Take that, ordinary life!

So, I was throwing myself a huge pity-party this morning. HUGE. GINORMOUS. Seems that it's the only kind of party I can throw these days without running out of breath and my ankles swelling up to elephant-sized proportions.

Yep, I was in quite the mood driving to church this morning. I actually was talking to myself all the way to my office--which was probably quite comical to all of the passing traffic. Why was I loathing in self pity, you ask? Oh, nothing major, but sometimes one just needs to exorcise the demons, so to speak. I think part of it is preggo hormones gone wild, part of it is 98 degree heat and humidity, and the other part is just exhaustion.

Every little, tiny, thing bothered me this morning--from my daughter waking me up before 6 am begging for "cee-roh" (cereal) to my house being a complete disaster area, in which I have zero energy to clean, to my husband turning off the television without asking me if I was done watching the program that was on (and I actually wasn't watching it, but just the fact that he didn't ask me really ticked me off).

So, yes, I was not a happy pastor this morning. I humbly (well, probably not so humbly) asked the good lord to throw me a friggin' bone, and well, I was given one.

As most people know the phenomenon of Facebook is quite amazing. I cannot believe all of the people I have reconnected with. It has been quite a trip. Not only that, but I have "made friends" with some very unexpected people. For one, one of my childhood idols, Garrison Keillor.
Brad and I just went and saw him perform live with the C-U orchestra this past spring and LOVED IT. I have memories of sitting in the back of my parents' car, driving down the highway, and listening to 'A Prairie Home Companion.' It was always very comforting to me.

Well, just a few weeks ago I became 'Facebook friends' with Mr. Keillor. I know there are some celebrities out there with Facebook pages--one, being my friend from college, Rich Sommer, who plays Harry on Mad Men. So, I thought it was a pretty cool thing to be added to GK's facebook entourage. Well, in the midst of my aforementioned 'party,' I received a message in my inbox from none other than Mr. Lake Woebegon himself. Thinking that it was some sort of mass email informing his fans of an upcoming touring schedule, book signing, etc., I was shocked and amazed to see the subject line: "You." Me? ME? What the? Mr. Garrison Keillor has written ME a personal message????? Huh??????

So, I went on to read it and was astounded. Apparently GK had read my FB status which said "Julia needs an attitude adjustment" and decided he would offer a listening ear...er..finger...
His response? "Okay, what's the problem, Julia? Spill it."

I almost fell out of my chair when I read that--and that isn't an easy thing for me to do these days. Well, after gaining my composure and realizing what had happened, I wrote him back explaining my not-so-grandiose problems and thanking him for taking the time to ask. Thinking I would get some sort of "oh, glad to hear you're all right. Thanks for being a fan." sort of response, I in turn, received a quite elaborate, thoughtful, response in which he also shared with me his melancholy of being abandoned by his family for the rest of the month.

Needless to say, I am flabbergasted. I am truly humbled. Am I overreacting? Possibly. But, these kinds of things don't normally happen to me. And, being a born and bred Lutheran who hears the words "Garrison Keillor" just as much as the words "green jello" this is something I will NEVER forget. Mr. Keillor, you have made my day--possibly my lifetime.