| Diary of a Grown-Up Church Girl |
From my heart...to my head... to my pen... to my blog.
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 Shirt -- sales rack at Chicos.
Scarf -- cheap store I found while on my trip through the South. Earrings -- Silpalda. (They probably cost more than my entire outfit.) How cute I felt -- priceless!
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 This is how I look most mornings as I go for my morning walk.
NEVER in my younger years would I have left my home looking like this. Ya gotta admit, there's a certain amount of freedom that goes along with getting older!!! LOL! We realize that none of us were born to live forever.
We reflect on the wonderful memories we have of our fathers. We remember the lessons he taught. We recognize the strength he left behind in us. We re-dedicate ourselves to being the absolute best we can be. We recreate the magic by loving our family and friends with our whole hearts. We rejuvenate ourselves by taking care of ourselves -- mentally, physically, and spiritually. We rejoice in the time we spent together. And we rest in the assurance that we will see our fathers again.  I was sitting on my deck earlier today, admiring the day, looking at my plants, thinking about life ... I was just chilling.
And I took special notice of the plant shown here. It's growing nicely and looks healthy, but I wondered if it would get bigger if I put it in another pot... Would its flowers bloom larger, would the roots have more room to do what roots do if I were to take it out of its current location and put it in a bigger space? In other words, would it do better and have an easier time reaching its full potential if I enlarged its territory? And my mind immediately went to the goldfish. You remember how we were taught as kids that a goldfish will grow as large as the bowl you put it in. Put the fish in a tiny bowl, it will remain tiny. But if you enlarge its territory, it will grow to fit its territory. Then, I thought about me... and you. Because sometimes our territories can be defined as a state of mind. If we think small, we will stay small, you know? But as we expand our minds and embrace new and different possibilities -- as we expand our mental and emotional territories -- life will become a lot more interesting and I believe that blessings will flow. So I imagined that pretty yellow flower saying to me... "Well Miss, I could ask you the same thing? Do you need a new pot?" "Is the pot you're in large enough to hold all of your thoughts and aspirations? Or are you stifling yourself, your dreams, and your possibilities, by keeping yourself in that same, comfortable pot you've been in for years?" Wow... Smart plant! Is it time for you to get a new pot?  I attended a blogging conference this weekend, an event I was very excited about.
I was looking forward to being in a room full of people doing what I'm doing and thought I'd learn a lot and make great contacts. One out of three ain't bad. The sessions were very informative and my desire to learn new things about the world of blogging was definitely satisfied. But I didn't truly connect with anyone -- not one solitary soul. I wasn't completely shocked. I'd been on the Facebook page created for this conference and the entries shocked me. These were obviously very smart women, but they were exchanging messages that made them sound like college sorority girls. Most were wondering where alcohol could be purchased. One woman asked, and I quote, "Who else is going to be on their period during the conference?" And what's worse is that people responded! Well I never! Had it not been for the fact that the sessions sounded so interesting, I really do think I would have backed out of this event, the Facebook posts really turned me off. However I knew that I had a lot to learn and I'd paid for it, so I went. I'm glad I did because I learned new things, it was time well spent. But... I learned one thing that I would have rather not known. I learned that, contrary to the image I have of myself in my head, I am officially middle-aged. I don't know when it happened, my permission was not requested, it just crept up on me like a thief in the night. At some point during the past few years, while I slept, I became middle-aged, and here's how I knew that must be what had happened to me... My 7 Signs of Middle Age - I had no need for the Pampers they were giving out at registration - I didn't want to drink during or after the conference - I didn't openly curse - My hair was all the same color (except for a few stray gray hairs) - My underwear was not exposed - My clothes matched - I took notes using paper and a pen I could go on, but I think you get the point. These, for me, were my 7 signs of middle age. I'm not sure how I feel about them, but... oh well, they're mine and the alternative isn't looking so hot either, so I'm just glad to still be here. What signs have you seen or felt that let you know that you're getting a little older?  I've just returned from five of the most wonderful days of my life!
My lifelong friend, Katrina, and I just drove through North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia and you know what we did? Exactly what we wanted to... when we wanted to... the way we wanted to. And it was wonderful! We shopped, we ate, we talked, we laughed and then we repeated it. We had so much fun, it made me wonder why we'd never done something like this before. Life, I suppose. You know how it can get in the way of having fun. We're already planning to do this again next year! |
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