Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Clothing Conundrum
Mom and I have joined a ladies-only fitness center near our house, and I'm in a bit of a pickle.
How to dress nicely, modestly, and for ease of workout? Most workout-specific clothes are tight as can be. Sweats are terribly uncomfortable and unattractive.
If anyone has any suggestions for workout clothes that are appropriate to a young Christian lady, I would appreciate them greatly!
How to dress nicely, modestly, and for ease of workout? Most workout-specific clothes are tight as can be. Sweats are terribly uncomfortable and unattractive.
If anyone has any suggestions for workout clothes that are appropriate to a young Christian lady, I would appreciate them greatly!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas: In the Ozarks, On the Prairie, and With Dogs
I had a fantastic time in Ft. Smith with many, many family members I don't often get to see. I got a whole stack of journals from my aunt, some teacups from Mom and Jay, a cameo from my other aunt and uncle, and won a Starbucks gift card in our gift exchange. But the best part? Getting to go through stacks and stacks of family photos and bring some home to scan...I'll post a few when we get them done.
I spent my Christmas Day at my Grandmother's house in the western part of the state, with my Dad and great-grandma present as well. We had a lovely time, with a nice, easy Christmas dinner. Between playing with Nanny's new dog, passing out gifts, and dropping a piece of pie on the floor, there wasn't a dull moment!
That night when I got home, our neighbors came caroling with a plate of homemade goodies, their cute dog in tow. It was the first time any of us had ever had carolers!
And yesterday, in the spirit of the season, we opened our home to a stranger; a young female dog we saw wandering around outside. She was very skinny, skittish, and had an old, worn collar on.
We started off in the morning by leaving food out for her, and by the end of the day she was eating lunchmeat out of Jay's hand. The forecast correctly predicted terrible storms for last night, so we brought her inside and gave her a blanket, food and water. She, in turn, gave us a wagging tail and kisses. By the end of the night she was a completely different dog, relaxed and happy.
As if it was meant to be, our friend Denise who lives a block away has been involved with a breed-specific rescue for years, and our new tenant was of that particular breed (boxer). She came by and the dog hopped up into her car, and off they went. She'll stay at Denise's house until a good adoptive home can be found for her.
Have a happy rest of the year, and whether you celebrated Christmas or not, I hope you've had a merry December!
I spent my Christmas Day at my Grandmother's house in the western part of the state, with my Dad and great-grandma present as well. We had a lovely time, with a nice, easy Christmas dinner. Between playing with Nanny's new dog, passing out gifts, and dropping a piece of pie on the floor, there wasn't a dull moment!
That night when I got home, our neighbors came caroling with a plate of homemade goodies, their cute dog in tow. It was the first time any of us had ever had carolers!
And yesterday, in the spirit of the season, we opened our home to a stranger; a young female dog we saw wandering around outside. She was very skinny, skittish, and had an old, worn collar on.
We started off in the morning by leaving food out for her, and by the end of the day she was eating lunchmeat out of Jay's hand. The forecast correctly predicted terrible storms for last night, so we brought her inside and gave her a blanket, food and water. She, in turn, gave us a wagging tail and kisses. By the end of the night she was a completely different dog, relaxed and happy.
As if it was meant to be, our friend Denise who lives a block away has been involved with a breed-specific rescue for years, and our new tenant was of that particular breed (boxer). She came by and the dog hopped up into her car, and off they went. She'll stay at Denise's house until a good adoptive home can be found for her.
