Allow me to share something with you. My mother has brought two miracles into this world. Number one is me. Number two is my scarf. This scarf is the most amazing thing ever. It is always warm. Usually when things are left out in the cold, they become cold. Not my scarf. It is always warm. Always! When I walk to class everyday, my legs are usually quite cold. My upper body is very warm because my coat is superb (and if I wear my long wool coat, my legs are warm, too). My head is always sufficiently warm because of my obsession with hats. My face and neck--they are usually sweating from the heat radiating straight out of my scarf. :) Thanks, Mom. You are very good at bringing miracles into this world.

Now this is another very funny story I must share with you. Lastnight in our effort to find something "fun" to do, my friend Jake and I busted out the CatchPhrase and played amongst ourselves in our own inventive way...backwards. Jake is very, very good at this. For example, we may have the word "salamander." I say, "Okay, four syllables...first syllable backwards is the color of my hat (Jake says red, then pronounces it backwards, "der"). Next I say, "This is a shorthand word for a war America lost over near Cambodia in the sixties." Jake says "Vietnam...Nam." I say "Okay, backwards that word is..." Jake says "Man! ...mander...hmm..." Then I say,
"Okay, now the first part of the word backwards is like one of those ropes cowboys use to rope cattle." He says, "Lasso...?" And I say "Yes! Now say it all backwards." He says, "Ossalmander...salamander!" And we laugh and clap because it's amazing! And he says, "How can you do that all backwards?!" And I say, "How can YOU do all that backwards and actually understand what I'm talking about?!" Isn't intelligence amazing!?

Now, let me tell you about my wool coat. My wool coat is the best thing in the world. I bought it at a great bargain, for eight dollars at Goodwill. It looks almost like one of American Eagle's rip-offs, but it is an authentic, old-fashioned, long coat. It is stylish. It is warm. I makes me look like a governess. Perfect!

My roommate is back to normal. After suffering from a concussion and a bit of prideful, stubborn toughness, she was finally forced to stop playing for a bit, much to her dismay and much to our preference, for we were fearing for her life. I certainly don't want her to end up like poor Ryan Hochstetler and his brain damaged head. She brightens my day with her smile everytime she enters the room. I am thankful for her. Lindsay, I love you darling, and I am so thankful that you have survived and come out of this situation, so far, stronger than you were. We didn't know it was possible for you to become any stronger, but you have somehow managed, and we all love and admire you. You are the brightest light I know.

"There is never a cloud without its bright light."

Grace and peace, everyone.

Email me sometime, everyone...amandah@muskingum.edu