reading up on the animal and learned that they have a life span of 18-20 years. I thought GREAT! I now have a fourth child! But Spike, as he was later named, grew on me. I even taught him to whistle certain tunes..."whistle while you work" and the song they whistle on the Breakfast Club (don't know the name of the tune).

I was so excited when we got this house because that meant Spike could spend many hours whistling in the sun, without ever becoming annoying. We brought him over Friday and he passed away last night. I am not sure of the reason. The boys would go three days at a time without feeding him fresh food at the old house, and it had been that long last night when I went to give fresh food. But he was very lethargic and non responsive. He died sometime between 3 AM and 6 AM this morning.

I feel like I have committed such an atrocious sin. God created that bird for no other reason than to sing, and I basically killed it--I killed something innocent. Some of you may be laughing hysterically right now, and if so I am glad I could humor you. But I do feel quite guilty/responsible for his death. I remember praying last night that the Lord would simply not let him suffer. I can't imagine the pain/guilt if Spike would have been human.

But I have been trying to keep busy unpacking my kitchen and even though Chris is at work he has provided quite a bit of comedic relief for me today, and thus THAT is the real reason for this post. He labeled many of the boxes in the kitchen and so opening them was always a surprise. One was labeled Metal Pans--translation--Cake pans. Another was labeled Grill and cooking bowls--translation--electric skillet and casserole dishes. The final one was labeled flat pans. Any guesses? Those were cookie sheets. I am amazed at his brilliance in a restaurant kitchen, but in our own kitchen he still confuses tablespoons with teaspoons in recipes. Sometimes a tablespoon of salt is just too much for an enchilada casserole. He tells me it is because he is used to cooking in such large quantities anyway. But he lifted my spirits a bit today simply because he tried.

My hope for you when you're having a bad/sad day is that the Lord would send you someone who, without even trying, will bring a smile to your face and place joy in your heart. I've gotta go...bathroom boxes are waiting now.