Have a happy rest of the year, and whether you celebrated Christmas or not, I hope you've had a merry December!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Packing up
We depart for Ft. Smith tomorrow, to spend a long weekend bathed in family tradition and Christmas cheer. Everyone traveling, be safe! I'll be back on Tuesday.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thoughts on College, Part Two
Or, "Everly, you took the words right outta my mouth!" :)
Often when I speak of not wanting to do anything “visible” with my life, instead finding greatness in serving God and bringing up the next generation, my mother insists that isn’t the problem she has. However, she did once blurt out during a discussion, “What if my life purpose is to have you so you can do something great? What am I supposed to do then?” Even if it’s not a conscious realization, I believe my mother feels inadequate in her own accomplishments and wants to live vicariously through me. If that is the case, no amount of interviews, acclaim, or attention on my part will ever satisfy her need to be appreciated. Only the deep gratitude of my stepfather, myself, and the people she works with and for will provide her with that.
What I don’t think she understands is that I do want to do something great. I want to do the greatest thing of all. I want to have children who will have children who will have children, and by doing so I will have far more influence than just writing a bestseller or being a successful doctor or lawyer. I can change the world, not through my own meager actions, but by having an army of descendants who hold to my convictions. I can be the “mother of thousands,” and my children and theirs will “possess the gates of those that hate them.”
But even if I could convince her of these things, there is still the “What If” factor that must be addressed. After all, we live in a society consumed by the fear of what-ifs. What if the stock market crashes? What if Iran attacks? What if the new President is assassinated? What if there’s a global epidemic of Avian Flu?
What if I can’t pay off my mortgage? What if gas goes any higher? What if I get in an accident on the way to work? What if I forget to take my medication?
But what if my house should catch on fire? Should I train now to be a firefighter? What if I am ever taken to court? Should I go to law school now, just in case?
And, the most relevant to this situation, “What if my husband dies?”
What if I spend my whole life preparing to be a wife and mother, have upwards of five children, and suddenly our provider dies? What can I do then?
Of course, just because we’re a two-income family doesn’t mean that we’ll be safe if one of us dies. Look at my own family. If Mom or Jay died, what would we do? We would have to drastically adjust our lifestyle, because we would no longer be able to afford our current one. So, what if my husband died?
We would have to adjust our lifestyle.
If I spend my single and married years living frugally, saving money, keeping out of debt, and making extra money from cottage industry and writing, however, the loss of my husband isn’t nearly as scary. It might even be called less frightening than losing a husband in a two-income family bound by all sorts of debt.
We live in a world where we’re promised if we only shell out a few thousand dollars to earn a magical piece of paper, everything will fall into place and be perfect.
Plus, my mother even says she thinks I could make a living as a writer. I write well now, everyone says so. What will getting a degree do to help me finish and publish my first book? An English degree will teach me how to analyze all the mystery and romance out of classic novels in impeccable formatting, but can it teach me to write one?
I’m between a rock and a hard place. I belong under my parents’ roof, and I am commanded to honor and obey them as long as I am here. I disagree greatly with their desires for the rest of my life, but nothing can be done. They desire me to attend college, and so I will.
It’s less the issue of having to go to college, really. It’s far more about the fact that, on principle, we have these disagreements. They’re small potatoes now. But when I do marry and begin to have their grandchildren? When my daycare-sized gaggle of little ones and I spend a “school day” grocery shopping?
What will they think of me then?
Often when I speak of not wanting to do anything “visible” with my life, instead finding greatness in serving God and bringing up the next generation, my mother insists that isn’t the problem she has. However, she did once blurt out during a discussion, “What if my life purpose is to have you so you can do something great? What am I supposed to do then?” Even if it’s not a conscious realization, I believe my mother feels inadequate in her own accomplishments and wants to live vicariously through me. If that is the case, no amount of interviews, acclaim, or attention on my part will ever satisfy her need to be appreciated. Only the deep gratitude of my stepfather, myself, and the people she works with and for will provide her with that.
What I don’t think she understands is that I do want to do something great. I want to do the greatest thing of all. I want to have children who will have children who will have children, and by doing so I will have far more influence than just writing a bestseller or being a successful doctor or lawyer. I can change the world, not through my own meager actions, but by having an army of descendants who hold to my convictions. I can be the “mother of thousands,” and my children and theirs will “possess the gates of those that hate them.”
