my newest roomie

Once upon a time there lived a princess...
"How do I know that she was a princess?" you imply with your eyebrow arched slightly.

I just do okay. (quit interrupting my story).

Her father was a king from a far away place called Indenya (India & Kenya).

As a young prince he was sent to a boarding school (like some kings do) to play football (soccer), to speak the King's English (perfectly), and to appreciate fine foods.

Even though he would one day be called a king, he was still able to experience somewhat of a normal childhood. His classmates treated him as a brother, his brother treated him as a slave, and his parents read to him.

It was quite nice actually.

"What did Their Royal Parents read to the prince?" you may ask.


Well, let me see...maybe something not so "normal" as one might expect for a boy in his early princehood.

A sweet little book, filled with sweet little stories intended to teach young royalty to mind their "p's" & "q's" & maybe, just maybe, to scare the crap out of their royal little bodies.

(actual book pictured here)

"And what kind of sweet crap scaring stories might this book have told?" you may wonder.

Well, children, the kind Royal children are read. Stories like this one, where Suck-a-thumb (a naughty little boy who sucked his thumb well past the obvious age of appropriateness), was warned to stop sucking his thumb.

"Did Suck-a-thumb heed this warning?" you may whisper with a little quiver in your voice.

Alas,
he did not!

And that was the end of Suck-a-thumb's thumbs.

I share this with you, because the King shared it with me & some of his princess daughter's other friends, one night over delicious Indian food.

"Did this princess friend of yours also grow up playing football (soccer), speaking the King's English perfectly, & absorbing important life lessions through sweet children's books of terror?" you may inquire.

As far as I know...um nope, nuh-uh, thankgoodness no!

She did however grow up playing almost every sport, reading mostly science books, and appreciating fine food.



Here are some things I appreciate about HRH Tesska:

1. She is laid back. She cares about people & pets, but is relaxed about it.

2. She is always herself, to a fault. It is funny to hear the things she says and does because of this gift/curse. For example, tripping a cute boy at work thinking he was someone else, asking impertinent and sometimes probing questions of married people and their financial arrangements, almost always saying what she is thinking. Tee-hee.

3. She is scientific in everyway. Providentially she has a sense of humor and she's beautiful, but man can that girl turn anything into a science lesson. Just ask her about cutting boards, water, and the counter.

4. She is a servant. I have had the opportunity to work alongside Tess many times, and I love that she is unobtrusive but hardworking...when she's not napping.

5. She sleeps around. And by "sleeps" I mean this girl naps. And by "around" I mean this girl can nap anywhere!

The kitchen floor after playing with her parent's dogs? Yep.

The car after arriving home and parking in the driveway? Yep.

I kid you not, I will not even bat an eyelash when the day arrives that Princess FranTeska says "you'll never believe where I fell asleep today!".
"Oh yes I will believe it!" I will say, even as she begins to describe how she crawled under the picnic table outside of work during lunch to find a gecko and found a warm patch of cement instead and decided to rest her pretty little head for a minute.
(this did not actually happen...yet, but she does like to catch geckos).

6. She is willing to deal. That means she tells me the truth, even when I am not keen to hear it, and she asks for the same. That is such a treasure in a friend!

7. She has a heart for missions. We were able to take a mission class together last year, and it has been so great to encourage each other to move forward as God works on our hearts and moves our feet to bring the Hope of the Gospel somewhere else.

So, this is what we decided. To move in to the Fanny House, (kinda like a Granny House minus the Granny), and to encourage each other as we both finish school and head out to wherever God calls us.

Here we are driving to our new place after fitting so much stuff in Tess' Subaru that we had to call it Mary Poppins' Purse.