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S. A. J. Lyttek, a multiple award-winning writer, always loved writing, but didn’t arrive at the profession in the typical manner. After college and graduate school, she plunged into government consulting. In this environment, she discovered a knack for writing tests, interviews and other measurements. That soon became the focus of her career—reigniting her love for the written word. Thus captivated, she spent evenings freelancing “fun” writing including short stories, poems, articles and cards. When her eldest was a toddler, she quit full-time work to stay home and write. Eager to spend more time with her children, homeschooling intrigued her. From preschool through high school, she homeschooled both sons while continuing to freelance. While an integral part of the homeschooling community, she developed and taught writing classes to a generation of homeschoolers. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Gary, Mrs. Lyttek loves to share her commitment to learners of all ages and her fascination with the written word.
Sometimes I wish that my imaginings of what a day or week will be like actually take place.
For instance, last week. I imagined a week of cruise bliss. Trying some new activities, trying some new foods, and a whole lot of relaxing. For the record, all of that did happen on some level, just not as I imagined. But Gary getting food poisoning on our third day—the day we had scheduled a shore excursion—threw a monkey wrench into my ideal plans. And until I found out the doctor’s verdict of food poisoning (around 5 PM), I spent a good chunk of the day worrying if I would catch whatever Gary suffered from.
On the plus side, while Gary was still recuperating on day 4, I got to spend some a few hours with the lovely couple in the cabin next to ours as they shopped and people watched on Grand Turk. It was a fantastic way to get to know them better and add someone else to my Christmas card list!
And after that point, my darling was mostly normal and we could go to the spa and the pool and even take in a few shows. Overall, the week was good, just not what I expected. The sudden illness was a hiccup in my plans.
I don’t like hiccups. Physical or theoretical. They’re uncomfortable. They’re distracting. And they’re good at pointing out how self-focused I really am.
Near the end of the cruise, a less dramatic (albeit embarrassing) hiccup occurred. While walking up a short flight of stairs, the wind blew my hair across my face in such a way that I could see nothing. Of course, that meant I missed a stair and fell. On the pool deck. In front of dozens of people. Fortunately, I’d had a hand lightly on the rail which I instinctively tightened so I didn’t fall as hard or as far as I could’ve. When I stood quickly, saying, “I’m fine. I’m fine,” I had two bruised knees, a red nose (that faded within an hour—thank God), and a black and blue toe. Of them all, only the toe persists days later. And that’s not bad. But it meant I had to keep tabs on those body parts to make sure nothing more serious happened—especially my trick knee which did swell briefly.
On the way home, we discovered, on an 80+ day, that the air conditioning in the car didn’t work. For whatever reason, that’s always been a weak spot in the Subie. Yes, there were ways to compensate (windows and sunroof), but it’s another thing we had to bounce back from after the trip. Our SUV goes into the shop on Friday.
Sometimes, life is just like that. You look for things to go in a straight line, on a predictable path, but instead you slam into one thing after another like you live within a pinball machine.
In this world, Jesus said, you will have trouble. (You will have ricochets, hiccups, and even full-on body checks. You will have change that merely unsettles you as well as change that takes your breath away.) But take heart, He says. I have overcome the world.
In the midst of the normal returning home stuff, unpacking, doing laundry, I called my sister and dad. When they answered my hello, I knew something was wrong. Sometimes, you can just hear it in the voice, you know?
“We didn’t want to interrupt your trip, spoil a good vacation.” Thoughtful and appreciated. “Your Uncle Karl passed away while you were gone.”
I wouldn’t have been able to see him no matter what and I knew that. But just like that, the world changed. The man who’d play the crocodile in the swamp to entertain his nieces and nephews on holiday get-togethers (always ending in giggling fits), who could put together an old radio from parts, and who laughed deep and long like every good Ghost of Christmas Present was absent from my world.
Ricochet.