But even if I could convince her of these things, there is still the “What If” factor that must be addressed. After all, we live in a society consumed by the fear of what-ifs. What if the stock market crashes? What if Iran attacks? What if the new President is assassinated? What if there’s a global epidemic of Avian Flu?
What if I can’t pay off my mortgage? What if gas goes any higher? What if I get in an accident on the way to work? What if I forget to take my medication?
But what if my house should catch on fire? Should I train now to be a firefighter? What if I am ever taken to court? Should I go to law school now, just in case?
And, the most relevant to this situation, “What if my husband dies?”
What if I spend my whole life preparing to be a wife and mother, have upwards of five children, and suddenly our provider dies? What can I do then?
Of course, just because we’re a two-income family doesn’t mean that we’ll be safe if one of us dies. Look at my own family. If Mom or Jay died, what would we do? We would have to drastically adjust our lifestyle, because we would no longer be able to afford our current one. So, what if my husband died?
We would have to adjust our lifestyle.
If I spend my single and married years living frugally, saving money, keeping out of debt, and making extra money from cottage industry and writing, however, the loss of my husband isn’t nearly as scary. It might even be called less frightening than losing a husband in a two-income family bound by all sorts of debt.
We live in a world where we’re promised if we only shell out a few thousand dollars to earn a magical piece of paper, everything will fall into place and be perfect.
Plus, my mother even says she thinks I could make a living as a writer. I write well now, everyone says so. What will getting a degree do to help me finish and publish my first book? An English degree will teach me how to analyze all the mystery and romance out of classic novels in impeccable formatting, but can it teach me to write one?
I’m between a rock and a hard place. I belong under my parents’ roof, and I am commanded to honor and obey them as long as I am here. I disagree greatly with their desires for the rest of my life, but nothing can be done. They desire me to attend college, and so I will.
It’s less the issue of having to go to college, really. It’s far more about the fact that, on principle, we have these disagreements. They’re small potatoes now. But when I do marry and begin to have their grandchildren? When my daycare-sized gaggle of little ones and I spend a “school day” grocery shopping?
What will they think of me then?
Thoughts On College, Part One
My parents have a very simple request of me, in exchange for allowing me to live under their roof until I am married. I have to be "moving forward." Unfortunately, my parents and I have a very different idea of what moving forward is.
All I want to do in this world is be a wife and mother. I feel God calling me to such a life every day. I've got a bit of a deficiency in a lot of the arts of homemaking. I can clean, I can sew passably, and I can follow recipes, but outside of that I don't know much. Budgeting, diaper changing, menu planning, and a number of important aspects of keeping a home are things I've never learned.
In my mind, if my chosen life path is to be a wife and mother, then moving forward toward that goal would be learning to do these things proficiently. I also wish to spend my time becoming a more mature Christian by attending church functions, helping the needy, serving my parents, and assisting a family of eight I know any way I can in exchange for knitting lessons and experience with infants.
My mother doesn’t think that being a homeschooling mother is an illegitimate occupation. It’s just not for her baby girl. In the same way many parents say, “I don’t mind *insert belief or lifestyle here* people, as long as my child isn’t one,” my mother doesn’t mind stay-at-home mothers. Just as long as I don’t aspire to become one.
Enter the reasons and arguments that I should spend my unmarried years preparing for a “worst case scenario” by attending college and developing a résumé.
Firstly, my parents are more than a little disconcerted by the fact that I’m really not interested in spending large amounts of time with my peers. I have a few good friends that I see from time to time, and I would not be adverse to making more Godly friendships or finding a homemaking mentor, but I really do prefer to spend time with my family. My parents are my favorite people in the world, and we share so many interests that it seems silly to spend time with people I can learn little from in comparison.
