Two Fish Named Earwax

This definitely was a "You had to be there" story and no one remembers exactly what "there" was, but I'm going to do my best to explain why my sister has two fish named Earwax.

Several years ago, my mom had a student we'll call Eric for one reason and one reason only: that is not his name. Eric had this fascination with earwax. One day, we were sitting at the kitchen table eating our after school snack while Mom was doing dishes and telling us about Eric's earwax obsession. She started a sentence, "He has these two fish..."

"Named Earwax?" I asked, finishing the sentence for her in the only logical manner possible. No one knows what the real end of her sentence because we were all ridiculing Eric's supposed two fish named Earwax.

Eric never had two fish named Earwax but the joke stuck. Even when our other pets earned themselves obscure names based on bodily discharges, "earwax" was reserved for the two fish we didn't have. Oscar became "Booger," Christina became "Rash," Cassie became "Turd," and our male cat named Misty became "Puke" ("Puke did his thing"). Our family was Rash, Booger, Turd, Puke, and two fish named Earwax.

The only problem is that we still didn't have any fish much less two of them with the same unique name. For years, this is where the joke stayed (well, except for my aunt and uncle naming their dog Fish and our new cat being nicknamed Cow... our poor animals!).

This Christmas, Christina received a fish tank. Of course, now we could finally have our two fish named Earwax! Even though she calls her three fish Mo, Curly, and Larry they will forever be Earwax, Earwax, and Fishy to me. Frankly, my names are better because it took Christina a week before she realized she'd named her fish after the Three Stooges.

When she got a fresh-water shark, she named him Bruce after the shark in Finding Nemo. Creative? I think not. I renamed him "Juice." I then learned he's a red-tailed shark, but he looks more like an orange-tailed shark, so he became "Orange Juice."

Today's new fish was a catfish cleverly named "Kitty." Growing up, my mom had a catfish named Flat Bush. She said for awhile she even forgot he was catfish; he was a flat bush in her eyes. Therefore every catfish will forever be named Flat Bush.

"Man, Katie, your family is weird," you say.
"If you only knew," I respond.
"UPGRADE!" Laura screams.

Be sure to check in every week to hear about the newest additions to our family. Christina can have up to 11 inches worth of fish but not all in one fish and they have to be added one a week.

<>< Katie

He's nuts!

I can't claim this thought as my own. My sister came up with it, but I thought it was pretty good and felt the need to share. She was all embarrassed about it, but it's actually pretty accurate! (The more I think about it, this didn't seem like a new idea: so maybe it was mine, but I forgot about it... I don't know).

There's this one coach at school who is crazy! Absolutely crazy. He kind of came with the woodwork; he's one of those people that if you go to that school, you know him. He's been there forever. I was in the last grade to have him in the classroom, and I had him for two years. That means I've worked with him for EIGHT years. Two in the classroom and six (plus) on the court. That's enough to see any one's quirks, and this coach has more than anyone I can imagine! Everyone loves him, but no one understands him. He's got a very creative teaching style both on the court and off. Half the time his team has no idea what he's doing, but he knows. Half the time his team has no idea what he's talking about, but he knows. Even though the team doesn't see it, there's enough trust to believe there is a method to his madness.

Do you trust God enough to believe there is a method to his madness? Even though you don't know what He's doing, He knows. Even though you don't know what He's talking about, He knows. His plans are better than ours, even if they are a bit peculiar. Maybe it's not the way you would have gone about it, but He has much more experience, so let Him do what He wants.

<>< Katie

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5