From the Forgotten Meme File

I was tagged for two memes about seventeen years ago, and I have yet to post them. Why? Because I forgot they were in my drafts folder. Oh, and they weren't finished. I always feel very responsible for memes sent my way, and I like to finish them and release them back into the wild. Apologies to Barb and Janeen for the delayed answers, but thanks for tagging me! (I always feel so validated. It must be a complex from all the years of rejection in gym!)


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Meme #1: The Moaning Meme, sent my way by Janeen at Our Story, via Freelance Cynic



Name 4 things that should go into Room 101 and be removed from the face of the Earth:

• That nasty syrup you have to drink during a pregnancy glucose test. I was just talking to my sister-in-law, who threw up in the middle of hers, and I relived all three of those tests. There has got to be a better way. What about a Twix bar and a Coke? Or a whole bag of Skittles? Now that would be a test for the old pancreas.


• All baby toys that do not come with a volume control.



• Ultra low rise jeans - and not just because they would give me an unsightly muffin-top.


• Commercials at the movies. Hello, I just took out a small loan to purchase tickets and popcorn, not to mention the babysitter, I do not want to sit and watch commercials that I can't fast forward!

Name 3 things that people do that make you want to shake them violently:

• When they drive with their toddlers bouncing around in the car instead of a car seat! When I can look through your window and see your child, who is much smaller than my four year old, climbing back and forth between the front seat and the back, I want to smack your face off. Buckle your kids!


• When telemarketers call and they are eating. Not just chewing gum, which is also annoying, but tucking into a nice full meal while they are mispronouncing your name and taking you away from your own dinner.


• When people park in the spaces reserved for pregnant women/parents with children. I realize this is a courtesy space, but when you park there with your teenager just because it says "Parents with children" - come on, now, my friends. I think we all know this is for people with babies in infant carriers, or at least non-ambulatory children.

Name 2 things you find yourself moaning about:

• The fact that we have been without a dishwasher for a long time, and that we keep getting jerked around by the crappy installation guys.


• That our lovely new dishwasher is sitting in a warehouse, while our old, broken, fire-hazard of a dishwasher sits here taunting me every time I fill the sink to do the dishes. (see a theme here?)

Name 1 thing that all of the above says about you as a person: I should probably just become a hermit. Then I won't have to worry about fashion, dishes, or stupid drivers because I'll be in a cave eating locusts and honey with my hands.

Oh, shoot, I was supposed to do this first: Name 5 people who would be annoyed that I've tagged them for a silly meme. Hmm, I never was very good at completely reading instructions. I always just stop somewhere in the middle. Oh, well - I'm tagging . . .

Kim, Meg, T, Amy, and Sara. (and I hope you're not really annoyed because you can always blow it off!)

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Meme #2: 5 Things I Love About Jesus, sent my way by Barb

Confession the First: I thought I'd end my Meme Round-Up with something uplifting since I just spent the past meme realizing how whiny I am. Especially after Rob said he would play along with The Moaning Meme, and his number one answer to "What would you remove from the face of the Earth" was famine. Famine! I told him that the meme was more selfish than that, and then I got on my Huffy bike and went off to self-centeredly brood about how selfish I am.

Confession the Second: Am I the only one to have found this meme to be difficult? I had trouble coming up with five things that sounded like they didn't come out of a Vacation Bible School lesson. It's not that I can't think of enough, it's just that I can't articulate the things I want to say. You'll probably read these and wish that I took my answers from Vacation bible School.

1. I love that Jesus said Suffer the little children unto me. I know that the translation we hear now is Let the little children come to me, but I learned it as Suffer the little children. I never understood it as a child, but I surely get it now and I want to shout it out to all those who feel that children do not belong at a liturgy. I know kids can be disruptive and noisy, and I have been at my fair share of Masses where parents have let their children do some shockingly awful things. However, the vast majority of parents I know will take their children out to the vestibule before they become a true distraction (our church does not have a cry room). I also know that many of my friends of different denominations cannot believe that my children do not have a Sunday school program to attend while I go to Mass. That's not an option for me, but I take comfort in the fact that Jesus knew it made others- His own disciples, as a matter of fact - uncomfortable to let the children crowd around. And He told them to suffer it.

2. I love that Jesus loved His Mother so openly and deeply. Here's the thing: Jesus is God, and He could have chosen any way He wanted to come to Earth. The path He chose was through a woman; a woman he respected, obeyed, and cherished. When Mary went to him at the wedding feast at Cana, He wasn't ready to start His work. He wasn't ready to start the miracles, and the publicity of it all. But His Mother asked Him to help this newly married couple, and He did it because she asked. I really love that.

3. I love that Jesus picked the outcasts as His closest friends. He picked the tax collector, the guy He knew would deny Him at a critical moment, the rabble-rousers, "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17) - even the man who would betray him. He lived with them, traveled with them, ate with them, and loved them all deeply.

4. I love that Jesus forgives everything, no matter how awful, if you are truly sorry. I think I love this so much because I have such trouble with forgiveness; I am a great torch-bearer for past wrongs. I love that St. Dismus repented as his last act, and Jesus told him that on that very day he would be with Him in Paradise. Boom, right there, no grudges, no nothing. This day you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:40).

5. I love that Jesus came back to comfort His disciples after His Resurrection. Think about it: this was a pretty dangerous time for the disciples, and they were hiding out in the Upper Room, and wondering what to do next. They had given up everything to follow a man who had just been killed for what He taught. Who do you think was next on the list? Jesus came back to them because He loved them, He didn't want them to be afraid, and He wanted them to remain strong.

I think I'm supposed to tag some people now, so I'm going to get crazy and tag some people I've never tagged before! (Don't feel obligated, especially if you've been tagged with this already :)

Angie at Many Little Blessings

Nutmeg at Life in a Nutshell

Muddy Mama

4andcounting (I've tagged her before, but not for a long time!)

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Whew! Feeling much better now that my Meme slate is clean and they have been duly foisted off on sent to their new Blogville homes.