By and large, I don’t care for interaction with my peers. There are many exceptions, yes, but as for the people I would most likely meet in college? Boys, parties, and careerism are not my primary interests. By that same token, I would prefer not to be meeting a husband who belonged to the perpetually adolescent environment of a college. I want a man of vision, unafraid of entrepreneurship, deeply rooted in his ancestry, who will want to blaze a trail down a forgotten path of family life.
Furthermore, my mother thinks that “children need to go to school.” It escapes her, having grown up in a world where government schools are the norm, that for several hundred years of American colonial and national history, children didn’t go to school. They were educated at home by their parents, and brought up in the family business. America was not illiterate before the dawn of public schools; on the contrary, books like the New England Primer and the Blue-Backed Speller illustrate that the average twelve year old in the 1700s was far more educated than most high school graduates today.
That is not to say that public school is an entirely negative thing. But it started out as an option for parents who didn’t have time or means to teach their own, not a compulsory requirement for life in modern society. If I have the time and the means to educate my children, why on earth should I not do so?
I don’t think I need an education degree to teach my children about the world, about the Lord, and about the universe. I think that all I need is the wise counsel of older experts who have tried and true methods and the personal willingness to sacrifice my time and energy for their benefit.
It’s true that children need time to interact with others and learn social skills, but I personally think that adequate interaction can be provided by attending church functions and meeting up with other families at parks. Not to mention, if I have multiple children of different ages, my children will experience first-hand how to interact, cooperate, and respect their peers.
All I want to do in this world is be a wife and mother. I feel God calling me to such a life every day. I've got a bit of a deficiency in a lot of the arts of homemaking. I can clean, I can sew passably, and I can follow recipes, but outside of that I don't know much. Budgeting, diaper changing, menu planning, and a number of important aspects of keeping a home are things I've never learned.
In my mind, if my chosen life path is to be a wife and mother, then moving forward toward that goal would be learning to do these things proficiently. I also wish to spend my time becoming a more mature Christian by attending church functions, helping the needy, serving my parents, and assisting a family of eight I know any way I can in exchange for knitting lessons and experience with infants.
My mother doesn’t think that being a homeschooling mother is an illegitimate occupation. It’s just not for her baby girl. In the same way many parents say, “I don’t mind *insert belief or lifestyle here* people, as long as my child isn’t one,” my mother doesn’t mind stay-at-home mothers. Just as long as I don’t aspire to become one.
Enter the reasons and arguments that I should spend my unmarried years preparing for a “worst case scenario” by attending college and developing a résumé.
Firstly, my parents are more than a little disconcerted by the fact that I’m really not interested in spending large amounts of time with my peers. I have a few good friends that I see from time to time, and I would not be adverse to making more Godly friendships or finding a homemaking mentor, but I really do prefer to spend time with my family. My parents are my favorite people in the world, and we share so many interests that it seems silly to spend time with people I can learn little from in comparison.
By and large, I don’t care for interaction with my peers. There are many exceptions, yes, but as for the people I would most likely meet in college? Boys, parties, and careerism are not my primary interests. By that same token, I would prefer not to be meeting a husband who belonged to the perpetually adolescent environment of a college. I want a man of vision, unafraid of entrepreneurship, deeply rooted in his ancestry, who will want to blaze a trail down a forgotten path of family life.
Furthermore, my mother thinks that “children need to go to school.” It escapes her, having grown up in a world where government schools are the norm, that for several hundred years of American colonial and national history, children didn’t go to school. They were educated at home by their parents, and brought up in the family business. America was not illiterate before the dawn of public schools; on the contrary, books like the New England Primer and the Blue-Backed Speller illustrate that the average twelve year old in the 1700s was far more educated than most high school graduates today.
That is not to say that public school is an entirely negative thing. But it started out as an option for parents who didn’t have time or means to teach their own, not a compulsory requirement for life in modern society. If I have the time and the means to educate my children, why on earth should I not do so?
I don’t think I need an education degree to teach my children about the world, about the Lord, and about the universe. I think that all I need is the wise counsel of older experts who have tried and true methods and the personal willingness to sacrifice my time and energy for their benefit.
