A Plate of Cookies and a Message

Consider this your plate of holiday cookies and your annual “Christmas card” from WhiteEyebrows.

It’s been a good year.  You can read about it at my wife’s blog. I don’t have much to add to the events.  You all basically know what happened this year: we got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, did a lot of traveling, and learned to live with each other.  I still draw pretty pictures and Cisco, she still plays around with spreadsheets at JC Penney.  She wants a dog, I don’t.  We both work hard at church – I’m the Bishop’s secretary and she’s a counselor in Young Women’s.

What you may not know is this…

…About a year ago, I turned into a completely useless lump of a man.

I was dating my future wife and preparing to propose to her.  First, I was busy creating the most awesome proposal ever, then I got busy creating the best wedding ever.  I basically shut off the outside world for four months as we prepared, planned, and executed a wedding, then we disappeared off the face of the earth for two weeks. We came back, blissfully married, and proceeded to have a great first 9 months of marriage.

During that time, my universe pretty much collapsed – not in a bad way.  Not in a lets-to-talk-to-the-therapist way.  I just naturally turned into someone who was content to stay at home, snuggled on the couch with my wife, watching stupid reality television and going to bed early.  Friends mattered a little less, extended family mattered a little less, and the world outside our home pretty much melted away.

Not that I’ve haven’t been challenged or grown this year.  It was a very good year for me at work.  It was also a particularly challenging year at church with a whole new level of commitment and skills needed for my calling.  So I guess I haven’t been totally useless… just mostly useless.

You might have noticed my uselessness as you’ve read this blog.  Sometimes, I click into articles that come up under my “Random Posts” section and think: “Wow… that was some really good, original thought.  Whatever happened to that WhiteEyebrows?  I think my brain is turning into a turnip.”

Then, last night, I had a dream.  I dreamed I was sitting in a Freebirds restaurant, but it wasn’t all beatnick like the real Freebirds.  Apparently, Freebirds had been bought by the Lay’s corporation, and they did away with all the personality in the joint.  Anyway, we went up to the second floor of the Freebirds where I attended a concert by some small choral group — and here’s the part that blew my mind — they sang about 6 or 7 songs which I have never heard before.

Now here’s my question: How can my brain make up completely new music in its sleep?  I’m not a composer or arranger.  I listen to a fair amount of choral music, though, and wonder – how can my brain artificially produce choral music and make it sound so good!?  I was in total bliss listening to this group sing.  I was one of the only audience members, and they were TIGHT.

So maybe my brain isn’t complete mush yet?  Maybe I’m just delusionary…