Looks like I might just get them all!

Yay for Sesame Street's 40th anniversary!

The Journey Continues

Nine years ago, I was standing on the beach looking back at the footprints I had left in the sand. It was early morning and very cold, so I was the only one out there. As I stared at the footprint, I thought about the path I had taken that brought me to the that place in my life. I wanted to cry. My teen years were gone, the future I envisioned for myself was nowhere near what I wanted, and the only mark I had left in the world were the prints in the sand before me.

So, nine years later, another birthday arrives. I am nowhere near where I expected to be, but I am much more hopeful. Although currently jobless and once again unsure of my future, I am amazed at the ways God has worked in my life. The experiences of the last few years have been more than I ever would have dreamed of. I have been touch by the lives of many, and have in turn touched many lives. I am learning slowly that I can trust God with my life - my future - my hopes and dreams.

Here's to the last year of my 20s... let's hope it's a good one!

Two down, two more to go!

How cute are they?!

When Google Meets Sesame Street...

I just love Google's recent homepage pictures! Yesterday it was Big Bird's legs... today it's Cookie Monster's eyes. I hope they use Elmo and Oscar the Grouch too - oh and don't forget Burt and Ernie!

The Tragedy of Apathy

There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it. ~ George B. Shaw

There is some truth to this quote, but I think there is a third category that is more tragic than the first two. The third is this: to not have any desire. I have seen the apathetic life and at times even experienced it, and it is the saddest of lives.

This past year has held many disappointments for me. I've been forced to give up some dreams. In exchange I've turned to others. But through it all, there has always been something - a reason to keep going - to keep trying to achieve the things just out of reach. Maybe that is why gaining your heart's desire is such a tragedy - there would be nothing left to strive for. Those dreams are what make life worth living.

Yeah, bein' apathetic's a pathetic way to be
(I don't care)
What matters to you does not matter to me
('cause I don't care)

So take a wild guess
It's like I just couldn't care less
If all the things you find impressive
Just blew up and made those messes
That you'll frantically repair
Like it's a life or death affair
And all the while you're unaware
For this, you really shouldn't care

You all laugh at me
Like I'm not happy
With anything, any time, anywhere
And the half of me's all about apathy
And the other half just doesn't care

I'm well aware that everything
Is a far cry from all right
I'm well aware that all of us
Can at times, be too uptight
And possibly, the remedy
Is a dose of apathy
~ Relient K

"I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys-R-Us kid..."

"There's a million toys at Toys-R-Us that I can play with..." Or so the song goes. I would know - I used to sing that little jingle at the top of my lungs. And I meant every word of it. I was probably a bit strange for a child. I was very happy being a kid and had no desire to grow up. Grown-ups couldn't play all day - they had to go to work, and go food shopping, and do laundry. I just could not find the excitement in any of that. My friends couldn't wait for adulthood, but I just never shared in their grandiose dreams of fame and fortune (most of my friends were boys and they thought they were going to be baseball stars).

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I did eventually grow up. I learned all about responsibility. I found that having a job isn't all that bad, food shopping is actually fun when you can buy whatever you want, and laundry is one of the things I actually enjoy doing. =)

Circumstances have in some ways brought me full circle. Being unemployed, I don't have to work... and by offering to babysit for a friend, I had the opportunity to play like I did many years ago. I brought the boys (ages 7 and 11) to the playground, where we proceeded to climb up and slide down the outside of an enclosed slide, swung from the zip-line, hung upside-down from the pull-up bars, played basketball, and sprinted after one another for no reason at all (I in my high-heeled boots!). I had forgotten how great it is to be a kid. Oh, to be young again!

A Walk Through my Darling Neighborhood