It’s true that children need time to interact with others and learn social skills, but I personally think that adequate interaction can be provided by attending church functions and meeting up with other families at parks. Not to mention, if I have multiple children of different ages, my children will experience first-hand how to interact, cooperate, and respect their peers.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Ice!
Our neighborhood pond is beginning to ice over! Winter is truly here.
We're also painting the cabinets this week, and it's quite a team effort. Going from pure white to a dark color is taking a lot of sanding, paint, and recoating. But it's so much fun to watch things take shape the more you work on them!
We're also painting the cabinets this week, and it's quite a team effort. Going from pure white to a dark color is taking a lot of sanding, paint, and recoating. But it's so much fun to watch things take shape the more you work on them!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Good Heavens!
Ah, the joys of aged plumbing. Apparently every time we run the washing machine, rancid water gets coughed up into the downstairs commode.
Lovely.
Lovely.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Names
We have officially named our place of residence. Our little "cottage on the lake" is now Goose Hill Terrace!
Also, I've been going on a "name kick" after viewing a certain offshoot of Everly's blog that she has with Rita. So here are the combinations I have scrawled out in my journal:
Boys
Robert Edward
Thomas Jonathon
Tristain Gabriel
George Alexander
Girls
Wisteria Anne
Magnolia Grace
Milady Ione
Lillibeth Rose
As you can tell, I love floral names for girls, and pillars of Southern history for boys!
Also, I've been going on a "name kick" after viewing a certain offshoot of Everly's blog that she has with Rita. So here are the combinations I have scrawled out in my journal:
Boys
Robert Edward
Thomas Jonathon
Tristain Gabriel
George Alexander
Girls
Wisteria Anne
Magnolia Grace
Milady Ione
Lillibeth Rose
As you can tell, I love floral names for girls, and pillars of Southern history for boys!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Upcoming...
In the near future, meaning sometime before the first of the year;
1. My graphics post.
2. A post about college.
3. The beginning of a very important series. This may take the longest, as I have to order my thoughts and I want to do some revising as well as run it by a woman I admire first. And though I doubt my readers will necessarily learn anything "new," I hope they'll be given a stronger perspective on something and the tools to refute it, and that any who may stumble upon this may learn from it.
1. My graphics post.
2. A post about college.
3. The beginning of a very important series. This may take the longest, as I have to order my thoughts and I want to do some revising as well as run it by a woman I admire first. And though I doubt my readers will necessarily learn anything "new," I hope they'll be given a stronger perspective on something and the tools to refute it, and that any who may stumble upon this may learn from it.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
DC-Land
Hey all! I'm back in Oklahoma after a wonderful journey to Washington, DC with my mother and her boss! We had many adventures, that's for sure, including the food we ate! From a sushi feast, to an hors-d'oeuvres reception, to a platter of Ethiopian food and teff-based bread. It was all delicious!
My first full day was spent at the National Portrait Gallery on G Street. I have to say, when I stood in one of the rooms, surrounded by portraits of Winthrop and Witherspoon and the men who founded this country hundreds of years ago, I got a little teary-eyed. Not only that, but the art and artistry were impeccable. Going through the American Art exhibit through the Gilded Age was really eye-opening as well, in terms of technique.
But the moment when the floodgates opened, and I began to cry for real, was when I stepped into the hall of Presidential Portraits. As a girl in Junior High, I studied the symbolism of the Landsdowne Portrait of George Washington. To see the painting, original, enormous, in front of me, of our first President and the General who led us to victory, was overwhelming.
So, of course, when we went on our after-dark tour of the monuments, I got a little sniffly as well. Particularly when I stood before the Arkansas pillar of the WWII Memorial, and remembered my four great-uncles who fought for our nation. They've all passed on now, but they all made it home from the war. (I'll be posting a bit about that later this week.) There were some very timely words inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial, and the statue was beautiful. The FDR Memorial was wonderfully thought-out, with some of the quotes in braille and every inch of it handicap accessable for those inspired by his legacy.
The Korean War Memorial was hauntingly beautiful, with 19 statues of soldiers creeping through a field. Perhaps it was because of my Grandfather's fighting in the war, or the eerie light in the evening darkness, or the amazing detail on the soldier's faces, but it send shivers up my spine. From there, we walked to the breaktaking temple that is the Lincoln Memorial, which rendered me speechless. It's hard to get a feel for how immense that statue is in pictures. And it's amazingly lifelike, it looks as though he could get up and speak to you. Our final stop was the Iwo Jima Statue, which holds special significance for the daughter of a Marine.
The next day I took a car to Mount Vernon and saw the home of our First President, which is so beautiful. I even got to participate in some authentic 18th-century dancing! It was delightful.
Today we took a cab to Union Station, which was very beautiful. We had lunch and then rode a train to Baltimore to catch our flight home. And now, here I am!
DC is a lovely place, full of bustling life. And it's definately a place every American should visit at least once. But it's all so crowded! I'm happy to be back among the rolling prairies of my home state.
My first full day was spent at the National Portrait Gallery on G Street. I have to say, when I stood in one of the rooms, surrounded by portraits of Winthrop and Witherspoon and the men who founded this country hundreds of years ago, I got a little teary-eyed. Not only that, but the art and artistry were impeccable. Going through the American Art exhibit through the Gilded Age was really eye-opening as well, in terms of technique.
But the moment when the floodgates opened, and I began to cry for real, was when I stepped into the hall of Presidential Portraits. As a girl in Junior High, I studied the symbolism of the Landsdowne Portrait of George Washington. To see the painting, original, enormous, in front of me, of our first President and the General who led us to victory, was overwhelming.
So, of course, when we went on our after-dark tour of the monuments, I got a little sniffly as well. Particularly when I stood before the Arkansas pillar of the WWII Memorial, and remembered my four great-uncles who fought for our nation. They've all passed on now, but they all made it home from the war. (I'll be posting a bit about that later this week.) There were some very timely words inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial, and the statue was beautiful. The FDR Memorial was wonderfully thought-out, with some of the quotes in braille and every inch of it handicap accessable for those inspired by his legacy.
The Korean War Memorial was hauntingly beautiful, with 19 statues of soldiers creeping through a field. Perhaps it was because of my Grandfather's fighting in the war, or the eerie light in the evening darkness, or the amazing detail on the soldier's faces, but it send shivers up my spine. From there, we walked to the breaktaking temple that is the Lincoln Memorial, which rendered me speechless. It's hard to get a feel for how immense that statue is in pictures. And it's amazingly lifelike, it looks as though he could get up and speak to you. Our final stop was the Iwo Jima Statue, which holds special significance for the daughter of a Marine.
The next day I took a car to Mount Vernon and saw the home of our First President, which is so beautiful. I even got to participate in some authentic 18th-century dancing! It was delightful.
Today we took a cab to Union Station, which was very beautiful. We had lunch and then rode a train to Baltimore to catch our flight home. And now, here I am!
DC is a lovely place, full of bustling life. And it's definately a place every American should visit at least once. But it's all so crowded! I'm happy to be back among the rolling prairies of my home state.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
*Sniffle*
Mom and I are both sick. And hoping that antibiotics can rectify the situation before we fly to Washington, DC this Sunday. Wish us luck and a safe flight! I'm hoping it won't be too terribly cold.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Weighed and Measured
As I sit here at the computer, happily ensconced with my inordinately large bowl of Rice Krispies (the kind with the strawberries), I reflect back on the events of the day with mixed emotion.
The deeper I dig, the more I find the foundations of my whole conflicted sense of college in two incidents that occurred today.
When I met with my advisor, I found out I would have to take remedial algebra classes with a partner college that is on the complete opposite side of town from me. As if that weren't enough, she kept referring to my "academic deficiencies," namely my "algebra deficiency" and the resulting "physical science deficiency."
Deficiency! Right. Just because I scored a certain amount on a placement test that was sprung on me without any prior knowledge this morning in a fog of DayQuil, I am somehow "Academically Deficient" in comparison to the mythic "Ideal Student" that they all want adorning their class lists. To feel like you tried your very hardest under the circumstances given to you and to be stamped with a label like that is extremely cutting.
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you insult us, will we not huff off and blog about it?
But, no matter! :)
I had the privelege of spending most of my free time this morning talking to a guy slightly older than me named Jessie. He's a member of the National Guard and has a pet hedgehog, and has apparently been living out of his Jeep for about a month and showering at a friend's house because of a conflict between his parents, which has left him without a place to go. He never did find out my name, but he said it didn't matter, as I was already nicknamed in his mind.
Mother.
That's what he called me, and that's how I signed the note I left on the windshield of his Jeep. (Which I could locate by the fatigues hanging in back, and the hedgehog curled up on a heating pad in the passenger seat.) His explaination?
I had a natural "knack" for mothering. I just "give off that impression."
Academically deficient? Pft! Who cares? I'm a natural mother!
The deeper I dig, the more I find the foundations of my whole conflicted sense of college in two incidents that occurred today.
When I met with my advisor, I found out I would have to take remedial algebra classes with a partner college that is on the complete opposite side of town from me. As if that weren't enough, she kept referring to my "academic deficiencies," namely my "algebra deficiency" and the resulting "physical science deficiency."
Deficiency! Right. Just because I scored a certain amount on a placement test that was sprung on me without any prior knowledge this morning in a fog of DayQuil, I am somehow "Academically Deficient" in comparison to the mythic "Ideal Student" that they all want adorning their class lists. To feel like you tried your very hardest under the circumstances given to you and to be stamped with a label like that is extremely cutting.
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you insult us, will we not huff off and blog about it?
But, no matter! :)
I had the privelege of spending most of my free time this morning talking to a guy slightly older than me named Jessie. He's a member of the National Guard and has a pet hedgehog, and has apparently been living out of his Jeep for about a month and showering at a friend's house because of a conflict between his parents, which has left him without a place to go. He never did find out my name, but he said it didn't matter, as I was already nicknamed in his mind.
Mother.
That's what he called me, and that's how I signed the note I left on the windshield of his Jeep. (Which I could locate by the fatigues hanging in back, and the hedgehog curled up on a heating pad in the passenger seat.) His explaination?
I had a natural "knack" for mothering. I just "give off that impression."
Academically deficient? Pft! Who cares? I'm a natural mother!
What We Aim For
I asked Mom how I looked this morning, in my long black skirt and pink, lace-trimmed shirt.
"Nice," she said with a rather lackluster demeanor that betrayed the fact she wished I was in jeans* and one of my "reimagined" band shirts. (read: ripped up and re-sewn.)
She turned to put her earrings on, looked me over again in the mirror, and said, in a rather funny British accent, "Quite modest."
I just grinned. Modest, after all, is what we aim for.
(* I have nothing against pants as a modest option for girls, it's a matter of personal opinion and conviction to me. But I myself simply cannot stand to wear pants! I haven't found a comfortable pair in years, even at plus sized stores.)
"Nice," she said with a rather lackluster demeanor that betrayed the fact she wished I was in jeans* and one of my "reimagined" band shirts. (read: ripped up and re-sewn.)
She turned to put her earrings on, looked me over again in the mirror, and said, in a rather funny British accent, "Quite modest."
I just grinned. Modest, after all, is what we aim for.
(* I have nothing against pants as a modest option for girls, it's a matter of personal opinion and conviction to me. But I myself simply cannot stand to wear pants! I haven't found a comfortable pair in years, even at plus sized stores.)
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